Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Review - Blogger's New Interface


Review - Blogger’s New Interface
============
Note - these instructions are written in LEFTISH.
If you are right-handed - just reverse the directions.
============

Today I want to review Blogger’s New Interface -

But first -

Disclaimer -
I am in no way affiliated with the manufacturer or supplier of this product - to my knowledge.
I did not get this product for FREE in exchange for a review - aka barter. I paid for it.
I have no intention of slandering or libeling anyone or any product.
I am simply stating my opinions - I could be wrong - you may disagree.
My opinions are based on my experience with this product - your results may vary.
I think that about covers it - if I missed something - let me know.
I am not a lawyer - and I am just trying to cover my a$$. ;)).
===

This review doesn’t really fit my Standard Format -
But I will try to cover some of the same stuff -


Description -

According to the hype -

Blogger has introduced “the completely new, streamlined blogging experience that makes it easier for you to find what you need and focus on writing great blog posts.”

To which I say - CRAP!!

I don't think that is is "easier for you/me to find what you/I need" -

And I don't want to "focus on writing great blog posts" -

I want to SEW!! ;))


Where you can get it - 

It’s automatic as soon as you choose to “upgrade” -

You may change back to the “old way” -

If you go to the top of your new Dashboard -
(If you can find it - I’ll talk about that in a minute - ;))

Find the little “cog” picture to the right of “English” (on mine) -

And “left click” (LC) on the line that says “Old Blogger interface” -

But - I think that the change will be temporary -

And that the “new way” will be mandatory by the end of April.


What I LIKE about this “upgrade” -

Not much - ;))

1. I like to draft my posts in WORD - offline - and then copy/paste them to BLOGGER. In the past - I would have to copy/paste to NOTEPAD first in order to strip off all of the WORD formatting codes - then copy/paste from NOTEPAD to BLOGGER - because WORD and BLOGGER didn’t play nice.

Now I am able to copy/paste from WORD directly to BLOGGER if I am in BLOGGER - HTML mode.

That does save me a step - so that’s good.

2. Now if I am in BLOGGER - COMPOSE mode - I can insert photos where the cursor actually IS. Previously I would insert photos - and they would all go to the top of my post - it didn’t matter where the cursor was - they would all go to the top of my post. So I would switch to HTML code - find the photo I needed - and then cut/paste it where it was supposed to be.


What I DON’T like about this “upgrade” -

A whole bunch - ;))

1. The DASHBOARD is not CALLED Dashboard anymore - so if you’re looking for it - good luck!

I just happen to have a BOOKMARK for my BLOGGER DASHBOARD - so I can get to mine easily.

Why they didn’t just call it DASHBOARD - because that’s what we are looking for - is beyond me!!

Instead - you have to find the ORANGE BOX with the white “B” in it - at the top left - or the MY BLOGS right below it.

2. Everything that used to go ACROSS the screen - now goes DOWN the sides.

How that is considered an improvement is also beyond me.

It looks like they just moved stuff around - for no apparent reason.

And for me - it is NOT easier to find - and I have to spend my time trying to figure out someone else’s weird logic.

3. The font is difficult for me to read.

I would like the option to make it larger and to make it BOLD.

If anyone out there knows how to do that - PLEASE let me know!

For me - the old way was larger and much easier to read.

4. Watch out for the CALENDAR when you go to schedule your post.

It goes from MONDAY to SUNDAY.

Funny thing about calendars - mine usually go from SUNDAY to SATURDAY.

Don’t really know when Monday became the first day of the week - ;))

5. The FEEDBACK box asks that you Highlight the problem -
Describe the problem -
and to Please submit multiple problems separately.

I really don’t have that kind of time -

I would much rather SEW - ;))

Some tips and tricks -

1. If you draft a post in COMPOSE mode - there is a little arrow at the bottom of the center box - click on that and it will make the box longer - not wider - just longer - so that you can see more of what you are writing. Who knows why they didn't just make the window bigger to begin with!

2. If you draft a post in HTML mode - over on the right side - under POST SETTING - there is OPTIONS. At the bottom is LINE BREAKS - click the bubble in front of "Press "Enter" for line breaks". That will remove a BUNCH of codes from the HTML screen and make it easier to see what you are writing.

I'm working on another post about HTML codes - and a brief tutorial.

3. If you want to SCHEDULE a post to run tomorrow or the next day or on a specific date - like a holiday - over on the right side - under SCHEDULE - you can set the time and date. Type in a time - or use the drop-down menu. Be careful with the calendar, though - the days run Monday to Sunday! Most calendars that I see run Sunday to Saturday - so it looks very strange to me! And be sure to click on DONE when you are done. Then - instead of SAVING your post - which will save it in DRAFT mode - make sure you click on PUBLISH - at the top - then it will publish on the date and time you set - and show on your list of posts as SCHEDULED.

4. After you are done writing your post - click on SAVE to save the draft - PREVIEW - to see what it looks like - PUBLISH - to publish it automatically or whenever you scheduled it - or CLOSE to get back to the POSTS screen.

CLOSE - gets you back to the NEW VERSION of the DASHBOARD -
Too bad they didn’t just label the little tab DASHBOARD -
But - hey - that would have made sense - ;))

Would I recommend this “upgrade”?
NO - I much prefer the OLD BLOGGER INTERFACE
For the reasons explained above - ;))

===



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -



1 comment:

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

OK - so apparently I can't PUBLISH my MODERATED comments from the COMMENT section - like I thought - because Katrina left me a comment - which I PUBLISHED - but it doesn't SHOW!! Silly me - used to be able to do that - ;))
===

Katrina has left a new comment on your post "Blogger's New Look":

I had no idea Blogger was talking about a change, a new look. I've been behind in blogging (2 weeks to be exact) and tonight I go to write a post, and I was like, "Where the hell am I?!!" when I went into Blogger. Totally and Completely LOST right now. Where IS everything? I HATE change. I really do. i wish Blogger would give us an option to either have the new formatting or the old one (do they? If anyone knows if we have a CHOICE at all, please let me know!)

Moderate comments for this blog.

Posted by Katrina to A Left-Handed Quilter at April 24, 2012 1:52 AM

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...