Hack requests, like buses, seem to come along in groups... The difference is that I'm not out in the snow waiting for them (at least not most of the time...) So, 3 e-mails this weekend exploring the possibilities displaying recent posts in blogger. 2 requests to add posts to the menu / make it longer, and a request for sticky posts.

It seems that the menu itself is pretty hack-proof, and that the 10 titles that immediately precede the page that you're on is the best we can get. An alternative, for posts that are sort of sticky, in a "jam in the margin of your sidebar" sort of way, (mmmm, thumbprinty!) is the use of Freshtags for a categories menu that will pull relevant & clickable post titles into your sidebar when your readers select the topic that they're interested in. Make your blog truly dynamic, & "replace" the 10 recent posts menu, with Freshtags.

For sticky posts at the top of your main page: Improbulus has the scoop on changing the date & time of the post to some date in the future, so that it will remain on the top of your page. To access those options from Blogger's updated create post page, choose "post and comment options" in the lower left of the post create box, pick a date in the far future, and click publish. This is a "glass half full" application of blogger's lack of auto-posting. It won't sit on the post until the date that you chose, but the post will sit at the top of the pile 'til then.

Filed in: blogtech, webtech, blogger-hacks, blogger