Things Useful and Nifty

Quote

2010-08-20T22:02:00.001+02:00

"The reverse side also has a reverse side."
- Japanese Proverb

Label Gadget - How to make the Label Cloud more colorful

2010-08-20T21:55:00.002+02:00

On 25 August, 2009, Blogger upgraded the Label Gadget by adding the much requested Label Cloud feature to it. Blogger told us about the new feature which they added to the Label gadget in this Blogger Buzz article.

The default setting for the Label gadget is to display the Labels as a list, however you can change it into a Label cloud by going to your Dashboard and clicking on Layout and then click the Edit link which belongs to the Label Gadget. If you want to learn how to use multiple colors when you are using the Label Cloud option of the Label Gadget you can click the Read More link.

How to add more colors to the Label Cloud

Please observe that the instructions posted below will only work if your blogg is using a Layout Template. To enable the ability to use up to five different colors in your Label Cloud you need to copy the code below and then paste it in the locations displayed in the images. You can see the end result by viewing the Label Cloud I am using in the sidebar of this blog.

Variable Definations and pasting the code from Box 1 directly after the series of equal signs "as the ones shown in Image 1".

(Box 1)

(Image 1)

Once you have pasted the code from the box one you copy the CSS from Box 2 and paste it directly before the ]]></b:skin> (Image 2) the template code.

(Box 2 - CSS)

/* Label Cloud */ .label-size-1 a {font: $labelcloudfont; color: $labelsize1color; } .label-size-2 a {font: $labelcloudfont; color: $labelsize2color; } .label-size-3 a {font: $labelcloudfont; color: $labelsize3color; } .label-size-4 a {font: $labelcloudfont; color: $labelsize4color; } .label-size-5 a {font: $labelcloudfont; color: $labelsize5color; }

(image 2)

Quote

2009-11-20T11:06:00.002+01:00

"The good life, as I conceive it, is a happy life. I do
not mean that if you are good you will be happy - I mean
that if you are happy you will be good."
- Bertrand Russell

How to schedule a post.

2009-11-16T15:25:00.005+01:00

If you wish to schedule the posting time of a post you are writing please see the below instructions.

Go to your Dashboard (LINK) and click on NEW POST.
Enter your post (Title and Labels are optional).
Click on Post Options and enter a Future date and time of your choice
Click on the orange PUBLISH POST button and you will be taken to your Edit Posts page with a message looking like this "Your post will be automatically published"

Quote

2009-11-15T13:52:00.001+01:00

"An opinion should be the result of
thought, not a substitute for it."
- Jef Mallett

What HTML tags will work in a Blogger Profile/About Me Gadget?

2009-11-13T22:27:00.017+01:00

I have found some HTML tags can be use in the "About Me" section of your profile. You can see them in action if you look at my About Me gadget in the sidebar of this blog and I have turned "Buddha" in my profile into a link which points to my quote collection blog.

List of working HTML tags

<em>italic example text</em>
<i>italic example text</i>
<br> new row
<strong>bold example text</strong>
<b>bold example text</b>
<a href="http://www.example.com">example link text</a>

Quote

2009-11-13T22:25:00.000+01:00

The truly educated man is that rare individual
who can separate reality from illusion.
- Anonymous

Help I changed the password to my Blogger account and now I can't sign in to Gmail

2009-11-10T14:05:00.002+01:00

When changing the password for your Blogger account you also change the password for the Google account which both your Blogger account and your Gmail are connected to.

If you wish to change back to the original password you used for Gmail you can do it by clicking on the My account link when signed in to either Gmail or Blogger. If you are signed in to Gmail you are also signed in to Blogger.

When creating a Blogger account or a Gmail address you are also creating a Google account. And if you use your Gmail address join any Google related services like for example Blogger or Feedburner you adds them to your Google account.

Quote

2009-11-07T19:51:00.002+01:00

We live in the world when we love it.
- Rabindranath Tagore

CSS and links

2009-10-23T20:31:00.005+02:00

When modifying the appearance of your links using CSS you should add a:link, a:visited, a:focus, a:hover, a:active in the order I listed and to make it easier to remember the order to add them to the style sheet you might find this phrase "Lord Vader's Former Handle Anakin" useful.

Example
a:link { color: #FF00FF; }
a:visited { color: #FFFF00; }
a:hover { color: #00FFFF; }
a:focus { color: #0000FF; }
a:active { color: #FF0000; }

Quote

2009-10-22T13:39:00.000+02:00

Neither fire nor wind,
birth nor death can
erase our good deeds.
- Buddha

How to: Troubleshooting Firefox

2009-10-19T17:45:00.005+02:00

The links below contains information how to troubleshoot Firefox when pages looks strange or if something isn't working properly.

Quote

2009-10-19T17:43:00.000+02:00

It is not so much our friends' help that helps us
as the confident knowledge that they will help us.
- Epicurus

How to export and import blogs

2009-10-18T21:32:00.006+02:00

How to export and import blogs

Go to your Dashboard and click on the Settings link belonging to the blog which contains the posts you wish to export.
Scroll down to Blog Tools and you will see a line of links saying "Import blog - Export blog - Delete blog".
Click on the one saying Export blog and save the file with a name which is easy for you to remember.
Return to your Dashboard and click on the Settings link belonging to the blog to which you wish to import the entries to.
Scroll down to Blog Tools and you will see a line of links saying "Import blog - Export blog - Delete blog".
Click on the one saying Import blog and click on the Browse button and and select the file you just exported and don't forget to check the Automatically publish all imported posts check box.
View the blog you just imported to check that all the posts (and the pictures) you just imported came through without any problems.
Repeat the above steps with the other journals until you have transfered them all.

For a more visual instructions, see this link.

The content in your exported blog will come in this order: Template, Settings, Posts & Comments.

Quote

2009-10-18T21:19:00.002+02:00

Tattoo: Da plane. Da plane.
- Fantasy Island

The Sidebar is at the bottom of the page

2009-10-13T21:36:00.005+02:00

The most common reasons for a sidebar to drop below the posts are that there are improperly closed div tags (each <div> needs to be closed with a </div> which should be inserted in an appropriate location) and a jump break  which has been accidentally inserted between a starting <div> and the ending </div>.

For more information about sidebar errors caused by jump breaks please see these two links: "Link 1" and "Link 2".

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UPDATED 22 November, 2009.
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Quote

2009-10-13T13:41:00.001+02:00

We think in generalities, but we live in detail.
- Alfred North Whitehead

Accidental zoom fix (for firefox and internet explorer)

2009-10-12T23:42:00.003+02:00

If the text and/or layout suddenly shrunk or grew then you might accidentally used the zoom out short-cut when you were viewing the page.

If you are using Firefox go to the page the sudden size-change happened and use this short-cut CTRL+0 or go to View | Zoom and click on reset.

Or if you are using Internet Explorer click on ALT to display the menu then click on View and go to Zoom and select 100%.

Quote

2009-10-11T13:40:00.001+02:00

The true measure of a man is how he treats
someone who can do him absolutely no good.
- Samuel Johnson

How to find New Blogs to read

2009-10-06T11:43:00.003+02:00

Click on "next blog" on the Navigation bar
Browse recently updated blogs: http://www.blogger.com/changes10.g
Do a Google blog search: http://blogsearch.google.com/
Update your interests on your profile and click on them eg: reading, golf, blogging.
read the "blogs of note" listed on your dashboard.
Have a look at other people's list of "blogs I follow"

Quote

2009-10-06T11:29:00.001+02:00

"My definition of an expert in any field 
is a person who knows enough about what's 
really going on to be scared."
- P. J. Plauger

Keeping your widgets when changing Blogger template

2009-09-25T20:20:00.004+02:00

I found this link "Keeping your widgets when changing Blogger template | Blogger Sentral" when visiting this blog and I have found that this article contains very useful information on how to keeping the widgets you are using when changing your Blogger template.

Quote

2009-09-25T20:12:00.001+02:00

"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds 
one in its net of wonder forever."
- Jacques Yves Cousteau

How do I copy my Blog to a different Blog?

2009-09-25T11:30:00.003+02:00

How to Copy my Blog to a Different Blog

Login to your Dashboard blogger.com
Click on "Settings" and scroll down to "Blog Tools" and click on "Export Blog".
Then return to your "Dashboard" and click on "Create a Blog"
Click on "Settings" and scroll down to "Blog Tools" and click on "Import Blog".

Optional Steps

Optional Step 1: Edit the posts in the two blogs.
Optional Step 2: Edit the layout for the two blogs.

Quote

2009-09-25T11:24:00.000+02:00

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. 
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe