TECHNOFEAR: changing the background on your blog

HULLO NOT-A-BEARS!

As promist, heer ar sum instrukshons on how to put yor own backgrownd on yor blog.

If yu just want to change the background colour (or link colour, or text colour, etc) click on CUSTOMIZE at the top of yor blog. This will take yu to the TEMPLATE page. Click on "Fonts and Colours" (at the top) an this takes yu to a menu an a colour palette. The little menu in the top left box scrolls up an down to show yu the diffrent bits of yor blog, like text, heading colour, an so on. Jus highlight the wun yu want to change, then choose a colour from the palette. Use the 'save changes' button on the left to keep wat yu change, or the 'clear edits' button if yu change yor mind. ('clear edits' won't take yu bak to the beginning wunce yu press save, so be careful.)

If yu want to put yor own pikcher on the background, do this-

(1) You need to get a URL for the pikcher yu want to use. Yu can get this two ways.

First, yu can put a pikcher on an Online Album. FLIKR is wun exampol of an Online Album. Yu can see a link to my FLIKR album on the right of my blog. FLIKR will giv yu a URL for eny pikcher yu lodge in an album wiv them.

The other way is to just post a pikcher on your blog. Yu get the URL of it by putting the mouse over it and Right Click, then press Properties. In this exampol (below) I am showing yu the URL fer the Koala pikcher on my blog. (It comes up in a new window an yu can see I hav highlighted it):

make a note of the URL of yor pikcher, as yu will need to type it in layter. (By the way, never never use the URL of a pikcher on sumwun else's site, as this is stealing bandwidth. It can also make things go awry. I mean, where wud yu be if they suddenly deleeted that pikcher. Up the swanny wivout a pikcher, that's where.)

(2) Next, click on "CUSTOMIZE" at the top of your blog.

This takes yu to the "TEMPLATE" page. Click on "Edit HTML":

but don't panic!

(3) There is a fail-safe option at the top: click on "DOWNLOAD FULL TEMPLATE". This allows yu to save on yor computer the current layout of yor blog wiv all its current colours and stuff. Do this, so that if yu accidently press "save" by mistake, yu can get bak to how it was befor:

(4) Next, yu need to find the bit in the HTML where it says "body background". There are several bits referring to background, so make shor yu find the "body" wun. (If yu change the wrong wun it duzzent matter as yu will "preview" it ferst to chek yu did the right bit, befor yu save eny changes, right?)

Obvious point here, folks- remember that diffrent templates hav diffrent HTML, so yors might not say EXACTLY the same as mine duzz heer. But yu still want the background bit under "BODY", like I'm pointing to in the photo.

(5) Next, where it says URL, change this to the URL of yor pikcher.


e.g., background:url(http://blahblahblah.jpg")




Be careful not to deleet eny of the ( ) or ; when yu do this, or it won't werk. (If yu do, sum red writing will pop up an tell yu that yor HTML is bad, wen yu try to preview it. If this happens, it's easiest just to press 'clear edits' an start agen.)


(6) Now yu need to chek how yor blog will look with yor new pikcher in the bakgrownd. Click on "PREVIEW", wich I'm pointing to here:



an then another screen will come up,showin yu wat yor blog will look like if yu go ahed. Here's me havin a larf at seein my blog wiv lots of silly koalas-are-not-a-bears posters in the backgrownd:

(7) as I don't want pikchers of these silly beak-nosed tree-huggers all over the place, I dident press to save the changes. Insted I pressed "CLEAR EDITS" an all went bak to normal. If yu liked how yor new bakgrownd looks, just press "SAVE TEMPLATE".

Sorry fer the wobbly pic on this larst wun. I was still larfing.

So there yu are.

Hope that was all pritty clear. Eny kwestions, just leeve them in the comments. Also, let me know if there is enything else I can help wiv. An while yor there, can enywon tell me how to embed links in the comments pages????? Cos I don't know that wun!

Bye fer now!