Some FAQ’s on customizing blogger templates
By Jacky Supit • Oct 8th, 2007 • Category: blogger hacks, blogging tips - blogging tricksEveryday, I receive so many emails and comments about same questions. so Here you can find some answers of:
1. I can’t install your blogger template on my blog.
2. How to install the comment form under post?
3. How to have Search Form on blogger / blogspot
1. I can’t install your blogger template on my blog.
I often receive this question from people who trying to install one of my template on their blog. After I did some check and balance 
I realized that many people all do the same mistakes. It is just simply copy all the code in the downloaded template file and paste it into the template editor on the blogger dashboard. that is the totally wrong way to install a blogger template.
Blogger Engine has some hidden settings on their system, that makes somehow we can’t just simply copy and paste the template code. And that is why they provides an upload template feature.
So, if any of you still can not install some templates you downloaded here, 1. please try to upload it through the Blogger Template Uploader feature first.
If you still unable to install it, 2. try to create a new blog just to test the template. try to install the template you want to the test blog.
There is a problem often occurs on Installing a new blogger template. Go here to read a guide to install a new blogger template and what problem often occurs and how to fix it.
If you have tried those two steps on still failed. then I will check the template again. Basically, here is how it works.
1. Each time I create a blogger template, I always try to install it on 2 blogs first. they are a new blog to test it out, and it would automatically be the demo site, and the second is my old already run blog. After I am able to install it without any problem, then I publish it on this JackBook.Com
2. Each time I publised a Blogger Template. I always ask people for some feedback. Even most of them just install it on their blog. but there are always some nice people who leave a comment on this blog or on the demo site, saying a thank you for my work. And thanks to them, if they face any problem on installing the template, they will also let me know about it. So I can fix it immediately as soon as I can.
So guys, thank you for trying to install my templates. but if you have tried to install and failed. please try the two steps I wrote above. Because if I have already had some people install the template on their site, and works. It means I have come to a conclusion that the template is fine.
2. How to install the comment form under post?
Installing this comment form is easy. as long as you follow all the instructions, all step by step I wrote there. you would succeed installing it.
The last, if you have tried all the steps above carefully and still failed. I have wrote it on the post it self, please send me your template on a zip file. and i will install it for you. then i will try my best to as soon as i possible send your already installed template to you back.
The Idea behind this code.
I highly recommend you to read this carefully.
1. This trick is using iFrame to show the comment form under the post.
2. This trick is require you to set the comment form to show on a new window as a popup. why is that? that is so the comments already submitted shown above the form. not on the left of the form. many bloggers do not pay attention on this.
3. This trick uses an image which will be changed to be a comment form if you hover your mouse on it. why? because on the original blogger comment form, the window has an auto focus to the first textbox field. If you don’t use the image, there is a big probability your browser will be redirected automatically to a new window of the comment form. Now you know how important that image is.
thanks
3. How to have Search Form on blogger / blogspot.
Easy. just put this code into your template. or you can also put this into your HTML/Javascript Widget.
<form id="searchform" action="http://YOUR-BLOG-NAME-HERE.blogspot.com/search" name="searchform" method="get"> Find entries : <input id="s" value="" name="q" type="text"> <input id="searchsubmit" value="Search" type="submit"> </form>
Of course you should change the YOUR-BLOG-NAME-HERE with your own blog name. or if you are using custom domain, you should change all the YOUR-BLOG-NAME-HERE.blogspot.com with your own domain.
Oh, you can also change the “Find entries :” with your own words. you can also experiment with your own template. hopefully this will helps.
Related Entries
- Hire Me!
- I am sorry..
- Customizing Blogger Template - part #1
- How To Install a Blogger Template, The Complete Guide and The Problems often Occur.
- Best of JackBook dot Com - 2007 In Review
- Introducing: Blogger Template Gallery!
About the post author:
Jacky Supit is The man behind the site. Do you have any questions, problems or anything about your blogger or wordpress? AskJack on TemplateForum.Org
em.. i alyz successful install the new template because i’m not copy and paste it but download and upload.. Thank you jack 4 da great template. Ehehhe.. now goes to my question, how do u design the template, are U write the programming or use any software? I also wanna tryin to design my own template.
cheers
Hi, I am a happy reader of ur valuable blog. i’m using ur template on my blog. ur tips and templates are extremely important for bloggers like me. i have a prob. i want to blog some irritating IP’s. they visits my blog for 10+ hrs everyday. what they do?
i want to block them. can i do this on blogger? please help me. 
Hi Simplr,
How do you know they visit your blog for 10+ hours a day?
unfortunately, we can’t block ip’s on free hosted blog. imw.
that’s sad. i will move to wordpress….soon!
it was my counters, that tells about the visit length. sometimes, those IPs opens 100 to 150 of my pages in a day. don’t know what they r doing! it is bad, coz my traffic is limited n my blog is not a popular one!:sad: thanks for ur reply n updated dfTheme. 
Hi Simplr,
how do you know that it is not search engine bot?
it’s simple, just use free statistic like jack did. site meter huh??
Hey ….
I have a blog http://www.merodiary.com/….. I used a classic blogger template in it ….
But it’s very difficult to keep working in it ..as i am used to new blogger tpl..
SO, could you change it to new blogger tpl.. I’d really appreciate it.
Thanks
why do you use that ugly template? and it is classic template?
can’t you find even one template here is good enough then that template?
oh and please post tempalte request on the request page.
thanks
I really like the looks of this template. I have downloaded and uploaded to blogger, but I always come up with error.
It might just be blogger and I will try again later in the day.
This is my dream template with that cute date thingy on the upper left of the post title. I hope I can make it work. I get this error every time though:
We’re sorry, but we were unable to complete your request.
When reporting this error to Blogger Support or on the Blogger Help Group, please:
Describe what you were doing when you got this error.
Provide the following error code and additional information.
bX-bl6ew0
Additional information
blogID: 818730027992960235
host: http://www.blogger.com
uri: /html
Hi Midas,
1. have you follow all the instruction here?
2. does your blog have widgets installed? try to delete them one-by-one manually. or try to install the new template on a new blog. create a dummy blog to test it.
and let us know the result
thanks
Hi Jack,
I have the same problem with Midas though I have tried to follow the instruction.
I still get this notice:
We’re sorry, but we were unable to complete your request.
When reporting this error to Blogger Support or on the Blogger Help Group, please:
* Describe what you were doing when you got this error.
* Provide the following error code and additional information.
bX-bl6ew0
Hi Speedy,
From my experience, it’s probably because blogger is trying to delete the widgets manually. if there are many widgets installed, it could rise an error.
try to delete all the widget and then put it back one-by-one. or you can even try to create a new dummy blog just to test.
thanks
Also, how to make the recent entries list?
Again, thanks a lot Jack!
you can have the recent comment and recent post here
I have tried to install your template. I follow your guide to install but i still can’t use that template. This appeared when I preview the template.
We were unable to preview your template.
The reason are:
More than one widget was found with id: HTML5. Widget IDs should be unique.
Please help me Mr. Jack
Hi Hafifi,
1. Go open your template,
2. find this “HTML5″
3. rename it into “HTML6″
then try to save your template.
if a new error occurs saying “More than one widget was found with id: HTML5. Widget IDs should be unique.”
go rename it again into “HTML7″ and so until there is no error occurs anymore.
thanks
hey! i am probably missing something…but i can’t find the blogger upload tool. i even tried following the various screenshots you posted showing exactly where it can be found…but to no avail. any ideas on how to upload this xml file to blogger?
okay, disregard that last post…i figured out how to upload…but i am also running into the same problem as midas…where it gives me error messages anytime i try to upload the blog. how would we remove the widgets that are conflicting?
Hi NickPick,
I am going to publish a new post called “How To Install a Blogger Template, the Complete Guide and the Problems often Occurs” today. please stay tune. you can subscribe to my feed so you will be the first to know if the post is online. or you can also let me send it into your inbox here.
thanks
[…] on Installing a template, it is easy actually. So on the normal case, this previous article about installing a blogger template is enough for most templates, but to make it clear, I will also include here all the guidance […]
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Hi Jack, I installed the search form on my blog but it gives me 404 not found when trying to use it. I’m on classic blogger with my own domain, can you take a look please.
when I am moving mouse into the blogger form.
it is giving error and becomming odd capathe image is also not displying..
Please provide me the solution.
I have implemented your comment widget only.
please check the bellow url for checking the problem. and use Internet explorer.
http://msdotnetsupport.blogspot.com/2006/08/tools-for-windows-xp.html
sorry it is blogger comment form.
never mind, i found another script that with some slight mods does what i need.
hi Dutt,
sorry for the late reply,
i see your comment is fine, to change the form looks, just change the image with your own image
thanks
thanx man, now it’s work on mine yeeeah
Jacky,
Any idea how to change ‘inner-search’ with google co-op ?
hm.. i have couple questions about it
should i create the tutorial guys?
i have use google-cse but it’s earn zero for me..
maybe google co-op can help…?
Need hard work to be like you jack
basic knowledge is themost important thing..
thanks jack..God Bless u..
great widgets jack…i appreciate it
Any question else??
im using this!
Thq for your post..
Im needing help i need to install the comment form under post?
But the problem is i dont know how to do it!
please help me!
heres my site: quickbuckph.blogspot.com
thanks, hope u can help!
btw heres my email: chatsalesupport@gmail.com
okay–this is going to be a simple and stupid question i am sure….but..i found a blogger template on pyzam…the only way i can get it (as far as i can tell) is to “cut & paste”..i would like to upload so that i won’t lose widgets…how the heck do i save this template in order to upload it to blogger…? you know, where it says upload and then “browse”…how do i get the bloomin file to my hard drive? am i an idiot? i can’t find anywhere that i can download a file….or is it just pyzam?
Great widgets… and I can use it in the future. Thanks for sharing.
thanks for widgets
Hi Jack, you happen to know how to make a request form on blogger, no ?? Give me your wisdom.
Thanks
Thanks!
Hey Jack,
is there anyway blogger can display wordpress-style search results?
by that i mean when you search something, only the title, and post-date etc. of the post will be shown.
thanks,
Darrell
I have install you template, its working but sometimes its failed to show template design . i think some one is changing my template . is it true ? Help me .. some times template changes to other template design