Wednesday, February 9, 2011

How to fix bx-XXXX Error when uploading a blogger template

I am quite sure some of you have experienced the bx error when you try to upload a new blogger template. I have encountered this problem with my other blog and have found a way on how to fix this. When someone ask me on how to fix this, my reply is always to clear their offline data, cache and cookies. Unfortunately this fix will not work on most users. A specific example of this problem where many users were complaining and the number of comments reached to 788 (and couting) is the Ads Theme Template by EblogTemplates which I also used on my other blog.

Sample of these BX error codes are:
  • bx-bliced
  • bX-ev85ll
  • bX-39cc9q
  • bX-y6cz0v
  • bX-982020
Fortunately just today, I have found a fix from BloggerBuster (Thank you very much Amanda!) and here are the steps:
  1. First of all, try to upload your new template in the Layout>Edit HTML section of your dashboard. Not all templates have been affected by this issue, so it is advisable to check before attempting to edit your template significantly. If you do receive a bX-error code when trying to upload your template, you should proceed to step 2.
  2. If your new template is an XML file (with the .xml entension), browse to where this is located on your computer and right click the file. Choose to open with Notepad (or your favorite basic text editor). If your template is contained within a text file (for you to copy and paste into the template editor), simply open this with your text editor.
  3. Search for every instance of b:widget id= in your template, for example:

    • b:widget id='Header1'
    • b:widget id='Blog1'
    • b:widget id='Label1'
    • b:widget id='HTML1'

    Replace each of these IDs with the next number up. For example, Header1 should become Header2; Blog1 should become Blog2, HTML3 should become HTML4 and so on.
  4. Once you have changed each and every instance of widget id to a different number, you should save the template under a slightly different file name (to be aware of your altered file). If this is an XML file, be sure to save with the XML extension.
  5. Now you have made these changes, attempt to upload your file again in the Layout>Edit HTML section of your Blogger dashboard. Now you should not receive the error code and will be able to upload your template.
Amanda said, "If after following these steps you are still unable to upload your revised template, it is worthwhile to close your browser and delete all temporary internet files and cookies. Then restart your browser and try to upload again. Clearing all of these temporary files from your browser will ensure you receive a fresh page when editing your template. Previously when I have received error codes while editing Blogger templates, this technique has resolved the issue."

The reason why the bx-XXXX error occurs when you upload a template is because the Blogger developers
changed the way template editor accepts certain third party code. They have seen a lot of data corruption due to 'bad templates'.


Problems Previewing Changes to your Blogger Template? Here is a solution

On the Blogger Help forums I've noticed many people are experiencing bX-errors when attempting to preview changes to their template through the "Edit HTML" page.

This only seems to happen when the "expand widget templates" box is checked; it can even occur when no changes have been made to the template at all, or when trying to upload a new template.

I experienced this issue myself last week, and for a while I thought there was some issue with my templates (which are heavily customized). However, this also happened with new, default, un-customized templates. In my experiences of this issue, the error codes changed each time I tried to preview the template.

If you are experiencing this issue for your own blog, there is a simple solution for you: clear the cookies in your browser!


Once you have done this, refresh the page and log in to Blogger again (as clearing the cookies will clear your login information). Then when you attempt to preview your template, you should receive no errors and be able to edit your template code as required.

Note: Any changes to your template will not be saved! If it is important to save these changes, copy your entire template and paste into Notepad (or a different text editor) so you can access this after logging into Blogger again. 

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