Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Using the Full-Width Template - as seen on this blog

If you like that "fill the window" feel for your blog, like the one you see here (or like the one I have on my main blog), you can get that too. I made some changes to a template, originally created by Darren Delaye, to make it full-width. There are also some some color adjustments, which you can re-adjust easily using the blogger dashboard...

So, here's how you can use this template:

STEP 1:
Download the template to your local machine by clicking on this URL:
http://jrochelle.googlepages.com/full-width-template.xml
When prompted, save this file to place where you can find it again. On a Mac, it may automatically get downloaded to a "download" directory.

STEP 2:
Log in to blogger.com, go to your dashboard, and
Find the Blog you want to change and click the link labeled "Manage: Layout"

STEP 3:
You should be in the "Layout" tab in this window now... so choose the sub-tab labeled "Edit HTML"

STEP 4:
Under the "Backup / Restore Template" section, you'll see a place where you can upload a template from your local machine.... Click the "Browse" button to find the template you saved in Step 1. Once you return to this screen, Click the UPLOAD button.
NOTE - You might not be able to tell that it completed - but the new template should now show in the "Edit Template" section below the section where you just were...

STEP 5:
Click the "SAVE TEMPLATE" button on the bottom - and you should get the message "Your changes have been saved. View Blog." That last part is a link to view your blog using the new template - so click that "View Blog" link!

STEP 6:
Go have your favorite beverage - come back and post about your new blogger template! Let me know if you have other ideas for enhancing this template - maybe I'll give it a go.

9 comments:

Martin Zhekov said...

I'm using some widgets how to save them with new template.

JR said...

probably need to re-add them... I haven't tried to retro-fit this template onto an active blog with other existing widgets. Sorry for the lame non-answer ;)

 Cha said...

Thanks! Trying it onThis Blog and maybe on my Business Blog next!

Marti said...

Could you explain what part of the template makes the blog full width so others can apply that to their existing blogs?
Thanks

Stratagerm said...

Note, anyone using this template should remove the line near the top containing the meta tag with the name='verify-v1' and the content containing a hash string.

That's a tag generated by Google Sitemaps to identify a site's owner.

By leaving this tag in the template you are assigning ownership as seen by Google Sites to someone else.

Stratagerm said...

Even simpler, while in Blogger select Pick New Template and choose Stretch Denim Light, which is the standard Blogger template upon which this template is based. Your widgets will be preserved, and you'll get some other changes apparently done since the full-width template was posted.

Any of the standard Blogger templates with Stretch in the name are full-width templates. At this point there are four from which to choose.

After comparing them using the meld visual diff and merge tool I saw that there was no reason to use the full-width template instead of Blogger's Stretch Denim Light.

Anonymous said...

Cool blog you got here. I'd like to read a bit more concerning that theme. Thanks for posting that data.
Joan Stepsen
Technology gadget

Mairtin McNamara said...

Just uploaded your template, thanks a million!

mag said...

Good template. But i have a problem:
when i press restore down button on my browser, i don't see harisonal scroll.
it likes:

http://www.uploadpix.org/images/aaoro.png

So i want to have harisonal scroll like here:

http://www.uploadpix.org/images/bbqrq.png

Thanks.