Simplify Website Experiments by Creating Test Folders
While experimenting with new website features, I'm not always consistent with managing the files. I usually duplicate the file being updated, but sometimes I edit the original while other times I modify the duplicate. This normally isn't a problem since most projects are completed relatively quickly. However, there are times when a project is placed on hold. Depending on how long I'm away, it can be difficult determining which file to edit when returning. So let's talk about ways to differentiate the files. [Continue reading]
Position Photoshop Slices Precisely with X,Y Coordinates
When developing websites, it may be necessary to convert Photoshop compositions into website templates. One could manually crop the file into its various components and save them for the Web, but the process becomes very tedious. Especially when there are dozens of individual images needed from the original composition. That's where slices come to the rescue. [Continue reading]
RSS Feeds in Opera
For whatever reason, sticking with the Opera browser has been difficult. But they just keep adding features which make me want to try harder. How they handle RSS feeds is another nice feature for the list. Hopefully other browser vendors will steal the idea to keep the competition going…and I wouldn't be opposed to an enhancement or two. [Continue reading]
Prevent Broken Links in WordPress Posts by Using Root-Relative Links
WordPress does many magical things behind the scenes. HTML tags needed to display a blog post are added for us. Posts tagged with keywords are automatically connected to other posts with the same tag. Side bar widgets generate lists of recent posts, most used tags, etc. with no intervention from us. We just need to write the posts, add the tags, activate the widgets and WordPress does the rest. With all these automation features, I have overlooked a potential flaw in the system—they use absolute links. [Continue reading]
Populate Forms Which Have Been Disconnected from Google Docs
Due to popular demand, we're going to look at pre-populating Google forms using PHP. Last week's post showed how forms can be liberated from Google Docs. Since they're disconnected, we won't be able to depend on the standard method provided by Google. We're responsible for developing our own solution. Luckily, this is fairly straight forward with server-side languages like PHP. [Continue reading]
Disconnect Forms from Google Docs for Complete Customization
Google forms provide a quick, easy, and free way to collect information from customers. The forms can even be embedded within an existing website to give a more consistent look from one page to another. Unfortunately, Google doesn't supply very many options for customizing forms. There is a way around these limitations, however. [Continue reading]
Fix for Download Issue with PDFs and Internet Explorer
Over the past few months, comments have been coming in about PDFs not opening properly. The process seems to get stuck before the download completes. However, the issue doesn't always manifest. There seems to be a correlation between it and larger PDF files. After a bit of research and eliminating some possible contributing factors, I came across a solution which worked for me. [Continue reading]
Rename Files on the Fly While Transferring with WinSCP
When uploading files to a website, it's easy to let WinSCP do its thing. The file name will likely be the same as the one online when fixing typos and updating content. However, what happens if the file names don't match? We'll need to upload the new file, remove the old one, and rename the new file so that it works with the website's links. The process is tedious; especially if the process is repeated dozens of times. Luckily, WinSCP provides a better way. [Continue reading]
Avoid MySQL Queries Within Loops
One consistent piece of advice that's given on PHP help forums is that queries shouldn't be executed within loops. However, they don't usually provide an alternate means for accomplishing the task at hand. So I wanted to share a solution which fixed one of my scenarios. [Continue reading]
Avoid Broken Website Links by Eliminating Whitespace in GET Variables
When naming pages for a website, its best practice to avoid spaces. Well the same goes for the GET variables (and their values) passed via the URL. Website addresses will likely work with or without spaces. However, that doesn't mean they will be free from problems. Visitors may copy a website address into an e-mail message, for example, and those spaces prevent e-mail clients like Microsoft Outlook from converting the address into a clickable link. At least a clickable link that works. [Continue reading]
