New Dashboard - Show/Hide Function

The New Blogger Dashboard has a new option - Show/Hide. This takes the place of the 'Select blogs to display' from the old 'Edit Profile' option - although that option still appears on the 'Edit Profile' screen.

Image 1. 

 

Image 2. 

  

The function of the 'HIDE' option is basically that - hide a blog from your 'Profile' view. Of course, this is reversible, but the function does change the screen somewhat. When a blog is 'hidden', apart from not showing on your default Dashboard, the Dashboard itself tells you that not all your Blogs are displayed.

Image 3. 

  

 

Here, the  Dashboard is saying that only 20 of 21 Blogs are showing.  There is also an option "Show All" appearing. If I want to see which Blog is NOT appearing in the list, I click on "Show All", and I get this screen ...

Image 4.

 This screen has NO 'Hide' option available, but it does have two other different options:

1. 'Always Show'
2. 'Minimise List'

If I click on 'Always Show', the 'hidden' blog will appear on the Bloglist on 'View Profile', and the 'Minimise List' option will disappear from the Dashboard.

If I click on the 'Minimise List' option, without checking the 'Always Show' option, then I see a Profile View without the 'hidden' blog appearing.

Confusing? I think so.

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New Features additions - July, 2008

The Blogger in Draft - July - releases present us with some very nice new features - some old ones revisited - and some alterations to play with.

At first glance, I see...

• They've marked where to adjust the Editor Box - UP and DOWN (lower right corner). I found this point by accident last month!
• The "Save Now" button (Wow! It only keeps the window open. You still have to <ctrl> 'S' to save  - (or <ctrl> SHIFT 'S' if you use IE).
• You can now add a background colour to your posts text - highlighting?
• The Colour wizard has been updated/remodelled. I don't like it - one bit! Why update something with fancy, but an inferior 'looking' version?
• There's an "Undo" and a "Redo" set of buttons. They're fun to have.
• You can STRIKETHROUGH text without knowing the CSS code (which was simple, anyway).
• The little chain icon is gone, and has been replaced by the word "Link". I like this new 'Link' with it's little bubble pop-up, very much. You can remove/change and test a URL very easily, now.
  
• The old "Remove Formatting" option is back.
• There's only four (4) pitch sizes available - apparently "normal" looks SMALL. 

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Image Repositioning

This Test: 

This test post was created in New Blogger - not Blogger-in-Draft, for the purpose of finding out if an image can be repositioned via 'Edit' on Blogger-in-Draft, and then viewed in New Blogger, with the changes still visible. The reason being, that there are often changes made when viewed from one platform to another...New Blogger to Blogger-in-Draft.

This test image was uploaded to the 'left' in New Blogger, using 'small' sizing - Image 1. 

Image 1  

The image was repositioned to the right, using Blogger-in-draft, then viewed via New Blogger - Image 2.

Image 2

All OK, so far. You can view via both, and see exactly the same post characteristics.

I am now 'editing' this post via New Blogger. I expect the formatting to stuff up. see Image 3


Image 3 

The formatting was jumbled up, as per Image 3. This is not the first time I've noticed this. It happens regularly, when changing from the Post Editor in New Blogger, to the Post Editor in Blogger-in-Draft, and possibly, back again.



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My thoughts - so far

I've been impressed with some of the features of the new 'iteration' of Blogger-in-draft'. I have, however, noticed some 'bugs' if you will, which cause me angst.

LIST: 

• The cursor, when backspaced, doesn't go to the extremity of the line. It stops one character space short. 
• On two occasions, when Importing a Post, the formatting was significantly changed - adding line breaks.
• On many occasions, when Publishing a post with an image(s), the post published minus the image(s), or at least one of the multi images. 
• Also, annoying, is the change of Font, which occurs sometimes, when I press to tab to the bottom of the Post Editor. I start typing in Trebuchet, and end up in Georgia (not in the USA, either). see image...

• When Importing an XML file, to say, publish one, or two, of the posts on another blog, the selected posts are published, as expected, but the entire blog of posts imported, remains in the post editor as "Imported", which then need to be 'deleted' - and as always, it's 'one by one'.

...more to come, I'm sure.


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Photo Uploading - Resizing Bubble

The new Blogger-in-draft Post Editor Image Uploader, or Dialog Box, as they call it, is a welcomed new feature. It gives you many capabilities which are not presently available in New Blogger.

Blogger says; "... You can easily resize or remove an image with the image size “bubble.” Click on the image (Firefox 3 users may need to double-click) to bring up the bubble, and resize the image instantly. You can resize any image, including ones added by URL, but if you resize an image that was uploaded through the post editor we resample the image on our servers to keep the download size small...".

Here is a test of the Resizing capability.

Image one shows a Screen Print of the original image, size: 311 x 361 , with the Photo Resizing bubble.

I am using Firefox V2.0.0.15, and I had to double-click on the image to get the bubble to appear. A grid-adjusting box also briefly appears around the image as the editor does not know whether, or not, I wish to 'move' the image, 'resize' it, or 'remove' it.

The next Screen Print, shows the image 'resized' to a smaller size...it's just a matter of clicking on the word 'small'.

This next Screen Print is of the 'small' image being made 'bigger', by clicking on 'large'. Note also, that Blogger will automatically adjust the overall size of the image, for space, which it did in this case. It is interesting, too, because the image pixellated, when enlarged, and saved me having to do anything.

Overall, it worked well, as expected. 

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Testing Photo Uploading - Post Editor

The New Editor in Blogger-in-draft, offers a number of great features, I think. I like the ability it gives you, to upload many photos and position them as you like - when you like - at the cursor point. I also like being able to 'float' the photo to where you want it. If you want, there is a short 'video' on this feature, on Blogger-in-draft New Features post.

The following group of photos was uploaded into the Photo Uploader wizard, and positioned in various places - left, center, and right. It is also, an Imported Post from my Testing 2 Blog.

You still have to watch the 'padding' size around each photo, so side-by-side positioning is still a problem with a narrow template.

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Convert Line Breaks - HTML and the New Editor - 5

This Test:

On the following Images, 11 and 12, the Post was typed in the Compose Mode, and the HTML was copied to show the result of "Convert newlines to <br />s", paragraphs, and emboldening, with the "Convert Line Breaks" turned off. 

The Images also show-off a very nice feature of the 'Preview'. 

Image 11

This image shows HTML literally as typed...

Image 12

This image shows the HTML as interpreted...
 

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Convert Line Breaks - HTML and the New Editor - 4

This Test:

I have changed the "Settings - Formatting" to 'Convert Line Breaks - NO'.

I am using ENTER to add newlines.

Post Options are set, I presume, to default - "Convert newlines to <br / >s" , and "Interpret typed HTML".

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 This is what it looked like when I first drafted the Post...
Image 9

and this is what was Published...

Image 10 

 

All newlines created here were placed by using ENTER. No HTML <br>s were used. This line, copied from the Edit HTML Editor, looks like this:

<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">All newlines created here were placed by using <b>ENTER</b>. No HTML <b><br>s</b> were used. </span>

The Next Post will be typed using HTML script for newlines, paragraphs and emboldening, with "Convert Line Breaks" turned off, and "Convert newlines to <br />s, and "Show HTML Literally" used in the Post Editor.

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Convert Line Breaks - HTML and the New Editor - 3

(One newline created here)

This Test:
(One newline created here)


With "Convert Line Breaks" (Settings - Formatting) checked to 'Yes', and "Post Options" set to "Convert newlines to <br />s" and "Show HTML Literally", we'll see what happens. 
(I am using ENTER to create two newlines here).


Image 7, will be the result, so far.(Newline created below here)

(Two newlines created here, by using &lt;br&gt;)
<br>
<br>
Image 8 

(Newline created here)

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(ENTER used to create ONE newline here)

Convert Line Breaks - HTML and the New Editor - 2

This test:

This is to see what happens when, Settings -Formatting "Convert Line Breaks" are checked to 'Yes'.

I am typing - and using the ENTER key, to tab down for Newlines, as one would in using the Compose Post Editor (wysiwyg) Editor.

I have set the 'Post Options' to "Ignore newlines", and "Show HTML Literally". 
Image 5 

This is what it looks like ...
Image 6 

Next Post will test - "Convert Lines Breaks" - 'Yes' , with Post Options set to "Convert newlines to <br />s" and "Show HTML Literally" selected.

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