|
Post by vicki on Oct 17, 2005 4:15:49 GMT -5
I did take up your other idea though (about an additional seal of approval for repeat recommendations) - here it is: ;D Awww... cute!! The pixels/em's/point size saga is still all gobbledegook to me (I know about all 3 in relation to print graphics - not web! : . But I'm sure you'll figure something out!
|
|
|
Post by letsconnect on Oct 17, 2005 7:10:08 GMT -5
The only tiny little problem is that every time I click a smiley - it inserts all the content of the message again [Actually, I've just posted another message and now the smiley's don't work and now I'm REALLY confused! ) That's one of the reasons we're switching from ProBoards to YaBB! The smilies in ProBoards duplicate in Safari! This problem doesn't exist in YaBB, even though the basic scripts are virtually identical... but ProBoards have ignored any requests to fix this bug.
|
|
|
Post by letsconnect on Oct 17, 2005 7:16:26 GMT -5
Glad you like the additional seal of approval ;D... Basically, I'm going to use the CSS absolute font sizes, which are xx-small, x-small, small, medium, large, x-large, and xx-large. I'll just have to ask IE4 and IE5 users to increase their text size in their browser, and hope that IE4 and IE5 are going to lose more of their market share sooner rather than later ... BTW, I was wondering if you (and G.!! If around) could check out the font size on the "Find" board: www.dentalfearcentral.org/cgi-bin/find/YaBB.plI've changed that one to absolute sizes... which should resize in IE6 when using the "increase/decrease text size" function in the browser. This would save me a lot of hassle...
|
|
|
Post by vicki on Oct 17, 2005 8:53:15 GMT -5
BTW, I was wondering if you (and G.!! If around) could check out the font size on the "Find" board The text re-sizing works fine in Safari - but then again it would coz it's Apple and not Microsh*te! . Don't know about IE (or the BT Yahoo browser I've got as well) - I can test them out when I get home if you want.
|
|
|
Post by letsconnect on Oct 17, 2005 8:59:56 GMT -5
Just wondering if the current font size looks ok for the Find-a-Dentist board? The font size would probably be one size smaller for the support board (I find it kinda hard to type cringe-inducing stuff in large letters ) - but it's hard to judge what it looks like in different browsers... How does the find-a-dentist board as it stands compare to this ProBoards forum? In my browser, it's quite a bit larger...
|
|
|
Post by vicki on Oct 17, 2005 9:13:38 GMT -5
The body copy (message text) is the same size on the Find-A-Dentist board as on this proboards forum but the coloured board/message topic titles are bigger. The links to the latest post in each section on the main page (on the 'Find' board) are a bit smaller than on here. <--- hope this makes sense as I think I've er.. lost the plot a bit while typing it
|
|
|
Post by letsconnect on Oct 17, 2005 9:27:55 GMT -5
The body copy (message text) is the same size on the Find-A-Dentist board as on this proboards forum but the coloured board/message topic titles are bigger. The links to the latest post in each section on the main page (on the 'Find' board) are a bit smaller than on here. <--- hope this makes sense as I think I've er.. lost the plot a bit while typing it Thanks for checking ! By "message text", do you mean the actual text within posts, or the descriptions underneath the board headers (by description, I mean e.g. "Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway" under Glasgow and South)? Cos the actual text within posts looks pretty large at my end... and the descriptions look about the same size as the actual posts on here I made the links to the last posts deliberately smaller, because they're a bit irrelevant for a database... they'll be one size bigger on the Support Board.
|
|
|
Post by vicki on Oct 17, 2005 9:57:35 GMT -5
Thanks for checking ! By "message text", do you mean the actual text within posts, or the descriptions underneath the board headers Sorry... I had a feeling that I was talking cr*p! ;D I meant the actual text within posts. Cos the actual text within posts looks pretty large at my end... and the descriptions look about the same size as the actual posts on here That's pretty much what I meant (I get easily confused - especially on mondays! ). Most browsers should have a make text smaller/larger option though shouldn't they? (even IE 5.2 for Mac does!) Incidentially, I tested Safari's size change commands on the 'Find' board and you'll be glad to know that it almost goes big enough for me to see it without my specs! I made the links to the last posts deliberately smaller, because they're a bit irrelevant for a database... they'll be one size bigger on the Support Board. I wonder how many people use those links? - I tend to use 'view last XX posts'
|
|
|
Post by vicki on Oct 17, 2005 13:16:25 GMT -5
I'm at home now so I've had a look in both the BT Yahoo browser and IE 6 (for PC) and the text within the posts on the Find-A-Dentist board is definitely bigger!!! ;D The board descriptions are about the same size as the posts on here.
By the way, you mentioned about screen resolution - mine is 1280 x 1024 (20" flat screen).
|
|
|
Post by letsconnect on Oct 17, 2005 14:41:46 GMT -5
Thanks for checking - that's exactly what I'm getting here (on Firefox/Mac Tiger) ! Don't know if it's got anything to do with the default browser setting at your place of work (I read somewhere that graphic designers sometimes set it to "small" rather than the usual "medium" - dunno if I misunderstood though), but it's really annoying that everything shows up differently on different computers grrrr... Oh, I've just installed a favicon, LOL (gotta have some fun, too)... and the database is almost ready to roll! All I have to do with it is go back over the settings and make sure it doesn't send out e-mails... obviously, a navigation menu to the rest of the site/s at the top of the page will be needed at some point in the near future, but that's another day's work...
|
|
|
Post by vicki on Oct 18, 2005 2:55:58 GMT -5
Don't know if it's got anything to do with the default browser setting at your place of work (I read somewhere that graphic designers sometimes set it to "small" rather than the usual "medium" ;D Actually because I'm a little errr... myopic, I have everything set to large!!! (you should see the size of my icons at work ) I don't think browser settings are an issue because when viewing it both on mac and PC - they are roughly the same now Oh, I've just installed a favicon, LOL (gotta have some fun, too)... Sounds like you're having plenty of fun We've also upgraded all the software at work so I spent most of yesterday playing with Adobe CS2 and QuarkXPress 6.5 (and posting on the internet now and then ). I have to say I'm still fascinated by the dashboard in Tiger!
|
|
|
Post by letsconnect on Oct 18, 2005 12:10:57 GMT -5
The dashboard is the one feature I never use... shame on me! I found this very nifty little freeware thingy called ToyViewer though, which apparently can be used as a cheapskate version of PhotoShop, so I'll be using that for website graphics... and Taco HTML edit, which is really cool as well (for the coding) - also freeware, but works fantastically well, apparently... I think the absolute sizing, while not ideal, is the only way to go without having to install bug fixes for tons of browsers (IE springs to mind )... looks like it works! I've also added two alternate stylesheets (bigger and biggest) which can be selected by registered members in their profile (go to Profile>Options>and it's somewhere near the bottom of the options). The bummer about it is the actual sizing intervals... really, it would be nice to have a size in between small and medium and one in between small and x-small (instead of having all those useless sizes like xx-large, which takes up the whole screen and are never used by anyone... or xx-small, which is illegible in any browser configuration...). Oh well! Can't have everything. Dunno if to keep the favicon for the forums, or just have it on the homepage (cos it adds over 3kb to the file size, which means 1/2 second extra loading time on a 56k modem)? It looks cute, though... Have fun with your new software ;D!!
|
|
|
Post by vicki on Oct 19, 2005 3:20:18 GMT -5
The dashboard is the one feature I never use... shame on me! Didn't think I'd use it either as I didn't really use Sherlock in the previous version of OSX but then I found myself downloading loads more pointless widgets to play with - including Tigergotchi (like Tamogotchi but with a tiger!) and ISS Locator which tracks the position of the International Space Station via satellite (it's just to the left of Australia at the moment!) - Yeah I know it's sad but I need something to keep me amused!!! I found this very nifty little freeware thingy called ToyViewer though, which apparently can be used as a cheapskate version of PhotoShop, so I'll be using that for website graphics... and Taco HTML edit, which is really cool as well (for the coding) - also freeware, but works fantastically well, apparently... Sometimes freeware 'cheapskate' versions of stuff are better than the so-called professional software - they're not as complex and so therefore easier to use. I spent 5 years at art college learning how to use 'complicated' stuff like PhotoShop etc (still don't know it all after 5 years industry experience on top of that !) but yet the software that came with my digital camera appears to do quite a lot of what Photoshop can do - but in half the time. I think the absolute sizing, while not ideal, is the only way to go without having to install bug fixes for tons of browsers (IE springs to mind )... looks like it works! --- Oh well! Can't have everything. Considering the trouble you've gone to with the forums/database (and all the different browsers they've been tested in ;D), there should be a solution for most people... and not everyone actually bothers to check whether things are legible or not - so it makes a pleasant change Dunno if to keep the favicon for the forums, or just have it on the homepage (cos it adds over 3kb to the file size, which means 1/2 second extra loading time on a 56k modem)? It looks cute, though... What's 3kb and 1/2 second extra in the grand scheme of things?? It is cute
|
|
|
Post by letsconnect on Oct 19, 2005 9:44:58 GMT -5
I better not get into the dashboard thing, or this website is never gonna happen, LOL ;D! I mostly need it for reducing image size (as in, kb) - still not sure what the best way is, I've managed to reduce some images from 16kb to 12kb, but that's about it... I've only played with .gif's so far. Yeah, there's some brilliant freeware out there, you just have to look (and read all the reviews) I wonder how many people are on 56k modems? Apparently, they're still the norm in some parts of the US (due to unavailability of broadband) Couldn't find any good stats on the internet...
|
|
|
Post by vicki on Oct 20, 2005 3:37:37 GMT -5
I mostly need it for reducing image size (as in, kb) - still not sure what the best way is, I've managed to reduce some images from 16kb to 12kb, but that's about it... 12kb should be OK - it's not as if it's going to take an hour to load each page is it? The first time someone visits the website they would probably wait til the whole page loads so they can see and read all the information but if they are a return/regular visitor then it might be more likely that they'll just skip straight to the bit they want without waiting for the whole page to load maybe? I've had broadband at home for about six months now but before that I had a 56k modem dial up connection. The trouble with dial-up connections is that load time can depend on so many things (this is the voice of frustration speaking here which is why I changed to broadband ). I used to think (in my novice internet days - am more of an err... 'experienced' novice now! lol! ;D) that if it was a 56k modem that everything would run at that speed - I didn't realise that it depended on 101 different things like traffic on the ISP server etc - I soon learnt that the best time to surf the net was in the middle of the night when everyone else was in bed!!! . I actually visited the Dental Fear Central website before I had broadband (and it took months for me to pluck up the courage to post and 'come out of the closet' but at least I did it - eventually... - although it was via dodgy dial-up, it didn't take too long to load so you should be OK with those sort of file sizes. I wonder how many people are on 56k modems? Apparently, they're still the norm in some parts of the US (due to unavailability of broadband) Couldn't find any good stats on the internet... Strange... I would have thought that broadband would have been popular in the US? I read in a marketing magazine a while ago that apparently the UK has the best broadband availability in Europe at about 99% - but this is only availability, not actual percentage of people on broadband - which doesn't help an awful lot does it?
|
|
|
Post by letsconnect on Oct 20, 2005 10:55:32 GMT -5
The new start page will be much shorter than the old one... cos the links will be in the individual subsections. So I don't expect any problems there... The one (and only ) good thing about Tripod is that they have some sort of file compression, that's why the downloads are fast. I'm gonna strip the new site of unnecessary graphics, or at least make them smaller... I think it depends on where you live - because the US and Canada are so vast and some areas don't have a high population density, not everywhere has broadband... I think about 60%-70% of people anywhere might be on a modem, but for obvious reasons, those who have broadband tend to be more avid surfers ;D (as in, the 30-40% of broadband users might generate 80-90% of the traffic)... not so much a problem with the website itself, but forums can be very slow on dial-up . Oh, and obviously, I'll still have to find out how well my web host (whom I'm extremely happy with otherwise) will cope with the traffic. Just have to wait and see !
|
|
|
Post by letsconnect on Oct 21, 2005 7:37:14 GMT -5
I've tweaked the color scheme a bit (the blue was a bit too muddy, and was beginning to depress me, LOL. I've also changed the green on the "find" board to something which will fit better into the overall scheme for the whole website... not too sure if to go with the lighter or the darker yellow-orange yet. The darker one goes better with the green, but I prefer the lighter one for the support forum - puts me into a better mood...) Big question coming up... I'm wondering if I might just scrap the idea of a separate section on the site for "stories", and simply have them on the forum, in a separate category perhaps... OK, takes longer to load, esp. on dial-up (and eats up some bandwidth at my end), but it's oh-so-easy to do - and doesn't require the same amount of updating/maintenance. Very tempting... any thoughts??
|
|
|
Post by vicki on Oct 23, 2005 12:35:41 GMT -5
I've tweaked the color scheme a bit (the blue was a bit too muddy, and was beginning to depress me, LOL. I've also changed the green on the "find" board to something which will fit better into the overall scheme for the whole website... Nice colours.... At least with web, you have a more limited choice of colours so I guess it's a bit easier to decide . When I design stuff, I use the Pantone colours(amongst others) which means there's thousands and thousands to choose from which is not always a good thing, especially if you can't always make up your mind! Big question coming up... I'm wondering if I might just scrap the idea of a separate section on the site for "stories" and simply have them on the forum Nice idea - if you have them in a separate section - perhaps organised in the same way as the dentistry questions archive? You could have sub-sections for the 'main' phobias where people could post as well as a general/other section - so that people can easily find success stories from people who have the same sort of phobia as well as also accessing all the other stories...
|
|
|
Post by letsconnect on Oct 23, 2005 14:35:52 GMT -5
Actually, this only applies if you're using hex safe colours, but as far as I understand, it's no longer necessary to use hex safe, because pretty much all computers/monitors support millions of colours... so what if there's a bit of dithering... couldn't find any hex safe colors I liked, lol. It's difficult though to find good colours, because they always look different depending on the surface area and the surrounding colours . What would be really nice would be gradients, but I believe it can be really hard to achieve with CSS (while retaining cross-browser compatibility). Easy enough to do in HTML w/o CSS... but pages load faster with CSS. Hmpf . Kinda difficult though because it tends to be a right mix of phobias?? I was thinking of having subboards for different countries, because the MO is so different in the US compared to the UK, for example...
|
|