Now Drag & Drop Images in Post Editor in Blogger

Blogger has announced a new and very useful: Drag and Drop images in directly draft posts to upload them!

Credit: http://www.memegasms.com/

Blogger's post editor has been on a very slow improvement over the time, though it is now free of many bugs and errors that caused havoc among Blogger authors while even writing a simple post.

How Do I Know?

Open up a post in the editor and drag and drop an image from your computer in the post editor (in Compose mode) and the images will be uploaded and added to the post as you would've done with the "Insert Image" option in the toolbar.

When you click the "Insert Image" icon for the first time you will be presented with the notification letting you know about the new feature so that you can use it from next time instead of proceeding with a little lengthier process of selecting > uploading > again selecting and placing the image.

From the official Blogger Help Forum thread

It makes it easier for a blogger to place images in the post. A great relief for people who happen to upload a lot of images on their blogs.

Wasn't it possible already?

No. Before you could sure drag and drop images into the post editor and it would have even shown up but it' was not the same without the support it has implemented now. When you did that before the images were not uploaded to any server instead were added into the post as long series of text that encoded as the image's data.

It isn't the best practice for drag and dropping image though, so we said no to it.

Troubleshoot: No "Choose Files" in Image Uploader on Blogger

No "Choose Files" button appearing in the photo upload option in blogger ? It's a known issue and be fixed.

The new Blogger interface has many bugs and don't work properly with older versions of browsers and many functions in it are difficult to use. Recently blogger users are having difficultly in uploading photos to their post because of no "Choose files" in photo upload options.

What's the use of blogger if we can't even upload photos ? This is a frustrating problem but don't worry it can be fixed easily, there are two ways you can continue uploading pictures on your blog.

Use a new Browser

In this case the problem is with the browser, if you are using IE < 8  then try a newer and updated browser like Google Chrome. Download and install it here http://google.com/chrome

There's no such problem in blogger on Google Chrome so you can now upload your pictures again.

Use the Upload in HTML mode

Don't want to switch to another browser ? No worries, you can still upload photos with a more basic upload interface that might work in IE too. In the blogger post editor you have two accessible mode Compose | HTML switch to HTML mode and upload image from there.

Thanks to Katney and DarkUFO https://productforums.google.com/d/topic/blogger/4a7yTDWv8Vc/discussion

Note: This problem is reported to Blogger Engineers and they will soon fix it.

Why URL of deleted blog is not available for new blogs in Blogger

Blogger is undoubtedly the most used Blogger platform and over 80% of Blogger user uses .blogspot.com domain provided by Blogger for free and people love to have their desired blogspot address for their blogs.
But you aren't always lucky to get your desired domain, if the blog URL is already taken by other then you will see message saying 'Sorry, this page is not available', if you see this message than the possible reason could be that the address is being used by an other blogger user.
But when you check the URL you see that the blog has been removed ! The first question that pops up in one's mind is why the blog URL isn't available even if the blog with that URL has been removed ? What it exactly says is

Sorry, the blog at blogname.blogspot.com has been removed. This address is not available for new blogs.

And this is the page where you will see this message

What's reason ?

Have you tried deleting any of your blog on Blogger ? If you are familiar with the deletion process of blogger then it's easy for you to understand why sometimes blog address isn't available even if the is deleted or removed.
When you delete a blog on blogger the Blog will be still available for you to undelete it under 90 days after the deletion. For others your blog has been removed but you know that you can still undelete the blog with it's URL and that is the reason why blog address aren't available sometimes.

What to do now ?

There are couple of things you can do to get your favorite domain name for your blog. Using any of the tips below can help you get your preferred blogspot address.
Wait for 90 days : This is the easiest one, we know that blogspot can be undeleted before 90 days of it's deletion. Yup, you guessed right, you can wait for 90 days or not even 90, maybe it's the 89th day when you  tried for that domain and the next day it will be available. You can try for that domain every day and if it's over 90 days of deletion of the blog then it's URL will be available for new blogs, you can then choose the URL for your own blog.
Contact the blog owner : If you are impatience and want the domain without waiting and checking for the availability of the domain for 90 days then what you can do is contact the owner of deleted blog. Now you maybe thinking how it's possible to find out whose blog it is ? Google is just a click away, search Google for the blog address and if the blog owner ever participated any forums or commented on other blogs you can easily find their Blogger profile or email id through which you can contact him/her. Tell them to undelete the blog and transfer the controls of their blog to your account. If they are kind then you will get your desired blogspot address.
Buy a custom Domain : I recommend you using Custom domain for your blog, you can choose what TLD you want i.e if the domain you want isn't for .com then you have the option to choose other TLDs like myblog.net, myblog.org etc.
I hope you get helped with these tips and suggestion. 

Blog redirecting to kunoichi.info - Fix it

Recently there have been many complaints about blog being redirect to this web page kunoichi.info, this is not only about this website but every blog and website using scripts which is no longer available.
I came to know about this in Blogger Help forum (on this thread) and as soon as i saw the post i understood what was the case. It was same as the old issue with Fileave scripts in this post http://stramaxon.blogspot.com/2012/06/websiteblog-being-redirect-to.html

In both the cases problem is same, this is small post for users facing this problem. First fix it and then read the reason behind it.

Fixing it

The whole problem is because of a JS script in your template or blog. But in this case the script is supposed to be in a gadget. Actually the script is for loading recent comments in gadget and the script can't be found into the template until your 'Expand Widget Template' but more easy is to remove it directly from your layout.


To do that go to Blogger Dashboard > Layout > The script is supposed to be in a HTML/JavaScript gadget,  if you know in which gadget is the script then click on 'Edit' below it or if you don't know then open each and every HTML/JavaScript gadget and look for this code into it.

<script style="text/javascript" src="http://kunoichi.info/blogger_buster/comments.js">
</script>
<script style="text/javascript">var a_rc=3;var m_rc=true;var n_rc=true;var o_rc=100;</script><script src="http:/yourblog.blogspot.com/feeds/comments/default?alt=json-in-script&callback=showrecentcomments">
</script>

Once you find the Gadget, remove it from your Layout and Save arrangement. Now you may try opening your blog.

Why this happened ?

The reason is clear, the domain where the JavaScript file were being hosted was removed and no JS file was there so what happens is that the domain where file was ever hosted loads itself in the place of JS file. Seeing the script seems like it was for some 'Recent comment' gadget purpose.

Now whenever this happens (hope not) to you or your friends then you can help them remove the script. Just remember if you are being redirected to xyz.com then try searching for xyz in your template with 'Expand Widget Template' checked marked and delete the corresponding script.

Thanks for reading this, hope you are helped with this post.      

How to get rid of these BX error codes

Bx-error codes are mysterious but annoying error which has become every blogger users nightmare and that puts them from using Blogger. Writing this post to help you get rid of these BX-error codes.

Update : Here's an explained reason and the source of the bX-1io90b and bX-7ubjdv errors from the Blogger Team http://knownissues.blogspot.com/2012/06/bx-1io90b-bx-7ubjdv.html

Bx-error codes are issued everywhere at anytime on Blogger, edit Template or Post, people are getting these errors in every section of their Blogger Interface.If you head to the Something is Broken category of Blogger Help Forum you will see 90% of posts with issues regarding these mysterious Bx-codes.

Many users even can't get into the Dashboard, rather they are issued Bx-error codes, now what they can do to resolve this. The most Common Bx-error code which users are issued when logging on is this bX-74br4.

There are many other Bx-error codes which have taken in many users in tension and keep them away from Blogger. Only because of the bx-error many bloggers have migrated to WordPress or other Blogging Platform.

Here's a list of Bx-error that has been issued newly and posted on the Something is Broken   category in the BHF (Blogger Help Forum). 

• bX-1io90b (posted on BFH two or more times)
• bX-iio90b
• bX-2f02sn
• bX-45bok 
• bX-wyhxrb  (posted on BFH two or more times)
• bX-74br4  (posted on BFH two or more times)
• bX-7ubjdv  (posted on BFH two or more times)
• bX-qx5epp
• bX-hzwrm3
• bX-j8un7q
• bX-urojig
• bX-z4kpa4
• bX-a9cw3d
• bX-tmzlss

I will mention some ways to keep these Bx-errors way from your blogger interface. Even if you use methods mentioned here don't forget to report the bx-error code by using the 'Send Feedback' button on bottom right corner in your Blogger. Also try posting in Blogger Help Forum and also post your Bx-error code with your full details on this thread.

Use updated browsers : Sometimes bx-error codes are generated when you use an outdated and not to advanced browser such as Internet Explorer, many users have seen to resolve some bx-error codes when they operated Blogger on an Advanced browser such as Google Chrome

Edit your Template code carefully : One of the most common section in Blogger where Bx-error codes are generated is where you Edit HTML, when you makes changes to your Template and click on Save, you will sometimes see the bx-errors, even if you know that the code is correct they issue Bx-error codes, sometimes when you make unnecessary deletion of a code in XML then it's obvious that you will get an error. It is seen that if you don't nest your XML codes properly then also you see the bx-codes because the Blogger Template is XML and proper nesting is required in order to save changes in the Template.
Know more about nesting properly in XML http://www.w3schools.com/xmL/xml_syntax.asp
Old Interface for using Blogger : The commonly issued Bx-error code bX-74br4 when logging in to dashboard is caused by the New Blogger Interface, the new Interface isn't ready yet, actually it can be used but you need an updated browser, as mentioned above.

Using the old Blogger interface is seen to be a good way to completely keep away the bx-error codes. You can revert back to the old interface by logging in to your Blogger Dashboard > Click on the 'Gear' icon on top right corner of the page > Select 'Old Blogger Interface' from the drop down list.
If you aren't getting the option in drop down list then try this
http://stramaxon.blogspot.in/2012/06/how-to-get-into-old-blogger-interface.html 


These methods have worked most of the times and if you try you can also keep bx-error codes away from your Blogger interface. If the problem don't seem to be solved by these ways then post your question on Blogger Help Forum https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!categories/blogger/something-is-broken

My username in BHF (Blogger Help Forum) is xxxdepy. We will try our best to help you there.

Do comment if you have any further questions about topic related to this post, we will be happy to help you.

How to get into Old Blogger Interface even the option is not available ?

Blogger have announced to discontinue the old Interface in Blogger, but in some countries the interface already has been removed or the option to revert back to old Interface is no longer available. In this tutorial i will show you how to get into the old Blogger GUI even the option isn't available.

Important: This tweak doesn't work any longer. The Old Interface has been completely removed from the Blogger servers, so you can't restore it any way. Please read this about for more info. 

Blogger is going to spoil it's own fun in coming months but in some countries it already did it. It's been a quiet long time after the launch of the New Blogger GUI (Graphical user Interface), but the Old Interface was also available on a click on a button. The option is available for Blogger users, but i have seen several cases where the user don't have the option to revert back to the old Blogger GUI.

Does that mean, Old Blogger interface is slowing being removed, this change has been experienced by some Bloggers only but many Bloggers need to revert back to old Blogger GUI because you know the BX-error codes that the new Interface issues us.

The New Interface is yet buggy and need many things need to be fixed but the Blogger support team don't seem to be interested or worried about these BX-error codes, these are mysterious codes which is a nightmare to every blogger. But if you don't get the option to remove it, then imagine how annoying it would be.

Users are issued BX-error codes at anytime and there's no specific activity for it to appear, whatever you do from editing post to changing your settings, people are being issued these Bx-errors in every section.


The only solution - The only solution that we have to avoid these Bx-error is to revert back to the old Template. But because some users are not even getting the option to revert back which was in the 'Gear' icon on top right corner of the Blogger Dashboard.

How to get into the Old Interface ?

Coming to the point of the post, how to get back into the old Blogger Interface. Actually normal users will find it difficult but that was an easy task. It's all about tweaking the URL that will take you back to the Old Interface, URL was one of the different between new and old Interface and that's how they are differentiated . 

Follow these steps to get in the Old Interface. 

1. We will take an URL that's will help you go back to old GUI, so this is the URL

http://www.blogger.com/posts.g?blogID=7684209674460696977

So this the URL, but wait don't try to load this URL now.

2. Now you need to get your blogID to replace the number highlighted in Yellow

http://www.blogger.com/posts.g?blogID=7684209674460696977

So to find your Blogger address you can take help of the New Interface, go to your Blogger Dashboard | Click on Any tab, let's click on 'Template' tab. Have a look at your address bar and you will see a number followed by 'blogID=' you just need that number.

3. Replace my blogID with your blogId

http://www.blogger.com/posts.g?blogID=7684209674460696977

Here, i replace the blogID with my test blog's blogID and then the URL is this. 

http://www.blogger.com/posts.g?blogID=8150410838963189456

Once you replace the BlogID with your own BlogID, you can load the URL and it will take you to the Old Blogger Interface.


I am sure that it will work if you aren't getting the option to revert back to the old blogger Interface, you can see that it worked with this guy who were not be given the option for old blogger Interface.  https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/blogger/ioWe_4ADcHI/discussion 

Displaying wrong Authorship in Google search results ?

One of the best feature 'Authorship markup' is obviously great for authors of blogs and websites, it takes some time to update in Google Search results but feels good when it do, it gives more accessibility for users to see the author of the blog. But the fun is ruined because of some errors that Google is facing.Let's talk
After the launch of Google+ thousands of people started verifying their authorship for their Blog to get a good display in the search results, it's very useful for SEO, at least people like to view sites that have authorship verified because it looks professional then. 

When i added the tags to verify my authorship, it took some days to properly show in the Google search results. It's feels very good to have some credits on the search results.

But a major issue has arisen, the first time i saw it was in Blogger Help Forum in this thread where a woman faced this issue and to get some help she posted the question on the forum. It feels awkward when someone else is credited for your work, wouldn't it ? The problem was not as easy to understand as i thought, the issue was very new to me and i didn't even knew what to do. But there are some points which you may remember and understand.

1. There were no authorship markup tag to the incorrectly display author information Google account 
2. When checked in Webmaster Rich Snippet tools it didn't showed any verified markup
3. There was no link to the blog (which was displaying wrong author info.) in the 'About' section of the Google+ account that was appearing in the Google search of that blog. 

All these three points tells us that it's an error that is done by the Google system, because none of the people who owns the Blog, who is being appearing on a blog that they don't author.

I was not sure how to help with that question and was new to the problem, first of all i checked the blog's source code and i didn't find tag that cause any other Google account to show on the authorship information on the search results. Now i was confused myself, but thought about it for a minute and came up with solution that will work correctly.

The idea was to redirect your Google profile to make it appear on under your blog's search results. When someone's else profile is showing under your blog authorship info then why not your's will display when you add your markup tags ? 

You just need to know how to add Authorship markup to your Blogger Blog, i have also written it on the thread in a reply or just check this tutorial. 

Now check your your blog in Rich Snippet Testing tool if you did everything correct (adding authorship tag) then a demo preview will be display, but your blog will not show Authorship markup, as it takes some days for it to successfully appear in the search results. It took about 10 days or more for me.

Here how it looks when you implemented the authorship markup validation tags to your blogs HTML. Just remember to add a good looking photo of yours of 260px*260px it's ideal size picture to be displayed on Google search results.

But what if it's not even showing correctly in the Rich Snippet tools or you are facing other problems that don't seem to be fixed ? Then refer to these forums 

• Blogger Help Forum
• Webmaster Central Help forum

If you are sure that your problem is what we posted about and still no success, then please post these details in the Comments

• Full Name
• Blog Address
• Search term where you see wrong authorship info.
• Google+ account (if you have one)

That's it, we will try our best investigate your issue and help you.
 


         

Post Customization is back in Blogger Help forum

The new Blogger help forum first gave a full customization options for members to customize their reply, but after few days, they discontinued it, don't know why. But it's back now.

I am happy that the customization options are back for all, because in Blogger Help forum we need more than just plain text, without the Code option in customization it's very difficult to highlight any codes posted.

Hope that these options will remain there for everyone so that we can communicate in the forum more efficiently. 



 
Now it will be fun to work in the forum to help blogger users with their problems.

- Thank you