I am a client at blogger.com. I know how to paste text into the MAIN
FIELD of the page, but I don't seem to be able to figure out how to
paste text into the right or left SIDE BAR. Is it done by inserting
HTML code, or is there a simpler and more straightforward method by
using a function or command? Unfortunately, I have no HTML skills.
Thanks,
Gabe

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Request for Question Clarification by justaskscott-ga on 23 Aug 2005 13:59 PDT

What template are you using?  (If you don't know the name offhand, you
can find it by signing into your Blogger account, clicking your blog
name, clicking "Template," and looking for the name under "Blogger
Template Style.")  This information might help us to give you precise
instructions in how to paste text into the side bars.

Even better still, could you provide the URL for your blog?

Do you want to paste text under a specific heading, such as "Profile" or "Links"?

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Request for Question Clarification by justaskscott-ga on 23 Aug 2005 15:30 PDT

Researchers are not permitted to answer questions that include
personal contact information.  I will contact the Google Answers
Editors to see whether they can remove the e-mail address from your
post.

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Clarification of Question by gabe71-ga on 23 Aug 2005 16:16 PDT

Hi, and thanks for the quick reply.
The name of the Template is TicTac. My blog is empty, except one word.
I wanted to experiment with the placing of content. The URL:
www.testor1.blogspot.com
I read the whole help section at blogger. It answers a lot of
questions, but doesn't tell me how to determine where my text will
appear. What drives me up the wall is that I visited dozens of blogs,
and everybody seems to know what to do. Am I really that stupid?
If your assistance cost more than the listed price, please tell me,
I'll be glad to add to it.
Thanks again,
Gabe

Hi Gabe,

Before you make any modifications to the template, you should make a
copy of the template, paste it into a text editor such as Notepad, and
save it as a text file on your computer.  That way, if you make a
mistake in modifying the template, you'll have a backup, which you can
paste back into the template box and save.

Near the bottom of your template, you'll find this line:

<p>This is a paragraph of text that could go in the sidebar.</p>

You can make a copy of that line and paste it elsewhere in the sidebar
section.  The sidebar section begins with the lines:

<!-- Begin #sidebar -->
<div id="sidebar">

For example, you might post the line immediately above:

<h2 class="sidebar-title">Previous</h2>

If you save this template change and republish the blog, you'll indeed
find "This is a paragraph of text that could go in the sidebar" right
above "Previous."

You can substitute other text between the paragraph tags, and it will
show up in the same place.  You can insert a second line with
paragraph tags -- <p>This is another paragraph of text.</p> -- and it
will show up as a new paragraph.

You can experiment with placing the paragraph elsewhere in the sidebar
section of the template.  Placing it right above a line that includes
"h2 class" should work well.

To make the code easier to read, you could put blank lines before and
after the paragraph.  The blank lines should not affect what the
sidebar looks like when you republish the blog.

Please let me know if anything is unclear or problematic with my
explanation; I'd be happy to clarify it.

- justaskscott

P.S.: If you don't know HTML, it's hard to know how to edit the
template.  You're far from stupid; the procedure isn't intuitive.  A
couple of years ago, I had no HTML skills, and wouldn't have been able
to edit the template either.  So many people have put up web pages
over the past decade, and blogs over the past five years; I suppose
we're just late to the party!

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Request for Answer Clarification by gabe71-ga on 27 Aug 2005 09:24 PDT

Hello justaskscott,
I'm grateful for your help. The procedure starts to work for me. Thanks!
One quick question.
I know how to paste an active link into the main posting. However, how
do I paste a link into text that goes into the side bar? The HTML code
doesn't accept it, it disappears whan I paste it, only the unlinked
text remains.
I hope the answer is simple; I really don't want to waste much of your time.
Best regards,
Gabe

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Clarification of Answer by justaskscott-ga on 27 Aug 2005 09:53 PDT

Code like this should work in the side bar, as it would on the main page.

<p>This is a link to <a href="://www.google.com">Google</a>.</p>

If this code does not resolve the problem, then could you give me an
example of the code you used to post a link?  Where in the sidebar did
you post it?  That might help me to come up with a solution.

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Clarification of Answer by justaskscott-ga on 27 Aug 2005 09:55 PDT

Incidentally, please ignore the fact that there's a hyperlink within
my example.  You would just enter the text of my example in an
appropriate place within the sidebar.

This question has been answered to my complete satisfaction