I have been using Blogger for my blogging for almost two years now, and occasionally, I have faced various problems like being unable to publish or republish, unable to upload photos, the tool for uploading photo (picture icon) not visible, etc. When faced with such problems, I switch browser and find that often that helps. If I am using Internet Explorer, I switch to FireFox, and vice versa, and often this helped. Only when this does not help would I think of other ways or of contacting Blogger support. (Note: whether this will help or not will depend on the situation)
Update: Recently, I tried to upload a picture using IE. It said DONE, I clicked and checked. The picture (or the HTML) was nowhere to be seen. I tried a few time. Same result. I changed to FireFox. I succeeded on the first attempt. This has happened more than once.
Update: Blogger Employee has also offered this piece of advice for the problem described: If your Done button isn't appearing, sign out of Blogger, clear your
cache, and then sign back in."
Update 7 May 2007: Someone reported having difficulties uploading photos with Safari (Mac). I recommended FireFox which is cross-platform. Here is his response: "It worked. Thank You!!!" You can read the thread here: Problem with Add a Page Element. There were numerous cases where I recommended changing browser and it worked.
By the way, if you are still using only Internet Explorer, I strongly recommend that you get FireFox. It is a far better and more secure browser. There are other advantages as well. It is good to be able to view your blog in more than one browser to make sure that the blog is displayed as you want it to be. For example, a common complaint of bloggers are that the sidebar or the content slide down to the bottom of the page. Often this occur with only some browser and not others. With more than one browser, you can check and be alerted to it if it happened. You may also install Opera, but I prefer FireFox. FireFox is better supported by Blogger, not Opera. There will be lots of things you can do when using FireFox for Blogger that you can't with Opera. I use 3, FireFox with the Google toolbar (most often), Internet Explorer and Opera (hardly). When using FireFox with the Google toolbar, you can do spell check within your Blogger post editor window which is very convenient. There are many other advantages, described further below.
Like others, I have more than one email account, some to control spam as I leave my email in some of my blogs. I find that by accessing the email accounts in different browsers, I can simultaneously have access to more than one email without having to log out. This apply to Blogger account as well, and sometimes it can be useful as I also happened to have more than 1 Blogger account. At times I want to transfer things from one account to the other.
Tabbed Browsing
A big advantage of FireFox over Internet Explorer is the availability of tabbed browsing where you can open multiple web pages in a a single browser window, and quickly flip back and forth. This alone is enough reason for you to get FireFox if you are using only Internet. Further, you can even drag and drop tabs to keep related pages together. There is also the possibility when a hyperlink is set to open in a new window, to right-click on it and select "open in a new tab" so that you don't open too many windows.Pop-up Blocking
FireFox has a very effective built-in pop-up blocker which block irritating pop-ups and pop-unders. I find FireFox pop-up blocker is more effective.Integrated Search Box
There is an search box integrated into the menu bar where you can search Google, Yahoo, eBay, Wikipedia, and any other search engine you fancy.Customizable
You can select new button controls for your toolbars, install extensions to add new features, or change the look of the FireFox browser by changing themes.Google toolbar
And with the Google toolbar, you can check the PageRank of any site easily. The built-in search box allow you to search the whole web or current site. The search term suggestion feature is very good also. Plus the Google toolbar’s auto fill function allows you to automatically have any form filled in based on your saved personal information.With all these advantages, there is just no reason not to add FireFox with Google toolbar to your computer.
Update: A reply from Blogger Employee (Google Blogger official representative) when I made a recommendation at Google Blogger Help group to try switching browser on the Google Help group: "Unfortunately, it sounds like you guys might be experiencing the same difficulties some other users have been experiencing with uploading pictures. We have been investigating some issues with our image uploading feature and are working hard on a resolution.
In the meantime, Enviroman's (me) suggestion is something to consider. Also, a few other troubleshooting tips include:
- Ensure that JavaScript is enabled.
- Clear your cache and cookies, and then try again.
- Check for plugins on your browser. These sometimes cause unexpected
incompatibilities with the post editor. If you have any, try
temporarily disabling them to see if that makes a difference.
Additionally, for other ways that you can post pictures on your blog, you may want to check out our Blogger Help article here:
What other ways to post pictures are available?
Sorry for the inconvenience!"
An email from a grateful reader (posted with the kind permission of author): "Peter, I LOVE YOU! You are so wise! I begrudgingly downloaded FireFox figuring I was just on a long and ugly goose chase. BUT YOU WERE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! Smooches! That photo popped up and everything goes so much faster -- WOW! I am happy, blogging my brains out once again.. The Home Stretch". Check it out for a chuckle."
THANKS AGAIN!
Ann Kult
(Ann is a freelance humorous columnist. If you have need for one, contact her via her website via the link above.)
Another Blogger blogger, MaryK of Virgin Wool (close new window to return to this page) who found switching browser helped: This is what she posted in the thread Photographs (close new window to get back to this page) in the Google Blogger Help group: "I've found that switching browsers has helped out a lot with the photo issue. There are still issues on occasion, but the "no photo when clicking Done" issue has all but gone away since I started using Mozilla's Firefox rather than Microsoft's Internet Explorer to publish pictures to my blog posts. On good days I can upload five pictures at a time, which is especially nice, as that saves quite a bit of time."
Installing FireFox from this site will also install the Google toolbar which will block annoying pop-up's.
Note: You can download FireFox with Google Toolbar directly from this page by via the link "Browse the Web faster. Get FireFox with Google Toolbar" at the top of the right sidebar.
Update 6 August 2007: A blogger had problem dragging a Page Element in the Layout. I suggested try using different browser. His respond: "I don't know why, but your suggestion worked. Thank you". See
Move adsense header page element under header.
Recent personal experience. Tried to sign into my online banking account. No luck. Changed browser. Got signed in within seconds.
Books from Amazon
Firefox For Dummies
Firefox Secrets : A Need-To-Know Guide
Hacking FireFox : More Than 150 Hacks, Mods, and Customizations
Firefox and Thunderbird Garage (The Garage Series)
Firefox Hacks : Tips & Tools for Next-Generation Web Browsing
