How To Edit Blogger Templates - Web Design

Everyone knows there are tons of templates for different platforms like blogger, wordpress, joomla. Some like some templates but some doesn't.
In most of the cases you like the templates but you don't like some part of it. But as you couldn't edit the template to change the unwanted stuff you skip the template. Even this happened to me like 50 times. But I did a research on the internet to find out the layout in which blogger templates are published. And I found a great website which gave me an idea on the template layout for blogger.
But unfortunately I can't find that website again. So I have made some stuff myself to help newbie bloggers edit their templates. Hope this helps. Any queries, don't hesitate to click on the contact me tab up there.


You need to have a basic idea on the structure and syntax of HTML and CSS in order to edit templates.
Websites are basically a collection of html, css and javascript each stored in different files that are interlinked to each other. But in blogger, every necessary thing is stored in a single file with xml extension i.e template.xml.
This is very simple. All the HTML, CSS, JS code is written in that single xml file only. So you need to edit the template that you have downloaded from the internet. There is a basic format or layout or structure which every template(most of them) follow. If you know this simple format or structure then you can easily edit the templates and make it look as you like. The entire goal of this post is to give you an idea about how HTML, CSS, JS are organised in blogger templates. So here I start. 


As you know everything is present in our brain only like controlling the functions, maintaining style etc. In the same way, every necessary stuff including the css and javascript are placed in HEAD tag only. One thing, there are somethings called VARIABLES in blogger templates. They say how to style the basic style in blogger like fonts, font colors and all that. You need not change anything in VARIABLES. If you want to change the font colors etc then you are free to change them. 

This image to the right shows the basic layout of a blogger template. 


So, VARIABLES, JS, CSS are placed inside head tag. Most of the work will be regarding placing of the elements i.e with the help of CSS. So editing CSS will be the very important part in editing the template. 


Variables look some thing like this.


/* Variable definitions
   ====================
   <Variable name="bgcolor" description="Page Background Color"
             type="color" default="#fff" value="#ffffff">
   <Variable name="textcolor" description="Text Color"
             type="color" default="#333" value="#333333">
  --------------------------------------------------
             type="color" default="#666" value="#666666">
   <Variable name="descriptioncolor" description="Blog Description Color"


*/

I need not tell you what javascript looks like. It has all this randomly thrown alphabets, symbols, numbers inside it. LOL Remember, Javascript is placed right next to Variables only. But we need not change anything in JS. It wont be of much help. 


Let me show you how CSS in a blogger template looks like. 

<style type='text/css'>
body{background: #222222 url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1vGl8lVgcQvHjAAZDXuNuphdVs1Q7MzyeRk0JYWQEg6Mc37-tuegwFAsYW5mbomnLhEu1bnjnpA-obYBWUzaVT5dOUMMdltTICyIOjupRSKLvQ3IxctB43tz7h05426axEWiqg62ezXqS/s1600/background.png) left top repeat-x;color:#ADADAD;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif;font-size:13px;margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;}
a:link,a:visited{color:#F2A30B;text-decoration:none;outline:none;}
a:hover{color:#CB6D01;text-decoration:none;outline:none;}
a img{border-width:0}
#body-wrapper{margin:0px 0px 0px 0px;padding:0;}
blockquote{overflow:hidden;padding-left:9px;font-style:italic;color:#666;border-left:3px solid #d9cbc3;}
------------------------------------------------
.menu-primary li li .sf-sub-indicator{padding:8px 13px 0 0}
n4/Y-QtdCp76qM/s1600/widget-list.png) left 12px no-repeat;border-bottom:1px dashed #747474;}
AAAAEq4/qpgAHAOe9x0/s1600/comment-avatar.jpg);width:32px;height:32px;float:right;margin:5px 10px 5px 5px;border:1px solid #ddd;position:absolute;top:5px;right:5px;}


.widget-wrap{list-style-type:none;list-style:none;margin:0 0 15px 0;padding:0}
h3.widgettitle{color:#EDECEC;background:url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd2sefhSU2pNULy65sc_ju-j3Fb3H_w4rWCUOJ_6K710utmzkTHHO4SHGfuRJl721lgILB-JmESVsELlPgZtWJ3gjARKK24oaQYJb8ofOdgY59KqsYRd2B25ogEEUV5BBIAf72hatcgkZ9/s1600/widget-title-bg.png) left top repeat-x;font:bold 14px/14px Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif;margin:0 0 10px 0;padding:11px 0 11px 10px;text-transform:uppercase}
-----------------------------------------------------
24{width:938px!important}.last{margin-right:0;padding-right:0}
.last,div.last{margin-right:0}
</style>


Remaining everything like the original html i.e your templates content will be available in the <body></body> tag. 
But each and every div or span tag will be associated with a style class. It is very difficult to find out the respective style class and edit for that div or span tag.
The best way to do this is by using F12 feature in Google Chrome. upload the template to your blog. Open your blog in Google Chrome and press f12. This is a graphical interactive representation of your blog's source. That means your blogs content i.e your templates content will be interactively displayed in Chrome if you press the F12 button. Below will be the source and above will the source's graphical result. You can select and scroll through all the content of your blog's template. The selected element in the page's source will be highlighted in the graphical view of the page. 
So you can easily find out which style class is linked to which page element and you can easily change it in html editing software like Adobe Dreamweaver. 


Thus you can happily edit the template and customize it to suit your style.


If you have any queries please feel free to hit the "Contact me" button in the top. I will respond to them ASAP. 


I can edit your templates if you are facing any problems. Feel free to contact me.


WANT TO TRY OUT NEW OPERATING SYSTEMS BUT HAVE A SINGLE HARD-DISK ?? DONT WORRY

The Artifex.

Read More

10 Must Have Apps for Windows 7

In this post I am gonna tell you the most useful and handy applications for Windows 7. 
 These apps make working with Windows 7 a breeze.


 1. Revo Uninstaller Pro : 
 Revo Uninstaller Pro is an awesome application from VS Revo Group. They charge you to download the full application. But the features provided by this one are simply awesome. Let me explain you briefly about all the features. To name, these are just a few.

• Uninstaller : You can uninstall any installed application on your PC through this menu. What's special is that, it searches for all he left-over files and registry items of the uninstalled application and deletes them too. thus saving your space. 
• AutoRun Manager : Through this menu you can see what applications or processes are starting when your PC starts and can remove them from being starting during system start. Thus saving your start-up time.
• Junk Files Cleaner : This menu scans your system for any unwanted files and removes them at the click of a button. :)
• Browsers Cleaner , Windows Cleaner, Microsoft Office cleaner : These menus clean the history from their respective fields like browsers or windows or MS Office.

 2. Google Chrome : 
The best browser that is ever released into the internet world. The features are very useful. And every thing is just very user friendly. 
The new tab is just awesome. It has the installed apps, recently closed websites and most visited ones too. It has the Bookmarks toolbar right there providing easy access to our important sites. 
Most other browsers crash sometimes, but Chrome rarely crashes. If it crashes then you need to upgrade your flash sometimes.
I bet this is the best browser one can get. Google always creates the BEST. 
Get it here. 


3. WinRAR : 
WinRAR is an archiver and multi-format opener tool. Using winRAR you can create zip files and rar files too. The best feature is that this can open wide range of file formats even .iso. This is just awesome. 
Every time I format my PC, winRAR is the first application I install. Get it here. 


4.VLC Media Player : 
The best media player one can find. The features are awesome. You don't really need a mouse to operate VLC player. Every function has its keyboard shortcuts. 
The 400% volume feature is my favorite one. Even though your audio is not good, you can get the best out of it by increasing the digital audio output to 400% in VLC. 
It outruns Windows Media Players in every possible way. Get it here.


5. Bit Torrent :
A torrent downloading application to download or share torrent files through peer-to-peer file sharing network. I don't really need to talk about this. Everyone knows better because who doesn't know about P2P in this tech world ? 


6. Microsoft Security Essentials : 
The simple and secure anti-virus program by Microsoft. The best in class. Has millions of users around the globe. The best part of MSE is that it is simple. And it integrates into windows updates. So you will find it very easy while updating the definitions of anti-virus.
I recommend everyone to replace their old anti-virus programs with Microsoft Security Essentials.

7. Notepad++ : 
It is a replacement to the famous windows text editor NOTEPAD. This has so many nice features which are not found in Notepad.  IT is not only a text editor, it has multi-formats embedded into it. You can open multiple files in the same single window just like web browsing. This is 200times better than any other text editor available on the internet or I see it that way. 
Install it to try it. You can find it here.


8. EasyBCD (for Advanced Users) : 
It is only for advanced users. It is related to core windows programs like System Restore, Restoring MBR, etc. 


9. Picasa : 
Image editing and album making software from Google. It interacts with the online image storage system called Picasa Web Albums. You can edit simple images in Picasa. The best feature is the image viewing feature. Install this and open any image and you'll know what i mean. Find it here.


10. Tera Copy :
A replacement to file copying in Windows Explorer. You can copy multiple files and folders. This software pauses the second copy until the first copy or move finishes to speed up copying. You can even shut-down your PC after the copy or move finishes with just a click of a button. It maximizes the speed of copying by optimizing the PC performance. Must have app for any windows user. Download it from here.


These are only 10 applications that Computer Brahma recommends anyone installing in their PC.

HAVE YOU TRIED CHANGING THE LOOK OF YOUR SAME OLD WINDOWS PC ?

The Artifex.

Read More

How To Make Your Windows Look Like Mac - Just For Fun

Finally, I solved the puzzle. The post I found at MaherHacker was not at all clear to newbies. Some requested me to elaborate it. So I added some of my own stuff in this post to make the process easier.
Being frank guys, your PC won't exactly look like Mac. Nothing changes except few features like, mouse button, rocketdock, wallpaper, mouse click sounds. Try this out only for educational and fun purpose only.

And make sure guys you follow everything exactly as i say. You cannot regret after making a mistake. Because all you will be left with is a hard-drive with corrupted OS. Don't panic or worry guys, Computer Brahma is always to help you. Any help you need, do comment your question here. I will answer ASAP.


Here we go,


STEP- 1:
Download the MacFiles.Zip from here.
Extract all the files to somewhere in your hard-drive, a place where accessing the files will be easy like Desktop.


STEP-2:
Open the Rocketdock folder and install it by double-clicking the file "RocketDock-v1.3.5.exe".
After installing it, there are two replacements that you have to do. Let me explain those.
1. Copy the folder "Stardocklet" from Rocketdock folder to "C:\Program Files\RocketDock\Docklets"
2. Copy the folder "Nabs osx leopard" from Rocketdock folder to "C:\Program Files\RocketDock\Skins"
3. Open "Nabs osx leopard" folder and copy "indicator.png"  to "C:\Program Files\RocketDock\Defaults\DefaultIndicator". Replace it. 
We are almost done.


STEP-3:
This is the easiest step of all.
Download this extremely useful file called TakeOwnership from here.
Extract it to somewhere and double-click the InstallTakeOwnership.reg. It will ask you whether you want to add the values to registry or not. Click YES.
This is very important. If you don't do this step correctly, your windows will crash when you try to revert back to old Windows 7 look from Mac look.
So do the next step correctly.
GOTO--> "C:\Windows\System32" and find the file "uxtheme.dll". After you find it, right click and click the first option i.e "Take Ownership".
After you take ownership of the file rename "uxtheme.dll" to "uxtheme.old".
Now immediately copy the "uxtheme.dll" from the folder Apps (Downloaded MacFiles.zip in the beginning) to the system32 directory i.e "C:\Windows\System32".
What you have done here is you backed up the original "uxtheme.dll" as "uxtheme.old" and replaced it with patched version of "uxtheme.dll".


STEP-4:
All that is left is installing the theme. You can do it by copying both "X" folder and "Leopard X.theme" from "Mac Theme for Windows" folder to "C:\Windows\Resources\Themes"
Double click on Leopard X to install your new theme. Hold on, it takes a while. Don't worry.


Now click on any empty space on the desktop and de-select "Show Desktop Icons" form the view menu.


Now open Rocketdock from Start.  Right click on the dock and set screen position to bottom. Right click again and open Dock Settings. Select the General tab on the right side and check "Run at start-up".


Thats it. You are done.
You have a Windows PC which looks like a MAC. Remember, it just looks like MAC.


If you don't like and want to get back the old Windows look, then right click on the desktop and click "Personalize" and set any of the Windows default themes.
Now go to "C:\Windows\System32", right-click on "uxtheme.dll" and click "Take Ownership". Now delete this file. Rename the file "uxtheme.old" to "uxtheme.dll"
Right click on the desktop and select "Show Desktop Icons" from view menu. And uninstall "Rocketdock" from control panel.


Done. You got back your old Windows look which is more awesome. :).
You need any help, contact me at mvpspl619@gmail.com.


This is just an experiment.


HAVE YOU CHECKED THE LIST OF APPS THAT YOU MUST HAVE ON YOUR WINDOWS ?


The Artifex.

Read More

Technology Review - Near Field Communication (NFC)

Tired of carrying lots of bank cards, money, id cards etc in your wallet ?
Want a futuristic mobile phone which can replace all these ?

Google got the same idea and implemented it. The result is Google Wallet.


You can use a mobile phone installed with Google Wallet and make transactions at shops, restaurants, taxis etc. It replaces the need of carrying money or credit card. The application has all your bank data including credit card numbers etc. Everything you need to do in order to complete a transaction is to just wave your phone near the NFC enabled sensor or just touch your phone to the NFC enabled sensor.


YES, you got me right. NFC. Near Field Communication. It is the next generation technology which can transfer huge amounts of data between multiple NFC enabled devices when placed at very short range.
In order to use NFC, your device must be pre-installed with NFC chip in its hardware.
NFC is like bluetooth. But a lot of differences and pros and cons. Bluetooth works even at larger distances like 5mts but NFC works only at short distances. Bluetooth can transfer speeds upto Mbps only while NFc can make it upto Kbps.
NFC replaces both BlueTooth and WiFi. Tap an NFC enabled device with NFC enabled router to start using the router's WiFi.
Sad thing is that NFC doesn't support security. But guys this is just the beginning.


Just look at the sample below to know what exactly NFC can do.

7:30 - Eric gets on a train to go to his office, using his NFC-enabled phone to tap a reader and easily open the turnstile. 
7:32 - He sees a poster announcing a free concert that evening. He touches his NFC-enabled phone to the N-Mark on the poster, which transfers the detailed information onto his phone. He reserves seats for the concert with his mobile phone, using mobile communications (e.g., SMS, internet, packet-based connections), and the complimentary tickets are sent to his mobile phone. He sends a text message to his wife to invite her to the concert and dinner.
8:15 - When he arrives at his office, Eric touches his NFC-enabled phone to the office gate to unlock the security mechanism. 
Noon - At lunch time, he pays for his meal using one of the credit cards stored in his phone.
13:00 - After lunch, Eric visits the office of his new business partner for a meeting. Those attending the meeting exchange electronic business cards, stored in their NFC-enabled phones, by touching their phones together. 
18:00 - Eric meets his wife and they go to the concert venue. He touches his NFC-enabled phone to a turnstile at the entrance to the venue, their reservations are confirmed, and they are admitted. 
20:00 - After the concert, they visit a shopping center, where they make a few purchases and have dinner, using their NFC-enabled phones to pay for everything.
22:00 - When they arrive home, Eric realizes that he left his NFC-enabled phone on the train. He immediately calls the mobile network operator and makes a request to disable all active NFC services in the phone. If his phone is later found and returned to him, he will be able to reactivate these services.


CHECK OUT HOW TORRENT DOWNLOADING WORKS, IT'S INTERESTING :)


The Artifex.

Read More

Must Have Apps After Rooting Android

So you are done with rooting your Android safely. Next is the most important step. Because what's the use of rooting your Android if not installing awesome apps.

I'll give you a list of apps which every Rooted Android user must have.
The list goes like this.

1. Titanium Backup : Backs up every app, appdata, system data on your SD card. You can restore all the data if something wrong happens to your device data. Must have App.
2. ROM Manager : This app lets you install any custom ROM onto your device very easily. ROMs may vary from app packages, custom ROMs, kernel etc. 
3. Juice Defender : This apps defends the juice flowing out of our battery. Chill guys. This is a battery conserving app. Must have as Android phone's battery wont last long. 
4. Root Explorer : This app is like a file manager but it enters into the creepiest corners of your Android device using the root permissions. 
5. Wireless Tether : This apps helps in creating a wifi or PAN from your device so that other devices can use your phones Internet connection as WIFI to access internet. Must have for hardcore networkers. 
6. AdFree Android : The name itself explains the app. It blocks almost every ad while using Android whether it be while browsing or app ads. 
7. CacheMate : This app helps in clearing the cache data on your device. Thus it helps in freeing up some memroy. 
8. SetCPU : This app helps in setting custom clocking rate of your CPU. Recommended for advanced users.

These are the most important apps a rooted Android must have. Any changes will be updated. 

Check this space for updates. 

Happy Androiding.

WANT TO ROOT YOUR ANDROID PHONE ?

The Artifex.

Read More