Tuesday 5 August 2008

Test post from Blogger-in-Draft

Text can be added. Can I change the layout of image, so text can be formatted along the side. Yes.

Resizing image is easier, and the width space in the editor is better. I can also increase the height of the space.

Now, something that couldn't be done in the compose window in "classic" Blogger was to view an embedded YouTube video in the compose window. I had to preview it to see it running.



Now, in Blogger-in-draft the preview doesn't show the video. And it is merely a grey square in the compose view. It should play okay when I publish this meandering.

Other useful changes - well, strikethrough is now a format option. That's useful. And the links option allows links to other places on the Net. Although you can test the link, you still cannot select an option to open the link in a new window (most tabbed browsers open a new tab at that point). Some people see it as bad practice, but I'd rather people didn't get pointed away from my site. And I can't stand these wee snap-type windows that open. A waste of time unless you have the eyes of a hawk.

Of course, this is merely a draft. And I'm not looking at the changes in the rest of the system. Nor the improved HTML options. To be honest, it is the editor that is of interest to most people. That's where articles are created and the pages set out.

I think I'll continue to use Windows Live Writer as my primary authoring tool, unless I find something better. I'm just surprised that Google/Blogger hasn't picked up on this. Yet.

14 comments:

AktoMan said...

And the width of the editor's page is wider than the blog layout, so any mixing of text and images is problematic. Well, no more problematic than normal HTML layouts.

A table-layout option may be useful.

Walk Dartmoor said...

Duncan

Can you explain this in lay-persons' speak...
It sounds great But I am a little lost?

Alan Sloman said...

AAAGGGHH!!!

Shamus - Don't go there! Our Duncan is a Blogger Super-Hero - having just managed to teach me to resize the width of my blog - The man has a techie brain the size of Jupiter.

Give yourself a day, take a strong drink and then start. He's a great teacher.

The really wierdy bit in all this is that I think I understood what he was saying....

AktoMan said...

LOL - I've just been and commented on your blog (cracking stuff, and I'm looking to here more of your past life).

Anyway, there's a new testbed for Blogger. Everyone with Blogger accounts has access to it, and you can give it a go, or swap to it permanently.

To access the site, just click on this link when you're logged in to Blogger and you'll see the new-look blog editor. You can publish posts and everything.

Blogger did this before, and I think this 'public beta' works well.

AktoMan said...

Alan - it was Martin who gave you the simple way to widen your blog so that you can have more content.

Considering I only bought one drink in a pub in Dartmoor, helping out online is the least I can do for the great company.

Walk Dartmoor said...

Well looks like good points made all round.
I shall give it a swerve and wait until I have mastered some more of this blogging techie wizardry I think.

Thanks for the warning Alan.
Duncan thanks for your enthusiasm.

Anonymous said...

Nice vid, and that's a very elegant sort of rucksack you're wearing there :)

AktoMan said...

Shamus - the blogging systems used shouldn't detract from the story you have to share. Photos are a good illustrator, but few readers will get annoyed by something as minor as the positioning of a photo on the page.

AktoMan said...

Aye, PW, and you should know :)

The Osprey Atmos is my primary pack, and used even for overnighters. Very comfy. I pushed it to the limit on the SUW, carrying 10 days food.

Full details of bimble to Bob Scott's bothy. First time out with the poles. I reset the PacerPoles after the Heather & Alan saw the video and reckoned I had them set too high (which I had).

Anonymous said...

10 days' food? Wow! *faints*

*revives*

Wow, that's a lot of weight. How much did it weigh when you started out? Were you not able to resupply on the way?

I still love my Atmos :)

AktoMan said...

About 20kg all told. I should have gone for a bigger Osprey bag.

I'd looked at the map and seen very few villages along the trail. I took the lazy option of carrying more weight rather than leave the trail (eats into time), or go to the hastle of making sure I was at post office xx during the day.

It didn't stop my enjoyment, and I'm a slow plodder anyway. Lost over a stone in weight in 15 days.

Martin Rye said...

Alan - it was Martin who gave you the simple way to widen your blog so that you can have more content.

Did I wow! can I have a job in IT. Any way I got some of that IT, HTML thingy last night and thanks. I am a window live fan now and a Flickr man as well- exciting stuff. Now onwards to live posting to my blog on top of a mountain soon I hope.

PS I tried to put a comment on here before but it cut me off?

AktoMan said...

Blogger did some work on the system around midnight BST, and I noticed a couple of times today BST that the comments failed to submit.

If it happens once, sometimes you can get back to the previous page, sometimes not (eg in Firefox ALT <-arrow), then copy the comment. Shut the window, and try again in Blogger.

I've had the same happen in emails - especially ones that time out after a period of inactivity. Save a copy to the clipboard before pressing submit ... just in case.

AktoMan said...

Live blogging - ah the joys of setting up your mobile phone for email. Once you've done that, it is easy to post to Blogger from the phone. It'll even accept photos attached. Video is more difficult without using an intermediary system like YouTube (which I haven't tried yet), or Flickr (which I have working with photos, but not tried with video yet).