Saturday 21 February 2009

Having problems installing a Blogger xml template? READ THIS

Sometimes, when you try and change your template, errors unfortunately occur.

There may be a few reasons for getting this error. I have done my best to outline (below) popular causes for getting an error when trying to install my templates.


1) CHECK YOU HAVE UNZIPPED THE FOLDER YOU DOWNLOADED:

I offer my templates as zipped (.zip) folders. The zip folder you download from suckmylolly.com contains a few files that have been compressed, to reduce their file size. Usually this folder will contain the blogger template - template.xml for example - my terms and conditions and an extra folder which contains the images. You cannot expect to upload this .zip folder and have it work - why?: because it's a compressed folder and not a blogger template. Uploading the .xml file will NOT (USUALLY) CAUSE ANY ERRORS but uploading the .zip file will not work. You must UNZIP this folder before installing the template.
If you don't know how to unzip files then I advise you to read this or this. I do not use Windows all the time but I believe that for Vista and XP - all you need do is to double click the file to unzip it (or right click).


2) TRY ANOTHER BROWSER:

I too get an unexplained error message sometimes when I test my templates. I have no idea why this happens but either waiting a little while or trying another web browser often fixes things.


3)
ERRORS WITH WIDGET LABELLING:

If you can *almost* install the template (ie: it asks you to confirm that you're about to delete your widgets but then when you click "OK" you get an error) - then you might need to change something in the code. This error occurs because the widgets are labelled incorrectly and Blogger gets confused when you try and change the template. I have no idea why this happens to some people and not to others but it's really quite simple to fix:

1. Before making any change, you should backup your current template. This can be done by going to "LAYOUT" >> "EDIT HTML" and then clicking on "Download Full Template".

2. Make sure you have some sidebar elements - eg: Profile, Blog Archive, Followers - before trying to upload the new template (this is so that you get the 'Widgets are about to be deleted warning').

3. Go to LAYOUT >> EDIT HTML and attempt to upload the new .xml template again. This will then bring up a page which lists the widgets about to be deleted - this is normal when installing a new template. You are then asked to confirm this step. Instead of confirming, follow the steps below:

4. Press Control+F (find function) and search for this phrase within the big box of code:



You should find some code such as these:



5. Change the number "1" in the code to be a "2".
ie: so it would now look like this:

Repeat this step for all these that you find in the code (change all the 1s to be 2s)

6. Confirm and save. This worked for me. I realise that it's quite scary to change your blog html if you're not experienced with html code, but it's quite a simple change and this is also the reason I recommend backing up your template before making any changes. Unfortunately things do sometimes go wrong so you should be prepared.

Of course I only recommend trying this last method if you feel comfortable altering the html. You may have trouble uploading any customised template unless this is altered.

12 comments :

  1. Oh, how I wish that this would have worked for me! Although there is a good chance that I'd end up keeping my current template of yours anyway, I still was wanting to play with some new ones and see how they'd look! I've been getting errors whenever I try to upload new templates, even after following your advice here. Oh well! I'll keep trying, & until it works again I still absolutely love my current theme! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you soo much!! My blog was having really weird problems, such as not displaying the blog description and cutting off half my post.

    Because it worked, I'm using your Smartscroll layout, and I'm loving it C: But I've changed all the pink text to green.

    I'd give you my blog url, but it's private.

    Thank you again C:

    ReplyDelete
  3. HI,

    I used your http://fsabd54.blogspot.com/ template. I got it to work with the above info, but now I have a problem getting the logo to work. I used the same logo but only adjusted the text and now when i upload it (to photobucked and then changing the link in the html) it refuses to show it the right size:

    http://thepinkpwrrngr.blogspot.com/

    If you could help me out that would be so great, really love this template, dont want to change.

    Thx!!

    nanda@calime.nl

    ReplyDelete
  4. PinkPwrRngr: it seems to be working on your site now? Looks good!

    Sharnee

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes, after 3 hours of fiddeling around I finally found what was cousing it. I really love this template so im glad it works smooth now :).

    Thx for your quick response! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I hope my blog archives won't be deleted forver, if I do as mentioned here. I am too scared.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The Phoenix....

    I have NO IDEA why you'd think this would happen. The widgets have nothing to do at all with the archives.

    Sharnee

    ReplyDelete
  8. I tried to unzipped it. but i seems cant

    ReplyDelete
  9. haloha,im from indonesia,i already try to fix the problem about the erorr code/text,more then a twice,but it still cant....I LOVE THIS THEMES SO MUCH!so please..inform me,
    add mywindows live:pinyagadisa@live.com
    thankyou!

    ReplyDelete
  10. i mean pintagadisa@live.com sorry;') thakyouuuu

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hey, can i ask? How to get a "new" blogger?

    ReplyDelete
  12. where r the code?i cant see it

    ReplyDelete

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Thanks for reading,
Sharnee