Tuesday 18th August 2026
I am really fed up with Blogger. It now cuts off the text at the righthand margin and to view that half I have to use the slider at the bottom making editing onerous. Now it is underlining captions text and I can't stop it or alter its colour. I have spent ages on the Internet reading of others with these problems and trying suggested solutions. Every now and then the guillotine effect reverts to normal but why I cannot tell. I have battled with Blogger over the years and solved many problems but I draw the line at editing HTML text. I have better things to do, but the effort of putting up a post is becoming much more of a toil than a pleasure and as I only have one or two commenters except for rare exceptions. I just wonder if it is worth bothering, but I do value the blog as a reference for myself.
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I have said it is not a problem if only half my walk contributes to Lady Anne's Way because I have to retrace steps to get back to my car. Having said that I have to admit to frustration because of the overall length of time the project is going to take at that rate. I still have unfinished business from the start at Skipton as far as Grassington, and another section beyond Askrigg. Today I walked 7.6 miles on the route to get to Appleby and took a taxi back to Langrigg from where I had started. I think I can now get to the finish at Penrith in two more hits.
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| Progress to date: that now extends from north of Kirkby Stephen to Appleby |
In one way I have been fortunate with the dry heatwave conditions not having encountered muddy paths of late, but there had now been heavy ahowers overnight. All walking today has been more or less level on well defined paths most of which have been cut back earlier in the season, but now becoming overgrown with long wet grass, but quite refreshing.
I have been suffering the boring development of a painful bunion at the base of my small toe for some time but after much guilt for an act of vandalism I resorted to cutting a slit in my trainers and the problem is compltely solved. Needs must. Guilt assuaged. A great relief. Not quite waterproof anymore but worth every bit of that inconvenience.
I had spoken to a taxi firm the day before but couldn't say what time I would arrive in Appleby, but he was amenable providing I wouldn't mind waiting if required. I arrived at 2.10 pm and he picked me up at 3.00pm. One problem with taxi owners is that they always ask for a destination post code but when I have parked somewhere in the wilderness that is not an easy possibility. I sat in the front and navigated for him with Ordnance Survey and GPS on my iPhone and all was well.
Sir Hugh, I share your frustration about Blogger formatting, though not these particular frustrations.
ReplyDeleteOne suggestion I’d make: simplify the formatting for images. In the HTML (not Compose) window for writing a post, change the style specifications like so:
style:"display: block; padding: 0em 0px;”
And then just type your own caption, which will look like the rest of the text in your post. Sometimes it’s necessary to add a line break symbol < br > (minus those spaces) to prevent the caption from beginning to the side of the image.
I don’t understand the part about cutting off the text. Do you mean on a phone? That’s just what can happen on a phone.
I’m just a guy who likes looking at your photographs, which add an additional imaginary walk to the real one I take virtually every day. As they say on the Internets, hope this helps.
Michael L - Thanks for that. I have been using a computer since blue screen with white letters and DOS but I have never gone as far as handling code and at 86 I have no motivation to get embroiled suspecting I would do more damage than good, apart from which I have other interests where my time can be spent more to my enjoyment. I have tried using the "rrmove format" button and that did work once, but only until next time I booted up and not again after that.. I am posting on my iMac desktop. When I type a line of text it continues out of sight beyond the right margin and can only then be seen using a slide control at the bottom of the screen so you can never see a whole line of text without scrolling. I have been blogging for 16 years using the same Blogger template and this is only a recent problem which is now compunded by no proper control over "underline." I note what you say about images. It may be only recntly but I'm not sure but I am now putting my photos on the post first then doing the text afterwards. I will try the other way round next tim and see if that amkes any difference.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you taking the time to offer help and it's good to know there are folk out there still reading the blog despite the dearth of comments these days.
I also share your Blogger frustrations, although usually just the random refusal to centre text or to insist on underlining.
ReplyDeleteOne possible workaround to your horizontal scrolling issue would be to email the text of the post to your blog (you can find/set your blog's email address in the settings page on Blogger - it's quite a long way down the page), then you'd just need to go to Blogger to add the photos (you can also send photos by email, but to my recollection it just puts them at the top of the post and you wouldn't then be able to put captions under them).
I hope you do carry on posting. It's probably not helpful to you to know that I do comment on all of your posts, it's just that most of them don't make it out of my head and onto the keyboard! (I hate typing on my phone, which is where I read blogs.)
First of all, I enjoyed your walk. Using a taxi and keeping it linear does help. Can you use the same taxi man to take you further north and walk 'backwards'?
ReplyDeleteI don't seem to have the same problems with WordPress. It seems easier to navigate without having to get into formatting, which I couldn't do.
Life is generally getting more complicated; my pet hate is QR codes.
Gayle - I may try writing the text on an email as you suggest. I think I once did that on a backpacking trip years ago. Thanks for the tip. I'm glad to read that you "comment" in some fashion on my posts.
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BC - I have roughly planned the final sections to Penrith which involve the taxi system. I prefer if possible to drive to furthest point, leave car, and get taxi back to start rather than the other way round. I do have a dormant Wordpress blog but the thought of going through the learning curve again is too daunting, I agree with you about QR codes. So far I have manged to almost avoid them but unfortunately tech tends to force our hands. I hate having to get yet another APP to enable communication with retailers and other service providers.
Very enjoyable walk and write up. As for blogger, although i havnt blogged recently. No problems. I will do a trial post and see if i can generate your issues.
ReplyDeleteAlan R - Thanks. I am now wondering if it is a fault with the Blogger template I use. When you set up you have a choice of layouts, but I have been using the ssme one since I started..
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've had mud on my boots for about four months now. I use WP so can't help with Blogger. Re: comments, does Blogger show how many people have clicked on your blog each day? I know most people that visit my site don't comment, but at least I know people read it. As you say, for me it is also my form of a diary, to read again in later years and perhaps my children to read when I'm gone.
ReplyDeleteTony U - Yes there is a "stats" record of post views but it records daily figures in the thousands. I guess that is something to do with Sesrch Engines (whatever they are) combing the Web or something similar. The stats alaso show which posts have been supposedly "viewed" in the last 24 hours, week.year ,month or all time. Hits on one post for example in the "last 24 hours" category wouldn't normally have more than ten or so views. As far as I'm concerned all that possibly indicates that there are some people who are actually reading posts, but it is all a mystery to me.
ReplyDeleteThousands! I average about 50 per day (after my spam filter). Perhaps your site is being spammed by bots or simply a lot more popular. :)
DeleteTony - U - I am puzzled. I presume you are the same Tony Urwin who is currently walking the Tour of Mont Blanc:
ReplyDeletehttps://closertotheedge.uk/tour-du-mont-blanc-days-5-6/
Wordpress blog name: Closer to the Edge.
Yet you say you "haven't had mud on your boots for four months?"
That is I. I can't seem to get your site to remember me when I comment. I associate mud with dampness and my hiking has been bone dry for months, even with a few stream crossings. I certainly have dusty boots! :)
DeleteTony U - Thanks for your clarification. Your meaning was obvious and although it had occured to me I just wanted to make sure - mea culpa.
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