How to add go to top and go to bottom buttons Using jQuery in Blogger

The Up and Down buttons can be used to navigate to the top and bottom of the page content, especially when on the main page are many articles or when an article has too many comments. These buttons have a fadeIn and fadeOut effect, this means that they will fade slightly when we are scrolling to the top or bottom of the page and additionally, have the function of going up/down the blog.

Demo

You can see a live demo on my blog, the buttons are located on the right side.

How to put Go Up and Go Down buttons using the jQuery slide effect

Step 1. Go to Template, click on the Edit HTML button

Step 2. Click anywhere inside the code area and press the CTRL + F keys to open the Blogger search box

Step 3. Copy and paste the following piece of code inside the search box in order to find it:

]]></b:skin>

Step 4. Just above ]]></b:skin> paste this one:

/* Up and Down Buttons with jQuery
----------------------------------------------- */
.button_up{
padding:7px; /* Distance between the border and the icon */
background-color:white;
border:1px solid #CCC; /* Border Color */
position:fixed;
background: white url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMt51ZcM4TAui5e7wZyy8Rn1yEDmyJA6gWlP1aTUN1sS1fa6O7ZAyoVUfs2p8xam6WOD9LVSXAJjFDJOStUp5XABGE_d6iy-Pbt-tMdOXoQTrs6UaR358_ghouys_s_ZZYMyXuNuA63Eo/s16/arrow_up.png) no-repeat top left;
background-position:50% 50%;
width:20px; /* Button's width */
height:20px; /* Button's height */
bottom:280px; /* Distance from the bottom */
right:5px; /* Change right to left if you want the buttons on the left */
white-space:nowrap;
cursor: pointer;
border-radius: 3px 3px 3px 3px;
opacity:0.7;
filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(opacity=70);
}
.button_down{
padding:7px; /* Distance between the border and the icon */
background-color:white;
border:1px solid #CCC; /* Border Color */
position:fixed;
background: white url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfd2ymcF_09v_U6wjsT8gJORi-mOMauoG05qcUrg-ICIWiFWRP71fhmUxmYCS44fJ2Mp3bKp7wHM6ek8sCnJbm7RoGuFgWXPFzHHF2W1vxhKrYQAQmB-hAnWrVKudtqAjOwZSu0_wOeM4/s16/arrow_down.png) no-repeat top left;
background-position:50% 50%;
width:20px; /* Button's width */
height:20px; /* Button's height */
bottom:242px; /* Distance from the bottom */
right:5px; /* Change right to left if you want the buttons on the left */
white-space:nowrap;
cursor: pointer;
border-radius: 3px 3px 3px 3px;
opacity:0.7;
filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(opacity=70);
}

Note:  - in green are some annotations that explains what styles you can modify on their left side.
           - You can change the arrows by changing the URLs in blue.
           - To change the buttons background color of buttons, change the white text with your color

Step 5. Now search (CTRL + F) for the following tag:

</body>

Step 6. And just above it, paste the code below:

<script src='http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.7.1/jquery.min.js' type='text/javascript'/>

<div class='button_up' id='button_up' style='display:none;'/>
<div class='button_down' id='button_down' style='display:none;'/>

<script>
//<![CDATA[
(function(){var special=jQuery.event.special,uid1='D'+(+new Date()),uid2='D'+(+new Date()+1);special.scrollstart={setup:function(){var timer,handler=function(evt){var _self=this,_args=arguments;if(timer){clearTimeout(timer)}else{evt.type='scrollstart';jQuery.event.handle.apply(_self,_args)}timer=setTimeout(function(){timer=null},special.scrollstop.latency)};jQuery(this).bind('scroll',handler).data(uid1,handler)},teardown:function(){jQuery(this).unbind('scroll',jQuery(this).data(uid1))}};special.scrollstop={latency:300,setup:function(){var timer,handler=function(evt){var _self=this,_args=arguments;if(timer){clearTimeout(timer)}timer=setTimeout(function(){timer=null;evt.type='scrollstop';jQuery.event.handle.apply(_self,_args)},special.scrollstop.latency)};jQuery(this).bind('scroll',handler).data(uid2,handler)},teardown:function(){jQuery(this).unbind('scroll',jQuery(this).data(uid2))}}})();

$(function() {
var $elem = $('body');
$('#button_up').fadeIn('slow');
$('#button_down').fadeIn('slow');
$(window).bind('scrollstart', function(){
$('#button_up,#button_down').stop().animate({'opacity':'0.2'});
});
$(window).bind('scrollstop', function(){
$('#button_up,#button_down').stop().animate({'opacity':'1'});
});
$('#button_down').click(
function (e) {
$('html, body').animate({scrollTop: $elem.height()}, 800);
} );
$('#button_up').click(
function (e) {
$('html, body').animate({scrollTop: '0px'}, 800);
} );});
//]]>
</script>

Note: In case you want to remove the "Go to top" button, remove the 1st bolded code and to remove the "Go to bottom" button, remove the 2nd one.

Step 7. Finally, Save your changes by clicking on the Save template button. Enjoy!

How to Add a Vintage Style to Images In Blogger using CSS

To get that vintage Instagram effect on your pictures, you don't have to use a program, now you can use CSS and get a similar result! The following trick will apply a shadow inside the image, add a back border, and on top of the image, add another semitransparent image with a grunge style that will give a vintage touch.

You can see a demo on the test blog - move the cursor over the image and it changes back to normal (notice that borders remain the same):

Demo: Instagram-like Vintage Effect for Images

Obviously, there will be images that will fit better these effects than others, but regardless of that we do, there should be made a few observations:
- this effect is made with CSS and it will not recognize some browsers, especially Internet Explorer. So this effect might not work on older versions of IE. 
- the images are not centered, you will have to align them to the left (default) or to the right.

Now let's add the CSS code for applying this vintage Instagram effect on our images.

Adding Instagram-like Vintage Effect to Blogger Images

Step 1. From your Blogger dashboard > go to "Template" > "Edit HTML"

Step 2. Click anywhere inside the code area and press the CTRL + F keys to open Blogger' search box

Step 3. Type or paste the following tag inside the search box:

</head>

Step 4. Just above </head> add the following CSS style:

<style>
.vintage img {
padding:0;
float:left;
}
.vintage {
border:10px solid #000;
position: relative;
float: left; /* Change to right if you want the images to be aligned to the right */
margin-right: 20px;
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.vintage:before {
content: "";
display: block;
position: absolute;
top: 0;
bottom: 0;
left: 0;
right: 0;
background-color: rgba(255,102,0, 0.6); /* sepia */
background-image:url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg85knzPr_b_n3D93scGx_GB_thqH6JjJgG-FXcbcwqk6n6K3Ze9-8z8bc-gRlY3iZ4mQOnGH3-kp4ke-ZO0QFi3uaaZ83RDbAsWrDBhLC0UI9x8qBnaHpIPMKdj0sH2Tu7k2KxMjXrAjI/s0/grunge.png);
background-size: cover;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 50px #000, inset 0 0 50px #000, inset 0 0 50px #000;
-moz-transition: all 1s;
-webkit-transition: all 1s;
-o-transition: all 1s;
transition: all .1s;
}
.vintage:hover:before {
background: none;
box-shadow:none;
-moz-transition: all 1s;
-webkit-transition: all 1s;
-o-transition: all 1s;
transition: all .1s;
}
</style>

Note: The line in bold that corresponds to the color of the image, can be changed to any other color; here are some examples of traditional vintage:

background-color: rgba(0,0,255, 0.5); /* blue */
background-color: rgba(0,255,0, 0.5); /* green */
background-color: rgba(0,255,255, 0.5); /* cyan */
background-color: rgba(255,0,0, 0.5); /* red */
background-color: rgba(255,0,240, 0.5); /* violet */

If you want the image not to change to its original state on mouse hover, then remove the last code:

.vintage:hover:before {
background: none;
box-shadow:none;
-moz-transition: all 1s;
-webkit-transition: all 1s;
-o-transition: all 1s;
transition: all .1s;
}

Step 5. Click the "Save Template" button to save the style.

Step 6. Finally, add the following HTML code inside the HTML section of your posts each time you want to apply the vintage effect to an image:

<div class="vintage" style="clear:both;">
<img border="0" src="URL of the image" />
</div>

Replace the text in blue with the url of your picture.

And that's it, with this little experiment you can have your vintage-style images using CSS only.

How to Add a Widget Below First Post in Blogger

This tutorial will show you how to make a gadget/widget to appear just below the first Blogger post.

First, you must understand that the usual gadgets provided by Blogger can be added only where the design section allows this. Yet, we can show any element, for example, an AdSense ad, an image, a flash file or a video etc...

So, what we will do in this tutorial is to display an element under the first post, this means that it will not be visible below the other posts. This is great when you use any automatic summary, although it is not a requirement.

This is easy to do and we will use the isFirstPost conditional tag for that element to show it under the first post published on our blog.

Adding A Gadget or Widget Below First Post in Blogger

Step 1. From your Blogger dashboard, go to Template and click on the Edit HTML button:

Step 2. Click anywhere inside the code area and press the CTRL + F keys to open the Blogger search box

Step 3. Type or paste this line below inside the search box and hit Enter to find it:

<b:include data='post' name='post'/> 

Step 4. Just below it add this code:

<b:if cond='data:post.isFirstPost'>
<div align="center" style="margin:10px auto;">
Here goes the code of the element you want to show
</div>
</b:if>

Note:

- The bolded text indicates to where you should paste the code of the element (eg. AdSense ad, a widget). 

- In red are the top margins (margin-top) and the bottom margins (margin-bottom), this is in case you want the element to move towards or away from the entries, also you can add any style like a background color, border etc..
Step 5. Preview to make sure everything is ok, then Save your Template by clicking on the Save template button. That's it!

How to Customize Blogger's Lightbox

For those of you who have chosen to use the Blogger's Lightbox View for displaying pictures when clicking on them, you have the option to change its style in a whole different way. You will be able to change the black color of the screen, the border or shadow of the images and the color of the thumbnails background. We can customize the Blogger Lightbox entirely on our taste.

Demo

Take a look at the screenshots below:

Before:

After:

After adding our CSS code, the entire look of the modal window will be changed: the background color, the bar showing the thumbnails, the border of images, the text within it, transparency and the close button.

All we have to do is to overwrite the default styles and change them with ours.

How to Change the Blogger's Lightbox Background and Style

Step 1. Go to Template, click on the Edit HTML button (also click on the Proceed button if needed)

Step 2. Click anywhere inside the code area and search using CTRL + F the following tag:

</head>

Step 3. Just above the </head> tag, add the following code:

<style>
/* Background Color */
.CSS_LIGHTBOX_BG_MASK {
background-color: #ffffff !important;
background-image: url(image-url-address) !important;
opacity: 0.8 !important;
filter: alpha(opacity=90) !important;
}
/* Images Border */
.CSS_LIGHTBOX_SCALED_IMAGE_IMG {
outline: 0px solid #fff !important;
-webkit-border-radius: 10px;
-moz-border-radius: 10px;
border-radius: 10px;
-webkit-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #000000;
-moz-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #000000;
box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #000000;
}
/* Close Button */
.CSS_LIGHTBOX_BTN_CLOSE {
background: url(image-url) no-repeat !important;
width: 24px !important;
height: 24px !important;
}
/* Thumbnails Bar Color */
.CSS_LIGHTBOX_FILMSTRIP {
background-color: #eaeaea !important;
}
/* Text Color */
.CSS_LIGHTBOX_ATTRIBUTION_INFO, .CSS_LIGHTBOX_ATTRIBUTION_LINK {
color: #000 !important;
}
/* Index Info (number of images) */
.CSS_LIGHTBOX_INDEX_INFO {
color: #555555 !important;
}
</style>

Note:
- The text in green explains to which part the code belongs to and it doesn't need to be modified

For example, the portion below / * Background Color * / can change the background color or even the LightBox background color with an image - for this, change this line by replacing the red text with the url address of your image:

background-image: url(image-url) !important;

- Below is the opacity: if you add a lower value ( 0.8 ) the background will become more transparent.

- To change the icon for the close button, you have to replace the text in red from /* Close Button */ with the URL of your image. (you can host image at tinypic or upload it into a blogger draft and then Copy the Link Location - read this tutorial for more info)
- To change the text color of images, replace the #555555 value from /* Index Info (number of images) */

- We can also change the look of the border around our pictures like we can make them more round, add a shadow, etc... but remember this is CSS3 and older versions of Internet Explorer will not show any changes.

Step 4. Click on Save Template and you're done!

How to Make the Blogger Posts Have a Calendar for the Date in

It's quite common to see calendar style dates next to some WordPress posts but for the Blogger platform it isn't always easy adding it. But who said you can't do it? You need to look no further than this blog. In this tutorial, we'll learn how to create a calendar style for your Blogger posts date!

DEMO

How to create calendar style dates in Blogger

Step 1. Go to "Settings" > "Language and Formatting" - "Date Header Format" and change the date format as you can see in this example below (first add day, month and finally year)
 

Step 2. Go to Template > click the "Edit HTML" button

Step 3. Click anywhere inside the code area and press CTRL + F to open the blogger' search box

Step 4. Type or paste the following line inside the search box and hit Enter to find it:

<h2 class='date-header'><span><data:post.dateHeader/></span></h2>

Step 5. In case you find it twice, replace it twice with this code:

<div id='Date'>
<script>changeDate(&#39;<data:post.dateHeader/>&#39;);</script>
</div>
<b:else/>
<div id='Date'>
<script>changeDate(&#39;&#39;);</script>
</div>

Step 6. Now type this tag inside the search box and hit Enter to find it:

</head>

Step 7. Just above the </head> tag, paste this code:

<script type='text/javascript'>
//<![CDATA[
var DateCalendar;
function changeDate(d){
if (d == "") {
d = DateCalendar;
}
var da = d.split(' ');
day = "<strong class='date_day'>"+da[0]+"</strong>";
month = "<strong class='date_month'>"+da[1].slice(0,3)+"</strong>";
year = "<strong class='date_year'>"+da[2]+"</strong>";
document.write(month+day+year);
DateCalendar = d;
}
//]]>
</script>
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType != &quot;static_page&quot;'>
<style type='text/css'>
/* Calendar style date
----------------------------------------------- */
#Date {
background: transparent url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2axnIdG5fMMEEGbeJUrafYESLKjch12y-OUkuwddZE7lbmGGYQwPrhn5AiPxzX5dmNSYSrU2KFwG8jf6U-P8nyMRy6t2ZGflbJA_iEk-K_VheVSpVI7e2kXgwiCK8urIjaXX6COCTk9Ur/s1600/calendar07.png) no-repeat;
display: block;
width:60px;
height:60px;
float: left;
margin: 15px 2px -40px -108px;
padding: 0 0 8px 0px;
border: 0;
text-transform: uppercase;
}
.date_month {
display: block;
font-size: 15px;
font-weight:bold;
margin-top:-1px;
text-align:center;
color:#ffffff; /* Month's color */
}
.date_day {
display: block;
font-size: 28px;
font-weight:bold;
margin-top:-8px;
text-align:center;
color:#282828; /* Day's color */
}
.date_year {
display: block;
font-size: 10px;
margin-top:-8px;
text-align:center;
color:#282828; /* Year's color */
}
</style>
</b:if>

Before saving the Template, here we can make some changes:

- To change the calendar style, replace the url in blue with yours;
- If the calendar doesn't appear as it should, change -108 with 0;
- With green are marked the areas where you can change the color of the dates

Step 8. Now Preview your Template and if everything looks ok, hit the Save Template button.

That was all... Enjoy!

How to Create Drop Caps (Big First Letters) in Blogger/Blogspot

Here's another way to customize your Blog. In this case, your Posts and Comment's first letter. The effect is a large first letter stretching down three or four lines with the text wrapped around. The drop cap letter can also use a different font and have a different color from the rest of the text. This style can be often seen in newspapers, literature, magazines. So, in this tutorial I will show you how to apply automatically a Magazine text style on Blogger Posts and Comments. Let's start adding it...

-> Add Drop Caps For Blogger Posts

-> Add Drop Caps For Blogger Comments

Big First Letter for your Blogger / Blogspot Posts

Step 1. From your Blogger Dashboard, go to Template and click on the Edit HTML button:

Step 2. Click anywhere inside the code area and press the CTRL + F keys to open the Blogger' search box. Type this piece of code inside the search box then hit Enter to find it:

]]></b:skin>

Note: you might need to click on the arrow next to it to expand the code within and then you need to search ]]></b:skin> one more time.

Step 3. Just above ]]></b:skin>, add the following CSS code:

.capital:first-letter {
float: left;
display: block;
font-family: Times, serif, Georgia;
font-size: 40px;
color: #000000;
margin:0px 5px 0 0;
padding:0 0 0 10px;
}

Color - change the value in blue with the hex of your color
Size - to change the letter size, increase/decrease the value highlighted in pink.

Step 4. Now search for this code:

<data:post.body/>

Step 5. Then immediately before and after add the red fragments you see in the example below:

 <div class='capital'><data:post.body/></div>

Step 6. Save the changes by clicking on the Save template button.

Important! If the above code is not working, add one of following codes from this example:

<p class="capital"><data:post.body/></p>

Or try this instead:

<span class="capital"><data:post.body/></span>

Step 1. Log in to your Blogger account > go to Template > Edit HTML > click anywhere inside the code area and press CTRL + F keys to open the search box

Step 2. Type the following piece of code inside the search box and hit Enter to find it (if you have already added this code, skip step 2 & 3):

]]></b:skin>

Step 3. Add the following code just above ]]></b:skin>:

.capital:first-letter {
float: left;
display: block;
font-family: Times, serif, Georgia;
font-size: 40px;
color: #000000;
margin:0px 5px 0 0;
padding:0 0 0 10px;
}

Color - to change the letter color, replace the value in blue with the value of your color. Here's a tool that might help you to find the hex of the color that you need: Color Code Generator
Size - to change the letter size, change the value in pink.

Step 4. Then Search for this piece of code:

<data:comment.body/>

Step 5. Add the red codes before and after <data:comment.body/> as you can see in my example below:

<p class="capital"><data:comment.body/></p>

Step 6. Save your Template.

That's it! Now you have a cool drop cap first letter on your blog. If you have any question, leave a comment below!

Numbered comments on threaded comments for Blogger/Blogspot

In a previous tutorial you've seen how you can add numbered comments to your blogger blog, unfortunately, this trick worked only for those who don't have the reply option and are still using the old blogger commenting system. But we won't have any problem this time because this tutorial will show you how to add numbered comments with comment bubbles on the threaded comments, as well ;)

What the following CSS trick will do for you:

1. When the general block of comments is initiating (.comments-content) a counter called countcomments activates and starts with an initial value of 1. 
2. Then, each time the code flow goes through a review of any level, either the original comment or a reply (.comment-thread li), it will bring us in front (:before) of the comment's body the number that is the counter.
   
3. Finally, this is incremented in the counter (counter-increment).

See the screenshot:

Isn't that great? I'm pretty sure many of you have been waiting for this cool trick. So, let's begin applying it for our threaded commenting system.

Steps to add bubble comments count

Step 1: From your Blogger Dashboard, go to Template and click on the Edit HTML button:

... click anywhere inside the code area and press CTRL + F to open the Blogger' search box.

Step 2: Type the following tag inside the search box and hit Enter to find it:

]]></b:skin>

Note. you have to click on the arrow next to it, then search the ]]></b:skin> one more time 

Step 3: Add the following code just above ]]></b:skin>:

.comment-thread ol {
counter-reset: countcomments;
}
.comment-thread li:before {
content: counter(countcomments,decimal);
counter-increment: countcomments;
float: right;
z-index: 2;
position:relative;
font-size: 22px;
color: #555555;
padding-left:10px; 
padding-top:3px; 
background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVKQYo_6okYUzMDvBfPZaTIimab5FkKEpGcCtgsfpiYvV2WCiGFVLKAwxO4_mBXeBHGSiNeLzhW0631NDYQ6tBCecJH0i0Ga9jzObDW8h96ljQ9BLjf4PWydrGVLIwnilkbhzIyPXHYr83/s1600/comment+bubble2.png) no-repeat;
margin-top:7px; 
margin-left:10px; 
width: 50px; /*image-width size*/
height: 48px; /*image-height size*/ 
}
.comment-thread ol ol {
counter-reset: contrebasse;
}
.comment-thread li li:before {
content: counter(countcomments,decimal) "." counter(contrebasse,lower-latin);
counter-increment: contrebasse;
float: right;
font-size: 18px;
color: #666666;
}

Note:

• if you want to have no bubble icon, remove the code in red (including the address in blue)
• to change the comment bubble, replace the code in blue with the URL address of your own icon. If you're not sure what icon you should use, you can find some cool icons in my previous posts (see these tutorials here and here)
• to change the position of comments count, increase/decrease the values (3 & 10) from padding-top and padding-left
• to change the position of comments bubble/icon, change the values (10 & 7) from margin-left and margin-top

Step 4: Now Save the Template and you're done!

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