Using the Blog Customization Tool
The Blog Customization tool was created to give advanced users precise control over the design of their blogs. Whether you want to tweak an existing blog builder template, or furnish your blog with an entirely new design, the Blog Customization tool can help.
The best way to get started using the Blog Customization tool is to think of your blog in sections. Your blog is composed of a number of separate pages, some of which are in turn composed of individual elements. For instance, your main blog page contains both blog entries and site navigation, each of which is an editable element.
The Blog Customization tool is made up of separate templates — each corresponds to your blog's pages and elements. If a blog page features more than one component, the Blog Customization tool provides a template for the page itself as well as a template for each individual element on that page.
For example, to alter the main page of your blog, there is a template in the Blog Customization tool that lets you change the design of the page as a whole (the Main Page Layout template), and there are templates that let you change the design of the individual elements that make up the main blog page. Those are the Entries on Main Page template (which controls the design of the entries themselves) and the Links on Main Page template (which controls the design of the navigational links).
Blog Pages and Blog Page Elements
Here's a breakdown of the changes you can make on each of these pages and elements:
- To alter your Stylesheet, use the Stylesheet template and click Edit to launch the editing environment.
- The Main Blog page (Main Page Layout template) features your most recent entries along with navigational elements that point users to the various pages of your blog,
as well as to any outside websites you opt to link to.
- Entries element (Entries on Main Page template).
- Navigation element (Links on Main Page template).
- The Comments page (Comments Page Layout template) features user comments. Note: this page is visible only if the Comment Management Options in the Change Settings tool (located on the main Blog Control Panel) are set to Open or Moderated (if you don't wish to let users post comments, set the Comment Management Options to Closed).
- Entry element (Entry on Comments Page template) is the text of the original blog entry.
- Comments element (Comment on Comments Page template) handles users' comments in response to original blog entry
- Post Comment page (Add Comment template) is the interface users use to leave comments.
- Reply to Comment page (Reply to Comment template) is the interface users use to respond to previous comments.
- Verify Comment page (Verify Comment template) is the interface the commenters use to preview their comments.
- Profile page (Profile template) features biographical information about the blog creator and the blog itself.
- Entries from Buddies Blogs page (Buddies Blogs template) features entries from Buddies Blogs, listed by date. Buddies are selected using the Manage Buddy Page (located on the main Blog Control Panel).
To use the Blog Customization Tool, select the template corresponding to the page or element that needs modification, then click Edit. This calls up the editing environment.
For an example of how to use the Blog Customization Tool's editing environment, let's try editing the Main Page Layout.
Using Components and Variables
Now that you have the Main Page Layout open in the editing environment of the Blog Customization Tool, you should see a main editing window on the right with links to explanations of Components and Variables on the left. The main editing window is populated with the code for your main blog page.
The best way to get comfortable with the tool is to experiment at little. Change the pixel-width of the left panel, or change the padding of the title bar, and then click Preview to see what it does to the overall design of the page.
Next, try commenting out one of the components (using <!-- and --> tags), such as <BLOG_CMP CALENDAR>. Notice how that removes the calendar archive completely from the main blog page. You can also shuffle the components to change the order in which the elements appear on the page.
You can even use the Blog Customization Tool to implement an entirely new design.
Designing from Scratch
Implementing an entirely new blog design is easy to do with the Blog Customization Tool. For instance, if you want to match your blog design to your existing webpage design, simply paste the code for the new design into the editing environment, then plug in the component codes where they belong in your layout.
To change the appearance of one of the elements on the page, for instance, the Entries element on the Main Blog Page, return to main page of the Blog Customization Tool and select Entries on Main Page function. To return to the main page of the Blog Customization Tool, click Save if you'd like to keep your changes, or Cancel if you'd prefer to leave the Main Page Layout unchanged. Note that saved changes will not appear on your live site until you Publish them (more on that in the Publish, Unpublish, and Delete section).
If you've built your new blog design using stylesheets, make sure you include the <BLOG_CMP STYLESHEET> component in the <head> of the page. To edit the stylesheet, select the Stylesheet template and edit the stylesheet to your design.
While you can hard-code elements such as colors and font sizes, your design remains much more flexible if you set things up using the Blog Customization Tool Variables, then use the Blog Management Tools (found on the main Blog Control Panel) to fine tune your design (more on that in the Blog Management Tools section).
Once you've implemented all your blog design changes using the Blog Customization Tool, you can save or cancel your changes. Let's take a closer look at your publishing options.
Publish, Unpublish and Delete
After you finish making all your tweaks and changes, you can choose to publish or delete them and start over. You can even revert to your previous specifications. To publish or unpublish your changes, use the panel of buttons at the bottom of the Blog Customization Tool:
The Blog Customization Tool panel of publishing options.
- Edit lets you alter a template. If you Save your changes in the editing environment, it makes a copy of the file in your blog directory.
- Preview lets you see how your changes affect the appearance of your blog.
- Publish makes all your changes appear on your live site.
- Unpublish reverts your site to the original template. Note: your customized version is still available for editing and republishing.
- Delete removes your customizations and reverts to the original template settings.
- Upload lets you replace the selected file with whichever file you specify.
- View Source gives you a clean copy of the source code for the specified file. This can be useful if you prefer to edit your template locally and Upload it later.
- Cancel leaves your templates unchanged and returns you to the main Blog Control Panel.
Note that when you edit and save a .btpl page, a copy is created in your blog directory (home_directory/blog_publish_name). You can then Upload or Download it as you please using Blug Customization Tool's built-in functions, or via FTP. And remember, file changes will not appear on the live site until you Publish them.
Once you've perfected your design using the Blog Customization Tool, use the Blog Management tools to put the finishing touches on your site.
Blog Management Tools
After you've published your Blog Customization Tool changes, return to the main Blog Control Panel and use the Blog Management tools.
The Blog Management Tools.
The Change Appearance tool lets you select:
- Colors (the link colors, the font color for each entry's title and text, the background color or image for the entire blog page, the background color or image for the navigation panel, link colors, and the border color for the calendar).
- Fonts (face and size of each entry's title and text).
- A new blog template (note: changing templates may require your blog customizations to be modified).
The Change Settings tool lets you select:
- Style of entry archives (calendar versus list).
- Formatting of each entry's header (e.g., "Tuesday, 2 September 2011" versus "02/09/2011").
- Wording of each entry's footer.
- Number of entries that display per page.
The Create/Edit Profile tool lets you change the actual text of your Profile.
The Edit Topic List tool lets you edit, delete, and add the topics into which you sort your entries (for example "Sports", "Movies", and "Romance").
The Manage Links tool lets you add new links, delete existing links, or alter the name and URL of your existing links.
The Manage Buddy List tool lets you delete a buddy, add a new buddy, create a buddy group, or edit a buddy group.
The Manage Buddy Page tool lets you select the blogs to include on your Buddy page.