Archive for November, 2006

All posts written in November, 2006.

Nov
30
2006

good photo plugin for wordpress?

Posted by: Jen | 3 Comments »

Categorized: General, Wordpress

I recently created a web site (Evan’s Web Site) that could really use a nice photo gallery plugin. I have looked at a few but they have all fallen short in one way or another. Does anyone have any suggestions since there are so many out there? I am looking for:

  • Easy upload and post integration (like the default WP) so that non-technical savvy people will feel comfortable with uploading pictures.
  • A gallery option so I can group a bunch of pictures together in a gallery layout.
  • Thumbnail creation.

I do not need anything fancy…just some suggestions on proven plugins. Thanks in advance.
[tags]WordPress, WordPress plugins[/tags]

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Nov
28
2006

lots of attachments.

Posted by: Jen | 4 Comments »

Categorized: Apple, General

Well. It does not take much to amuse me. Awhile back I wrote about “fun with email attachments” but obviously there is more fun to have. Last night I received an email from someone – who will remain nameless – that had 87 attachments. Yes 87. Eighty-seven. Time for a web site where this person can upload these attachments and just send a link. For fun/proof, check out the images.

Lots Lots of attachments!
[tags]attachments[/tags]

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Nov
27
2006

work again.

Posted by: Jen | No Comments »

Categorized: General

I do not take many days off from work (hours for that matter), but I decided to take off this past Thanksgiving/weekend…and I really enjoyed it. With family in town, I took a drive down into the city to see our glorious city with all it’s Christmas decorations and late night shoppers on Saturday. Yesterday I spent some time in the Hancock Center and driving around our city by day to show a newcomer all the sites. Usually at this time I watch the James Bond marathon non-stop, but was very disappointed with Spike TV’s showing of the movies this year. There were gaps between the movies (CSI, etc) which made for a less enjoyable viewing. Oh well…at least Notre Dame lost. Anyway, back to work!

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Nov
22
2006

how to clone the SmartSection module for XOOPS.

Posted by: Jen | No Comments »

Categorized: Content Management Systems, General, Hints, HOWTOs, Web Development

I was recently asked how to clone the SmartSection module for XOOPS, so I thought I would document the process here on my blog. (XOOPS is another favorite CMS I use for my clients when they want a CMS)

  1. Download SmartSection (http://smartfactory.ca/
  2. Duplicate the smartsection module folder (this is the folder with all the module files in it – the folder you will put into the “modules” directory within your XOOPS install)
  3. Now it is time to do a few “find and replaces” with your favorite text editor. (I prefer TextWrangler) For the sake of an example, I am going to name my cloned version of the SmartSection module SmartJappler. Within the entire duplicated folder, find and replace every instance of the following with the name of your newly cloned module. **Make sure you are replacing every instance in all the files**
    1. Find: smartsection and replace it with smartjappler (your module name here)
    2. Find: SMARTSECTION and replace it with SMARTJAPPLER (your module name here)
    3. Find: SmartSection and replace it with SmartJappler (your module name here)
    4. Find: Smart Section and replace it with Smart Jappler (your module name here)
    5. Find: SSECTION and replace it with SJAPPLER (your module name here)
    6. Find: Smartsection and replace it with Smartjappler (your module name here)
  4. You also need to change the template file names in your duplicated folder to match your cloned module name. In the SmartJappler (or whatever you renamed the module) find the /templates/ folder and rename all files that have “smartsection” in the file name to “smartjappler” (or whatever you renamed the module). **Make sure all files in /templates/ and /templates/blocks/ have the new file names. (ex. smartsection_rss.html would be renamed to smartjappler.html)
  5. Last but not least, you will need to do one more find and replace within one file: /sql/mysql.sql. Again, with your favorite text editor, find all instances of: smartsection_ and replace it with the name of your module. In my case I would replace it with smartjappler_.

Once you have completed these steps, upload the duplicated folder (now your cloned module) and install it though the XOOPS Admin panel. Questions, comments? Let me know!
[tags]XOOPS, SmartSection, clone, XOOPS module, TextWrangler[/tags]

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Nov
20
2006

so long, farewell ben!

Posted by: Jen | 2 Comments »

Categorized: General, People

After working with Ben for almost eight years he had decided to move on. I wanted to wish Ben all the luck in the world. We had a great time working together for many years…as he put up with my on again off again relationship with Mac OS X Server and I put up with his “not as funny as he thought” videos and comics ;) We also had a good time playing Carmageddon 2, Diablo, Diablo II and Quake 3 Arena. We did do some great work in between all the games and great music (I got him out of the “ambient” music mode and opened the door to electronica, DJs, etc). We did do a kick ass job of putting together a really sweet Mac OS X/Mac OS X Server server set up using Apache, MySQL, PHP, WebObjects complete with failover. Best of luck and thanks for the good times.

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Nov
16
2006

outlook users having issues with mail.app attachments.

Posted by: Jen | 4 Comments »

Categorized: Apple, General, Hints, HOWTOs

Mail.app

A few days I came across a problem with Microsoft Outlook users not being able to open any attachments sent by someone using Apple’s Mail.app application (the default Apple email application). Fortunately the fix is quick and easy!
The real problem: Apple, by default, uses a “Rich Text Format” (RTF) for composing all new email messages. While this is fine for most email messages, Outlook has issues with how attachments are dealt with when using RTF.
The Solution: Switch the default message format from “Rich Text Format” to “Plain Text”.
[tags]mail.app, hints[/tags]

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Nov
15
2006

good css practices.

Posted by: Jen | No Comments »

Categorized: General, Hints, HOWTOs

I was recently asked to recommend and comment on some good CSS practices for a client and I thought I would pass some of them.

  • Use a table of contents. I always start my stylesheet(s) with a table of contents so I can easily locate particular styles in the future. I would recommend breaking your stylesheet into a few main areas like: header, main content, navigation, footer. The more sections you put in, the easier it is to read and edit at a later date.
  • Use a table of contents. If you notice your stylesheet is getting out of control (over 1,000 lines) consider using multiple style sheets. You could have one master style sheet, another for forms, another for specific pages, etc. You would then either link to a stylesheet that would have links to all the styleheets using @import or you could call in the stylesheets on a page by page basis statically or dynamically.
  • Start with a known, debugged code if possible. I have a library of layouts that I use when beginning a new project that I know work in multiple platforms on multiple browsers. I will be publishing these as soon as I have some free time.
  • Do not rely on CSS hacks, unless it is a last resort. Believe it or not, most things can be done with CSS code that will validate. As soon as you rely on hacks, your code becomes unpredictable with new browser releases. Stick to valid code that you know will work with past and future builds of browsers. There are a lot of hacks out there which seem like a quick and easy fix, but you will pay for it down the road.

I hope this helps! CSS is a little tricky and sometimes very frustrating, but in the end…clean code is very rewarding.
[tags]CSS, CSS tips[/tags]

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Nov
13
2006

WordPress Newsletter Plugin

Posted by: Jen | 24 Comments »

Categorized: Content Management Systems, General, Web Development, Wordpress

I have been working with WordPress for multiple years now and I decided I needed to start reviewing some of my favorite plugins – as I receive a number of requests about what plugins I use/prefer. I am going to start with a newcomer: WP Newsletter. This plugin works great for WordPress sites allows you to:

  • create a customized newsletter for your readers or customers using the same theme based layout as you use for creating WordPress themes
  • offer a newsletter archive within WordPress
  • seamless integration with the WordPress Admin
  • use custom Newsletter WordPress template for easy integration into existing WordPress web site or blog
  • customize welcome email for new subscribers that can be modified within the WordPress Admin

The plugin developer is very responsive and open to new ideas and adding functionality to his plugin. There are also many other general newsletter functions you would expect and want

If you need a newsletter plugin for WordPess, check it out!

UPDATE: 02.2009
This plugin is no longer recommended. If you are looking for a great newsletter plugin – check out MailPress

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Nov
09
2006

remove all .svn directories in a directory.

Posted by: Jen | 1 Comment »

Categorized: General, HOWTOs

Anyone who uses subversion will need this sooner or later. Change directories to the root directory and run:
find . -name .svn -print0 | xargs -0 rm -rf. Bingo…all .svn directories are gone and you can start fresh!
[tags]subversion, svn[/tags]

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Nov
08
2006

another good first tuesday in november.

Posted by: Jen | 1 Comment »

Categorized: General, People

Even though I disapprove of our current administration, I still love being an American…and on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, I love being an American even more. Voting is very important to me. Voting not only let’s me voice my opinion about the future direction of the government officially, it also gives me the right to then complain. Does one vote make a difference? Of course. Most of us have seen close elections in the decade and yesterday was no different (at least in IL). Not everyone I voted for won, but none the less, I am happy I went out and voted. I have no time or patience for people who did not vote. For you…I give you the status quo. You are obviously happy with how things are now and really do not care about anything in the future. Good for you. You are one of the major reasons change is so hard in our country. If more people cared, stood up, voted, voiced their opinion, things would change. End of rant. For me, yesterday was a great day and I look forward to next year.
[tags]voting[/tags]

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