tips,tricks and hacks: February 2008

Friday, 29 February 2008

Blogger XML Tempate - Blue Dust

Click on image for working demo

Download

A note to those of you that put my templates up for download. I appreciate that you like them enough to do so, but please link back to my post and don't put my template for download from your site. I enjoy the traffic!

Here is another swirly template. Yes, I love them. I thought maybe the A Day Without Chocolate template might be too pink for some. Or, maybe you just detest pink. So, this is another option.

This template is packed full of goodies:

Fluid Widebar (Hack by me) I love the possibilities of the widebar.
Label Cloud (Hack by phydeaux3) Can you tell I think all blogs should be equipped with this lovely hack?
Fluid style (Hack by me)
Two sidebars
Post area
Lovely footer
Custom favicon
Fancy links (go ahead...hover over one!)
Clickable header on post page
Custom blockquotes
Brush credits: Stilok and hawksmont

So...enjoy!! Go forth and blog!

UPDATE:
03/07/08: Fixed problem in IE to eliminate horizontal scrollbar and header description placement.
o4/09/08: 04/09/08: Added text file to copy and paste. You will still have to add the images as indicated in the instructions from the zip file. Go to the Dashboard | Layout | Edit HTML | Edit Template window. +/-Paste this text in that window:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html expr:dir='data:blog.languageDirection' xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml' xmlns:b='http://www.google.com/2005/gml/b' xmlns:data='http://www.google.com/2005/gml/data' xmlns:expr='http://www.google.com/2005/gml/expr'>
<head>

<link href='IMAGE/favicon.png' rel='shortcut icon'/>
<link href='IMAGE/favicon.png' rel='icon'/>

<b:include data='blog' name='all-head-content'/>
<title><data:blog.pageTitle/></title>
<b:skin><![CDATA[/*
-----------------------------------------------
Blogger Template Style
Name: Minima
Designer: Douglas Bowman
URL: www.stopdesign.com
Date: 26 Feb 2004
Updated by: Blogger Team
----------------------------------------------- */

/* Variable definitions
====================
<Variable name="bgcolor" description="Page Background Color"
type="color" default="#fff" value="#ffffff">
<Variable name="textcolor" description="Text Color"
type="color" default="#987654" value="#987654">
<Variable name="linkcolor" description="Link Color"
type="color" default="#987654" value="#6f3c1b">
<Variable name="pagetitlecolor" description="Blog Title Color"
type="color" default="#987654" value="#6f3c1b">
<Variable name="descriptioncolor" description="Blog Description Color"
type="color" default="#987654" value="#6f3c1b">
<Variable name="titlecolor" description="Post Title Color"
type="color" default="#c60" value="#6f3c1b">
<Variable name="bordercolor" description="Border Color"
type="color" default="#ffb6c1" value="#ffb6c1">
<Variable name="sidebarcolor" description="Sidebar Title Color"
type="color" default="#999" value="#6f3c1b">
<Variable name="sidebartextcolor" description="Sidebar Text Color"
type="color" default="#987654" value="#987654">
<Variable name="visitedlinkcolor" description="Visited Link Color"
type="color" default="#999" value="#999999">
<Variable name="bodyfont" description="Text Font"
type="font" default="normal normal 100% Georgia, Serif" value="normal normal 110% Trebuchet, Trebuchet MS, Arial, sans-serif">
<Variable name="headerfont" description="Sidebar Title Font"
type="font"
default="normal normal 78% 'Trebuchet MS',Trebuchet,Arial,Verdana,Sans-serif" value="italic bold 115% 'Trebuchet MS',Trebuchet,Arial,Verdana,Sans-serif">
<Variable name="pagetitlefont" description="Blog Title Font"
type="font"
default="normal normal 200% Georgia, Serif" value="italic bold 266% Times, serif">
<Variable name="descriptionfont" description="Blog Description Font"
type="font"
default="normal normal 78% 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Arial, Verdana, Sans-serif" value="normal normal 116% 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Arial, Verdana, Sans-serif">
<Variable name="postfooterfont" description="Post Footer Font"
type="font"
default="normal normal 78% 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Arial, Verdana, Sans-serif" value="normal normal 78% 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Arial, Verdana, Sans-serif">
<Variable name="startSide" description="Side where text starts in blog language"
type="automatic" default="left" value="left">
<Variable name="endSide" description="Side where text ends in blog language"
type="automatic" default="right" value="right">
*/

/* Use this with templates/template-twocol.html */

body {
background: url('IMAGE/choc_bg.png') top left repeat-x #FFFFFF;
margin:0;
color:$textcolor;
font:x-small Georgia Serif;
font-size/* */:/**/small;
font-size: /**/small;
text-align: center;
}
a:link {
color:$linkcolor;
text-decoration:none;
}
a:visited {
color:$visitedlinkcolor;
text-decoration:none;
}
a:hover {
background-color: #FADADD;
color: #987654;
text-decoration: none;
}
a img {
border-width:0;
}

/* Header
-----------------------------------------------
*/

#header-wrapper {
width:800px;
margin: -5px 0 35px 158px;
}

#header-inner {
background-position: center;
margin-left: auto;
margin-right: auto;
}

#header {
margin: 5px;
text-align: center;
color:$pagetitlecolor;
}

#header h1 {
margin:5px 5px 0;
padding: 60px 15px 20px .25em;
line-height:1.2em;
text-transform:none;
letter-spacing:.2em;
font: $pagetitlefont;
color: $pagetitlecolor;
}

#header a {
color:$pagetitlecolor;
text-decoration:none;
}

#header a:hover {
background-color: #FADADD;
color: #987654;
text-decoration: none;
}

#header .description {
margin:0 5px 5px;
padding:0 20px 15px;
max-width:700px;
text-transform:uppercase;
letter-spacing:.2em;
line-height: 1.4em;
font: $descriptionfont;
color: $descriptioncolor;
}

#header img {
margin-$startSide: auto;
margin-$endSide: auto;
}

#navbar-iframe {
display: none !important;
}

/* Outer-Wrapper
----------------------------------------------- */
#outer-wrapper {
margin-left: 5%;
margin-right: 2%;
text-align: left;
width: 93%;
padding: 0 10px 10px 10px;
text-align:$startSide;
font: $bodyfont;
}

#main-wrapper {
width: 45%;
float: $startSide;
word-wrap: break-word; /* fix for long text breaking sidebar float in IE */
overflow: hidden; /* fix for long non-text content breaking IE sidebar float */
}

#widebar-wrapper {
float: right;
margin: 0 45px 0 35px;
padding-bottom: 10px;
width: 40%;
word-wrap: break-word;
color: $textcolor;
}
#widebar {
padding: 10px 0 5px 0px;
width: 100%;
word-wrap: break-word;
color: $textcolor;
}
#leftsidebar-wrapper {
float: right;
margin: 30px 0 0 0;
overflow: hidden;
width: 22%;
word-wrap: break-word;
}

#rightsidebar-wrapper {
float: right;
margin: 30px 0 0 0;
overflow: hidden;
width: 22%;
word-wrap: break-word;
}

/* Headings
----------------------------------------------- */

h2 {
margin:1.5em 0 .75em;
font:$headerfont;
line-height: 1.4em;
text-transform:uppercase;
letter-spacing:.2em;
color:$sidebarcolor;
}

/* Posts
-----------------------------------------------
*/
h2.date-header {
margin:1.5em 0 .5em;
}

.post {
margin:.5em 0 1.5em;
padding-bottom:1.5em;
}

.post h3 {
background:url(IMAGE/post_swirl.png) no-repeat;
margin:.25em 0 0;
padding:0 0 4px 85px;
font-size:140%;
font-weight:normal;
line-height:1.4em;
color:$titlecolor;
}

.post h3 a, .post h3 a:visited, .post h3 strong {
display:block;
text-decoration:none;
color:$titlecolor;
font-weight:normal;
}

.post h3 strong, .post h3 a:hover {
color:$textcolor;
background-color: #FADADD;
color: #987654;
text-decoration: none;
}

.post p {
margin:0 0 .75em;
line-height:1.6em;
}

.post-footer {
margin: .75em 0;
color:$sidebarcolor;
text-transform:uppercase;
letter-spacing:.1em;
font: $postfooterfont;
line-height: 1.4em;
}

.comment-link {
margin-$startSide:.6em;
}
.post img {
padding:4px;
border:2px solid $bordercolor;
}

blockquote{
background-color: transparent;
border-top: 3px dotted #ffb6c1;
border-bottom: 3px dotted #ffb6c1;
padding: 15px;
font-style: oblique;
font-size: 1em;
margin-left: 5%;
margin-right: 5%;
}

/* Comments
----------------------------------------------- */
#comments h4 {
margin:1em 0;
font-weight: bold;
line-height: 1.4em;
text-transform:uppercase;
letter-spacing:.2em;
color: $sidebarcolor;
}

#comments-block {
margin:1em 0 1.5em;
line-height:1.6em;
}
#comments-block .comment-author {
margin:.5em 0;
}
#comments-block .comment-body {
margin:.25em 0 0;
}
#comments-block .comment-footer {
margin:-.25em 0 2em;
line-height: 1.4em;
text-transform:uppercase;
letter-spacing:.1em;
}
#comments-block .comment-body p {
margin:0 0 .75em;
}
.deleted-comment {
font-style:italic;
color:gray;
}

#blog-pager-newer-link {
float: $startSide;
}

#blog-pager-older-link {
float: $endSide;
}

#blog-pager {
text-align: center;
}

.feed-links {
clear: both;
line-height: 2.5em;
}

/* Sidebar Content
----------------------------------------------- */
.sidebar {
color: $sidebartextcolor;
line-height: 1.5em;
}

.sidebar ul {
list-style:none;
margin:0 0 0;
padding:0 0 0;
}
.sidebar li {
margin:0;
padding-top:0;
padding-$endSide:0;
padding-bottom:.25em;
padding-$startSide:15px;
text-indent:-15px;
line-height:1.5em;
}

.sidebar .widget, .main .widget {
margin:0 0 1.5em;
padding:0 0 1.5em;
}

.main .Blog {
border-bottom-width: 0;
}

/* Profile
----------------------------------------------- */
.profile-img {
float: $startSide;
margin-top: 0;
margin-$endSide: 5px;
margin-bottom: 5px;
margin-$startSide: 0;
padding: 4px;
border: 1px solid $bordercolor;
}

.profile-data {
margin:0;
text-transform:uppercase;
letter-spacing:.1em;
font: $postfooterfont;
color: $sidebarcolor;
font-weight: bold;
line-height: 1.6em;
}

.profile-datablock {
margin:.5em 0 .5em;
}

.profile-textblock {
margin: 0.5em 0;
line-height: 1.6em;
}

.profile-link {
font: $postfooterfont;
text-transform: uppercase;
letter-spacing: .1em;
}

/* Footer
----------------------------------------------- */
#footer {
width:660px;
clear:both;
margin:0 auto;
padding-top:15px;
line-height: 1.6em;
text-transform:uppercase;
letter-spacing:.1em;
text-align: center;
}

p.credits {
font-family: sans-serif;
font-style: normal;
font-variant: normal;
font-weight: normal;
font-size: small;
line-height: 100%;
word-spacing: normal;
letter-spacing: 0.3ex;
text-decoration: none;
text-transform: lowercase;
text-align: center;
text-indent: 0ex;
}

/** Page structure tweaks for layout editor wireframe */
body#layout #header {
width: 400px;
}

/* Label Cloud Styles
----------------------------------------------- */
#labelCloud {text-align:center;font-family:arial,sans-serif;}
#labelCloud .label-cloud li{display:inline;background-image:none !important;padding:0 5px;margin:0;vertical-align:baseline !important;border:0 !important;}
#labelCloud ul{list-style-type:none;margin:0 auto;padding:0;}
#labelCloud a img{border:0;display:inline;margin:0 0 0 3px;padding:0}
#labelCloud a{text-decoration:none}
#labelCloud a:hover{text-decoration:underline}
#labelCloud li a{}
#labelCloud .label-cloud {}
#labelCloud .label-count {padding-left:0.2em;font-size:9px;color:#000}
#labelCloud .label-cloud li:before{content:"" !important}

]]></b:skin>
</head>

<script type='text/javascript'>
// Label Cloud User Variables
var cloudMin = 1;
var maxFontSize = 25;
var maxColor = [213,84,128];
var minFontSize = 10;
var minColor = [152,118,84];
var lcShowCount = false;
</script>

<body>
<div id='outer-wrapper'><div id='wrap2'>


<span id='skiplinks' style='display:none;'>
<a href='#main'>skip to main </a> |
<a href='#sidebar'>skip to sidebar</a>
</span>

<div id='header-wrapper'>
<b:section class='header' id='header' maxwidgets='1' showaddelement='no'>
<b:widget id='Header1' locked='true' title='Header Widget Sample (Header)' type='Header'>
<b:includable id='title'>
<b:if cond='data:blog.url == data:blog.homepageUrl'>
<data:title/>
<b:else/>
<a expr:href='data:blog.homepageUrl'><data:title/></a>
</b:if>
</b:includable>
<b:includable id='description'>
<div class='descriptionwrapper'>
<p class='description'><span><data:description/></span></p>
</div>
</b:includable>
<b:includable id='main'>

<b:if cond='data:useImage'>
<b:if cond='data:imagePlacement == "REPLACE"'>

<div id='header-inner'>
<a expr:href='data:blog.homepageUrl' style='display: block'>
<img expr:alt='data:title' expr:height='data:height' expr:id='data:widget.instanceId + "_headerimg"' expr:src='data:sourceUrl' expr:width='data:width' style='display: block'/>
</a>
</div>
<b:else/>

<b:if cond='data:blog.languageDirection == "rtl"'>
<div expr:style='"background-image: url(\"" + data:sourceUrl + "\"); " + "background-position: right; " + "min-height: " + data:height + "px;" + "_height: " + data:height + "px;" + "background-repeat: no-repeat; "' id='header-inner'>
<div class='titlewrapper' style='background: transparent'>
<h1 class='title' style='background: transparent; border-width: 0px'>
<b:include name='title'/>
</h1>
</div>
<b:include name='description'/>
</div>
<b:else/>
<div expr:style='"background-image: url(\"" + data:sourceUrl + "\"); " + "background-position: left; " + "min-height: " + data:height + "px;" + "_height: " + data:height + "px;" + "background-repeat: no-repeat; "' id='header-inner'>
<div class='titlewrapper' style='background: transparent'>
<h1 class='title' style='background: transparent; border-width: 0px'>
<b:include name='title'/>
</h1>
</div>
<b:include name='description'/>
</div>
</b:if>
</b:if>
<b:else/>

<div id='header-inner'>
<div class='titlewrapper'>
<h1 class='title'>
<b:include name='title'/>
</h1>
</div>
<b:include name='description'/>
</div>
</b:if>
</b:includable>
</b:widget>
</b:section>
</div>

<div id='content-wrapper'>

<div id='crosscol-wrapper' style='text-align:center'>
<b:section class='crosscol' id='crosscol' showaddelement='no'/>
</div>

<div id='main-wrapper'>
<b:section class='main' id='main' showaddelement='no'>
<b:widget id='Blog1' locked='true' title='Blog Posts' type='Blog'>
<b:includable id='nextprev'>
<div class='blog-pager' id='blog-pager'>
<b:if cond='data:newerPageUrl'>
<span id='blog-pager-newer-link'>
<a class='blog-pager-newer-link' expr:href='data:newerPageUrl' expr:id='data:widget.instanceId + "_blog-pager-newer-link"' expr:title='data:newerPageTitle'><data:newerPageTitle/></a>
</span>
</b:if>

<b:if cond='data:olderPageUrl'>
<span id='blog-pager-older-link'>
<a class='blog-pager-older-link' expr:href='data:olderPageUrl' expr:id='data:widget.instanceId + "_blog-pager-older-link"' expr:title='data:olderPageTitle'><data:olderPageTitle/></a>
</span>
</b:if>

<b:if cond='data:blog.homepageUrl != data:blog.url'>
<a class='home-link' expr:href='data:blog.homepageUrl'><data:homeMsg/></a>
<b:else/>
<b:if cond='data:newerPageUrl'>
<a class='home-link' expr:href='data:blog.homepageUrl'><data:homeMsg/></a>
</b:if>
</b:if>

</div>
<div class='clear'/>
</b:includable>
<b:includable id='backlinks' var='post'>
<a name='links'/><h4><data:post.backlinksLabel/></h4>
<b:if cond='data:post.numBacklinks != 0'>
<dl class='comments-block' id='comments-block'>
<b:loop values='data:post.backlinks' var='backlink'>
<div class='collapsed-backlink backlink-control'>
<dt class='comment-title'>
<span class='backlink-toggle-zippy'> </span>
<a expr:href='data:backlink.url' rel='nofollow'><data:backlink.title/></a>
<b:include data='backlink' name='backlinkDeleteIcon'/>
</dt>
<dd class='comment-body collapseable'>
<data:backlink.snippet/>
</dd>
<dd class='comment-footer collapseable'>
<span class='comment-author'><data:post.authorLabel/> <data:backlink.author/></span>
<span class='comment-timestamp'><data:post.timestampLabel/> <data:backlink.timestamp/></span>
</dd>
</div>
</b:loop>
</dl>
</b:if>
<p class='comment-footer'>
<a class='comment-link' expr:href='data:post.createLinkUrl' expr:id='data:widget.instanceId + "_backlinks-create-link"' target='_blank'><data:post.createLinkLabel/></a>
</p>
</b:includable>
<b:includable id='post' var='post'>
<div class='post hentry uncustomized-post-template'>
<a expr:name='data:post.id'/>
<b:if cond='data:post.title'>
<h3 class='post-title entry-title'>
<b:if cond='data:post.link'>
<a expr:href='data:post.link'><data:post.title/></a>
<b:else/>
<b:if cond='data:post.url'>
<a expr:href='data:post.url'><data:post.title/></a>
<b:else/>
<data:post.title/>
</b:if>
</b:if>
</h3>
</b:if>

<div class='post-header-line-1'/>

<div class='post-body entry-content'>
<p><data:post.body/></p>
<div style='clear: both;'/> 
</div>
<div class='post-footer'>
<p class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-1'>
<span class='post-author vcard'>
<b:if cond='data:top.showAuthor'>
<data:top.authorLabel/>
<span class='fn'><data:post.author/></span>
</b:if>
</span>

<span class='post-timestamp'>
<b:if cond='data:top.showTimestamp'>
<data:top.timestampLabel/>
<b:if cond='data:post.url'>
<a class='timestamp-link' expr:href='data:post.url' rel='bookmark' title='permanent link'><abbr class='published' expr:title='data:post.timestampISO8601'><data:post.timestamp/></abbr></a>
</b:if>
</b:if>
</span>

<span class='post-comment-link'>
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType != "item"'>

<b:if cond='data:post.allowComments'>
<a class='comment-link' expr:href='data:post.addCommentUrl' expr:onclick='data:post.addCommentOnclick'><b:if cond='data:post.numComments == 1'>1 <data:top.commentLabel/><b:else/><data:post.numComments/> <data:top.commentLabelPlural/></b:if></a>
</b:if>
</b:if>
</span>


<span class='post-backlinks post-comment-link'>
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType != "item"'>
<b:if cond='data:post.showBacklinks'>
<a class='comment-link' expr:href='data:post.url + "#links"'><data:top.backlinkLabel/></a>
</b:if>
</b:if>
</span>

<span class='post-icons'>

<b:if cond='data:post.emailPostUrl'>
<span class='item-action'>
<a expr:href='data:post.emailPostUrl' expr:title='data:top.emailPostMsg'>
<img alt='' class='icon-action' src='http://www.blogger.com/img/icon18_email.gif'/>
</a>
</span>
</b:if>


<b:include data='post' name='postQuickEdit'/>
</span>
</p>

<p class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-2'>
<span class='post-labels'>
<b:if cond='data:post.labels'>
<data:postLabelsLabel/>
<b:loop values='data:post.labels' var='label'>
<a expr:href='data:label.url' rel='tag'><data:label.name/></a><b:if cond='data:label.isLast != "true"'>,</b:if>
</b:loop>
</b:if>
</span>
</p>

<p class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-3'/>
</div>
</div>
</b:includable>
<b:includable id='commentDeleteIcon' var='comment'>
<span expr:class='"item-control " + data:comment.adminClass'>
<a expr:href='data:comment.deleteUrl' expr:title='data:top.deleteCommentMsg'>
<span class='delete-comment-icon'> </span>
</a>
</span>
</b:includable>
<b:includable id='status-message'>
<b:if cond='data:navMessage'>
<div class='status-msg-wrap'>
<div class='status-msg-body'>
<data:navMessage/>
</div>
<div class='status-msg-border'>
<div class='status-msg-bg'>
<div class='status-msg-hidden'><data:navMessage/></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style='clear: both;'/>
</b:if>
</b:includable>
<b:includable id='feedLinks'>
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType != "item"'> 
<b:if cond='data:feedLinks'>
<div class='blog-feeds'>
<b:include data='feedLinks' name='feedLinksBody'/>
</div>
</b:if>

<b:else/> 
<div class='post-feeds'>
<b:loop values='data:posts' var='post'>
<b:if cond='data:post.allowComments'>
<b:if cond='data:post.feedLinks'>
<b:include data='post.feedLinks' name='feedLinksBody'/>
</b:if>
</b:if>
</b:loop>
</div>
</b:if>
</b:includable>
<b:includable id='backlinkDeleteIcon' var='backlink'>
<span expr:class='"item-control " + data:backlink.adminClass'>
<a expr:href='data:backlink.deleteUrl' expr:title='data:top.deleteBacklinkMsg'>
<span class='delete-comment-icon'> </span>
</a>
</span>
</b:includable>
<b:includable id='feedLinksBody' var='links'>
<div class='feed-links'>
<data:feedLinksMsg/>
<b:loop values='data:links' var='f'>
<a class='feed-link' expr:href='data:f.url' expr:type='data:f.mimeType' target='_blank'><data:f.name/> (<data:f.feedType/>)</a>
</b:loop>
</div>
</b:includable>
<b:includable id='postQuickEdit' var='post'>
<b:if cond='data:post.editUrl'>
<span expr:class='"item-control " + data:post.adminClass'>
<a expr:href='data:post.editUrl' expr:title='data:top.editPostMsg'>
<img alt='' class='icon-action' src='http://www.blogger.com/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif'/>
</a>
</span>
</b:if>
</b:includable>
<b:includable id='comments' var='post'>
<div class='comments' id='comments'>
<a name='comments'/>
<b:if cond='data:post.allowComments'>
<h4>
<b:if cond='data:post.numComments == 1'>
1 <data:commentLabel/>:
<b:else/>
<data:post.numComments/> <data:commentLabelPlural/>:
</b:if>
</h4>

<dl id='comments-block'>
<b:loop values='data:post.comments' var='comment'>
<dt expr:class='"comment-author " + data:comment.authorClass' expr:id='data:comment.anchorName'>
<a expr:name='data:comment.anchorName'/>
<b:if cond='data:comment.authorUrl'>
<a expr:href='data:comment.authorUrl' rel='nofollow'><data:comment.author/></a>
<b:else/>
<data:comment.author/>
</b:if>
<data:commentPostedByMsg/>
</dt>
<dd class='comment-body'>
<b:if cond='data:comment.isDeleted'>
<span class='deleted-comment'><data:comment.body/></span>
<b:else/>
<p><data:comment.body/></p>
</b:if>
</dd>
<dd class='comment-footer'>
<span class='comment-timestamp'>
<a expr:href='data:comment.url' title='comment permalink'>
<data:comment.timestamp/>
</a>
<b:include data='comment' name='commentDeleteIcon'/>
</span>
</dd>
</b:loop>
</dl>

<p class='comment-footer'>
<a expr:href='data:post.addCommentUrl' expr:onclick='data:post.addCommentOnclick'><data:postCommentMsg/></a>
</p>
</b:if>

<div id='backlinks-container'>
<div expr:id='data:widget.instanceId + "_backlinks-container"'>
<b:if cond='data:post.showBacklinks'>
<b:include data='post' name='backlinks'/>
</b:if>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</b:includable>
<b:includable id='main' var='top'>

<div class='blog-posts hfeed'>

<b:include data='top' name='status-message'/>

<data:adStart/>
<b:loop values='data:posts' var='post'>
<b:if cond='data:post.dateHeader'>
<h2 class='date-header'><data:post.dateHeader/></h2>
</b:if>
<b:include data='post' name='post'/>
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == "item"'>
<b:include data='post' name='comments'/>
</b:if>
<b:if cond='data:post.includeAd'>
<data:adEnd/>
<data:adCode/>
<data:adStart/>
</b:if>
</b:loop>
<data:adEnd/>
</div>


<b:include name='nextprev'/>


<b:include name='feedLinks'/>
</b:includable>
</b:widget>
</b:section>
</div>

<div id='widebar-wrapper'>
<b:section class='sidebar' id='widebar1' preferred='yes'>
<b:widget id='Label1' locked='false' title='Label Cloud' type='Label'>
<b:includable id='main'>
<b:if cond='data:title'>
<h2><data:title/></h2>
</b:if>

<div class='widget-content'>
<div id='labelCloud'/>
<script type='text/javascript'>

// Don't change anything past this point -----------------
// Cloud function s() ripped from del.icio.us
function s(a,b,i,x){
if(a>b){
var m=(a-b)/Math.log(x),v=a-Math.floor(Math.log(i)*m)
}
else{
var m=(b-a)/Math.log(x),v=Math.floor(Math.log(i)*m+a)
}
return v
}

var c=[];
var labelCount = new Array();
var ts = new Object;
<b:loop values='data:labels' var='label'>
var theName = "<data:label.name/>";
ts[theName] = <data:label.count/>;
</b:loop>

for (t in ts){
if (!labelCount[ts[t]]){
labelCount[ts[t]] = new Array(ts[t])
}
}
var ta=cloudMin-1;
tz = labelCount.length - cloudMin;
lc2 = document.getElementById('labelCloud');
ul = document.createElement('ul');
ul.className = 'label-cloud';
for(var t in ts){
if(ts[t] < cloudMin){
continue;
}
for (var i=0;3 > i;i++) {
c[i]=s(minColor[i],maxColor[i],ts[t]-ta,tz)
}
var fs = s(minFontSize,maxFontSize,ts[t]-ta,tz);
li = document.createElement('li');
li.style.fontSize = fs+'px';
li.style.lineHeight = '1';
a = document.createElement('a');
a.title = ts[t]+' Posts in '+t;
a.style.color = 'rgb('+c[0]+','+c[1]+','+c[2]+')';
a.href = '/search/label/'+encodeURIComponent(t);
if (lcShowCount){
span = document.createElement('span');
span.innerHTML = '('+ts[t]+') ';
span.className = 'label-count';
a.appendChild(document.createTextNode(t));
li.appendChild(a);
li.appendChild(span);
}
else {
a.appendChild(document.createTextNode(t));
li.appendChild(a);
}
ul.appendChild(li);
abnk = document.createTextNode(' ');
ul.appendChild(abnk);
}
lc2.appendChild(ul);
</script>

<noscript>
<ul>
<b:loop values='data:labels' var='label'>
<li>
<b:if cond='data:blog.url == data:label.url'>
<data:label.name/>
<b:else/>
<a expr:href='data:label.url'><data:label.name/></a>
</b:if>
(<data:label.count/>)
</li>
</b:loop>
</ul>
</noscript>
<b:include name='quickedit'/>
</div>

</b:includable>
</b:widget>
</b:section></div>

<div id='leftsidebar-wrapper'>
<b:section class='sidebar' id='leftsidebar' preferred='yes'>
<b:widget id='BlogArchive1' locked='false' title='Blog Archive' type='BlogArchive'>
<b:includable id='main'>
<b:if cond='data:title'>
<h2><data:title/></h2>
</b:if>
<div class='widget-content'>
<div id='ArchiveList'>
<div expr:id='data:widget.instanceId + "_ArchiveList"'>
<b:if cond='data:style == "HIERARCHY"'>
<b:include data='data' name='interval'/>
</b:if>
<b:if cond='data:style == "FLAT"'>
<b:include data='data' name='flat'/>
</b:if>
<b:if cond='data:style == "MENU"'>
<b:include data='data' name='menu'/>
</b:if>
</div>
</div>
<b:include name='quickedit'/>
</div>
</b:includable>
<b:includable id='flat' var='data'>
<ul>
<b:loop values='data:data' var='i'>
<li class='archivedate'>
<a expr:href='data:i.url'><data:i.name/></a> (<data:i.post-count/>)
</li>
</b:loop>
</ul>
</b:includable>
<b:includable id='menu' var='data'>
<select expr:id='data:widget.instanceId + "_ArchiveMenu"'>
<option value=''><data:title/></option>
<b:loop values='data:data' var='i'>
<option expr:value='data:i.url'><data:i.name/> (<data:i.post-count/>)</option>
</b:loop>
</select>
</b:includable>
<b:includable id='interval' var='intervalData'>
<b:loop values='data:intervalData' var='i'>
<ul>
<li expr:class='"archivedate " + data:i.expclass'>
<b:include data='i' name='toggle'/>
<a class='post-count-link' expr:href='data:i.url'><data:i.name/></a>
<span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(<data:i.post-count/>)</span>
<b:if cond='data:i.data'>
<b:include data='i.data' name='interval'/>
</b:if>
<b:if cond='data:i.posts'>
<b:include data='i.posts' name='posts'/>
</b:if>
</li>
</ul>
</b:loop>
</b:includable>
<b:includable id='toggle' var='interval'>
<b:if cond='data:interval.toggleId'>
<b:if cond='data:interval.expclass == "expanded"'>
<a class='toggle' expr:href='data:widget.actionUrl + "&action=toggle" + "&dir=close&toggle=" + data:interval.toggleId + "&toggleopen=" + data:toggleopen'>
<span class='zippy toggle-open'>▼ </span>
</a>
<b:else/>
<a class='toggle' expr:href='data:widget.actionUrl + "&action=toggle" + "&dir=open&toggle=" + data:interval.toggleId + "&toggleopen=" + data:toggleopen'>
<span class='zippy'>
<b:if cond='data:blog.languageDirection == "rtl"'>
◄
<b:else/>
►
</b:if>
</span>
</a>
</b:if>
</b:if>
</b:includable>
<b:includable id='posts' var='posts'>
<ul class='posts'>
<b:loop values='data:posts' var='i'>
<li><a expr:href='data:i.url'><data:i.title/></a></li>
</b:loop>
</ul>
</b:includable>
</b:widget>
</b:section>
</div>

<div id='rightsidebar-wrapper'>
<b:section class='sidebar' id='rightsidebar' preferred='yes'>
<b:widget id='LinkList1' locked='false' title='Link Love' type='LinkList'>
<b:includable id='main'>

<b:if cond='data:title'><h2><data:title/></h2></b:if>
<div class='widget-content'>
<ul>
<b:loop values='data:links' var='link'>
<li><a expr:href='data:link.target'><data:link.name/></a></li>
</b:loop>
</ul>
<b:include name='quickedit'/>
</div>
</b:includable>
</b:widget>
</b:section>
</div>


<div class='clear'> </div>

</div> 

<div id='footer-wrapper'>
<b:section class='footer' id='footer'>
<b:widget id='HTML1' locked='false' title='' type='HTML'>
<b:includable id='main'>

<b:if cond='data:title != ""'>
<h2 class='title'><data:title/></h2>
</b:if>
<div class='widget-content'>
<data:content/>
</div>

<b:include name='quickedit'/>
</b:includable>
</b:widget>
</b:section>
</div>

</div></div> 

</body>
</html>

Sunday, 24 February 2008

Zooomr - the Photo Sharing site

Introducing...if you haven't already had the pleasure, Zooomr!! I was looking for a good place to upload my photos, since I now have my new Nikon D40 that my sweet, sweet husband gave to me for my birthday. I looked and researched until I was blue in the face. It finally came down to Zooomr and Flickr. There must be other differences between the two, but the one that really stood out for me is Zooomr is absolutely free!! Well, that cinched the deal. I am officially an Zooomr member.

Zooomr is free. There is no upload limit, bandwidth limit, download limit, file size limit, set limit, or number of photo limits. We believe in no limit photo sharing. We think it's about the best free photo sharing account you can get right now.

We do offer a way for people to upgrade to a Pro account if they want to see an ad free version of Zooomr (and more than this, if you want to support us…which we really need and means so much to us). Pro accounts are $19.95 per year. You will see Pro accounts for purchase on the welcome screen on Zooomr or by clicking on the Zooomr logo while on the site.

In addition to getting an advertisement free experience on Zooomr, Pro accounts also enjoy the ability to page Zooomr's popular Zipline feature. There is also a tab in our "Discover" section dedicated to Pro account users. from Zooomr FAQ

I use Zooomr to host the photos on my photoblog, SeaSide Sharon. If you happen by Zooomr, look me up and take a look at my photos. I'm

anniebluesky over there. Keep in mind I'm learning about my new camera. There is so much to learn! If anyone has any pointers they would care to share about using a Nikon D40, email me!

post signature

Sunday, 17 February 2008

Blogger XML Template - Deadlines

Click on image for working demoDownload
A note to those of you that put my templates up for download. I appreciate that you like them enough to do so, but please link back to my post and don't put my template for download from your site. I enjoy the traffic!

Enough foo-foo. (At least for now...I have a soft spot for the swirlies, and another swirlie is almost ready to publish!) This is a down and dirty, no frills, we got business to do blog template. And I love it!! So, roll up your sleeves and getter dun.

This template is packed full of goodies:

Fluid Widebar (Hack by me)
Label Cloud (Hack by phydeaux3)
Fluid style (Hack by me)
Two sidebars
Post area
Lovely footer
Custom favicon
Fancy links (go ahead...hover over one!)
Clickable header on post page
Custom blockquotes
Awesome Coffee Ring Brushes for Photoshop by On Thin Air

So...enjoy!!

UPDATES:
02/19/08 - Do to some inner problem with Blogger, beyond my control and that I can't figure out, please use the 'Copy and Paste' txt file instead of uploading the xml file. Simply copy and paste it in the 'Edit Template' window. Save.
03/07/08: Fixed problem in IE to eliminate horizontal scrollbar.
04/09/08: Added text file in this post to copy and paste. You will still have to add the images as indicated in the instructions from the zip file. Go to the Dashboard | Layout | Edit HTML | Edit Template window. +/-Paste this text in that window:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html expr:dir='data:blog.languageDirection' xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml' xmlns:b='http://www.google.com/2005/gml/b' xmlns:data='http://www.google.com/2005/gml/data' xmlns:expr='http://www.google.com/2005/gml/expr'>
<head>

<link href='IMAGE/favicon2.png' rel='shortcut icon'/>
<link href='IMAGE/favicon2.png' rel='icon'/>

<b:include data='blog' name='all-head-content'/>
<title><data:blog.pageTitle/></title>
<b:skin><![CDATA[/*
-----------------------------------------------
Blogger Template Style
Name: Minima
Designer: Douglas Bowman
URL: www.stopdesign.com
Date: 26 Feb 2004
Updated by: anniebluesky
Name: Deadlines
URL: www.bloggeruniversity.blogspot.com
----------------------------------------------- */

/* Variable definitions
====================
<Variable name="bgcolor" description="Page Background Color"
type="color" default="#fff" value="#ffffff">
<Variable name="textcolor" description="Text Color"
type="color" default="#987654" value="#333333">
<Variable name="linkcolor" description="Link Color"
type="color" default="#987654" value="#333333">
<Variable name="pagetitlecolor" description="Blog Title Color"
type="color" default="#987654" value="#333333">
<Variable name="descriptioncolor" description="Blog Description Color"
type="color" default="#987654" value="#4c4c4c">
<Variable name="titlecolor" description="Post Title Color"
type="color" default="#c60" value="#191919">
<Variable name="bordercolor" description="Border Color"
type="color" default="#ffb6c1" value="#808080">
<Variable name="sidebarcolor" description="Sidebar Title Color"
type="color" default="#999" value="#191919">
<Variable name="sidebartextcolor" description="Sidebar Text Color"
type="color" default="#987654" value="#4c4c4c">
<Variable name="visitedlinkcolor" description="Visited Link Color"
type="color" default="#999" value="#6f3c1b">
<Variable name="bodyfont" description="Text Font"
type="font" default="normal normal 100% Georgia, Serif" value="normal normal 119% Georgia, Times, serif">
<Variable name="posttitlefont" description="Post Title Font"
type="font" default="normal normal 100% Georgia, Serif" value="normal normal 119% Trebuchet, Trebuchet MS, Arial, sans-serif">
<Variable name="headerfont" description="Sidebar Title Font"
type="font"
default="normal normal 78% 'Trebuchet MS',Trebuchet,Arial,Verdana,Sans-serif" value="italic bold 115% 'Trebuchet MS',Trebuchet,Arial,Verdana,Sans-serif">
<Variable name="pagetitlefont" description="Blog Title Font"
type="font"
default="normal normal 200% Georgia, Serif" value="normal normal 382% Georgia, Times, serif">
<Variable name="descriptionfont" description="Blog Description Font"
type="font"
default="normal normal 78% 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Arial, Verdana, Sans-serif" value="normal normal 116% Trebuchet, Trebuchet MS, Arial, sans-serif">
<Variable name="postfooterfont" description="Post Footer Font"
type="font"
default="normal normal 78% 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Arial, Verdana, Sans-serif" value="normal normal 78% 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Arial, Verdana, Sans-serif">
<Variable name="startSide" description="Side where text starts in blog language"
type="automatic" default="left" value="left">
<Variable name="endSide" description="Side where text ends in blog language"
type="automatic" default="right" value="right">
*/

/* Use this with templates/template-twocol.html */

body {
background: url('IMAGE/top_sides.png') top left repeat-x #FFFFFF;
margin:0;
color:$textcolor;
font:x-small Georgia Serif;
font-size/* */:/**/small;
font-size: /**/small;
text-align: center;
}
a:link {
color:$linkcolor;
text-decoration:none;
}
a:visited {
color:$visitedlinkcolor;
text-decoration:none;
}
a:hover {
background-color: #636363;
color: #ffffff;
text-decoration: none;
}
a img {
border-width:0;
}

/* Header
-----------------------------------------------
*/

#header-wrapper {
width:800px;
margin: -5px 0 35px 158px;
}

#header-inner {
background-image:url(IMAGE/header.png);
background-repeat:no-repeat;
height: 370px;
background-position: center;
margin-left: auto;
margin-right: auto;
}

#header {
margin: 5px;
text-align: center;
color:$pagetitlecolor;
}

#header h1 {
margin:5px 5px 0 -250px;
padding: 40px 15px 20px 5px;
line-height:1.2em;
text-transform:none;
letter-spacing:.2em;
font: $pagetitlefont;
color: $pagetitlecolor;
}

#header a {
color:$pagetitlecolor;
text-decoration:none;
}

#header a:hover {
background-color: #FADADD;
color: #987654;
text-decoration: none;
}

#header .description {
margin:0 5px 5px;
padding:0 20px 5px;
max-width:700px;
text-transform:uppercase;
letter-spacing:.2em;
line-height: 1.4em;
font: $descriptionfont;
color: $descriptioncolor;
}

#header img {
margin-$startSide: auto;
margin-$endSide: auto;
}

#navbar-iframe {
display: none !important;
}

/* Outer-Wrapper
----------------------------------------------- */
#outer-wrapper {
margin-left: 5%;
margin-right: 2%;
text-align: left;
width: 93%;
padding: 0 10px 10px 10px;
text-align:$startSide;
font: $bodyfont;
}

#main-wrapper {
width: 45%;
padding: 0 10px 0 10px;
border: 2px solid $bordercolor;
float: $startSide;
word-wrap: break-word; /* fix for long text breaking sidebar float in IE */
overflow: hidden; /* fix for long non-text content breaking IE sidebar float */
}

#widebar-wrapper {
float: right;
margin: 0px 05px 0 15px;
padding: 10px;
width: 47%;
border: 2px solid $bordercolor;
word-wrap: break-word;
color: $textcolor;
}
#widebar {
padding: 10px 0 5px 0px;
width: 100%;
word-wrap: break-word;
color: $textcolor;
}
#leftsidebar-wrapper {
float: right;
margin: 30px 0 0 10px;
padding: 10px;
overflow: hidden;
border: 2px solid $bordercolor;
width: 23%;
word-wrap: break-word;
}

#rightsidebar-wrapper {
float: right;
margin: 30px 10px 0 0;
padding: 10px;
overflow: hidden;
width: 21%;
border: 2px solid $bordercolor;
word-wrap: break-word;
}

/* Headings
----------------------------------------------- */

h2 {
margin:1.5em 0 .75em;
font:$headerfont;
line-height: 1.4em;
text-transform:uppercase;
letter-spacing:.2em;
color:$sidebarcolor;
}

/* Posts
-----------------------------------------------
*/
h2.date-header {
margin:1.5em 0 .5em;
}

.post {
margin:.5em 0 1.5em;
padding-bottom:1.5em;
}

.post h3 {
margin:.25em 0 0;
padding:0 0 4px 0px;
font: $posttitlefont;
font-size:140%;
font-weight:normal;
line-height:1.4em;
color:$titlecolor;
}

.post h3 a, .post h3 a:visited, .post h3 strong {
display:block;
text-decoration:none;
color:$titlecolor;
font-weight:normal;
}

.post h3 strong, .post h3 a:hover {
color:$textcolor;
background-color: #636363;
color: #ffffff;
text-decoration: none;
}

.post-body {
line-height:1.6em;
}

.post p {
margin:0 0 .75em;
line-height:1.6em;
}

.post-footer {
margin: .75em 0;
color:$sidebarcolor;
text-transform:uppercase;
letter-spacing:.1em;
font: $postfooterfont;
line-height: 1.4em;
}

.comment-link {
margin-$startSide:.6em;
}
.post img {
padding:4px;
border:2px solid $bordercolor;
}

blockquote{
background-color: transparent;
border-top: 3px dotted #4c4c4c;
border-bottom: 3px dotted #4c4c4c;
padding: 15px;
font-style: oblique;
font-size: 1em;
margin-left: 5%;
margin-right: 5%;
}

/* Comments
----------------------------------------------- */
#comments h4 {
margin:1em 0;
font-weight: bold;
line-height: 1.4em;
text-transform:uppercase;
letter-spacing:.2em;
color: $sidebarcolor;
}

#comments-block {
margin:1em 0 1.5em;
line-height:1.6em;
}
#comments-block .comment-author {
margin:.5em 0;
}
#comments-block .comment-body {
margin:.25em 0 0;
}
#comments-block .comment-footer {
margin:-.25em 0 2em;
line-height: 1.4em;
text-transform:uppercase;
letter-spacing:.1em;
}
#comments-block .comment-body p {
margin:0 0 .75em;
}
.deleted-comment {
font-style:italic;
color:gray;
}

#blog-pager-newer-link {
float: $startSide;
}

#blog-pager-older-link {
float: $endSide;
}

#blog-pager {
text-align: center;
}

.feed-links {
clear: both;
line-height: 2.5em;
}

/* Sidebar Content
----------------------------------------------- */
.sidebar {
color: $sidebartextcolor;
line-height: 1.5em;
}

.sidebar ul {
list-style:none;
margin:0 0 0;
padding:0 0 0;
}
.sidebar li {
margin:0;
padding-top:0;
padding-$endSide:0;
padding-bottom:.25em;
padding-$startSide:15px;
text-indent:-15px;
line-height:1.5em;
}

.sidebar .widget, .main .widget {
margin:0 0 1.5em;
padding:0 0 1.5em;
}

.main .Blog {
border-bottom-width: 0;
}

/* Profile
----------------------------------------------- */
.profile-img {
float: $startSide;
margin-top: 0;
margin-$endSide: 5px;
margin-bottom: 5px;
margin-$startSide: 0;
padding: 4px;
border: 1px solid $bordercolor;
}

.profile-data {
margin:0;
text-transform:uppercase;
letter-spacing:.1em;
font: $postfooterfont;
color: $sidebarcolor;
font-weight: bold;
line-height: 1.6em;
}

.profile-datablock {
margin:.5em 0 .5em;
}

.profile-textblock {
margin: 0.5em 0;
line-height: 1.6em;
}

.profile-link {
font: $postfooterfont;
text-transform: uppercase;
letter-spacing: .1em;
}

/* Footer
----------------------------------------------- */
#footer {
width:660px;
clear:both;
margin:0 auto;
padding-top:15px;
line-height: 1.6em;
text-transform:uppercase;
letter-spacing:.1em;
text-align: center;
}

p.credits {
font-family: sans-serif;
font-style: normal;
font-variant: normal;
font-weight: normal;
font-size: small;
line-height: 100%;
word-spacing: normal;
letter-spacing: 0.3ex;
text-decoration: none;
text-transform: lowercase;
text-align: center;
text-indent: 0ex;
}

/** Page structure tweaks for layout editor wireframe */
body#layout #header {
width: 400px;
}

/* Label Cloud Styles
----------------------------------------------- */
#labelCloud {text-align:center;font-family:arial,sans-serif;}
#labelCloud .label-cloud li{display:inline;background-image:none !important;padding:0 5px;margin:0;vertical-align:baseline !important;border:0 !important;}
#labelCloud ul{list-style-type:none;margin:0 auto;padding:0;}
#labelCloud a img{border:0;display:inline;margin:0 0 0 3px;padding:0}
#labelCloud a{text-decoration:none}
#labelCloud a:hover{text-decoration:none; color: #ffffff !important;}
#labelCloud li a{}
#labelCloud .label-cloud {}
#labelCloud .label-count {padding-left:0.2em;font-size:9px;color:#000}
#labelCloud .label-cloud li:before{content:"" !important}

]]></b:skin>
</head>

<script type='text/javascript'>
// Label Cloud User Variables
var cloudMin = 1;
var maxFontSize = 25;
var maxColor = [102,102,102];
var minFontSize = 10;
var minColor = [0,0,0];
var lcShowCount = false;
</script>

<body>
<div id='outer-wrapper'><div id='wrap2'>


<span id='skiplinks' style='display:none;'>
<a href='#main'>skip to main </a> |
<a href='#sidebar'>skip to sidebar</a>
</span>

<div id='header-wrapper'>
<b:section class='header' id='header' maxwidgets='1' showaddelement='no'>
<b:widget id='Header1' locked='true' title='annie"s template tester (Header)' type='Header'/>
</b:section>
</div>

<div id='content-wrapper'>

<div id='crosscol-wrapper' style='text-align:center'>
<b:section class='crosscol' id='crosscol' showaddelement='no'/>
</div>

<div id='main-wrapper'>
<b:section class='main' id='main' showaddelement='no'>
<b:widget id='Blog1' locked='true' title='Blog Posts' type='Blog'/>
</b:section>
</div>

<div id='widebar-wrapper'>
<b:section class='sidebar' id='widebar1' preferred='yes'>
<b:widget id='Label1' locked='false' title='Labels' type='Label'/>
</b:section></div>

<div id='leftsidebar-wrapper'>
<b:section class='sidebar' id='leftsidebar' preferred='yes'>
<b:widget id='Profile1' locked='false' title='It "s all about me...' type='Profile'/>
<b:widget id='BlogArchive1' locked='false' title='Blog Archive' type='BlogArchive'/>
</b:section>
</div>

<div id='rightsidebar-wrapper'>
<b:section class='sidebar' id='rightsidebar' preferred='yes'>
<b:widget id='LinkList1' locked='false' title='Link Love' type='LinkList'/>
<b:widget id='Text1' locked='false' title='Lorem ipsum' type='Text'/>
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<p class='credits'><span style='color : #4c4c4c; '>
designer : anniebluesky : </span>
<a href='http://bloggeruniversity.blogspot.com/'>
<span>www.bloggeruniversity.blogspot.com</span></a></p>

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Thursday, 14 February 2008

News from the Mother Ship

This week there has been some action behind the scenes at Blogger. This is from Blogger Buzz:

Today’s release brings a number of updates to Blogger:

Clearer identity options on the comment form, which now highlights some of the more popular OpenID providers more obviously.
Transliteration is now available in Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu as well as Hindi
Posts with more than 200 comments have them split across multiple pages.
Layouts blogs now have a “Layouts” tab instead of “Template.

And this is from Blogger in Draft:

Bloggers often feature a list of their favorite blogs, called a “blogroll,” in the sidebar of their own blog. Our latest page element, Blog List, helps you do just that, but we’ve mixed it in with Google Reader to make it even more powerful and useful.

The Blog List writes all links out in HTML so that, unlike JavaScript-based blogrolls, you pass PageRank goodness on to the blogs you link to.

I also see in the Page Elements window a couple of other new offerings. Here is the new lineup:

Gadget: add one of the many Google Gadgets to your blog.
Blog List: Show off what you read with a blogroll of your favorite blogs.
Subscription Links: Let your readers easily subscribe to your blog with popular feed readers.

To find these new additions, you must access your dashboard through this link:
http://draft.blogger.com/

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Saturday, 9 February 2008

Unobtrusive Sidenotes

Have you ever been blogging happily away, only to suddenly, and much to your surprise, have the desire to write a footnote? But, who really likes footnotes, let alone actually going to the trouble of scrolling to the end of the text to read the footnote and losing your place? But, you have to admit, if there was a better way, you might become a footnote writing genius.

Well, I admit it, I'm one of those people. And today I found something exciting! It is called Unobtrusive Sidenotes. It is the perfect thing for when my thoughts wander and I'm off in left field, completely off base. Or, it can actually fill the shoes of a footnote by giving a more in depth explanation or reference to the topic at hand. It is the cutest little thing.

Unfortunately, the original code, in the above link, didn't work in Blogger and some other platforms. But, the people at arc90 corrected the problem with A Simpler, Hosted Version of Sidenotes.

The end result is simplicity at it's best. You see a block of pink text...look for the corresponding pink block. You see a block of blue text...look for the corresponding blue block. You get the idea.

To implement visit the links above and read more details about this script. I found I had problems with the code as they wrote it. So, I slightly revised it so it would behave with Blogger. I'll walk you through it. First this bit of code goes in the after the <head> but before the <b:skin><![CDATA[/*

<script language="JavaScript" type="Text/JavaScript" src="http://arc90.com/lab/tools/c/javascript/arc90hosted_sidenote.js"> </script>

The next code will be put into the post it's self. To make it easier, read Painless Blog Posting to set it up automatically in each post window.

<span class="sidenote" title="SIDENOTE TEXT THAT WILL BE DISPLAYED ALONG SIDE THE POST.">WORD/WORDS IN POST THAT RELATES TO SIDENOTE</span>

All in all, I think it could prove to be very useful.

Please take note, it is temperamental. I have it working in a test blog, but on BlogU it had conflicts with some of my other scripts. So, sadly, I removed it. And I was going to trash this post, but decided to share, because maybe it will work in your template. Just remember to backup your template before adding this, or any additions, to your template. Not to say I'm not still trying to make it work here, too!

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