Showing posts with label recent posts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recent posts. Show all posts

Show Recent Posts With Thumbnails For Particular Label or Category in Blogger

Sometimes we want to have everything organized so that our readers can find topics of interest more easily, and that's when instead of putting a widget with the latest posts, we can put together the latest entries sorted by category, so that we'll be able to show the latest posts for each label we want and also display a thumbnail for our category.

recent posts, blogger widgets, blogger gadgets
Screenshot

To add this cool gadget/widget for the latest categories, just follow the next steps:

Steps

Step 1. From your Blogger Dashboard, go to Template/Edit HTML



...then tick the Expand Widget Templates checkbox:

Step 2. Search for this piece of code:

]]></b:skin>

and just above it, paste this one:

/* Recent posts by labels
--------------------------------- */
img.label_thumb{
float:left;
margin-right:10px !important;
height:65px; /* Thumbnail height */
width:65px; /* Thumbnail width */
border: 1px solid #fff;
-webkit-border-radius: 10px;
-moz-border-radius: 10px;
border-radius: 10px;
-webkit-box-shadow: 0 1px 1px rgba(0, 0, 0, .4);
-moz-box-shadow: 0 1px 1px rgba(0, 0, 0, .4);
box-shadow: 0 1px 1px rgba(0, 0, 0, .4);
}

.label_with_thumbs {
float: left;
width: 100%;
min-height: 70px;
margin: 0px 10px 2px 0px;
padding: 0;
}
ul.label_with_thumbs li {
padding:8px 0;
min-height:65px;
margin-bottom:0px;
border-bottom: 1px dotted #999999;
}

.label_with_thumbs li{
list-style: none ;
padding-left:0px !important;
}

.label_with_thumbs a { text-transform: uppercase;}
.label_with_thumbs strong {padding-left:0px; }

Step 3. Now search for this tag (CTRL + F)

</head>

...and add the following script above it:

<script type='text/javascript'>
//<![CDATA[
function labelthumbs(json){document.write('<ul class="label_with_thumbs">');for(var i=0;i<numposts;i++){var entry=json.feed.entry[i];var posttitle=entry.title.$t;var posturl;if(i==json.feed.entry.length)break;for(var k=0;k<entry.link.length;k++){if(entry.link[k].rel=='replies'&&entry.link[k].type=='text/html'){var commenttext=entry.link[k].title;var commenturl=entry.link[k].href;}
if(entry.link[k].rel=='alternate'){posturl=entry.link[k].href;break;}}var thumburl;try{thumburl=entry.media$thumbnail.url;}catch(error)
{s=entry.content.$t;a=s.indexOf("<img");b=s.indexOf("src=\"",a);c=s.indexOf("\"",b+5);d=s.substr(b+5,c-b-5);if((a!=-1)&&(b!=-1)&&(c!=-1)&&(d!="")){thumburl=d;}else thumburl='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuz4NK4ofYaIE-AAJwiaM0em_MjRYx1bolKyKEPV8_ufRJ8m9aHDS9WE79w8U0ZpOqh7vve7xx56EVLBHpbU0e0cpjFP8HF5jxD-4ph7iO5-xPlREm9FT3LIltEs8AvMJ0LSxr5KIoWGg/s1600/picture_not_available.png';}
var postdate=entry.published.$t;var cdyear=postdate.substring(0,4);var cdmonth=postdate.substring(5,7);var cdday=postdate.substring(8,10);var monthnames=new Array();monthnames[1]="Jan";monthnames[2]="Feb";monthnames[3]="Mar";monthnames[4]="Apr";monthnames[5]="May";monthnames[6]="June";monthnames[7]="July";monthnames[8]="Aug";monthnames[9]="Sept";monthnames[10]="Oct";monthnames[11]="Nov";monthnames[12]="Dec";document.write('<li class="clearfix">');if(showpostthumbnails==true)
document.write('<a href="'+posturl+'" target ="_top"><img class="label_thumb" src="'+thumburl+'"/></a>');document.write('<strong><a href="'+posturl+'" target ="_top">'+posttitle+'</a></strong><br>');if("content"in entry){var postcontent=entry.content.$t;}
else
if("summary"in entry){var postcontent=entry.summary.$t;}
else var postcontent="";var re=/<\S[^>]*>/g;postcontent=postcontent.replace(re,"");if(showpostsummary==true){if(postcontent.length<numchars){document.write('');document.write(postcontent);document.write('');}
else{document.write('');postcontent=postcontent.substring(0,numchars);var quoteEnd=postcontent.lastIndexOf(" ");postcontent=postcontent.substring(0,quoteEnd);document.write(postcontent+'...');document.write('');}}
var towrite='';var flag=0;document.write('<br>');if(showpostdate==true){towrite=towrite+monthnames[parseInt(cdmonth,10)]+'-'+cdday+' - '+cdyear;flag=1;}
if(showcommentnum==true)
{if(flag==1){towrite=towrite+' | ';}
if(commenttext=='1 Comments')commenttext='1 Comment';if(commenttext=='0 Comments')commenttext='No Comments';commenttext='<a href="'+commenturl+'" target ="_top">'+commenttext+'</a>';towrite=towrite+commenttext;flag=1;;}
if(displaymore==true)
{if(flag==1)towrite=towrite+' | ';towrite=towrite+'<a href="'+posturl+'" class="url" target ="_top">More »</a>';flag=1;;}
document.write(towrite);document.write('</li>');if(displayseparator==true)
if(i!=(numposts-1))
document.write('');}document.write('</ul>');}
//]]>
</script>

Note: to add your own pic for the posts with no thumbnail, replace the image url in blue with your own

So we have added the Css to style the widget and the script to make it work. Now all we have to do is to add the widget's code to the blog sidebar in a Html/Javascript gadget:

Step 4. Go to Layout - click on Add a Gadget


Step 5. Choose the HTML/Javascript widget and paste this code inside the empty box:

<script type='text/javascript'>var numposts = 3;var showpostthumbnails = true;var displaymore = false;var displayseparator = true;var showcommentnum = false;var showpostdate = false;var showpostsummary = true;var numchars = 100;</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/feeds/posts/default/-/Name-of-the-label?published&alt=json-in-script&callback=labelthumbs"></script>

Note: Where it says Name-of-the-label is the name of the label you want to display, and if your label is case sensitive, like in my example, then you should type it that way.

Also within the last code, there are parts that we can customize, just change true with false or vice versa:

var numposts ← Number of posts to display
var showpostthumbnails ← Show/hide thumbnails
var displaymore ← Show or hide the read more link
var displayseparator ← Show/hide separator
var showcommentnum ← Show/hide the number of comments
var showpostdate ← Show/hide the posts dates
var showpostsummary ← Show or not the posts summaries
var numchars ← Number of posts characters (here you have to change the 100 value)

Remember that the gadget displays the latest posts from a particular label, therefore, if you want to display the latest posts from other labels then just repeat step 5 for each additional category you want to add.

That's it :) Enjoy!

Recent Posts Widget with Thumbnails for Blogger/Blogspot

A few days ago, I've posted a tutorial about How To Add A Simple Recent Posts Widget but today I want to present to you a very nice Recent Posts widget that comes along with posts thumbnails and post summary as well. If you want to know how to add this Recent Posts widget/gadget to your Blogger blog, then follow the steps below:

recent posts, blogger widgets

How to Add the Recent Posts Widget to Blogger

Step 1. Go To Blogger > Layout and click on "Add a Gadget" link


Step 2. From the pop-up window, scroll down and choose HTML/JavaScript


Step 3. Paste inside the empty box, the following code:

<div class="eggTray">
<script src="http://helplogger.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/listbadge.js">{"pipe_id":"1a6640e2a78b2c6e736f2220529daae5","_btype":"list",
"pipe_params":{"URL":"YOUR-BLOG/SITE-URL/feeds/posts/default"},
"hideHeader":"false","height":"500","count": 8 }</script>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px;" class="ycdr"><a href="http://helplogger.blogspot.com/2012/05/recent-posts-widget-with-thumbnails-for.html" target="_blank" title="Grab this widget">Recent Posts Thumbnails</a> <a href="http://helplogger.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Blogger Widget</a></div><noscript>Your browser does not support JavaScript!</noscript></div>
<style type=text/css>
.eggTray {margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;}
.ybr li  {border-bottom:0px #cccccc dotted; padding:0px 0px 10px 0px!important;}
.pipesTitle {padding-top:0px;}
.pipesDescription {display:true;}
.ycdr {background:transparent url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTcEP4CEVkjKQs7_VtYWMIOZSifYUZkrqR6asSvNX7EfkgTTsAXThwYD7dobcr17rB2UOR5PNSYkOzKjUQT3dZH8iVYed5slGqS0cpi2Oy8N1vkZ-9k6XGqu_LvujhwnJDazsrPUeajks/s1600/logo.png) 0px 0px no-repeat; padding: 1px 0px 0px 19px; height:14px; margin: 4px 0px 0px 0px;line-height:14px;}
.ycdr, .ycdr a {color:#999999;}
.widget .popular-posts ul {padding-left:0;}
</style>

Step 4. Change YOUR-BLOG/SITE-URL with the url address of your site/blog (ex: http://helplogger.blogspot.com) and look to have no forward slash symbol "/" at the end of your url

Note:
  • To disable the scroll bar, remove the number 500
  • By default, this widget is set to display a maximum of 8 recent posts. To change this number, replace the number 8 with the number of posts desired
  • if you want only the posts titles to appear, change true to none and "0" from padding-top:0px with 10

Step 5. Save your widget. And you're done!

If you need more help, leave your comment below.

Simple Recent Posts Widget for Blogger/Blogspot

The main advantage on this Recent Posts widget is that it will show not only post titles but also post excerpts or snippets and it's easy to customize/ apply different style on it. To style it into your own design, you just have to modify the CSS style - you can change the link or background color, the size and color of text/links.

What you can do with this widget:
  • display post titles only
  • change the number of posts
  • change the number of characters of the post snippet/excerpt
  • show the post dates

See the screenshot below:

How to add Recent Posts Widget to Blogger

Step 1. Log in to your Blogger Dashboard, then go to Layout and click on Add a Gadget link


Step 2. From the pop-up window, scroll down and choose HTML/JavaScript


Step 3. Select & Copy the code from one of the options below and paste it into the new HTML/JavaScript:

Option 1: Recent posts widget with snippets

<div id="hlrpsa">
<script src="http://helplogger.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/recent-posts-with-snippets.js">
</script>
<script>
var numposts = 5;var showpostdate = false;var showpostsummary = true;var numchars = 100;var standardstyling = true;
</script>
<script src="http://your-blog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?orderby=published&amp;alt=json-in-script&amp;callback=showrecentposts">
</script></div>
<div id="rpdr" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px;">
<a href="http://helplogger.blogspot.com/2012/04/recent-posts-widget-for-bloggerblogspot.html" target="_blank" title="Grab this Recent Posts Widget">Recent Posts Widget</a> by <a href="http://helplogger.blogspot.com" title="Recent Posts Widget">Helplogger</a></div>
<noscript>Your browser does not support JavaScript!</noscript>
<style type="text/css">
#hlrpsa a {color: #0B3861; font-size: 13px;} #rpdr {background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqCCRaxe_AdGRxQPvbmqlFl64EHdR6h5R1I3XD2jWlSmQRuPeD6L1eweuyyG5nnxVZlBVVVhiFNGBdDS5aSk-HKohXZkbOoGK5bNABvKj0uNKlyz8O9PdsCWVtkLwwG-eTiOpi5B-ZGjBw/s1600/blogger.png) 0px 0px no-repeat; padding: 1px 0px 0px 19px; height:14px; margin: 5px 0px 0px 0px;line-height:14px;}
#rpdr, #rpdr a {color:#808080;}
#hlrpsa { color: #999999; font-size: 11px; border-bottom:1px #cccccc dotted; margin-top:-10px; padding-bottom:10px;}
.hlrps a {font-weight:bold; }
.hlrpssumm {}
</style>

Option 2: Recent Posts Widget Showing Post Titles Only

<div id="hlrpsb">
<script style="text/javascript" src="http://helplogger.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/recent-posts-with-titles-only.js"></script>
<script style="text/javascript">var numposts = 10;var showpostdate = false;var showpostsummary = false;var numchars = 100;var standardstyling = true;</script>
<script src="http://your-blog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?orderby=published&alt=json-in-script&callback=showrecentposts"></script></div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px;" id="rpdr"><a href="http://helplogger.blogspot.com/2012/04/recent-posts-widget-for-bloggerblogspot.html" title="Grab this Recent Posts Widget" target="_blank">Recent Posts Widget</a> by <a href="http://helplogger.blogspot.com" title="Recent Posts Widget">Helplogger</a></div><noscript>Oops! Make sure JavaScript is enabled in your browser.</noscript>
<style type=text/css>
#hlrpsb a {color: #0B3861; font-size: 13px;} #rpdr {background: url( https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqCCRaxe_AdGRxQPvbmqlFl64EHdR6h5R1I3XD2jWlSmQRuPeD6L1eweuyyG5nnxVZlBVVVhiFNGBdDS5aSk-HKohXZkbOoGK5bNABvKj0uNKlyz8O9PdsCWVtkLwwG-eTiOpi5B-ZGjBw/s1600/blogger.png ) 0px 0px no-repeat; padding: 1px 0px 0px 19px; height:14px; margin: 5px 0px 0px 0px;line-height:14px;}
#rpdr, #rpdr a {color:#808080;}
.bbrecpost2 {
padding-top:6px;
padding-bottom:6px;
border-bottom: 1px #cccccc dotted; }
</style>

Step 4.
  • Change 5 (option 1) and 10 (option 2) with the number of posts you want to display. 
  • Change false to true if you want the posts dates to appear 
  • Change 100 (option 1) if you want more characters to be displayed.
  • To change the color and font size of the links, modify the values in blue (links) and violet (font-size)
  • To change the style of posts summary, modify the values in green (color) and orange (font size)
  • Replace the your-blog text with the name of your blog or if you have a custom domain change all the bolded line with your address like in this example:
http://www.your-site.com/feeds/posts/default....

Step 5. Save your widget. And that's it! Enjoy!

If you need any help, leave a comment below.
And if you liked this post, please consider sharing it. Thanks.