Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Blogger: What to do when you can't publish, upload photos, etc.

(see notes and updates below)

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

29 comments:

Wilde said...

I have firefox and it's not showing post changes which do show in IE. I have tried all listed above, even rebooting, clear cache, uninstalling!

doug@yourvoicecoach.com

Peter @ Enviroman said...

Then it is probably a Blogger glitch about which only Blogger can do something about.

SadButTrue said...

"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 I don't open too many windows."

Actually, Firefox allows two better ways to accomplish this. First, if you middle-click on a link, it will open in a new tab. Second, you can make opening in a new tab (rather than a new window) the default behaviour.
-Look under: Tools/options/Tabs.
-Check the box that says "Force links that open in new windows to open in..."
-Highlight the radio button "A new tab."
Fox rocks. It blocks most pop-ups, is not vulnerable to the vast majority of exploits (spyware, viruses, and browser hijacks), and the tabbed browsing feature vastly improves the ability to work with multiple pages.

hokysushi said...

Just installed Firefox and had a shock when in EDIT posts mode large patches of screen turned black and blog titles squeezed right and out. But will still keep trying Firefox, though currently I use and find Avant Browser (with tabbed) very compatible with Blogger. Give it a go.

Peter @ Enviroman said...

That is strange. Never had this problem before. Try posting your problem to this Yahoo group: Mozilla FireFox Yahoo group
There are a couple of people who are very familiar with FireFox actively answering questions.

field negro said...

I am having problems posting fron fire fox. The new posts on my blog show up on comcast hisgh speed, but not when I use fire fox. I would much prefer to use fire fox. Also, the stat counter I installed w/fire fox is showing zero visits every day for the past three days. Yet when I go to other stat counters on my blog, it shows me hits I have been getting.

HELP!!!!

Peter @ Enviroman said...

Hi Field Negro,

I am afraid I am not familiar with the services that you are using, so I am unable to help. Sorry.

Anonymous said...

Okay, I am making the leap over to Firefox. You make a great case for it...despite the previous posts here.

I know how to clear a cache/cookies, but have no idea what you mean by a plug-in. Such a rookie, but an avid blogger none-the-less.

Peter @ Enviroman said...

Hi Teri,

Congrats on the choice. I think you will enjoy it. Firefox is REALLY a better browser than IE6. Don't know about IE7 though, which is not out yet.

  said...

I have found Maxthon to be very good, if folks want an IE engine but more stability and tabbed browsing. Firefox, sadly, won’t display fonts properly, based on my experience, and I love typography too much.
   Browser arguments aside, I do thank you for your tip, as Firefox got me out of the very trouble that your post highlights.

Jane said...

About mid October 2006, we can no longer upload pictures to our blogspot blogs.
MAC, we used a very easy email system that uploaded to our Flickr accounts and within 4 minutes our pictures were on our blogspot pages.
But now, its gone, and we are a lot of people!
I am not kidding, we are a lot of Mac users and weve not received any help. We have tried Picassa, and our blogs are still not receiving anything.
We are on the point of abandoning it, and going with Flickr, as its as good as any blog is.
And we use Firefox.
Any help would be really appreciated. I dont know if I should give our class email address here.
So hopefully there will be some sort of an answer here, shall bookmark it.
Thanks,
Jane and everybody with Blogspot and a Mac

Jane said...

Jane said...
About mid October 2006, we can no longer upload pictures to our blogspot blogs.
MAC, we used a very easy email system that uploaded to our Flickr accounts and within 4 minutes our pictures were on our blogspot pages.
But now, its gone, and we are a lot of people!
I am not kidding, we are a lot of Mac users and weve not received any help. We have tried Picassa, and our blogs are still not receiving anything.
We are on the point of abandoning it, and going with Flickr, as its as good as any blog is.
And we use Firefox.
Any help would be really appreciated. I dont know if I should give our class email address here.
So hopefully there will be some sort of an answer here, shall bookmark it.
Thanks,
Jane and everybody with Blogspot and a Mac

Peter @ Enviroman said...

I would like to recommend Firefox (cross-platform) but you already said you use it. Anyway changing browsers sometimes help.

So far, you have only mentioned uploading via Flickr. You didn't mention uploading via Blogger. I know there has been numerous complaints, but I myself have seldom encounter it, and I even tested it with a Blogger Beta blog with 3 different browsers and with different ease, but all were successful. See posts
Testing uploading of photos in Blogger Beta with 3 different browsers
Testing uploading of photos in Blogger Beta with 3 different browsers again

You can also add photos in your post by hosting your photos in 3rd parties photo host like photobucket, and then using the image tag (sorry couldn't show the HTML because Blogger comment wouldn't accept it). You would have to make sure that the width of the photo does not exceed the width of the main column by resizing the photo or using the (sorry again, the HTML I want to show cannot be accept) image tag. For this, using a photo editor like Irfanview (free) will be very useful. See post Using Irfanview photo editor for your Blogger blog.

However with photobucket, if you use a free account with photobucket , you have to make sure that you log in at least once in 3 months or your account may get deleted, and along with that will go you photos. There are advantages and disadvantages, and I plan to write a post about it when I get the time.

Peter @ Enviroman said...

If you have problem understanding what I am trying to convey, describe what you are having problem with in another comment.

Hefestus said...

My FF don't display any adsense ads, not yours not mine.

I reinstall it, remove all extension. Update java ....

Nothing!

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Peter @ Enviroman said...

Hi Caleb,

I just checked my blogs with Firefox 1.5.0.11 and it was OK. Are you using FireFox 2.0. I don't have FireFox 2.0 but I don't expext any problem with that. Check to see if you have Javascript disabled.

Peter (Blog*Star 2006 and 2007)
Blogger Tips and Tricks

Rechaet said...

Blogger seems to have problems over the daytime. I do my editing at 2 in the morning (GMT) and it is fast, shows changes immediately. If I edit at the wekend (Sun afternoon) I don't see my changes after uploading.

Have tried browser change, cache emptying etc. nothing works.

Cristian said...

hi, I'm not sure you're still watching this post, maybe you'll get noticed about a new comment - I only can hope

well
it's about some same error: I try to upload photos in blogger and deviantart with firefox on winXP but after I push the upload button, in blogger, a blank page appears to me.
in devArt, an alert windows appears, it tells me some sentences but I checked for the possible reasons - none of them seems to be the problem

meanwhile, I even cannot upload attachments to the yahoo-mail or gmail.

if you could give me some points, I would really appreciate

Peter @ Enviroman said...

Hi Cristian,

Sounds like your computer and not Blogger. No promises about what I can do but can you describe your problem a bit more in detail and I will see what I can do.

Cristian said...

well, yeap, I also do think that this is more about my computer than the webpages
I don't know how to explain it btter
as I said, I go to the new post page, I can post written text and when it comes to posting photo, it opens the upload window, I select a picture (a jpg one, of course) and give him the upload command... it thinks some seconds (two or three) and instead of the "picture uploaded" sentence, I see a blank page.

well, it's not a drama if you don't know the solution for my problem, thanks anyway!

Shar said...

Im currently using firefox but i have trouble uploadinh photos still. Tried using IE and Google Chrome but both present the same problem. What to do?

CLAVIS said...

Hi Environman

U are so fanstastic! thanks for recommeding firefox! its works, i can now download my picture in the blog!

CLAVIS said...

Hi environmen

U are great! firefox realli works!

Rin Valtay said...

I had problems uploading photos on blogger. Tried yr advice re using Firefox instead of IE. Still the same. Error on page prompt still appears when I click upload, even when I use Firefox. Sigh!

Peter @ Enviroman said...

Either try clearing cache and cookies or use still other browsers. There are plenty, Opera, Flock, Safari, Chrome.....

If problem persist, give us as much information about your problem and I will try to see if I can find some relevant info for you.

XingAi 心爱 ✿◕‿◕✿ said...

I tried everything but i still couldn't upload pics and videos. Those icon is not visible! And the layout is weird... But i can upload using my fren's computer. Is there anything els i need to install? Please help!

Peter @ Enviroman said...

Could you have by any chance upgraded to the updated post editor? That will not have the video upload icon and in the Edit HTML mode, will not have the photo upload icon.

YuriB said...

I'm unable to upload photos via Firefox to blogger. I get a new blank screen with a text area like an address bar that says "Search Bookmarks". I've reinstalled Firefox and it works with Safari.Any help appreciated.

Peter @ Enviroman said...

Just use Google Chrome. You will definitely not have problems. Chrome owned by Google and they will make sure all their products are compatible.