Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with contribute

Cheaper alternatives to Adobe Contribute?

Idcoytco — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:29:07 -0800

What is the best way for someone without HTML knowledge (and no wish to learn) to make simple edits to an existing website? We used to use Adobe Contribute -- are there cheaper alternatives? I do computer support for a small not-for-profit which has recently moved premises. That meant losing access to the landlord's group licences for software.

Our part-time administrator has been happily using Macromedia (now Adobe) Contribute to update the website with news etc. It supplied a simple way to make updates to ordinary content with no HTML or FTP knowledge. Are there free or cheap programs to do roughly the same thing, for a simple already-existing website?

How much will it cost me to get out of your dreams and into your car?

sarahkeebs — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:32:23 -0800

As a career passenger, when/how much should I chip in for the occaisional ride I get from friends? Roadtrips not included, since I know enough to chip in on those and work it out beforehand... Other considerations - does it matter:
- how well I know the person?
- how planned the drive was?
- if we stop at a gas station on the way?
- if they were going my way anyways?

And what length of drive do you think merits this consideration?

I certainly don't mind contributing, but since I've never bought gas (or insurance, etc) it's never occurred to me before, so I'd like some drivers' perspectives. Obviously there are no exact answers, but what do you do - or wish your passengers would do?

Website editing and updating revision tracking

chlorus — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 08:30:33 -0800

I need a tool that does website editing and updating revision tracking, meaning whenever a change is published to the website, a record of the change is recorded in some way. This is for a project that involves a site with maybe ten flat HTML files. For legal reasons, they need to track all published changes they make. Yes, I know MediaWiki does this, but I don't want to install MediaWiki for something so simple, for one. Also, the people I'm making the site for need to be able to make changes themselves, so MediaWiki includes an additional learning curve (we are talking about people with no HTML or coding knowledge and limited web experience.).

So far, the only idea I've come up with is to use Adobe Contribute with the plugin built into Microsoft Word (something they are quite comfortable with), and use the revision tracking that comes built into Word. Will this work? Are there any better ideas? I have had a hell of a time finding any good web tools for revision tracking.

I have also considered maybe writing a perl module that copies the web pages to an archive directory any time changes are made, but I wouldn't know how to implement it. The other idea (since they just need to record changes), is to somehow use WGET on their Windows 2003 server to just download the website every night to their backup drive. That would perhaps be a suitable compromise. Your suggestions are much appreciated.

How much do Dreamweaver and Contribute integrate?

unsigned — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:10:47 -0800

Is it possible to preview drafts sent via Contribute in Dreamweaver? I don't mean publishing the draft in Contribute then checking it out again in Dreamweaver. I need to edit the drafts in Dreamweaver without publishing them. Possible?

Stop Dreamweavers Contributions to Contribute

Xurando — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 18:25:43 -0800

Help me figure out how to rescue my business website from the clutches of the evil Dreamweaver? For years my web site and I coexisted in FrontPage. I was able to do what I needed including forms, etc. About three years ago my site got bigger and I switched to a Mac for the home office computer. At that point I hired a web designer who redid the entire site in Dreamweaver. For 2 years I used Contribute to edit the site and add content.

About a year ago the designer moved away and took Dreamweaver with her. Now my site needs a serious redesign, I have a low budget and would love to continue using Contribute. The problem is the master template regions in Contribute are locked and I can't change them without dreamweaver nor can I reformat my forms.

Using Dreamweaver to redo my site would be costly, have a steep learning curve, and would seem to defeat the reason for using Contribute in the first place, i.e, keep it simple.

I have to make some changes very soon and am desperate for a workable solution that I can do myself.

Please pay for your coffee!

JigSawMan — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 08:17:43 -0800

How do I encourage more people to pay into the work coffee fund without actively guarding the coffee pot? OK, we have a coffee fund at work (higher education institution) which is 25¢ per cup, or a monthly price of $4.00. This is for coffee, tea, or hot cocoa beverages. In my opinion, this is more than reasonable pricing (side question: what are other coffee funds priced at?). The coffee fund was never meant to be a money-maker, just to pay for the supplies and upkeep of the equipment (Bunn coffee maker, microwave, fridge). Unfortunately, as my question hints, few individuals are paying for their drinks.

The appliances are in an open office area and nobody is officially in charge of monitoring the snack area. A student worker does make sure there is fresh coffee throughout the day, but there is nobody on hand to enforce payment. The payment location is simply a coffee cup on top of the coffee maker with an indication on it to deposit money there.

There is prominent sign on the coffee maker explaining the cost. Here is the text:

___________________________________________
Coffee, tea or hot chocolate drinks are all 25 cents per cup.

-Or-

A monthly price of 4 dollars.

Unless otherwise marked, all items in the refrigerator are not for sale.

Thank you for supporting this refreshment area.

All deposited funds are used to stock this refreshment area and maintain the appliances.
___________________________________________

What can I do to encourage more people to pay? I realize there are some people who simply view the coffee fund as their source for freebies, and will never pay unless strong-armed into it. I'm hoping there is a way to appeal to those who simply have gotten out of the habit of paying because nobody is actively pursuing them.

One idea I'm considering is change the deposit area from the opaque coffee cup into a clear container so that it is clearly visible that the money should be in there.