Am I Beta (Layout Template) Yet?

If you think your blogs might have changed from Classic template to Beta (aka New Blogger or Layout), but you aren't sure that it happened, consider this:

If your blogs have been migrated to Beta (Layout), then you'd have "Customize" in the Navbar above your Title or "Layout" instead of "Template" in your dashboard. Click on either and it'll offer to upgrade your template. If Customize and Layout aren't there, your blogs haven't been fully converted to Beta. If they are there, click on them so that you can Upgrade your template to Beta. You can also check beneath the Template tab for "Customize Design" and click on that to Upgrade your template.

[Screenshot below shows above references.]


END.

Am I Beta (Layout Template) Yet?

If you think your blogs might have changed from Classic template to Beta (aka New Blogger or Layout), but you aren't sure that it happened, consider this:

If your blogs have been migrated to Beta (Layout), then you'd have "Customize" in the Navbar above your Title or "Layout" instead of "Template" in your dashboard. Click on either and it'll offer to upgrade your template. If Customize and Layout aren't there, your blogs haven't been fully converted to Beta. If they are there, click on them so that you can Upgrade your template to Beta. You can also check beneath the Template tab for "Customize Design" and click on that to Upgrade your template.

[Screenshot below shows above references.]


END.

Migration To Blogger Beta

Waiting For Beta

I think most people have had to wait to be "invited". On a gradual basis, I guess they do get invited. At one time when I was not yet interested in Beta, I saw the following; I don't know how it works.

Beta

I waited until there was an invitation, which was a text blip that started appearing after each "publish" on the right hand side of my screen telling me about how you could do "more" with Beta. The first step was to "migrate" my blogs into Beta, but then I had to Customize and Upgrade them in order to be fully converted.

Migration was done to all blogs at once. The other procedures were done one blog at a time, as I requested them. Clicking on Customization will cause it to offer to "upgrade" your template.

I had 4 or 6 blogs that they migrated all at once, saying they'd notify me when it was over. I thought that meant it'd take a long time, and maybe sometimes it does. But it only took 3 minutes to migrate my blogs, including the big one (The Rat Squeaks, with nearly 1000 posts). So Blogger's not slow all the time!

See other migration-related posts on this same site. (Click on migration under Label.)

END.

Migration To Blogger Beta

Waiting For Beta

I think most people have had to wait to be "invited". On a gradual basis, I guess they do get invited. At one time when I was not yet interested in Beta, I saw the following; I don't know how it works.

Beta

I waited until there was an invitation, which was a text blip that started appearing after each "publish" on the right hand side of my screen telling me about how you could do "more" with Beta. The first step was to "migrate" my blogs into Beta, but then I had to Customize and Upgrade them in order to be fully converted.

Migration was done to all blogs at once. The other procedures were done one blog at a time, as I requested them. Clicking on Customization will cause it to offer to "upgrade" your template.

I had 4 or 6 blogs that they migrated all at once, saying they'd notify me when it was over. I thought that meant it'd take a long time, and maybe sometimes it does. But it only took 3 minutes to migrate my blogs, including the big one (The Rat Squeaks, with nearly 1000 posts). So Blogger's not slow all the time!

See other migration-related posts on this same site. (Click on migration under Label.)

END.

Expandable Post Summaries

For New Blogger (Layout template), see HACKOSPHERE I have personally installed and used the hack from Hackosphere on 3 of my own blogs, including this one, and it works very well. It was demanding enough that it took me 4 times to get it right, but it was worth it. Unfortunately, I didn't need to use a summary for this post because it's so short!

Fair Warning, though, about the above: In some cases, even short posts that you have not coded to say "Read more" at the bottom will do so, anyway. I would like to see a fix for this myself, but until it occurs, I don't mind the slight confusion. In some cases, I marked my short posts with END. at the end of the post, so even if it's marked "Read more", you can see that it's finished.

These sites might help, but I haven't used them, so I'm just pointing them out:

For classic Blogger, check expandable post summaries in Blogger help.

END.

Expandable Post Summaries

For New Blogger (Layout template), see HACKOSPHERE I have personally installed and used the hack from Hackosphere on 3 of my own blogs, including this one, and it works very well. It was demanding enough that it took me 4 times to get it right, but it was worth it. Unfortunately, I didn't need to use a summary for this post because it's so short!

Fair Warning, though, about the above: In some cases, even short posts that you have not coded to say "Read more" at the bottom will do so, anyway. I would like to see a fix for this myself, but until it occurs, I don't mind the slight confusion. In some cases, I marked my short posts with END. at the end of the post, so even if it's marked "Read more", you can see that it's finished.

These sites might help, but I haven't used them, so I'm just pointing them out:

For classic Blogger, check expandable post summaries in Blogger help.

END.

Write Blogger Support

Inform Blogger Support of your problem. Give as much detail as you can for them to understand. Don't waste your time cursing them. If they don't help you instantly, they may take a while to get to you, but eventually a human will reply instead of the robot.

The Main Blogger contact is Slow Poke Blogger Support.

You probably have to keep notifying them; Their first response is always an automated reply. If their first response gives you a number, reference it every time you write back!

Other lines of communication include

BLOGGER PROBLEM REPORT FORM

http://help.blogger.com/?page=troubleshooter.cs&problem=&contact_type=bug_with_blogger_beta&Submit=Submit

and BLOGGER HELP FORM

http://help.blogger.com/?page=troubleshooter.cs&problem=&contact_type=other&Submit=Submit

END.