Monday, December 17, 2012

How to Backup Blogger XML Template

How to Backup or Download a Blogger Blogspot Template

It is very important that you regularly backup your template layout. You can easily download your exiting layout and restore it if anything goes wrong during experiment or when applying a tutorial.
Blogspot How To: Change Post Title Color in Blogger Template Designer Templates

Steps to Backup your Blogger/Blogspot Template


Step 1. Go to Design -> Edit HTML tab.


Step 2. Click on Download Full Template link.

Blogspot How to: Backup/Restore Your Blogger/Blogspot Template

Step 3. Save the .XML template file on your hard drive.

Tip: Whenever I download my template file, I rename it to the current date which makes it easy to find.

Tip: Whenever you work in Edit HTML section, make sure you always first download your template for backup.

Steps to Restore Your Blogger/Blogspot Template


Step 1. Go to Design -> Edit HTML tab.

Step 2. Click the browse button, select the backup template from your hard drive and upload it.

Blogspot How to: Backup/Restore Your Blogger/Blogspot Template

Add Facebook Share Button in Blogger

How to Add Facebook  Share/Like Button in Blogger Templates

Social media sites like Facebook & Twitter could be great source of quality traffic for any blog. You can also add a Facebook Share or Like button in each of your posts. This button will allow users to quickly share a post on Facebook.

Note: This tutorial is no longer working. Facebook has changed it's codes. Try it and if it doesn't work, please don't comment or email me as I don't know the solution yet. Thanks :)

Add Facebook Share/Like Button Below Post Title


To add Facebook Like button below post title, simply follow these steps:
  1. Back up your Blogger template.
  2. Open the Template section.
  3. Blogger Updated Dashboard
  4. Click the Edit HTML button.
  5. Blogger Edit HTML Button
  6. A new window will open. You'd have to click the Proceed button to start editing.
  7. Blogger Proceed Button
  8. Check Expand Widget Templates option. The page will automatically refresh.
  9. Find <head> in your template and replace it with the following code: 
    <head>
    
    <script>(function(d, s, id) {
      var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
      if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
      js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
      js.src = &quot;//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1&quot;;
      fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
    }(document, &#39;script&#39;, &#39;facebook-jssdk&#39;));</script>
  10. Now find the following code:
    <b:includable id='post' var='post'>
      <div class='post hentry' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/BlogPosting'>
        <a expr:name='data:post.id'/>
        <b:if cond='data:post.title'>
          <h3 class='post-title entry-title' itemprop='name'>
          <b:if cond='data:post.link'>
            <a expr:href='data:post.link'><data:post.title/></a>
          <b:else/>
            <b:if cond='data:post.url'>
              <b:if cond='data:blog.url != data:post.url'>
                <a expr:href='data:post.url'><data:post.title/></a>
              <b:else/>
                <data:post.title/>
              </b:if>
            <b:else/>
              <data:post.title/>
            </b:if>
          </b:if>
          </h3>
        </b:if>

    You might see multiple codes similar to the above code. However, make sure that the code you find has <b:includable id='post' var='post'> in it.

    Tip: Just search for <data:post.title/> and you'll find the above code lines.
  11. Place the following code right AFTER the code in previous step:
    <b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == &quot;item&quot;'>
    <div class='fb-like' data-send='false' data-show-faces='true' data-width='450'/>
    </b:if>

    The result should look something like this:
    <b:includable id='post' var='post'>
      <div class='post hentry' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/BlogPosting'>
        <a expr:name='data:post.id'/>
        <b:if cond='data:post.title'>
          <h3 class='post-title entry-title' itemprop='name'>
          <b:if cond='data:post.link'>
            <a expr:href='data:post.link'><data:post.title/></a>
          <b:else/>
            <b:if cond='data:post.url'>
              <b:if cond='data:blog.url != data:post.url'>
                <a expr:href='data:post.url'><data:post.title/></a>
              <b:else/>
                <data:post.title/>
              </b:if>
            <b:else/>
              <data:post.title/>
            </b:if>
          </b:if>
          </h3>
        </b:if>
    
    <b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == &quot;item&quot;'>
    <div class='fb-like' data-send='false' data-show-faces='true' data-width='450'/>
    </b:if>
  12. That's it. Save your template. Open a post on your blog and see the Facebook button in action.

Add Facebook Share Button Below Post Body


To place the Facebook share button under each post, you have to follow the first 3 steps given above. Then find the code given in step 4 above. Scroll down a bit and you'll see the following code:

    <div class='post-body entry-content' expr:id='&quot;post-body-&quot; + data:post.id' itemprop='articleBody'>
      <data:post.body/>
      <div style='clear: both;'/> <!-- clear for photos floats -->
    </div>

Warning! Do not use 'Ctrl + F' to find the above code. You have to find the code given in step 4 and then you can find the above code by scrolling down a bit.

After finding the above code, place the following code right AFTER it:

<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == &quot;item&quot;'>
<div class='fb-like' data-send='false' data-show-faces='true' data-width='450'/>
</b:if>

The result would look something like this:
    <div class='post-body entry-content' expr:id='&quot;post-body-&quot; + data:post.id' itemprop='articleBody'>
      <data:post.body/>
      <div style='clear: both;'/> <!-- clear for photos floats -->
    </div>

<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == &quot;item&quot;'>
<div class='fb-like' data-send='false' data-show-faces='true' data-width='450'/>
</b:if>

After that, save your template. Open a post page on your blog and see the Facebook button in action :)