Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with internet and HTML

Have you noticed the link outline?

jakubsnm — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:56:29 -0800

Have you noticed the link outline? When you click on links, before the page loads a dotted border appears arond the link called the link outline. Would you prefer professional looking sites to not display this outline? Wish i could show an exampe of a site.

* I'm pretty sure Internet Explorer does not support the disabling of the outline. I know Firefox does

Wayback Machine Plugin for ALL old/dead outbound links on a website?

bollockovnikov — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 01:19:17 -0800

My old website still gets a lot of hits. But many of the outbound links I posted years back are no longer valid, are dead or have changed location. Is there any way to integrate the Wayback Machine Internet Archive into my site's code so that links are redirected to the archive for the date they were originally posted? Ideally I would like an integrated plugin that directed old outbound links to their archived page on Wayback automatically. It would be great if visitors to the site hardly even knew their click had been redirected. I would like to implement it site-wide, so that either:

1. All outbound links were directed to the original date they were posted, or
2. If links are dead then the plugin kicks in and directs to the wayback archive, or
3. The plugin places a Wayback version of each link next to the original (something like: Original Link [archive])

(My site is a self-hosted blogger blog - the old version - if that makes a difference...)

Is there a way?

How do I access the drupal admin panel.

BoldStepDesign — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 14:56:44 -0800

Three drupal questions 1. I disabled the log in form on the main page, now how do I get to the admin panel? (Please note, I have a local install of drupal, php, MySQL and Apache for Dev purposes.) 2. How can I create drop down menus? 3. Is there a way I can change the layout for a certain page? Such as I want the main page to be two columns while others to be one with tables or something to that effect for grid data. How can I do this?

How to fix a website and make it compatible in firefox AND IE?

bigcheesegump — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:09:18 -0800

I need some help with a CSS/HTML issue as well as an Internet Explorer issue. I created an online portfolio and have been trying to update the design to make it more user-friendly and more aesthetically pleasing. However, I have run into a few road blocks.

This is the new design that I would like to implement. If you are using Firefox, you should see it as I see it. However, if you are using IE, it is a mess. What can I do to stop this? From brief research, it looks like it is an issue using the position:absolute style tag in my css file. Is there a way to make that design work for both IE and Firefox.

Second, if you navigate to this page you will notice a pdf file that is truncated in height. I cannot for the life of me figure out what is causing this. (The other pdfs on the web site are not configured correctly and I am aware of this)

Any help in figuring out these problems would be appreciated. Thanks!

How to link to the contents of another link?

mathis23 — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 09:24:55 -0800

Is there a way for a hyperlink to simply 'parrot' whatever a second hyperlink might be pointing toward? The overly simplified version of my situation would go something like this:

I have set up LinkA on Page1 to point toward a given file. I also need LinkB on Page2 to point toward this same file. The file however, and it's name, will change quite often.

Is there a way to set up LinkB to simply mimic/mirror/imitate whatever LinkA is pointing toward, so that all I ever need to do is to update the properties of LinkA?

Disagreement with co-web developer about speed difference of height and width specified in image tags as opposed to in the css

semidivine — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:36:28 -0800

I am having a disagreement with a co-web developer I'm working with. He's insisting that having image width and height specified for images in the image tags is going to make an enormous difference in how fast this database driven site will render, while I feel that having the height and width called in the css for these images is enough. The site is very fast. Let me clarify... I'm only talking about the thumbnails of images on the site (the data), all other images used for design etc. have image heights and widths specified. I feel that even if we lose a nano-second in speed (we have dedicated servers and enough bandwidth to land us on the moon) we gain so much in ease of updating the site. The client changes their mind all the time and if we need to change the thumbnail size, I can do it in 2 second in the global css file, as opposed to much longer to track down all the instances of img tags in the code. I also feel we'll gain a nanosecond from slightly less code bloat.

I see a lot of older articles on the web that mention adding image height and width tags as a help to optimize one's site, but if we're doing EVERYTHING else in the name of speed, is this issue really relevant today with users having faster and faster internet connections?

We can't seem to come to any agreement on this... anybody have any enlightened and educated opinions about this, circa 2008?

Can I force numeric input on a mobile browser?

chrisch — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 01:50:55 -0800

I'm developing a web site to be accessible by mobile phone. One of the key requirements is data input into a form that is submitted back to the server. This has been developed and works fine. One of the features of my K610i Sony Ericsson mobile phone is text prediction or auto completion of words. This is a good feature on the text fields, but some fields only require integer or floats (e.g., 12.34567). Integers can be input by either holding down each key for a full second, or by switching the "Writing language" to "123..." (i.e., integer input). Both approaches add a few seconds to the input process, but I'd like to make this is quick as possible. My question is: Is there a way, perhaps with a tag on the form field, to force my mobile browser to switch to the integer input for those fields? Do other phone brands (Nokia, Siemens) do this differently? Would a third party mobile browser, such as Opera, handle this somehow?

[Online Search Filter] A more prescient Google?

gbinal — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:45:40 -0800

Is there a search engine with which I can search among the source code of websites? Perhaps I should explain a case need for this as a coworker whom I asked replied: "G-O-O-G-L-E dot com."

If I right-click, View Page Source, that material that I see - I'd like to be able to query. For the entire Internet (at least, the entire public Internet). When viewing the source for this page on which I'm typing the question, I see snippets like:

font-size:10pt;

and

<li><a href="http://projects.metafilter.com/">Projects</a></li>

Yet googling either of them results in this and this - I believe neither search would lead me to this page. This is consistent with other experiments I've tried.

I know that Google has a number of search queries that relate here, such as link: and site: but I'd still like the ability to search with plain text among the source code for websites.

Thoughts?

(As always, thanks to all of you who make up this community, this resource.)

Does anyone know of a way to create a line graph using html or javascript?

kaozity — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 06:43:57 -0800

Does anyone know of a way to create a line graph using html or javascript? I need to create a line graph with html or jave script without paying a company $99 for their javascript it (e.g. swiftchart). The graph needs to handle multiple trends in the same graph... meaning that I would like to see 3 or more lines going accross in one graph.

Any Help?

How to deliver a random page from a single link?

wtfwjd? — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:35:27 -0800

If I have "page1.html", 'page2.html", "page3.html" and "page4.html" and on examplehomepage.com I have a link that says, "give me a random page" how do I make it so that link delivers 1,2,3 or 4 randomly each time the link is clicked? I am building my first website, using Nvu. I think I get the basic concepts. I know this random page thing is probably way over my head as I am such a novice, but I really want to include it. I am hoping it is easy enough that askmefi can save me once again!

So I know HTML. What to learn next?

Robot Johnny — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 19:23:55 -0800

What web technology/language should I learn to make simple online apps and just generally enhance my bare-bones knowledge of HTML? I know my HTML and CSS, and am pretty comfortable making simple websites and having them look nice (and coded by hand), but I'm pretty clueless when it comes to anything more complicated than that.

I've been able to wrestle my way through simple modifications of existing code (like a WordPress or MT installation, for example) but I otherwise know little to nothing about PHP or MySQL.

Then there's AJAX this, and Ruby that, and all that other "Web 2.0" jargon that I know nothing about apart from having general idea of what it can do.

I also have absolutely NO programming experience beyond

10 PRINT "HELLO"
20 GOTO 10

So, with my limited knowledge, where should I begin, and what should I learn? I'm not too interested in anything too complex, but I think I'd have fun fooling around to create (relatively) simple things like Wordie or just beefing up my websites with a little more user interactivity.

Any good books, too?

Simple, online HTML editor?

Robot Johnny — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 11:03:59 -0800

Is there such thing as an application I can install on a client's web server that will allow him to edit certain HTML documents and save them? I've designed a website for someone, and he'd like to be able to edit the content easily. The editable areas of his site are pieces of HTML embedded into the layout via PHP (so as not to overwhelm him with the code of an entire page, he only has to deal with some <p> tags). I like the editing sections of WordPress and MovableType, but that's overkill -- I don't need a full-blown CMS or Blogging tool. Just an editor.

It would be great if there was an app I could install on his server that could list these files, allow him to make changes, and save them.
And as a bonus, maybe allow him to upload some image files.

He's not adverse to using FTP, but I figured I could make it as easy as possible for him to edit things on the fly.

Good WYSIWYG web development software for the Mac?

brokekid — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 17:19:45 -0800

I'm looking for very simple WYSIWYG web development software package like JAlbum, Freeway and RapidWeaver. Are there more packages out there that are very similar and very good for the Mac? I do a lot of web design work probono for friends, family and some non-profit. I am looking for software that I can try out to cut my time down even more. Freeway, JAlbum and RapidWeaver are good, but they each are lacking in their own way. Any ideas?

I need some insperation

delmoi — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 15:52:04 -0800

Design ideas for a web based application? Great web-apps? I've got artist's block. So our company makes this internet device for corporate use, and we want it to have this really slick web-based interface. I'm trying to come up with some HTML/CSS templates that we might use.

A little back story: A company owed us some work and the came up with a few templates. They were so bland, uninspired and artless that I, as someone with some web design experience, was personally offended. I asked my boss for some of our basic logos and whatnot and so now I'm planning to do a rough mockup on my own time. (I'm employed as a programmer, not a designer)

All I need to do, basically, is come with some kickass CSS and graphics (I will have control of the HTML for this mockup). But I'm a little stumped as far as how to start. Most of my design experience is with "information display" type pages (like a blog) with lots of text rather then an administration-type application which will be mostly text-free.

So do you know of any really cool web-based applications that I might draw inspiration from? Anything else I could look at?

I'm having a hell of a time just getting started.

Thanks.

CSS / HTML vertical centering

jruckman — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 11:07:02 -0800

I'm trying to figure out how to do some vertical centering in two different scenarios. I'm looking for CSS solutions, but plain HTML fixes are welcomed as well -- for either/or. 1) Centering text vertically inside a line: that is, if a line of text has multiple font sizes, the small text won't sit at the baseline, rather, it will be centered inside the space defined by the largest font.

2) Centering a paragraph(s) vertically beside a floated image: If you float an image right or left, but the text you're wrapping around it doesn't stretch the vertical span of the image, it sits at the top with extra space below. I'd like to have this automatically center itself with the picture, regardless of the picture size. Maybe making a div that is 100% of the picture height, and encompassing the text and the image inside? How would this, or other solutions, be done?

the curious incident of the copying conundrum

yonation — Thu, 06 Oct 2005 07:29:22 -0800

is there a reason why effing windows copies text formatting when i simply Ctrl+C? I'm trying to do some web design on somebody else's computer (on microsoft script editor), and when i copy something from firefox to paste in ms7, it adds tag information. when i copy from word, it adds a whole shitload of information like font formatting, etc; i just want to copy the text -- is that too much to ask?

What web training should I do?

ThePinkSuperhero — Fri, 09 Sep 2005 12:02:33 -0800

The company I work for has offered to pay for some website building/computer training. Help me to figure out what to learn. At my recent review, I mentioned that I would be interested in learning about building and maintaining websites, as the company soon hopes to hire someone to build a new website (our current website is years out of date). The boss said if I researched it, they would be willing to pay for the training. I would like to be able to maintain and do some simple building on the website for this company. Thinking larger, I would also like to learn some solid web skills that would look good on my resume. What should I learn? What sort of class should I take? Let's assume I know nothing about building and maintaining websites (which is basically true). And of course, money is no object.

URL naming protocol?

tristeza — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 14:33:27 -0800

TechnoDunce question: why do some URLs start with "http://www.blah" and some just start with "http://blah"?

Hackers Wanted

Frank Grimes — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 11:02:22 -0800

Is there a way to pull values off of an Internet drop down menu and paste them in a document? I'd like to pull off the names of conference invitees off of the invitation's website, but they are in a drop down menu. I tried "View Source," but no luck. Short of typing them all out, is there an easy way to extract them?

What WYSIWYG HTML /Web page Editor will you recommend?

horseblind — Tue, 05 Jul 2005 11:28:32 -0800

What WYSIWYG HTML / Web page Editor will you recommend? A friend wants me to create a website for her small bookstore. I have limited experience in creating websites but am looking forward to the experience. I'm very excited to learn how to create sites. She knows that this will be built whilst I learn and she's fine with that. What editor would you recommend for a beginner that will also be good for me as I pass the novice stage and into possibly a professional stage? W3C standards are seen as an important issue here. Also, ideally, I will be able to show her how to make minor edits (news, events, book signings) to the pages I have created. Sub question: she has her domain name(s) parked. Now, who to go through for hosting? Why?

CSS horizontal navigation bar spacing question

Danelope — Sun, 13 Feb 2005 22:34:28 -0800

Can CSS be used to transform an unordered list of links into a horizontal navigation bar which occupies a fixed (total) width but has equidistant padding between each link, regardless of content length? ( css layout tooth-grinding insanity ) Semantically, a navigation bar is a list of links and should therefore be rendered using <ul>. As such, I am attempting to produce an unordered list that occupies a fixed width (i.e. 450px) but want the padding between each list item to be equal. The padding also needs to be variable, because the text of each link might change, so fixed-width <li>s will not suffice.

Figure 01, List of links sans padding

Figure 02, List of links with equidistant padding x

Any ideas how this might be accomplished? The most irritating part is that I can achieve the desired effect in two minutes using a table.

Simple scripts or html to make clickable thumbnails

alball — Sun, 13 Feb 2005 13:42:45 -0800

I seem to remember in the last month or so there was a question about simple scripts or html that could be used to set up a simple picture gallery with clickable thumbnails? I thought I bookmarked it , but I gues not, and I can't seem to find the thread by searching.

HTML Job Title

twine42 — Sun, 31 Oct 2004 09:04:35 -0800

Random question : How would you describe people who create HTML? We're not programmers. We aren't really coders. How would you describe us? (Apart from stereotypically skinny and semi-gothic or resembling comic shop guy from Simpsons!)

It's largely academic to me now as I normally work in PHP which lets me call myself a coder, but I'm writing a Cv and it's bugging me. The phrase "[...] leading team of 4 HTML writers." really doesn't scan properly no matter what word I finish the sentance with...

HTML issues

XQUZYPHYR — Wed, 27 Oct 2004 13:28:25 -0800

HTML crisis: I use relative URLS on my blog because pages archive in different files- for example, a tag for a JPEG would be /images/image.jpg inside image tags. Because I use that first slash to make the relative URL work, all image tags are broken when you type or link to my site without a "www" in the url. In other words, "www.mysite.com" shows all the images fine, but "mysite.com" loads the site with little red x's everywhere. Solution? What's weird is that I load all my HTML and Flash (swf) files through relative URLs as well, and they load fine with or without a www in the URL. COuld it be a browser issue instead of a code issue? Using Windows XP with IE, currently SP2 but this problem occured in SP1 as well.

How do I shot Now Playing and del.icio.us web

solistrato — Fri, 20 Aug 2004 13:51:31 -0800

Fearless Leader Haughey has both a Now Playing and his del.icio.us links on his site. How would I do that for my own site?