Livewriter Blogger about openlivewriter

[nelsonkodama]

Sad news:

https://support.google.com/blogger/thread/237792581/blog-images-disappear?hl=en&sjid=998929477198657606-SA

https://support.google.com/blogger/thread/252989027/shared-jpgs-in-my-google-drive-no-longer-loading-in-blogger-since-10-01-2024?hl=en&sjid=15144354421010158716-SA

https://support.google.com/blogger/thread/253109807/images-suddenly-missing-from-new-and-old-posts-on-blogger-thousands-missing?hl=en&sjid=15144354421010158716-SA

It seems an update or a patch for OLW will be necessary.

[justmalt]

In my case, I don't seem to have the Manage unsupported image selection available in my settings. (it doesn't appear). I only have:

Import content
Back up content
[Videos from your blog]
[Media from your blog]
Remove your blog

[justmalt]

Thank you for trying.

[justmalt]

UPDATE: I tested again and after a bit of tweaking, the script above is working. The images are blurry, but they DO display. Ultimately there needs to be a permanent fix and perhaps an update to OLW to make sure images work in the future. I just hope this doesn't cause Google/Blogger to walk away from a permanent fix.

[gep13]

@Nellgggg58 said...
I am afraid a fix with OLW is very doubtful as the last large fix about 18/24 months ago was done by a group of volunteers, who I am always grateful too, who worked on it tirelessly to fix it. I guess they are no disbanded.

I have worked with some of the original maintainers of this repository, and I have been given access in order to make changes, and to ultimately make a change, once it is decided what the change needs to be.

I am still not clear on exactly what the change is required though.

[justmalt]

Thank you. That is certainly good news. I would assume until Google reacts and makes a change OR Google ignores the issue and marches forward, it will be hard to make any change. Assuming Google does nothing, I'd say OWL would need to post its images to the same location as images published through the Blogger web interface.

If google reacts and fixes this, I still think it's worth trying to mimic the blogger web interface image locations so that OLW is a bit future-proof for future Google changes. Personally, I'm not optimistic that Google will do anything, however with so many people and SO many images being affected, I'm hoping they make it right somehow. I guess time will tell, but in the meantime, it's a lot more work to do what used to be a simple posting process with OLW and not a process that I think will be maintainable for me and many others.

[justmalt]

Nelson I'm not sure what you did or what worked. It looks like you altered the link to the image manually?

[justmalt]

Thank you. Hopefully it will help. With thousands of images missing, I'm hoping there's a global fix.

[justmalt]

Thanks Nelsonkodama. I updated the JavaScript on my sites and it works better now with no blurry images. It's a great workaround while we await Google/Blogger or OLW to update (if they ever do). This seems like it could be such a simple fix for Google to make.

[toobob]

Thank you so much nelsonkodama! Works like a charm!

[fafner03]

Lots of thanks to Nelsonkodama, it works perfectly.

[justmalt]

Assuming they're even paying attention, I think once they identified that it is 3rd party image posting that was the problem, they likely decided not to do anything, instead leaving it up to the 3rd party apps to produce a fix on their own. Hopefully there's someone and some way to update OLW to publish to the new/correct image location so the JavaScript isn't necessary for new images and we can go back to publishing images using OLW (and using the JavaScript to correct older images).

[Nellgggg58]

I have decided to leave my old blogs to the ether although I would be very appreciative if someone could tell me very simple how I could restore the old pics using the JavaScript fix, bearing in mind my skills are pretty limited.

I have just simply started my two blogs again where they left off on 10th Jan , with slightly different names and countless followers lost etc.
I write all posts in Blogger only now, which is a nightmare to get to grips with and the results are not as pleasing, but hey ho! Giving myself another year, then I'll retire gracefully, no thanks to Google.

[justmalt]

Open blogger (logged in as the google account you want to fix)
Click on LAYOUT on the left side
Click on ADD A GADGET in one of the areas of your page
Choose HTML/JavaScript
Paste the JavaScript above into the gadget (you don't really need a title)
CIick on OK
Save your Layout (bottom left save /diskette button)

Go refresh your blog and see what happens (There is a delay from the time you hit refresh until the old images display (about 5 second)

[Nellgggg58]

Many, many thanks, justmalt, will give it a whirl when I have a relaxed mind!

[Nellgggg58]

Many thanks, the fix has indeed worked ........ I will now leave both of my blogs as they are now and continue with my new ones, as I just can't risk this happening again should Google decide to mess with photos again for what ever reason.

Thank you everyone, I will continue to monitor for any more developments, just in case a miracle is found!

[Nellgggg58]

Thank you so much @nelsonkodama, I have added a post on my old and new blogs crediting you for the work round, which has given me back almost 13 years back of photos

[justmalt]

Thank you for working on it. Mine seems to be working OK on mobile.

[justmalt]

Not shocking I guess. Google either fixes their mistakes immediately or never fixes them, so once we hit a week or so in, I suspected google would not do anything. I'm glad the JavaScript works and that is a life saver but my concerns are:

1. Will someone fix OLW to now publish images to the correct location? This would mean the Java Script fixes the old images and the OLW fix would correct current and future images so they don't need the Java Script.

2. an additional concern is that down the road Google will once again change/break something and the Java Script will break with it once again messing up our older images.

My hope is for an OLW fix, otherwise the workaround to add an image to every post using the crappy blogger web interface isn't maintainable for me and I too will have to abandon google/blogger .

[Nellgggg58]

Oh well, we tried our best, didn't think Google would sort out their mess!
But glad, for now, that the work around works, it was heartbreaking to see so many years of pictures down the pan, but don't suppose that will be guaranteed for long before Google makes more changes.
I have decided to start two new blogs with slightly different names and have gone from 700+ followers to 2, hopefully they will pick up the link from old blogs. I only publish in Blogger now, but what a nightmare, no rhyme or reason to the interface ..... I miss being able to add a watermark to pictures and change size of pictures on OLW among other things, Text sizes, format etc. are a law onto themselves on Blogger, and the finished result just looks basic and immature, but I don't want to risk another Google disaster in the future.

Hey ho. I will continue to keep an eye on this thread. Thank you everyone for your input, support and updates.

[justmalt]

I've considered moving to a different platform, but I suspect WordPress/Microsoft have the same potential issues. The problem for me with making a move to a new platform and new web address is that you lose years of SEO.

HOPEFULLY it's not a terribly difficult fix to update OLW to point to the new google location so we can go back to normal OLW posting. If not, I'd say OLW is probably dead, and the blogger web interface will be the only choice to remain on blogger. For such a popular platform, I'll never understand why they can't develop a proper tool or simply BUY OLW!

[Romanyrambler]

I have the same problem after loading version 6.2.0 onto a windows 11 laptop. I also have two blogs I post to.
We had this problem once before when Google stopped photos being stored on Google photos.

Cheers
Robin

[justmalt]

Same here. Beginning on Jan 11th 2024, I noticed that new posts on blogger created using Open Live Writer were not displaying images. If I add an image using the blogger web interface, the images do display. ALSO, and more importantly any posts added to blogger using OLW in the past, stopped displaying images as well. For me this means years of work have been erased from my site.

In my case, if you ultimately click on the Alt Text/Link for the image it DOES display correctly so I don't believe it's a permission issue; it just doesn't display on the post or main page.

I've tested on Windows 11, Windows 10 on Chrome, FireFox, Edge, multiple different computers, multiple blogger sites and multiple different ISPs.

It looks like sometime overnight on Jan 10th, something was changed on the google image side. This means that not only do we need a fix to OLW to allow it to work moving forward, but ALSO some mechanism to fix/update the thousands of images from the past that now no longer display. HELP!!

[Nellgggg58]

Glad it's not just me, I didn't think I would be. ...... And I too have lost 10 years of work on two blogs.

Blog posts I had scheduled have also got the same issue.

I can write text only posts in OLW and the then add pictures via the awful blogger interface, which is why I used OLW in the first place

I can also write posts and add pictures completely in Blogger with no problem.

However, I notice there is very little action on this site these days, which leads me to think that an OLW fix after the last big one a year or so ago, for a very similar issue, may no be forthcoming, as it was sorted by a group of volunteers and took some time to do, of which I've always been very grateful for, but perhaps always in the back of my mind was a niggle that it might not last, if there were anymore issues with pictures ...... And here we are.

I too suspect it's something to do with the Google image side of things, but not a clue where to start to look for help in forums or searches etc. especially when there must be thousands out there affected as last time. They must be posting for help too, it's finding them.

I now face a future just using blogger to write all future posts ..... However, knowing there are 4,000 posts displaying no pictures behind them is almost too overwhelming ......

This is awful, I may just give in blogging

[justmalt]

Hopefully more OLW users (there have to be a lot experiencing this issue) will find their way here. I did try to reach out to a few of the people that worked on the last OLW fix in the hope that they'll be interested in helping again. I'm also searching to see what others are doing but with little luck.

It's a shame that such a useful piece of software (OLW) isn't more successful and better supported. I was hoping Google would either buy it or develop a useful blogger tool but alas it seems like OLW and blogger are starting to feel like orphans. I'd definitely pay for OLW and OLW support if someone wanted to make that happen.

It's been a bit too much of a roller coaster ride on OLW, especially since Google seems to make changes that are better for Google but not necessarily better for blogger users and definitely not better for OLW users.

I wish there was a better alternative for OLW and/or Blogger and I too am reaching the breaking point for trying to use both tools.

I'll update here with anything useful I find and hopefully others will too.

[gep13]

@justmalt do you have a link to a blog post that is being affected by this?

[Nellgggg58]

http://itsallfiddlefart.blogspot.com/

This is my blog that's also affected by this

[Nellgggg58]

I also OLW with Blogger to produce posts

http://itsallfiddlefart.blogspot.com/

Have lost 1,000 of pictures, still a few left, but they are in posts not written with OLW and from a few years ago.

I can still produce posts with pictures on Blogger however it's not the easiest thing to use and the overall presentation isn't good.

[gep13]

@justmalt said...
In my case, if you ultimately click on the Alt Text/Link for the image it DOES display correctly so I don't believe it's a permission issue; it just doesn't display on the post or main page.

I am not sure if this is correct or not. If you look at the link that @Nellgggg58 provided, looking at the network tab in Chrome when opening the page, there are HTTP 403 Forbidden responses when requesting the images:

But if you request the image directly in the browser, it opens fine:

https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1eA6mu4R1z02TuRBWOAkOm5pLVTYX8sMQ

But there is a redirect, which takes you to here:

https://drive.usercontent.google.com/download?id=1eA6mu4R1z02TuRBWOAkOm5pLVTYX8sMQ&authuser=0

I have no real idea what any of this means though, just capturing information as I find it, in the hope that someone is able to piece it all together.

[Nellgggg58]

If I remember correctly, when we had the last glitch, it wasn't possible to use OLW to post pictures to Blogger, however no pictures from past posts on Blogger were lost.

With this current issue all pictures posted to Blogger using OLW have also been lost, making this an even worse situation than before.

Nothing was lost with the past issue, just the ability to post pictures via OLW. This issue has destroyed my two blogs.

[Nellgggg58]

In case I wasn't too clear ..... This issue has wiped all the pictures from 1,000 of historic posts on both my blogs.

[gep13]

@Nellgggg58 said...
With this current issue all pictures posted to Blogger using OLW have also been lost, making this an even worse situation than before.

From what I can see, the pictures are not lost. The initial attempt to render them is causing an HTTP 403 response, so the images aren't showing up. Attempting to browse to the pictures directly is working, so the images are still there, they aren't lost, they are not displaying correctly on your blog.

Hopefully this is just a configuration issue between blogger and Google, and it will get resolved. I don't think that this is a OpenLiveWriter specific issue.

[justmalt]

Agreed. Here's a link for me:

https://justmalt.blogspot.com/2024/01/wild-turkey-freedom-kentucky-straight.html

If you go back out to the main page you can see it doesn't display there either but as mentioned above, if you click through to the Alt Text link, the image ultimately DOES display. I'd agree that maybe they aren't lost but there's maybe some redirect that's not working properly on Google/Blogger's end. If google recognizes and can fix this, it will also be up to OLW to patch it to work moving forward.

[gep13]

@justmalt @Nellgggg58 what happens if you go into the section described here: https://support.google.com/blogger/answer/13656070?hl=en does it say that you have unsupported URLs?

[justmalt]

At least the issue is gaining some attention. I guess it depends on what Google/Blogger do or don't do. I'm hoping they can back off the change they made on Jan 10th or implement/correct the redirect so older images work again. Moving forward, I suspect OLW will need an update to post images to the new/proper Google location for new posts.

[gep13]

@nelsonkodama said...
It seems an update or a patch for OLW will be necessary.

What change are you suggesting within OLW? I am still playing catch up in the links you provided.

[justmalt]

I'm certainly hoping Google/Blogger will fix this WITHOUT the need for an OLW update. New posts created with OLW do not display images so unless Google/Blogger make a change that helps that (now and moving into the future) OLW will likely need a change to publish images to the new/correct Google location.

[gep13]

While I have contributed changes to this repository in the past, they were only very small changes. I have just tested, and I don't have commit rights to the repository, so wouldn't be in a position to get a fix out. I have also just tested building the application, and my development environment isn't setup with the right software to allow it to build properly, so would need to get that up and running before being able to look at any code changes. Let me ask some people about getting access to the repository in case changes are needed here.

[Nellgggg58]

It's getting a bit too complicated for me now, i know nothing of codes etc. I'm just a mature lady what blogs!!!
But I will check out the link as asked and report back just in case it's anything different to justmalt's.
I'll keep my eye on things, but it's all probably beyond me.
At least I helped highlight the issue as soon as it happened.
I guess there's now decisions to be made, carry on and only post within blogger, leaving old posts as they are in the hope of a fix, even though it looks awful.
Start a new blog entirely, but keep old blogs live just in case of a fix, then delete entirely six months or so if no fix is found.
Or just find something else to do!

11 years work gone overnight!

[Nellgggg58]

Sorry

Thank you Gep13 for your response, help and concern, it is much appreciated

[justmalt]

For now, I'm posting the text via OLW and then adding just the image in the blogger web interface and then readjusting the image using OLW. It takes literally three times as long for each post.

[nelsonkodama]

From https://support.google.com/blogger/thread/252989027?hl=en&msgid=253316209:

Hi guys, I have "fixed" the links via a work-around (until this issue is resolved or a way forward is found).

I have written a Javascript which runs 5 secs after the page loads, looks for the img elements and for those which are sourced from Google Drive, it re-writes the links such that they work..

Here it is, I hope it helps:

<script type="text/javascript"> //Get all the doc img var imgs=document.getElementsByTagName('img'); //Defines const srcA='drive.google.com/uc?id='; const srcB='drive.usercontent.google.com/download?id='; const srcBRemove='&authuser=0'; const targ='drive.google.com/thumbnail?id='; const suf='&sz=w200'; function reWriteIMG() { //loop though the img if it contains the index of the string to replace for (var i= 0; i < imgs.length; i++) { if (imgs[i].src.indexOf(srcA) > -1 ) { imgs[i].src=imgs[i].src.replace(srcA, targ) + suf; } else { if (imgs[i].src.indexOf(srcB) > -1 ) { tmp = imgs[i].src.replace(srcBRemove, ''); tmp = tmp.replace(srcB, targ) + suf; imgs[i].src = tmp; } } } } setTimeout(reWriteIMG, 5000); </script>

[justmalt]

Interesting. Has anyone tried it?

[nelsonkodama]

I've tried. It works despite the fact that the images are a little blurred:

I've added a Javascript element to the blog layout:

[justmalt]

And you just insert that code as an HTML/JavaScript gadget somewhere on your page?

[nelsonkodama]

Yes. That's what I did.

[justmalt]

OK thank you. I'll try it out when I'm in front of my computer again today.

[Nellgggg58]

Thank you for this, I will also give it a try.

I've been trying to write posts solely in Blogger, perhaps it's just me but it's an absolute nightmare, taking me hours to format a single post!

Thank you again

[Nellgggg58]

Sorry ....... I tried, but failed miserably.

Could I have instructions as how to do this work around ...... as I only have a very basic knowledge of the inner workings of such things!

[justmalt]

I think you add an HTML/JavaScript gadget to your blogger page, paste the code above into it, and save it. I haven't been in front of a computer to try it yet.

[Nellgggg58]

That's how I read it, it didn't work for me, but I will try it again tomorrow.

Ahhhh, I tried it in one of the new blogs I am setting up ...... Didn't think of putting it in my original blog ...... Duh!

[nelsonkodama]

News: https://support.google.com/blogger/thread/252989027?hl=en&msgid=253641833

[toobob]

Same problem here. I always use OLW and, as of today, find images post as links but do not display. This is in new posts as well as nearly all of over 4,000 posts since 2009. Strangely, some images in older posts still display but I have no idea why.

I looked for the "Manage unsupported inages" as did justmalt and also do not have the option.

I sure hope it is fixable as I can't imagine manually repairing 10s 0f thousands of image links.

[Nellgggg58]

So sorry toobob ..... It's devastating.

Until there is a fix, I've just started all over again with two new blogs using Blogger only, no OLW.

[justmalt]

I tested the above code on two different blogs (inserted a HTML.JavaScript gadtet into my page)

I'm sad to report, it didn't change anything. The images are still not displaying until you click all the way through to the Alt Text link.

[justmalt]

Keep in mind there is a 5-second delay so when you initially think it may not be working, it may just be delayed before it works.

[nelsonkodama]

I am afraid that since there was a Google policy change regarding third-party cookies, there will be no fix from Google.

[justmalt]

I guess we'll see. It does sound like the Blogger image mess was and unintentional side-effect of the 3rd party cookies change. I'm not sure how a 3rd party cookie change could cause such a huge problem for so many, but hopefully that means they can quickly apply a fix to get us all back to normal with blogger images. I think the real question is if Google/Blogger are concerned about blogger images at all and if they're concerned about images added using Open Live Writer. I've been using Google products for long enough to know that they aren't necessarily concerned about fallout and issues caused by changes that they make for another reason. I've also used Google long enough to know that if the issue has gone on this long (7-days now), it's either a tough fix OR they don't plan to address it in any way.

I'm hoping at a minimum that Open Live Writer releases a new version of the software to address the issue (assuming Google/Blogger don't fix it in the meantime). Personally, I'd like to get back to using OLW for new posts and not having to add images using the Blogger web tools. It literally triples the time it takes me to create a post so if this is the long term "fix" then it likely means the end of my sites.

[nelsonkodama]

I agree. Blogger's post editor is horrible.

I am just a common user, but I hope they release an OLW patch to change the image's location (if it is possible, of course). I think Imgur would be a good option.

[justmalt]

Assuming google doesn't do something to just fix this, I think OLW will need a patch to conform to whatever google is doing with images. I think if you head toward a different service like Imgur, we'll likely have the same problem down the road when Google stops supporting Imgur or something else changes.

[Nellgggg58]

I am afraid a fix with OLW is very doubtful as the last large fix about 18/24 months ago was done by a group of volunteers, who I am always grateful too, who worked on it tirelessly to fix it. I guess they are no disbanded.

OLW was abandoned by Microsoft a good few years ago and not updated, it was the work of the volunteers who did last update.

I think we are scuppered!

[justmalt]

I guess we'll see. If there was ANY alternative to Open Live Write, I'd love to know what it is, but for now OLW is the best tool by far. I keep hoping Google or someone else will buy OLW and charge a support fee to keep it up to date. If google owned it and made it their Blogger editor, they'd have a huge advantage over Wordpress (hint hint).

Without that happening, I'm hoping someone will pick up OLW support and get it working again. If not, I'd say there will likely be a bunch of people dropping out of Blogger and OLW.

[nelsonkodama]

Thank you so much, @gep13.

I agree with @justmalt. Regardless of whether there will be fixes or not from Google, I think mimicking the blogger editor image location is the best solution.

[gep13]

Can one of you clarify, perhaps with the aid of an example blog post, what the URLs generated by Blogger look like? I think that will help understand the necessary changes.

[justmalt]

Keep in mind I DO have the fix JavaScript installed so it will adapt and post the image 5-seconds after you load the page.

I added this post including the image using Open Live Writer:
https://justmalt.blogspot.com/2024/01/testing-1-2-3google-images.html

If I copy the link address from the image before or after the Javascript kicks in I get the following link (the image is blurry because of the JavaScript)):
https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1ys9I6kLMY05n5TEb57CWmoMgFfO3KrtE

If I click on the Alt Text link or image, the actual clear (non-blurry) image link is:
https://drive.usercontent.google.com/download?id=1ys9I6kLMY05n5TEb57CWmoMgFfO3KrtE&authuser=0

If I add the same image to the same post using the Blogger Web Interface instead of OLW, the image displays clearly and the link is:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVt1xS_3gCC0ej9usV6Uv-qV6ph_aPIkctF-Moqc2Xd_vdRpiytwQw3rHsTbbJ7qQKCgThHJVs77qSm-26uDul4JESrVL-ZejK4Nfvo9MTSYHCt5cDx3QfLskyMLN-I8Rm93qzjU8eJssAJrhzn0P8UpFFrN8LUx0DGdmmEF1fZAmaOmuQFRR-EKShn3c/s797/ADKLojRide.jpg

I hope this helps. I'm happy to test anything you'd like and I'll leave the test post out there.

[nelsonkodama]

It worked:

LINK NOT WORKING: https://drive.usercontent.google.com/download?id=1gMT99YWfGegwd1P79LmPD-WFoo1YE-aQ

"STANDARD" LINK: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/SAME_IMAGE_ID

"NEW" LINK (NOW WORKING): https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1gMT99YWfGegwd1P79LmPD-WFoo1YE-aQ

IMPORTANT: It has taken about 1 minute for OLW to "recognize" the altered link as I uploaded the image via OLW again as if it were a new post. For "already uploaded" images, it worked just by altering the link and using the same image ID as well.

[nelsonkodama]

Yes, I altered the link to the image manually.

By the way:

(1) "ih3 seems to be how Google Photo images start so it seems that the tool provides a URL associated with Google Photos that is free of third-party cookies".

(2) "So, if you have images that were originally from an third party and have third party cookies, it's possible to get the Google Photo urls for them directly from the images in your app. 🙂 But, beware that the backups are not made instantly. It may take a few days after you add an image URL to an image column for this trick to work."

(from https://www.googlecloudcommunity.com/gc/Tips-Tricks/Preparing-for-third-party-cookie-phase-out/td-p/698119)

Good News: https://support.google.com/sites/thread/253003338?hl=en&msgid=253376212

[justmalt]

But don't you then have to manually update every photo?

[nelsonkodama]

Yes, unfortunately, I have to alter every link manually. But I think since we know this link standard is working, it might help for some javascript workaround update.

[nelsonkodama]

With a little help from ChatGPT, I updated the javascript workaround. It changes the beginning of all image links to "https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/." It worked for me.

Also, we can keep using OLW, but for "new uploaded images," we will need to wait until the functional "https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/" is generated automatically by Google.

`<script type="text/javascript">
// Get all the img elements
var imgs = document.getElementsByTagName('img');

// Define constants
const srcA = 'drive.google.com/uc?id=';
const srcB = 'drive.usercontent.google.com/download?id=';
const srcBRemove = '&authuser=0';

const targ = 'lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/';

function reWriteIMG() {
// Loop through the img elements and replace the links accordingly
for (var i = 0; i < imgs.length; i++) {
if (imgs[i].src.indexOf(srcA) > -1) {
// Replace the link format for srcA
imgs[i].src = 'https://' + targ + imgs[i].src.split(srcA)[1];
} else if (imgs[i].src.indexOf(srcB) > -1) {
// Replace the link format for srcB
var tmp = imgs[i].src.replace(srcBRemove, '');
imgs[i].src = 'https://' + targ + tmp.split(srcB)[1];
}
}
}

// Call the function immediately during page load
window.onload = reWriteIMG;
</script>`

[romona]

OLW is working but only for text. For now I have to publish the text portion, then go to Google and edit the post to insert the images. It's extra steps, but until someone with the smarts who knows how to fix the problems, at least it's a work around for now. Let's hope Google can get to this soon. Interestingly though I scrolled back about 3 years worth of posts and not all posts are missing images. Whoever is able work on this for us, just know it's very much appreciated. Thank you.

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On Fri, Jan 19, 2024, 6:33 AM nelsonkodama ***@***.***> wrote: With a little help from ChatGPT, I updated the javascript workaround. It changes the beginning of all image links to " https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/." It worked for me. Also, we can keep using OLW, but for "new uploaded images," we will need to wait until the functional "https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/" is generated automatically by Google. <script type="text/javascript"> // Get all the img elements var imgs = document.getElementsByTagName('img'); // Define constants const srcA = ' drive.google.com/uc?id='; const srcB = ' drive.usercontent.google.com/download?id='; const srcBRemove = '&authuser=0'; const targ = 'lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/'; function reWriteIMG() { // Loop through the img elements and replace the links accordingly for (var i = 0; i < imgs.length; i++) { if (imgs[i].src.indexOf(srcA) > -1) { // Replace the link format for srcA imgs[i].src = 'https://' + targ + imgs[i].src.split(srcA)[1]; } else if (imgs[i].src.indexOf(srcB) > -1) { // Replace the link format for srcB var tmp = imgs[i].src.replace(srcBRemove, ''); imgs[i].src = 'https://' + targ + tmp.split(srcB)[1]; } } } // Call the function immediately during page load window.onload = reWriteIMG; </script> — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#958 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AD4OCI3YABSQYMH5CXOBMO3YPJ745AVCNFSM6AAAAABBXDBOTWVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMYTSMBQGUZDMMJXGM> . You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[nelsonkodama]

I'm the one who should be thanking all of you.

Today I uploaded nine images using OLW, and, surprising enough, the "new images" were displayed almost instantly.

[justmalt]

Nice. I assume the images worked with your JavaScript in place? I don't think anyone (beyond you) fixed anything so far.

[nelsonkodama]

Yes, I am still using the JavaScript workaround.

[Romanyrambler]

Hi, Have look at the blog by Tom in WA who has made a modification to the java script to do away with the blurry pictures. www.narrowboat-waiouru.blogsopt.com I have not tried it yet but Tom post a blog using modified olw about buying grapes. The pictures look great. Cheers Robin

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On Mon, 22 Jan 2024, 1:19 AM nelsonkodama, ***@***.***> wrote: Yes, I am still using the JavaScript workaround. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#958 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AIQYMZUXK3EMLMLLPZSW6Y3YPUBTTAVCNFSM6AAAAABBXDBOTWVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMYTSMBSGYYTCMRSGE> . You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[romona]

Thank you for the JavaScript workaround. I did a test post with an image and it loaded completely from OLW. No blurry image, very clear. Hopefully someone will have mercy on we bloggers and fix the lost image issue, in the meantime, I am editing some of the posts to restore the images. They all seem to be on Google Drive, but have to be re-inserted on the posts. Not all images can be done that easily, some having to be reuploaded back to the blogger from your computer and be inserted that way. But the fix for being able to post from OLW with images, is much appreciated.

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On Sun, Jan 21, 2024 at 4:19 AM nelsonkodama ***@***.***> wrote: Yes, I am still using the JavaScript workaround. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#958 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AD4OCIY2JWNBQCC3E4SRO7LYPUBTRAVCNFSM6AAAAABBXDBOTWVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMYTSMBSGYYTCMRSGE> . You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[justmalt]

I think the JavaScript is a life-saver for most of us. I'm currently only using it for previous/older posts. I have thousands of images affected so there's no way for me to manually fix previous posts.

For current posts, I'm still using the 1) Post text using OLW, 2) add image(s) using Blogger web tool, 3) format image(s) using OLW.

I'm doing it this way with new posts because there's no way to tell what Google will do next to fix it permanently or what they will do in the future (that may mess up the JavaScript workaround). Until Google/Blogger does something (or nothing) and/or OLW updates (if necessary) I'm afraid to continue to add new images with anything but the blogger web tool.

Bottom line for me is that the JavaScript workaround is amazing, but I don't want to rely on it for anything but previous/old posts. I'd like to see everything fixed (regardless of who fixes it) so OLW works again (without the JavaScript) and new posts in OLW work correctly.

[romona]

I agree. I am going to use the temp fix and hope that Google will fix what they did. I scrolled through my posts and from about Sept.2023 back to May 23 2019, all those posts are missing their images. I continued, went right back to the beginning of 2007 and there are just some random posts missing their images. My post of May 23rd 2019 is how OLW wasn't working, but is fixed... LOL And here we go again.

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On Sun, Jan 21, 2024 at 3:18 PM justmalt ***@***.***> wrote: I think the JavaScript is a life-saver for most of us. I'm currently only using it for previous/older posts. I have thousands of images affected so there's no way for me to manually fix previous posts. For current posts, I'm still using the 1) Post text using OLW, 2) add image(s) using Blogger web tool, 3) format image(s) using OLW. I'm doing it this way with new posts because there's no way to tell what Google will do next to fix it permanently or what they will do in the future (that may mess up the JavaScript workaround). Until Google/Blogger does something (or nothing) and/or OLW updates (if necessary) I'm afraid to continue to add new images with anything but the blogger web tool. Bottom line for me is that the JavaScript workaround is amazing, but I don't want to rely on it for anything but previous/old posts. I'd like to see everything fixed (regardless of who fixes it) so OLW works again (without the JavaScript) and new posts in OLW work correctly. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#958 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AD4OCI7Q3HVHEOHXRHBQFSDYPWO2ZAVCNFSM6AAAAABBXDBOTWVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMYTSMBSG44TSNRVGE> . You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[justmalt]

Based on how long it has been since Jan 10th, I'd say it doesn't look like Google/Blogger are doing anything to help with this issue. I'm thankful for the JavaScript that brought back all of our older images but at this point, I'm hoping OLW can be updated to publish to the correct/new location so new post images work without needing the JavaScript. The three-step procedure I'm using now with OLW for text & Blogger web for images isn't sustainable for much longer so I'm hoping there's a fix that doesn't rely on the JavaScript for OLW.

[nelsonkodama]

I totally agree. It is a policy change towards third-party cookies, so I think it is definitive. Of course, Google could redirect the image file URLs automatically (and officially) like the JavaScript workaround does, but it seems even that won't be done.

[nelsonkodama]

@Nellgggg58 I'm so happy your photos are back.

I feel an update for OLW is coming. Yesterday, I noticed something had changed in this repository.

[sboyd000]

Nelson you are a flat out genius. Thank you thank you thank you!!! I really can never thank you enough. I am a full time RVer and have been on the road since 2011. My husband died in 2019 and my previous blog was full of precious memories which you have restored to me. You and this forum are the best.

[sboyd000]

Oh and Nelson, I too have credited you on my most recent post!

[sboyd000]

Welllll it looks like I spoke too soon. It's not working on my android phone. No pictures. What do I need to do?

[nelsonkodama]

@sboyd000, I am so happy that the workaround worked.

As for the mobile version, there is a different way to add gadgets. But honestly, I still have to learn how to do it.

[nelsonkodama]

It worked for me.
(I am from Brazil so I don't know how options are displayed in English):

I guess the point is that both themes for the desktop and mobile versions must be the same.

[justmalt]

Thank you. I added in the mobile='yes' but when I browse to my site on a mobile phone, I don't see the images from the older posts. Maybe someone else can try it to see if they have better results.

[nelsonkodama]

I've found this: "If you are still unable to display the gadget on Mobile View then it means you have not selected the Custom option on Mobile theme which will customize your desktop view and show it also on mobile view". (https://roaritloud.com/how-to-show-blogger-gadget-widget-on-mobile-view-blogspot/)

[justmalt]

I'll check but I'm pretty sure I am setup as custom. I was not setup as custom, I am setup as custom now and it appears to be working OK now for me. Thank you.

[nelsonkodama]

I have found this:

"In order for the mobile='yes' attribute to engage, you need to enable your Mobile Template to Custom.

Once set, refresh your web browser several times. It might take several minutes for the changes to reflect."

(https://support.google.com/blogger/thread/35369310?hl=en&msgid=35423882)

I have noticed my second blog has the same issue. Even if I select the "custom" option, on mobile it is displayed as if the "standard" theme was selected. I think this is the reason why the JavaScript workaround is not working.

[nelsonkodama]

After doing a lot of (1) changing to "Desktop" view, (2) saving, (3) refreshing the page on the mobile phone, (4) changing to "mobile-custom" view, (5) saving, and (6) refreshing the page on the mobile phone, finally Blogger "realized" what the theme I wanted was and the JavaScript "started" to work.

[nelsonkodama]

Sad (and official) news from Google:

Status: Won't Fix (Intended Behavior)

Closing this issue as working as intended. I tried to buy some more time with team owning this to no avail. Some points:

• Related to phase out of third party cookies. October 2023 Blog Post;
• This was never an officially supported usage. (Same for lh3.google.com, thumbnail links mentioned above, etc);

As to options going forward:

• Use the embed pattern described in the above blog post or here;
• Move files to a location designed for hosting, e.g. Google Cloud Storage or any number of hosting providers for static content;
• Proxy the files through the Google Drive API using your own infrastructure, e.g. Google Cloud Functions, watch out for egress costs and hot linking, probably want a CDN too;
• Use a hosted proxy service as mentioned above.

[sboyd000]

I don't understand. Does this mean the workaround will not continue to work. And pictures will never be visible on cell phones? Do we have to abandon OWL if we want to continue to use blogger? We have to post directly with blogger? If all true, I'll have to throw in the towel and give up blogging after 13 years. Sad isn't a strong enough word.

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On Thu, Feb 1, 2024, 8:59 AM nelsonkodama ***@***.***> wrote: Sad (and official) news from Google: <https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/319531488#comment9> Status: Won't Fix (Intended Behavior) Closing this issue as working as intended. I tried to buy some more time with team owning this to no avail. Some points: - Related to phase out of third party cookies. October 2023 Blog Post <https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2023/10/upcoming-changes-to-third-party-cookies-in-google-drive.html> ; - This was never an officially supported usage. (Same for lh3.google.com, thumbnail links mentioned above, etc); As to options going forward: - Use the embed pattern described in the above blog post or here <https://justin.poehnelt.com/posts/google-drive-embed-images-403/>; - Move files to a location designed for hosting, e.g. Google Cloud Storage or any number of hosting providers for static content; - Proxy the files through the Google Drive API using your own infrastructure, e.g. Google Cloud Functions, watch out for egress costs and hot linking, probably want a CDN too; - Use a hosted proxy service as mentioned above. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#958 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AFO2ROEFMDLJ6FVXMFVM5ADYRONUNAVCNFSM6AAAAABBXDBOTWVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMYTSMRRGM4TCNRWHA> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[nelsonkodama]

I understand Google will not fix it, but the JavaScript workaround will continue to work despite not being an official method.

Because of this official statement from Google, I would say it is up to the Open Live Writer team now, as we don't know how long the JavaScript workaround will continue to work.

[sboyd000]

Do I understand that there is no work around for cell phones??

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On Thu, Feb 1, 2024 at 9:30 AM nelsonkodama ***@***.***> wrote: I understand Google will not fix it, but the JavaScript workaround will continue to work despite not being an official method. Because of this official statement from Google, I would say it is up to the Open Live Writer team now, as we don't know how long the JavaScript workaround will continue to work. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#958 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AFO2ROF2KQWP4HVMMONMKW3YRORHRAVCNFSM6AAAAABBXDBOTWVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMYTSMRRGQ3DOMJYGM> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[nelsonkodama]

Reference in #958 (comment) and #958 (comment)

For cell phones, it is working too, but it is necessary to make some changes to the HTML code in order for Blogger to recognize the JavaScript on cell phones.

[nelsonkodama]

Since OLW is open source, I have also been thinking of somebody creating an alternative version of it. This Google policy change towards third-party cookies has affected people greatly, so I hope developers in the open source community do something.

[sboyd000]

Is there a work around for the pictures showing on mobile devices? The one for laptops is working great but my readers are still not able to see them on their phones.

…

On Thu, Feb 1, 2024 at 3:12 PM nelsonkodama ***@***.***> wrote: Since OLW is open source, I have also been thinking of somebody creating an alternative version of it. This Google policy change towards third-party cookies has affected people greatly, so I hope developers in the open source community do something. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#958 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AFO2ROAVGBZY4F7NLM44QJ3YRPZL5AVCNFSM6AAAAABBXDBOTWVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMYTSMRSGE2TGMBRGA> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[nelsonkodama]

Actually, the workaround works on mobile devices too. But we need to make some HTML changes. Doing so, Blogger will recognize the workaround on mobile devices. See #958 (comment)

[justmalt]

Awful quiet out here. Has anyone heard anything about a possible fix for OLW?