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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Blogger Dedicated Comment Page

You can have comments enabled for all of your posts and pages. But what if you want a dedicated page in your blog just for comments? Yes you can! Your readers could leave generic shoutouts in that dedicated comment page, just like regular comments from your posts. And it is so easy to do!


Step 1:

If you're using the old Blogger interface: Go to Dashboard - Edit Posts - Edit Pages - New Page

If you're using the new Blogger interface: Go to Dashboard - Pages - New Page - Blank Page

Insert an appropriate Page Title, like 'Comments'. Leave the editor box empty. Then, click on Post Options - Reader Comments - Allow - Publish Page.


    Step 2:

    Click on View Page and get the address of this dedicated page.



    Step 3:

    At this point, your comment page should be up and running already. Make sure you have Pages gadget installed to have your blog pointing a link to your comment page. In this last step, we want to remove all other page elements from the comment page to give the page some character (it's dedicated, you see?)


    If you're using the old Blogger interface: Go to Dashboard - Design - Edit HTML - Back Up (Download Full Template) -

    If you're using the new Blogger interface: Go to Dashboard - Template - Backup/Restore - Download Full Template - Close -  Edit HTML - Proceed - 

    Find for </b:skin> - Paste the following directly below </b:skin>:
    <b:if cond='data:blog.url == &quot;http://www.test4.southernspeakers.net/p/comments.html&quot;'>
    <style>
    .post.hentry{
    display:none;
    }
    </style>
    </b:if>
    
    In the code above, modify the URL address in Line 1 to that of your comment page. Click on Save Template when you are done.

    The code in place:


    There, you're ready to go. Your own dedicated comment page. Have fun.

    69 comments:

    1. You seem to understand the comment code pretty well. I wonder if you can help me with another issue. When the comment form is embedded (like yours) there's a link at the bottom that says "Subscribe by email." I'm not happy with that wording! I like the wording in the pop up comment window better. Is there any way to change the text of this link?

      ReplyDelete
    2. @Noisy Quiet: Unfortunately, that link isn't something that we can alter. It is an iframe element, it is only spanned when a site is loaded. So any changes (if at all it is possible) that we make via HTML will be loaded first, only then the iframe elements will load. So whatever changes that we try to impose on the elements will get 'overwritten' by the newly spanned elements. Moreover, the iframe elements are dynamic. Static alterations won't work on them (CSS or HTML changes). I hope it make sense. In short, I've tried to alter elements of iframe before, there's just no easy way to do so. Sorry couldn't be much more of a help.

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    3. Makes perfect sense. Thank you -and drat! I'd much prefer it to say "Email follow-up comments to...." like the popup.

      Thank you again!

      ReplyDelete
    4. Is there a way to have a single comments page without the ability to comment on every individual post? I find if I turn comments off for 'posts' they no longer appear on my comments 'page'.

      Thanks, John

      ReplyDelete
    5. @John: Hi there, that is very much possible. Follow the instructions in this page, then edit each one of your individual posts - post options - reader comments - Don't Allow - Save changes.

      Cheers.

      ReplyDelete
    6. YoboY, thanks for your help. It works a treat.

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    7. @John: You're welcome John. Cheers and God bless :)

      ReplyDelete
    8. Is there a way to control this dedicated page's comments same way as regular post comments?

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    9. @Anon: You will get all the regular features that a standard comment page has :)

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    10. This doesn't seem to be working with the newest, current interface. Either that or I've done something wrong.

      Please advise.

      ReplyDelete
    11. @FulciLives: It works across both interfaces. Any idea at which point things might have gone wrong? Also, feel free to switch over to the old interface temporarily to see if it works there. Cheers.

      ReplyDelete
    12. Wonder. Searching since one year. Like yours: Post- comment box - previous comments. And also of this tutorial Dedicated comments.
      Can the also following problem of my Pop-Comment page be over come ?
      Problem: showing only codes of colours but not the effect of code in the comment page. What about Post page ?
      Thanking You very much and with all Regards.

      ReplyDelete
    13. P.s.1. Is Dedicated Comment Page an additional one ? Not lieu of regular comment page ?
      2. How to get Comment Page like this of your ?
      Thanking You again. With regards.

      ReplyDelete
    14. Really wonder. Your grip in the subject, particularly comment code and Blog.
      Me to study more for more clarity and to choose the model to over come existing comment section problems in my blog and to improve, error free.
      Awaiting for the new ' Threaded Comment added reply System ' from Blogger.
      Thank You again with Regards.

      ReplyDelete
    15. @Ifinder: I'm waiting for it as well :)

      ReplyDelete
    16. Hi,

      Is there some way to integrate the older comments from blog posts to this dedicated comments page? I got some problems due to another error (not related to this tutorial) and I want to re-publish a lot of my older posts without losing their comments.

      I've used a lot of your tutorials with my blog before and I never got the chance to thank you. Thank you :) hope you could help me with this one.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. You're most welcome :) I'm afraid there isn't an easy way to transfer comments from one post to another - except if you choose to do it manually, one by one, by copying and pasting each comment and publish them as your own. You could change the 'Reply as' field to 'Name/URL' to reflect the original readers as much as possible.

        Delete
    17. Um, hi.
      Your tutorials helped me a lot! thanks.

      And I have one question, is there anyway we can remove the email/identity box? I just wanna have name and comment box, because I know how troublesome it is for people to log in and stuff just to say something.
      I hope you could help me. Thank You.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Hi Kurumi,

        Are you referring to the 'Reply as' box below the comment forms, where readers have to choose a profile before leaving a comment? If yes, I'm afraid there isn't a way to alter these options at the moment, as they run from external scripts to which we have no control of. Sorry bout that.

        Delete
    18. Hi,

      is it possible to change html to show the newest comments first, only on this dedicated comment page?

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. I won't go as far as to say it isn't possible, but it isn't easy either. You'd need to manipulate to feed to load in a reverse way. The details arent clear to me, but if I do figure it out, I'll be sure to let you know.

        Delete
    19. Hi! Is there a way to get a dashed line to separate each blogger comment? I use Awesome Inc template and I've tried many times to get it, but it won't work!

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Hi Sheesh4,

        I can come up with an easy way to border your comments in the new threaded comment system. But your blog is still using the old system. With the old system, we're gonna have to introduce lots n lots of HTML dissecting just to achieve a simple goal. Have you considered upgrading to the new threaded system? What you can do is, back-up your template first by going to Dashboard - Template - Backup/Restore - Download Full Template. Next, go to Dashboard - Template - Edit HTML - Proceed - Revert Widget Templates to Default. This should upgrade your comment system. Let me know how it goes.

        Cheers.

        Delete
    20. The thing is when I revert then I can't figure out how to change the "1 comments" thing again. Because even if you follow the instructions it won't work again when you have threaded comments. Can you help me with that. It's that plural error.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. That is gonna introduce further HTML modifications. I'm trying to avoid HTML mods because you could easily lose these mods when you upgrade your template in the future. Why not go old school, and rename 'comments' to 'comment(s)'?

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      2. Are you sure there is just no way to make a dashed line separator? I just need an explanation. I think I could do it with instructions!

        Delete
      3. There is. But like I said, it's gonna take me hours to figure it out n put them into a manual - and all this for something trivial on an outdated system. It's just much much easier to upgrade to the new system. If you're locked with the old system, I suppose we could make use of one of my older tweaks to get there. Perform Steps 1 and 2 from the link below, and let me know when you're there. I'll advise you how you can move forward from that point onwards. And don't forget to backup your template before you get started:

        Highlight Blogger Author Comments

        Delete
    21. Okay. I finished steps 1 and 2!

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Oh well good. Now go to Template Designer - Advanced - Add CSS - paste the following code - Press enter after the last character of the last line } - Apply to Blog.

        #readercomment, #authorcomment{
        margin-bottom: 10px !important;
        border: 1px dashed black;
        }

        You're done :)

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      2. How do I make it so that the avatars inside the boxes aren't so close to the left side of the border?

        Delete
      3. How did it go?

        You could try the following to increase the separation between your border n your avatar:

        #readercomment, #authorcomment{
        margin-bottom: 11px !important;
        border: 1px dashed black;
        padding-left: 5px !important;
        }

        Delete
    22. It went amazing! You and this blog are amazing. I have exactly what I wanted but didn't know how to do and all in one day! Thank you so much! :D

      ReplyDelete
    23. One more question! You know the threaded comments? On authors is there any way to get rid of the gap between the name of the author and the date? It only has a gap for authors. Is there a way to get rid of it?

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. You gotta remove the line that says 'padding: 10px' from the code. Good luck! :)

        Delete
    24. I have read through all the previous comments, but haven't found an answer.

      I tried to add a dedicated comment page on my blog, however after I publish it there is no box for people to comment in. (When I preview it in the editor it appears to have a box for comments, but when I view it in the actual webpage it doesn't allow it.)

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Hi Jennifer..

        There is a bug with Dynamic Views that prevents comments from being visible in Static Pages.. It is a known issue (for quite some time now), and we're still waiting for a fix for it..

        Cheers :)

        Delete
    25. Hi, I can't seem to edit the html in dynamic views for this dedicated comment box. Is there a css code for the html code you posted above? Thank you so much. It has really helped me!

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Hi Anon,

        This can't be done in Dynamic Views - at least not until Blogger fixes the comment bug in Dynamic View static pages.

        Delete
    26. I did this but it didn't seem to work. I'm rather confused. Help, please. :-)

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Hi Lisa,

        Try editing your comment page, and on the right hand side, you'll see a column that says 'Page Settings'. Click on it - and choose 'Allow' under 'Reader Comments'.

        Let me know how it goes. Cheers :)

        Delete
    27. I now know comment page on dynamic view is having bug. And seems it has happened quite some time. But are there any other ways to force putting some sort of comment box on that by other tools? We're desperate for solutions and please help if anyone know.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Hi Iro,

        There isn't a way to completely replace Blogger's comment system with a third party one in Dynamic View templates. But I've seen some users inserting a chat box into their Static Page using some script. Try looking into 'chatwing'. As for comments, I'm not aware of standalone comment scripts, but try running a search for it..

        Cheers :)

        Delete
      2. Thx for the input, but I'm afraid chatbox is not very suitable for our purpose as there would be lengthy discussions. We tried Disqus too but no luck so far, seems Disqus is also incompatible with dynamic view right? Anyway now we're thinking whether this could bring similar effect: first we publish a blog post having a normal comment box, then we make a new page that sends readers to the web address of that post.

        But there are problems. Is it possible to isolate one post out? Is there a way to manage the display of the blog posts to achieve that? We want our blog page look normal after all, and it'd be great if the posts which are used for substituting the static pages would not be displayed on the blog page. Can that be done?

        Delete
      3. Hi Iro,

        I'm afraid we can't hide a particular post from the homepage. That said, the closest you can come to is to have one of your normal posts linked in your Pages gadget (Dashboard - Pages - New - Web Address - Add your post's address)..

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      4. OK. Though that's not perfect, currently it seems to be the best compromise. We would still try exploring better ways given the opportunity. Thx!

        Delete
    28. Hello,

      I tried the script and got an error message in preview per below:

      Unterminated string literal in [data:blog.url == "http://michael-orobona.blogspot.ca/p/comments_1542.html;] before 74

      Any help you can provide? Thanks.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Hi there,

        That should not happen. Could you give it another try? If it doesn't work, another way to get it done without getting the error is download your template in full (Dashboard - Template - Backup/Restore), and then do the mod on the downloaded template. Next, re-upload the modified template file (don't forget to keep a copy of the original template file pre-mod for backup).

        Delete
    29. didn't work on my blog either. my problem is like michael orobona, my page link didn't seem to work on the script. it only appear like a blurred box,nothing else. trying again and again,and still...nothing.good post tho' (:

      ReplyDelete
    30. Hi Yoga, thanks for all your tutorial, but i have some problem with dynamic view picture, i created a new page to "question & answer", but the comment doesnt show up, i checked "allow comment" and "embed comment" in setting, but this still not show, help me plz =.=

      My page: http://batnhan.blogspot.com/p/hoi-ap.html

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Hi Dung Ung, bad news. Comments on Static Pages in Dynamic Templates have been disabled - it is no longer a thing, unfortunately.

        Delete
    31. Hi, Im new to this Blogger and im very confused as i have followed the steps to your commentd page yet i would like to know how you got yours to have that big comments box with the heading etc etc.. i am not able to find how to remove the page with recommend this on google bar and it just says comment: then the comment.. is there any way you could tell me the full steps to make that page into a proper comments page like yours? Thank you

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Hello Bobbi,

        You need to get the code in Step 3 correct to properly hide other blog elements (don't forget to change the URL in the code when you copy and paste). Do you mind if I have a look into your blog?

        Delete
    32. Hi , I could find that this piece of code is making no changes to the comment page.. Please help

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Hello..
        Let's have a look at your blog, what's your blog's address?

        Delete
    33. Hmm, sounds cool, especially removing anything else from the page... just, I'd like to know, if there's a way to enable comment noifications for static pages on Blogger? It's able to receive notifications on posts, but every time I try to subscribe to notifications on static pages, I only get an error message...

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. I'm seeing the same error. Have you posted a question about this on the help forum? Perhaps I can escalate to Blogger if I've got your thread's URL.

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      2. No, I have to admit, that I have never been on the help forum, usually I find the solutions of my problems already on other pages.

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      3. If you don't mind, could you start a thread here and get back to me with its link?

        https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!forum/blogger

        I'm an admin there, and I will be able to escalate your complain.

        Delete
      4. https://productforums.google.com/forum/m/#!category-topic/blogger/feature-suggestions--feedback/an-error-message/windows/firefox/v9XeQBgFW2s

        I just hope I put the topic in the right thread.

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      5. Yeap, it's good. I've escalated the thread for someone from Blogger to see.

        Delete
    34. hi, I have created a feedback form on one of my blog pages, how do I make the submit button upload the feedback given to one of my blog pages but before that pends my approval via email to me? Please see my feedback page for an idea of how I want it to work. looking forward to your advice, thank you great site here with lots of great info which has helped me a lot. my feedback page I need help with : http://www.abbotrack.com/p/customer-reviews.html

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Hello Scott,

        I get what you mean. But the process of inputing a review and displaying it on the applet is solely be done by the third party form you're using in your site (pluspanda). You need to check with them if there is a feature to approve a testimony before being published.

        Delete
    35. Great... Excellent sharing.. This is very helpful for beginners. Read that provide me more enthusiastic. This helps me get a more knowledge about this topic. Thanks for this.hunt your digital marketing jobs in hyderabad.

      ReplyDelete

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