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Friday, 20 April 2012

Removing the attribution gadget from mobile template blogs

This article is about removing the "Powered by Blogger" statement from the bottom of blogs that have a mobile template.

Blogger and attribution gadgets.

Picture of a cellphone with "Powered by Blogger" taking up screen space

Previously I've described the attribution gadget that Blogger has added to blogs with designer templates, and various ways of removing it.

This was a real game of cat-and-mouse: I found a way to delete the gadget, Blogger's engineers put in code to add it back in again if you removed it using that method. But eventually I found some methods that haven't stopped working - or maybe Google saw the logic in my arguments and gave up trying.

(For the record, I show the gadget on most of my blogs, but really didn't want it on one particular blog that is really powered by Google custom Maps: Blogger is just a nice wrapper around the custom maps that it shows.)

Now a reader has asked about getting rid of the attribution from a blog that uses a mobile template. This is easy provided you accept the risks of editing your template.

How to remove the attribution from a mobile template:

Edit your template in the usual way - you don't need to expand the widget templates.

Use the browser search tool to find this statement:

<b:widget id='Attribution1' locked='true' mobile='yes' title='' type='Attribution'/>

The number after the word "attribution" may be different, if you've tried several other ways to remove the "powered by Blogger" statement. This doesn't matter - just make sure the same number is used in the original statement and the replacement one.

Replace it with this statement

<b:widget id='Attribution1' locked='true' mobile='no' title='' type='Attribution'/>

Save your template .

And that should be "job done".

It is a good idea to check what your blog looks like on a mobile device. If you find that this approach doesn't work for your blog, please leave a comment including your blog's URL - in case there are some conditions that I've missed.

Note: test so far make me thing that this setting is kept even if you change which mobile template your blog uses, and even if you switch off the mobile template and then switch it off again later.

Friday, 6 May 2011

Giving your blog an attribution (ie credits) gadget

This article is about giving your blog an attribution gadget, either one of Blogger's standard ones, or one that you make yourself.

Blogger's standard attribution gadget

If your blog has a Designer template (ref What sort of template do I have?) then by default it will have an attribution gadget at the bottom of the footer.

Previously, I've described the concerns that many people have with the attribution, and how to delete it.

However some people may want to add a standard gadget back in again, and others would like to make a customised version of the gadget that gives credit where it's due.

Adding a standard Attribution Gadget

The attribution gadget is not available through the usual Add a Gadget option.

The only way to get it onto your blog is to apply one of the Designer templates.

To do with with the old (ie pre-Sept-2011) Blogger:

If you have a Layout template, use Design > Template Designer and pick one of the new options

If you have a Custom template, use Template > Customize Design > Upgrade your template

If you already have a Designer template, use Design > Template Designer and choose another one. (And maybe use the same command again to change back to the template you had previously, if that's what you want to do.)

To do with with the new (ie post-Sept-2011) Blogger:

If you have a Layout or Designer template, use the Template tab , hover over one of the new options and click either Appy to blog or Customize

If you have a Custom template, use Template > Customize Design > Upgrade your template

Remember: changing templates undoes all the customisations you have previously applied through the Edit HTML tab. Plan your template change carefully.

Building an alternative Attribution Gadget

The only way to customize the standard attribution gadget is to add some text to the Copyright field. This text is show an the beginning of the standard statement.

But many people want to change the other items too, for example to credit Tina Chen for the underlying template AND themselves for the colour scheme and layout. This can be done by changing the template-name in your template. If you want to more than just change the existing names, your options include:

1 a Blogger icon
Add a Blogger icon gadget to your template: and choose one which you like.

2 A picture
Design a graphic that gives the appropriate credits, and add it to your blog as a picture gadget

3 A Text Gadget
Add a text gadget, and put phrase(s) like these in it.

"Template created by WHOEVER, modified by YOUR NAME."

"Photos by YOU (OR WHOEVER). Page background image by WHOEVER"

"Powered by Google: site design by Blogger, file-hosting by Google-Sites"

"© YOU. You may copy and adapt this document for non-commercial use provided this notice is not reblog moved.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA."

Think carefully about where to put the attribution, and how to format it: not many web-design or hosting companies expect their clients to devote prime screen-space to acknowledgements for the web-host - but you may want to advertise your own services ("customised by YOU").

Note: at the moment, these methods only work on non-mobile template blog views.

Tuesday, 26 April 2011

The Attribution gadget has a "Remove" button - for today anyway.

For now, you can manage the attribution gadget on your Blogger blog in much the same way as any other gadget. Congratulations to Blogger for listening to what we wanted, and making this change.

What's this about

When Google introduced Designer Templates, they included a new Attribution gadget, which puts a line about "Powered by Blogger" at the bottom of each blog. Bloggers could add extra information to this line, but couldn't change the core message.

Unlike most other gadgets, the Attribution gadget didn't have a Remove button. So Blogger-users put a lot of effort into finding ways to remove the attribution, and Google put a lot of effort into detecting that it was removed and putting it back again - sometimes in the "right" place in the footer, sometimes at the bottom of the sidebar.

Today, someone pointed out that the gadget now has a remove button, so you can remove it the "normal" way.

Does it work?

And when I tested it a few minutes, it the attribution gadget appeared to stay removed: I couldn't see it back in the sidebar or anywhere in my blog's footer.

That doesn't guarantees that the button will stay there: it could easily be a mistake that's been made. And if it is, I'd expect that the Remove button will disappear again one day soon.

So if you want to use the Remove button instead of taking the risks involved in editing your template in order to get rid of the attribution, then I'd recommend acting quickly.

Getting the attribution back

The attribution gadget isn't in the list shown under Design > Page Elements > Add a Gadget at the moment.

So if you remove it, then you cannot add it back.

If you really want it back, you will either need to pick a new template or build your own attribution using a HTML or text-gadget

Monday, 25 April 2011

Removing the Attribution gadget from blogs that have Designer Templates

This article is about how to change or delete the attribution that Google has added to add blogs which have a Designer template. (Updated May 2011 with the latest status of the methods listed.)

What is the attribution - and what's wrong with it.

picture of Powered by Blogger being painted over, with a purple picture frame border

If your blog has a Designer template (ref What sort of template do I have?) you may have noticed a gadget in the blog-footer called attribution. This gives credit to:

The template designer
(Even though s/he only designed the structure, not the colour, font and gadget layout combination that you're using - and readers who aren't familiar with Blogger probably won't understand the distinction between your work and the template-programmer)

The copyright owner of the background photo you're using
(Even though s/he doesn't own any of the zillion other photos in your blog - and again, readers aren't going to understand what photographs are part of the template and what aren't)

Blogger for "powering" your blog
(Even though they're hosting it, and the real power may be provided by other tools: eg I have blogsites hosted by Blogger but whose real power comes from Google Maps, Google Custom Search, and Sites.)

The gadget also has a field "Copyright (optional)". Whatever you put into this is shown at the beginning of the attribution. It will accept some simple HTML commands, for example a line break (<br />) as shown in the picture. But I have a feeling that adding something more complex, eg an entire Creative Commons statement, won't work.

How to remove the Attribution Gadget

Removing this gadget has been troublesome since it was introduced. Several times, we found a method to remove it, which worked for a while. But then Blogger added a check for that method, and code to put the gadget back again each time the template was saved - so we had to find another approach..

For a while they stopped putting the gadget back and the earlier, simpler methods of removing the gadget were working. Then they stopped again. So the complete list of removal methods that I've found, with notes about their current status, is below.

WARNING:
I have not checked the Blogger Terms and Conditions to find out whether you are allowed to remove the Attribution. Even if they don't mention it today, a requirement to keep the statement could be added tomorrow. This advice does not mean that I, or Google/Blogger, are saying that you should/can/may/must remove the attribution statement.

Methods that currently work:

Adding a CSS rule to hide the attribution gadget

Changing your template name to a non-standard value AND
removing the gadget by either unlocking and removing the gadget or commenting out the code.
As at 20 Sept 2010, these methods both work if the name-value has been changed.

Adding a "not on mobile templates" command to the gadget code (only works on mobile templates, not required if you have been successful with removing or commenting out the code)

Techniques that used to work, but don't any more:

Unlocking and removing the gadget
This worked initially, then stopped. Most recently (Jan 2011), it was working again. If you try it, and it doesn't work, please leave a comment below, and try one of the other methods.

Commenting out the code.
(I haven't tested this again lately - it may be that it works again too.)

Advantages and Disadvantages:

I'm not keen on methods that involve hiding things, because it may make search-engines think you're being sneaky.

But changing the template-name may mean you don't get improvements that Google apply to the standard templates in future (eg support for new browser features, bug-fixes).

It may also mean that you get less-sympathetic responses to future question in the Blogger Help Forum: when people use 3rd party templates, one regular reply to, "how do I do XXXX to my template" is "ask your template provider."

To avoid this, you should at very least remember what template you were using, and possible even rename yours to something like "WHATEVER, based on Awesome".

Give credit where it's due:

If you do remove the standard attribution gadget, it may be a good idea to replace it with a customised attribution that acknowledges any or all of your domain registrar, blog-host (Blogger, AKA Google), file host, template designer and customiser, graphic designer, content writer(s) - in short anyone whose efforts have contributed to your blog.

Hiding your blog's attribution gadget, using a CSS rule

This article is about how to hide your blog's attribution gadget using a CSS rule.

It is part of a series about removing the attribution gadget from blogs which have designer templates.

WARNING:
I have not checked the Blogger Terms and Conditions to find out whether you are allowed to remove the Attribution. Even if they don't mention it today, a requirement to keep the statement could be added tomorrow. This advice does not mean that I, or Google/Blogger, are saying that you should/can/may/must remove the attribution statement.

Previously I have described what the attribution gadget is, and the concerns that a number of people have with it.

It's been a bit of a cat-and-mouse game with Blogger since I put up my first post on the subject: I think up a new way to take the the attribution gadget out of my blog, they put in some code to put back in again the next time I edit the template.

However, as at right now:

How to remove the attribution by hiding it:

One way of removing "powered by Blogger" from your blog is to hide it. To do so, simply add this rule to your template:

#Attribution1 {display: none;}

(See Adding a new formatting rule to your blog for more information about doing this.)

Note: Hiding elements on your blog can have downsides, if the search-engines think that you are trying to deceive them. Use this technique at your own risk.

Mobile template blogs:

The approach above only works on your non-mobile template. If you have enabled a custom mobile template, you can either use the standard way of removing your attribution from your mobile blog, or by adding a 2nd rule:

.mobile #Attribution1 {display: none;}

Give credit, too:

And as always - I do recommending adding an alternative attribution gadget, which gives credit where it's due.

Troubleshooting:

If this rule doesn't work and you have tried several other approaches on the same template, your gadget may now be called Attribution2 or even Attribution3. Look at your template (Design > Edit HTML) and search for "attribution" to find out what the correct digit is, and modify the rule to use it.

Removing the attribtion gadget by unlocking and then removing it.

This article documents removing the attribution gadget from Blogger by unlocking and then removing the gadget. This method no longer works (last tested 20 Sept 2010 - the gadget is automatically re-added to the blog's footer section), but the technique may be useful in future.

See the main article (removing the attribution gadget from blogs with Designer templates) for the most recent information about techniques that do work and for background information about the topic

WARNING:

I have not checked the Blogger Terms and Conditions to find out whether you are allowed to remove the Attribution. Even if they don't mention it today, a requirement to keep the statement could be added tomorrow. This advice does not mean that I, or Google/Blogger, are saying that you should/can/may/must remove the attribution statement.

Note: the following instructions relate to the pre-Sept 2011 Blogger interface. They will not be updated, because this method (generally) does not work.

How to remove the Attribution Gadget by unlocking and then removing it.

1 Go to Design > Edit HTML.

2 Take a backup:
Download a copy of your template: this is a backup - save it somewhere safe, in case things go wrong.

3 Find this section in the template:

The simplest way to locate it is to use your browser's search function (Edit > Find in Firefox, similar commands in other tools), and look for "lock Attrib".

4 Change

locked = 'true'

locked = 'false'

5 Preview the template change, to check that everything else is ok. If not, fix the problem. (The attribution will still be showing at this stage.)

6 Click Save Template

7 From the Design > Page Elements tab, edit the attribution gadget. It will now have a Remove button on the left hand side. Click this, to remove the gadget from your blog.

8 If you want to, add an an alternative attribution notice.

Changing the template-name and designer-name

This article is about changing the template-name and the template-designer-name associated with your Blogger template.

If your blog has a template from Google (and indeed from many third-party template providers too), the code has a documentation section at the top, which says the name of the template, and perhaps the date it was created and the name & website of the template designer.

You can see the header in your template by editing the template in the usual way - you don't need to expand the widgets. Near the top of the code, just after <b:skin><![CDATA[/* there will be something like this:

In blogs with Designer templates:

/* -----------------------------------------------
Blogger Template Style
Name: Simple
Designer: Josh Peterson
URL: www.noaesthetic.com
----------------------------------------------- */

In blogs with Layout templates:

/* -----------------------------------------------
Blogger Template Style
Name: 565
Date: 28 Feb 2004
Updated by: Blogger Team
----------------------------------------------- */

In blogs with Custom templates:

/* -----------------------------------------------
Blogger Template Style
Name: Rounders 2
Date: 27 Feb 2004
----------------------------------------------- */

Notice that in each case, the code is between /* and */
These characters tell Blogger to treat the words between them as comments and not to show them when the blog-post is turned into a web-page for your readers.

If you make changes to your blog template, it's a very good idea to make some notes about this in the documentation section, so that people who look at it later on (including you!) know what you've done and why. For example:

/* -----------------------------------------------
Blogger Template Style
Name: Simple
Designer: Josh Peterson
URL: www.noaesthetic.com
Updates: August 2010: removed shadow around outer body border - as per instuctions from XXX (because it looks ugly in IE)
----------------------------------------------- */

But as well as this, you can also make changes to the existing information, for example:

/* -----------------------------------------------
Blogger Template Style
Name: Simple
Designer: Josh Peterson and Freda Frog
URL: www.noaesthetic.com
----------------------------------------------- */

Any elements in Blogger (eg the attribution gadget) that use the existing data will pick up the change you make. In the example above, the attribution gadget becomes:

You can also change the template name, for example

/* -----------------------------------------------
Blogger Template Style
Name: Not-quite-so-Simple
Designer: Josh Peterson and Freda Frog

URL: www.noaesthetic.com
----------------------------------------------- */

Changing the template-name has two side effects:

It makes it possible to successfully delete the attribution gadget (by either unlocking and removing it, or commenting out the code) and

Your blog may not get any new features and bug-fixes that Blogger apply to existing templates (ref Disadvantages of editing your template).

Deleting the attribution gadget

How to edit your blogger template

Disadvantages of editing your template.

Monday, 20 September 2010

Removing the attribtion gadget by commenting out the code

This article documents removing the attribution gadget from Blogger by commenting out the code for the widget. This method no longer works (last tested 20 Sept 2010 - the gadget is automatically re-added to the bottom of the sidebar), but the technique may be useful in future.

See the main article about removing the attribution gadget from blogs with Designer templates for background information about the topic, and for the most recent information about techniques that work.

WARNING:

I have not checked the Blogger Terms and Conditions to find out whether you are allowed to remove the Attribution. Even if they don't mention it today, a requirement to keep the statement could be added tomorrow. This advice does not mean that I, or Google/Blogger, are saying that you should/can/may/must remove the attribution statement.

How to remove the Attribution Gadget by commenting out the code:

Edit your template in the normal way, and tick the Expand Widgets box, so you can see all the code

Find this section in the template:

<b:section class='foot' id='footer-3' showaddelement='no'>
<b:widget id='Attribution2' locked='true' title='' type='Attribution'>
<b:includable id='main'>
    <div class='widget-content' style='text-align: center;'>
      <b:if cond='data:attribution != ""'>
        <data:attribution/>
      </b:if>
    </div>

    <b:include name='quickedit'/>
</b:includable>
</b:widget>
</b:section>

Note that Attribution2 may be a different value (eg Attribution1 or Attribution3) depending on how many times you've tried to remove it in the past - searching for "type='Attribution'" is probably the easiest way to find the block of code.

Comment-out the code that displays the Attribution gadget, by putting it inside these characters  so it ends up looking like this

Preview the template change, to check that everything is ok. If not, fix the problem

Click Save Template

As the template tries to save, you may get a warning message:

Warning: Your new template does not include the following widgets:
Attribution3
Would you like to keep these widgets on your blog or delete them?
Deleting widgets cannot be undone.

(Yours might say Attribution1, or 2 or 4 ... depending on how many other approaches you've tried to remove it )

If you get the message, then click Keep Widgets: This will leave an attribution Gadget in the set of Widgets that your blog has data about, even though it's not actually showing it on the screen. (Ref: Components in your Blog)

If you want, add an an alternative attribution gadget.

Removing the attribution gadget from your blog - current information

How to edit a blogger template

Making a custom attribution gadget for your blog

Types of templates in Blogger.

Template Designer now live in Blogger.

How the data in your Blogger blog is organised

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