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Goodies to Go ™
March 28, 2005 — Newsletter # 330
Goodies to Go ™
March 28, 2005 — Newsletter # 330
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Featured this week:
* Goodies Thoughts – Navigation Tips & Tricks
* Q & A Goodies
* News Goodies
* Feedback Goodies
* Windows Tech Goodie of the Week
* And Remember This…
* Q & A Goodies
* News Goodies
* Feedback Goodies
* Windows Tech Goodie of the Week
* And Remember This…
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Navigation Tips & Tricks
Many thanks to all of you who use HTMLGoodies.com as your web development
information resource and who send in your questions to the Mentors. (See
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/mentors.) There have been a lot of questions
recently related to web site navigation, and especially how to simplify the
navigation maintenance effort. Our mentors have devised a variety of
elegant solutions and have shared those solutions with those who sent in the
questions. A couple of them have also appeared in Q&A Goodies in earlier
issues of this newsletter. (See
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/letters .) Since this has been such a hot
topic recently, I thought it would be a good idea to discuss it a little
further here.
information resource and who send in your questions to the Mentors. (See
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/mentors.) There have been a lot of questions
recently related to web site navigation, and especially how to simplify the
navigation maintenance effort. Our mentors have devised a variety of
elegant solutions and have shared those solutions with those who sent in the
questions. A couple of them have also appeared in Q&A Goodies in earlier
issues of this newsletter. (See
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/letters .) Since this has been such a hot
topic recently, I thought it would be a good idea to discuss it a little
further here.
First there is the question of where to put the navigation links. Basically
there are four options: top, left, bottom and right. You could
theoretically place them in the middle and modify the surrounding area, but
to do so would mean you are dealing with a much more esoteric site than this
topic is intended to deal with! Personally, I favor the left. It seems to
me to be the most natural place for a contents list. That being said, the
top is a great place for a group of headings. The choice between these two
would have to depend on what makes sense for your content. It may be that a
group of headings across the top takes you to different sections of the
site, while each section has a content list on the left to take you to the
various pages in that section. I am not a big fan of contents on the bottom
or on the right, except for links to related information that may be in
other sites. The bottom and the right also have to contend more with screen
resolution problems. It is no fun the develop a site with lots of
interesting sections if nobody can find out they are there because the
contents have disappeared off the right or dropped off the bottom!
there are four options: top, left, bottom and right. You could
theoretically place them in the middle and modify the surrounding area, but
to do so would mean you are dealing with a much more esoteric site than this
topic is intended to deal with! Personally, I favor the left. It seems to
me to be the most natural place for a contents list. That being said, the
top is a great place for a group of headings. The choice between these two
would have to depend on what makes sense for your content. It may be that a
group of headings across the top takes you to different sections of the
site, while each section has a content list on the left to take you to the
various pages in that section. I am not a big fan of contents on the bottom
or on the right, except for links to related information that may be in
other sites. The bottom and the right also have to contend more with screen
resolution problems. It is no fun the develop a site with lots of
interesting sections if nobody can find out they are there because the
contents have disappeared off the right or dropped off the bottom!
There are several possible methods to use for easy to maintain contents.
One method which does not fit this category is to create a table on each
page that contains the contents list. Each time you change a link, you
would have to change every page on which that link appears. It’s doubtful
you’ll do that more than once or twice without making any errors!
One method which does not fit this category is to create a table on each
page that contains the contents list. Each time you change a link, you
would have to change every page on which that link appears. It’s doubtful
you’ll do that more than once or twice without making any errors!
Next method: if you’re using FrontPage or a similar program, they typically
have a means of automatically generating navigation features. In FrontPage
you can us "Shared Borders" (for more information, use the indicated term as
a search term in FrontPage’s Help system — for more about FrontPage, see
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/webmaster/toolbox/article.php/3473411)
into which you put navigation elements using the "Navigation" view. This
method works, but depends on the particular program to support it and takes
you a little further away from the actual code, thereby reducing your level
of control a little.
have a means of automatically generating navigation features. In FrontPage
you can us "Shared Borders" (for more information, use the indicated term as
a search term in FrontPage’s Help system — for more about FrontPage, see
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/webmaster/toolbox/article.php/3473411)
into which you put navigation elements using the "Navigation" view. This
method works, but depends on the particular program to support it and takes
you a little further away from the actual code, thereby reducing your level
of control a little.
Another method is to create pages (files) that are "include"d into your
various site pages. This is called Server Side Includes (SSI). We have an
article (see
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/asp.html) that includes a very nice
section with examples on how to do this. The trouble with this method is
that it depends on the server permitting SSI. While most do these days,
there are still some that don’t. You might want to check with your service
provider before writing a ton of code using SSI (unless of course, you just
want the practice!)
various site pages. This is called Server Side Includes (SSI). We have an
article (see
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/asp.html) that includes a very nice
section with examples on how to do this. The trouble with this method is
that it depends on the server permitting SSI. While most do these days,
there are still some that don’t. You might want to check with your service
provider before writing a ton of code using SSI (unless of course, you just
want the practice!)
In my humble opinion, the best method is to use frames. "Uggh!" I hear from
the peanut gallery! In the old days (and the Internet is getting older!)
frames were shunned because they looked ugly and a lot of browsers didn’t
support them. Almost every modern browser now supports frames and those
frames can have zero width borders so you dont even have to know they’re
there. Judicious use of contents, sizes etc. should also prevent the need
for scroll bars appearing in the middle of your page. "How?" Easy!
There’s a neat tutorial right here:
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutors/fram.html Go ahead and get right
in! With a frame on the left for contents, one on the right for the body of
the site and possibly one across the top for titles and even group headings
(see
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutors/2atonce.html for advice on how to
change both the contents and the main body frames with one click of a
subject header) you should be all set.
the peanut gallery! In the old days (and the Internet is getting older!)
frames were shunned because they looked ugly and a lot of browsers didn’t
support them. Almost every modern browser now supports frames and those
frames can have zero width borders so you dont even have to know they’re
there. Judicious use of contents, sizes etc. should also prevent the need
for scroll bars appearing in the middle of your page. "How?" Easy!
There’s a neat tutorial right here:
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutors/fram.html Go ahead and get right
in! With a frame on the left for contents, one on the right for the body of
the site and possibly one across the top for titles and even group headings
(see
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutors/2atonce.html for advice on how to
change both the contents and the main body frames with one click of a
subject header) you should be all set.
Thanks for Reading!
– Vince Barnes
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Q & A Goodies
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Questions are taken from submissions to our Community
Mentors. You can ask a Mentor a question by going to
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/mentors/
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Questions are taken from submissions to our Community
Mentors. You can ask a Mentor a question by going to
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/mentors/
Q. My website is for a drama company and I’m trying to write a cast
list, ie:
Snow white……………..Freda Bloggs
Stepmother……………..Fred Bloggs
The only way I can find to make it look neat is the <PRE> flag but this
changes the font. I don’t want to use <LI> as I don’t want a bullet point.
A. You can use a table with a border set at zero so it is not
visible.
Like this example:
<table width="100%" border="0">
<tr><td>Snow white</td>
<td>………..</td>
<td>Freda Bloggs</td></tr>
<tr><td>Stepmother</td>
<td>………..</td>
<td>Fred Bloggs</td></tr>
</table>
visible.
Like this example:
<table width="100%" border="0">
<tr><td>Snow white</td>
<td>………..</td>
<td>Freda Bloggs</td></tr>
<tr><td>Stepmother</td>
<td>………..</td>
<td>Fred Bloggs</td></tr>
</table>
Q. How can I place an image on my web page? I tried <IMG SRC="joe.gif">.
This doesn’t work. A red cross appears.
This doesn’t work. A red cross appears.
A. The red "x" where the images is supposed to be, can mean one of a
few things. The path to you image is possibly incorrect. I checked your html
code and noticed most of your graphics are located in a folder called
images. If that is where you placed the image the path to it would be
something like <img src="images/joe.gif"> The path depends on exactly where
the graphic is located in relation to where (what directory or folder) your
web page calling it is located. It can get a little confusing as first. If
just updating a page look at the html code of a graphic thats displays
properly and make a note of the img src= code file path to it.
Also keep in mind, file name and the img src code name must match exactly.
Letter case must be the same for both and extension names, like .jpg or
.jpeg must match.
To copy the files you can use a FTP program for uploading and downloading
files and graphics from your site.
(Note that NT/Win2K hosting servers are not case sensitive – Ed.)
few things. The path to you image is possibly incorrect. I checked your html
code and noticed most of your graphics are located in a folder called
images. If that is where you placed the image the path to it would be
something like <img src="images/joe.gif"> The path depends on exactly where
the graphic is located in relation to where (what directory or folder) your
web page calling it is located. It can get a little confusing as first. If
just updating a page look at the html code of a graphic thats displays
properly and make a note of the img src= code file path to it.
Also keep in mind, file name and the img src code name must match exactly.
Letter case must be the same for both and extension names, like .jpg or
.jpeg must match.
To copy the files you can use a FTP program for uploading and downloading
files and graphics from your site.
(Note that NT/Win2K hosting servers are not case sensitive – Ed.)
Q. Is there a way of adding Powerpoint presentations into a website
without the viewer having to download the file?
A. The user must have PowerPoint installed on their computer to be
able to view the presentation. There may be a PowerPoint viewer available
but it still needs to installed on the user’s computer. In PowerPoint 97 and
up you can save the presentation as HTML and it will create all of the
buttons and navigation for you as HTML. The downside is that it creates an
enormous amount of files. I am not sure if this will help but Microsoft
offers the Microsoft. Producer for PowerPoint 2002 Resource CD. This is an
"add-in for Microsoft PowerPoint. version 2002 that makes it easy to create
media-rich presentations for the Web." The cost is only about $6. Here is
the link:
http://www.producerresourceCD.com
able to view the presentation. There may be a PowerPoint viewer available
but it still needs to installed on the user’s computer. In PowerPoint 97 and
up you can save the presentation as HTML and it will create all of the
buttons and navigation for you as HTML. The downside is that it creates an
enormous amount of files. I am not sure if this will help but Microsoft
offers the Microsoft. Producer for PowerPoint 2002 Resource CD. This is an
"add-in for Microsoft PowerPoint. version 2002 that makes it easy to create
media-rich presentations for the Web." The cost is only about $6. Here is
the link:
http://www.producerresourceCD.com
Q. I need a list of special characters in HTML. Like the "a" with the
two dots on top of it, and the copyright symbol… can you help me?
A. I don’t offhand know of a site with a list of the codes. However,
if you use Windows, you have an application called Character Map which is
probably in the accessories folder. It has the character codes. The HTML
code is &#[code];, like the code for the "a" with an umlaut (two dots) is
"ä".
if you use Windows, you have an application called Character Map which is
probably in the accessories folder. It has the character codes. The HTML
code is &#[code];, like the code for the "a" with an umlaut (two dots) is
"ä".
Q. What is the html tag to prevent people from "lifting" my artwork
from my site?
from my site?
A. There is no such tag. There is no technical means to prevent
copying that can’t be gotten around. Nontechnically, there are a couple
things you can do. You can put a copyright notice in big letters across the
picture so it can’t be removed without ruining the picture. You can post
just small versions and and require viewers to contact you for permission to
see the larger image. You can have pages and images which aren’t linked to,
so no one can find them without you giving them the link.
copying that can’t be gotten around. Nontechnically, there are a couple
things you can do. You can put a copyright notice in big letters across the
picture so it can’t be removed without ruining the picture. You can post
just small versions and and require viewers to contact you for permission to
see the larger image. You can have pages and images which aren’t linked to,
so no one can find them without you giving them the link.
Q. Can you please help me, I am after a script that will close the
page it is on after a set amount of time; eg 0.1 seconds.
page it is on after a set amount of time; eg 0.1 seconds.
A.
News Goodies
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Microsoft Dubs European Windows
[March 28, 2005] Microsoft will adopt the EU’s name choice for its Media
Player-free operating system.
Read the article:
http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3493281
[March 28, 2005] Microsoft will adopt the EU’s name choice for its Media
Player-free operating system.
Read the article:
http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3493281
Alliance Formed to Finger Hackers
[March 28, 2005] The Fingerprint Sharing Alliance attempts to decrease the
number of Internet attacks.
Read the article:
http://www.internetnews.com/security/article.php/3493206
Microsoft Said to Have New Security Plans
[March 28, 2005] Heeding critics of its Passport system and recent
developments with companies like ChoicePoint, Longhorn will reportedly
feature a new security measure to store and use personal data.
Read the article:
http://www.internetnews.com/security/article.php/3493156
Bells Freed From ‘Naked’ DSL
[March 28, 2005] The FCC decision pre-empts efforts by states to force
regional carriers to offer ‘naked’ DSL.
Read the article:
http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3493191
Is eBay Past Its Peak?
[March 25, 2005] The online marketplace struggles to balance customer
satisfaction and the bottom line.
Read the article:
http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/3493026
Phishing Attacks Jump 26%
[March 25, 2005] Phishers and pharmers up attacks, perhaps in response to
decreased results.
Read the article:
http://www.internetnews.com/security/article.php/3493046
AMD Hopes Blades Will Slice Into Intel
[March 25, 2005] HP, Sun and IBM look to be critical partners once the
dual-core Opteron chips ship.
Read the article:
http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3493036
ICANN Approves .eu Domain Space
[March 25, 2005] The European Union gets a name space of its own after
ICANN’s board of directors approval.
Read the article:
http://www.internetnews.com/xSP/article.php/3492776
Phishers Target Yahoo Messenger
[March 25, 2005] A new attack has been launched against Yahoo Messenger
users, and it could be a sign of things to come.
Read the article:
http://www.internetnews.com/security/article.php/3492996
Apache Rolls Cocoon 2.1.7
[March 24, 2005] The new version includes JDK 5.0 compatibility, as well as
new form features.
Read the article:
http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3492681
Feedback Goodies
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Did you ever wish your newsletter was an easy two way communications
medium? Ploof! It now is!
If you would like to comment on the newsletter or expand/improve on
something you have seen in here, you can now send your input to:
medium? Ploof! It now is!
If you would like to comment on the newsletter or expand/improve on
something you have seen in here, you can now send your input to:
mailto:nlfeedback@htmlgoodies.com
We already receive a lot of email every day. This address helps us sort out
those relating specifically to this newsletter from all the rest. When you
send email to this address it may wind up being included in this section of
the newsletter, to be shared with your fellow readers. Please don’t send
your questions to this address. They should be sent to our mentors: see
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/mentors/
those relating specifically to this newsletter from all the rest. When you
send email to this address it may wind up being included in this section of
the newsletter, to be shared with your fellow readers. Please don’t send
your questions to this address. They should be sent to our mentors: see
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/mentors/
Thanks for all your feedback!
Windows Tech Goodie of the Week
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Building an End User Defined Data Model – Part 1
In the first article in this series, Peter Scheffler introduces the concept
of a rules-based database engine that allows clients to make changes to
their database structure without breaking the applications that access the
database.
of a rules-based database engine that allows clients to make changes to
their database structure without breaking the applications that access the
database.
*** AND ***
Update: Two Classes to Improve File System Access in .NET
Based on user feedback, Christopher sent in an updated version of the code
that accompanies his article on improving file system access in .NET.
that accompanies his article on improving file system access in .NET.
*** AND ***
Improving Developer Productivity with Visual Studio .NET Macros
In this article we’ll look at how to create macros to eliminate repetitive
typing for a task common to custom ASP.NET control developers – creating
property statements that use the ViewState StateBag as a backing store.
typing for a task common to custom ASP.NET control developers – creating
property statements that use the ViewState StateBag as a backing store.
And Remember This …
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On this day in…
1738 Parliament in England declared war on Spain; 1794 La
Louvre art gallery in Paris opened to the public; 1922 the first
microfilm device was introduced; 1854 Britain and France declared war
on Russia; 1917 Turkish authorities expelled the Jews from Tel-Aviv
and Jaffa; 1930 Constantinople and Angora changed their names to
Istanbul and Ankara; 1939 the Spanish Civil War ended as Madrid fell
to Francisco Franco; 1970 1,086 people were killed by a 7.3
earthquake in Gediz, Turkey; 1979 there was a major accident at Three
Mile Island nuclear reactor in Middletown, Pennsylvania – no deaths,
however;
Louvre art gallery in Paris opened to the public; 1922 the first
microfilm device was introduced; 1854 Britain and France declared war
on Russia; 1917 Turkish authorities expelled the Jews from Tel-Aviv
and Jaffa; 1930 Constantinople and Angora changed their names to
Istanbul and Ankara; 1939 the Spanish Civil War ended as Madrid fell
to Francisco Franco; 1970 1,086 people were killed by a 7.3
earthquake in Gediz, Turkey; 1979 there was a major accident at Three
Mile Island nuclear reactor in Middletown, Pennsylvania – no deaths,
however;
Born today were: in 1902 English actress Dame Flora Robson; 1914
actor Frank Lovejoy; 1921 English actor Dirk Bogarde; 1924
Iriah actor Freddie Bartholomew; 1942 English musician Lewis B Hopkin
(Brian Jones, Rolling Stones); 1944 actor Ken Howard; 1948
British musician John Evan (Jethro Tull); 1955 country singer Reba
McEntire; 1963 Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr.;
actor Frank Lovejoy; 1921 English actor Dirk Bogarde; 1924
Iriah actor Freddie Bartholomew; 1942 English musician Lewis B Hopkin
(Brian Jones, Rolling Stones); 1944 actor Ken Howard; 1948
British musician John Evan (Jethro Tull); 1955 country singer Reba
McEntire; 1963 Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr.;
