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Hi fellows, I am having some trouble setting up polls on my blog.
I tried to create a new poll using the built-in PollDaddy software, but I can't get my poll to show up on my blog. And when I tried to embed it using the code share/embed code provided, it showed up looking funny. The text is out of sync with the background graphic of the Poll, for example.
Advice welcomed.
By: A Mall Cop
The blog I need help with is mallcopdiary.wordpress.com.
Also, while we are on the subject, I wonder if anyone knows how to set up polls with images? I have two sample drawings that I want readers to judge, but PollDaddy doesn't seem to allow for images to be posted.
What is the URL of the post/page where you're trying to embed the code?
How do you mean, Sara?
I clicked on Add New Post button, then pasted the code in the box then clicked to update my blog. That's what I did.
@mallcopdiary
Hello there,
You have said:
... then pasted the code in the box
Where are you getting this "code" from? Please post that code here in a comment box between backticks ` so we can examine it. The backtic is found on the same key on your keyboard as the tilde ~. That key is to the left of the number one key. The format is:
backtick
CODE
backtick
@mallcopdiary - I meant the URL (http://...) so we could take a look at the post - but if it's a draft, no one will be able to view it except Support staff.
You shouldn't have to deal with the code at all for Poll Daddy - you should just use the graphical Add Poll as described here:
http://en.support.wordpress.com/polls/
Oh ok timethief.
This is the WordPress short code I was provided with after saving my Poll.
[polldaddy poll=3022070]
sara, like I said, I have trouble getting the poll to show on my blog. I can view it after saving it but for some reason I can't see it on my blog...
I use the WordPress short code, but they also provided me with a html code (long one), so I guess I should paste it here too.
mallcopdiary
<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"
src="http://static.polldaddy.com/p/3022070.js"></script>
<noscript>
<a href="http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/3022070/">So you have read the story of how I got 'presented' with my own time card at work, and now I would like to poll my readers here. I ...</a><br />
<span style="font:9px;">(<a href="http://www.polldaddy.com">polls</a>)</span>
</noscript>Ok, I finally got it to show up on my blog. It looks weird.
So please go take a look and see what I meant by "The text is out of sync with the background graphic of the Poll, for example."
If you can offer technical advice on how to rectify the problem, I will be really really grateful.
I won't post a link to my blog here, because I think it is against the rules or something. In any case, you can get to my blog just by clicking on my avatar.
@mallcopdiary: Posting the blog link isn't against the rules when you're asking for advice - on the contrary! (In your case it's just superfluous, since you've linked your username to your blog.)
Switch your post editor to html and you'll probably see this:
<pre>[polldaddy poll=3022070]</pre>
Remove the pre tags so that you'll be left with the shortcode alone, then click Update Post. (That way the text will be ok, but I'm afraid you can't get rid of the white frame around the poll: you'll have to edit your poll and select another design.)
Next time you insert a poll, make sure you use the html post editor, not the visual.
Thanks panaghiotisadam!
Your advice helped!
Although I found out that only the medium sized polls work. The wide ones described by WordPress as perfect for blogs still looks too weird. I tried several times and the wide ones always extend beyond the text box, erasing half of the text.
So I stuck to medium size.
Once again! Thanks for your advice!
Hello again fellows. I know I set this topic to 'resolved' days ago, but I have been looking at my poll and wondering...
I know the Polldaddy polls only come in these 3 sizes - wide, medium and narrow.
Both wide and narrow are definitely not suitable, but medium is not completely satisfactory either.
The medium size polls only come in 300 px (or something like that) only, but I was wondering if we can adjust the size of the poll after we put it up on our blogs? I don't want my poll to be 650 px (wide) but perhaps there's some way I can have 400 or something?
Any advice forthcoming on this one?
You can create your own poll styles and customize all the variables, including width.
Yeah, I got an email from Polldaddy confirming that:
"Hi Mall Cop,
Sure, in the survey style editor you can preload the style you are currently using and just change the width."
Problem is, when I am on the CSS custom style page, I can't find the option to upload the current Poll design I am using. They just allow me to upload a limited range of basic designs and I can't get the background color scheme for my Question box to work at all. To be more specific, I can change the color of the font but not background color.
So how exactly do I 'preload the style' I am currently using?
I don't think you can "preload the style" you're using in your post (Plastic). But you can create a pretty similar one, based on the basic styles you can preload, since you can change just about everything. And the style you've got on your post doesn't work against a black background anyway.
"I can change the color of the font but not background color." How come? When you select "Question" in "Choose a part to edit", first tab is Font, second tab is Bg: they both include a color box, and they both change via the color picker or via typing a hex code - I just did it.
Uh huh, I know I should be able to do it.
And yes, I selected "Question" and chose to edit Background. It does indeed include a color box, but when I picked the orange color, the sample on the right did not change color. I saved it anyway, but the saved version showed the Poll looking like the basic style I uploaded.
The fonts did change color, yes. But the background colors for both the question box and the poll itself refuse to change colors! I have no idea why... :-(
Ok, so I picked another format and the color changing software worked.
Apparently, you can't change certain aspects if you picked the Aluminum basic format. So I picked a plain white and painted it yellow to fit in with the red and orange theme of my blog.
I guess if I want this problem to be resolved (the changing of colors of Aluminum theme), I have to bother Polldaddy. So I declare this topic resolved.
Thank you all for your time. Especially you panaghiotisadam!
You're welcome, although I don't deserve the thanks: it didn't occur to me test all the available styles, so thank you for figuring this out!
But I might deserve some thanks now: the reason why the color won't take is that the bg in Aluminum is an image. So you can change the bg color by creating an image in the color you want, upload it to your media library, and paste its URL in the "Image URL" box of the Question bg. Same thing for the bg to the whole Poll Box.
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