The Ideas Genie Community Forum
Ideas Genie Pro => The Web Page Generator (WPG) section => Topic started by: ideasguy on February 19, 2009, 12:57:52 PM
-
In creating your WPG projects, step 7 allows you to pick a colour scheme for your website.
Heres a web site which may help you choose your scheme:
http://www.colorcombos.com/
-
Fascinating site and very useful. Typical that I find out how to do this after I have sent you the FGT pages. I suppose though that once they are on the Web site I can go to the FTP and edit them? I did this with the August Tour where I had misspelled Damson.
So next thing to be able to do, is to change the Font of the text describing the pictures etc.??????????????? ???
Stop me if I am getting greedy! :D ::)
-
Even though youve already sent the Flash, edit your WPG and pick the colours you like, Eric.
Copy and paste the various #codes and email to me.
I'll edit the Style sheets on the files youve sent on Flash, so that it will match what you come up with.
As for fonts, Theres quite a bit of control that can be done, within the style sheets.
Have a look at the .css files in your WPG project.
Looks like we need an Advanced Help Guide :)
-
George, correct me if I'm wrong, but it's probably worth mentioning here that any alterations you do to these HTML/CSS pages, will be overwritten by the default pages each time you generate the WPG when amendments have been added.
The personalisations will have to be redone each time.
Laurie.
-
I have just altered the Font size and generated the pages, they do not seem to have reutrned to the previous size?
-
how does one alter the font size as personally i feel that the text size is a bit small and i would like to make it a little larger, please explain in laymans terms, nice and easy instructions, i have tried with html via frontapge and copy and paste into the introduction page but the text size does not alter, but i do know how to change text colour via frontpage html ;)
-
Ah!
I see Laurie has already warned you about that (thank you Laurie!)
Heres a few "inner secrets"
When you create a new WPG, the program (GA032) creates a new folder and copies style sheet templates from the folder:
c:\igdata_sets\web
This, any editing you do to the templates will be used each time you create a new WPG.
However! If I make changes to the Web Files (see the download item on the product support web page) they will overwrite the templates. Changes are made somethimes to inroduce new WPG features.
So far youve been working with the copies of the templetes in the individual WPG folder.
The only style sheet changes Ive programmed (to make it easy for the user) so far are the colours - thats in step 7.
The style sheets are unchanged in a Re-gen, so any changes youve done to the style sheet should be applied to the regenerated htm pages.
When you regenerate, your new .htm web pages overwrite the old .htm files.
Having explained that, I dont understand:
I have just altered the Font size and generated the pages, they do not seem to have reutrned to the previous size?
What did you do, and what was the result?
-
I am being dim here, but that was as clear as mud to me. :-[
-
Not being dim at all, Eric. I rally need to explain some more about css and style sheets for you to get a grasp of the concepts.
Meanwhile, the essential thing is, you should be able to edit those sty;e sheets in the WPG project folder.
If things go horribly wrong, copy all the files with .css extensions from this folder:
c:\igdata_sets\web
into your web Project folder.
That will overwrite your changes and put you back to normal with no harm done.
Best idea would be to create a new "test" review and WPG and play around with it.
-
No criticism implied or expressed in what follows 'cos I think you have explained most things very well.
Writing SIMPLE and EASY to follow instructions for SIMPLE folks is extremely difficult. Why do you think people have so much trouble with self assembly furniture?
One of the fun things I used to do as a teacher was to get my class to write instructions for doing simple tasks, like say putting on a pullover. Then getting someone to follow the written instructions absolutely to the letter. The results were often hilarious.
It is even harder to do when one is an 'expert'. Our eldest son is a freak maths genius type, you try getting him to explain how to do something in Maths. He cannot do it. He just goes too quickly, misses out the obvious, to him, steps and fails utterly to see why anyone cannot understand.
I wrote a set of instructions for someone on how to join Photobucket after reading what an 'expert' posted for her. Even though I knew how to do it, his instructions were impossible to follow. Even then it took a lot of revisions with a non computer user sat next to me to get ALL the steps in place and ALL the terms explained and REPEATED. One thing I found as a teacher was that assuming that someone would know what you meant the second time or the third time round was a big error.
It is simple things like Click on 'Edit at the top of the page. Sounds easy, except do you mean Click with the left button, the middle button or the right button on a three button mouse? How many Clicks? And worse still what do you do when the word 'Edit' is not on their Screen at all?
I could go on, but I think you get my drift.
-
Yes, I do indeed get your drift!
I could do with some help on the User Guide ;)
Only kidding Eric!
I dont know any developers who like writing instructions. In fact, its dreaded!
Besides, you can NEVER be right with instructions.
a) Skimp, and beginners are stuck.
b) Elaborate, and you get hammered for being too wordy, and the documention is so big that nobody reads it.
As you have said, even a simple procedure needs a lot of careful presentation. When its complex, its "War and Peace"
c) Leave out a step, and you get hammered by everybody!
Proof readers are essential.
I ignore the criticism and (mostly) go for (b)
I take a lot of flak from my IT colleagues about the amount of text on my website.
Incidentally, click is rarely unqualified, as it is taken to mean left-click
Right click does need to be qualified, and so does Double Click.
Afater all that, how did you get on editing the style sheets? (files with .css extensions)
-
Only had a quick try and it does not seem to have made any difference to the font in the finished product.
Simply, Which .css would I need to look in and which 'line' would I have to alter to increase the size of the text which describes the picture one is looking at. IE The text entered in 'Notes about this Photo in GA032S08.
Told you it needed to be simple doh!
-
Try editing the file VIDstyle.css
The WPG web sites are composed of 3 "frames"
a) The frame along the top (teh Banner)
b) The Plant list (left)
c) The Body (right)
If you right click on each frame individually, then click View Source, that shows the raw HTML source code, automatically generated by the WPG.
The name of the style sheet (a file name with a .css file extension) can usually be seen in the opening section of the document.
The style sheet issues global formatting commands to the browser, controlling the appearance of the web page (font, font size etc.
-
Ok. I know that the Text size of the words which appear under the pictures is controlled somewhere in Vidstyle.css BUT which one or ones of the half a dozen lines with Font sizes in them, in there is it? I have tired altering them all and as far as I can see nothing happens.
Tried the suggestion made by Laurie to alter the size of the print in the Plant/Photo List and that has worked brilliantly. ;D
-
Eric, if the text you are referring to has the Photographer details, date taken and then the description of the photo which is surrounded by a box on your web page, then this is the text to alter (based on the coding I have generated in one of my WPG's).
Open up "VIDstyle.css" as I previously described.
Look for the following bit of text -
P
{
FONT-SIZE: 8pt;
COLOR: black;
FONT-FAMILY: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, Univers, 'Zurich BT', sans-serif
}
The P refers to the Paragraph coding in the .htm document containing that text.
Just as in the Plant List you altered, change the FONT-SIZE from 8pt to whatever you want.
Let me know how you get on.
Laurie.
-
Ma touchly as Rev Spooner might have said. That works a treat! Noqw I can read what I writted even without my reading glasses on ! :-* ;D
-
Glad it's working for you Eric. ;D
Rev Spooner, I know him well. :D A mannerism of 'spoonerism' used to great effect by Ronnie Barker in the Two Ronnies TV series.
Those were the days. ;)
Laurie.
-
Well done Laurie, and well applied Eric!
Little tasks are mounting up, but I amend the WPG to allow the user to edit those settings easily next update.
First time around, I didn't want to make it too hairy!
If you are OK about it, I think it would be a good idea to add the instructions you sent Eric about editing the plantlist.css Laurie.
I'm sure others will find it useful.
Keeps it all together here in this thread, easy for me to review when I get to that update.
-
Well done Laurie!
Little tasks are mounting up, but I amend the WPG to allow the user to edit those settings easily next update.
First time around, I didnt want to make it too hairy!
I am looking at altering text size on introduction page would it be possible to include this in the settings to allow us to edit this text size please
-
Must have crossed in the postings, Phil. My last posting said I plant to do that when time allows.
Have a look at the postings Laurie has made here. If you can find and edit the files accordingly they will do your job in the meantime.
-
Did you folk know that you can personalise your browser and make your web page fonts larger like this?
Click View tab on the Internert Exlorer menu
Click Text Size
Select your preferred font size.
Ive done a quick test and it works on the WPG web sites
-
aye cross postings managed to do it via frontpage just copy and paste the html from their into introduction page and it altered text size http://www.ideasforgardens.net/philhunt/ (http://www.ideasforgardens.net/philhunt/) i tried this the other day and it would not work, this time i deleted the html you get at the top of frontpage html page and its worked ;)
George yes i read when time allows,
i planned to get outside this week, but the wife had other ideas, tile hallway floor, tile kitchen walls above worktops, typical, nice week and i am stuck inside doing tiling :(
-
By the way I also put my own phtos in the Banner instead of the ones supplied. Interesting. Also managed to make the Black text on the Intro page into a more readable size without doing it in IE.
So now is there any way of Centring the Image on the page instead of it being lined up to the left.
Oh what complicated things we request!
-
RE:
Well done Laurie, and well applied Eric!
If you are OK about it, I think it would be a good idea to add the instructions you sent Eric about editing the plantlist.css Laurie.
I'm sure others will find it useful.
Keeps it all together here in this thread, easy for me to review when I get to that update.
These are the instructions I gave to Eric (Palustris) to edit the font size in the Plant List and the main pages of his WPG.
On your computer go to C:\igdata_sets\web, and click once with the right mouse button on the document called "plantmenu.htm" and open it using Notepad.
At the top of this document, it starts with the following text -
<html>
<head>
<title>Plant List</title><base target= "Plant Details">
<LINK REL=STYLESHEET TYPE="text/css" HREF="plantlist.css">
</head>
Note the reference to the line <LINK REL=STYLESHEET TYPE="text/css" HREF="plantlist.css">.
Now, in the same folder as above, click once with the right mouse button on the document called "plantlist.css" (this is the Stylesheet that "plantmenu.htm" document is using.)
Confirm if the text displayed looks like this -
a:link { color: #0000FF; text-decoration: underline; }
a:visited { color: #008000; text-decoration: underline; }
a:active { color: #FFFFFF; text-decoration: underline; ; background-color: #FC1D5A}
a:hover { color: #FFFF00; text-decoration: none; }
If it does, then that is why your text is staying at the default smaller text size of 8pt. Because a font size is not specified in "plantlist.css" it is using "VIDstyle.css" instead, which defines the overall settings for all the .htm documents.
To change the font size in ONLY the "Plant List", then add the following text at the top of the opened document "plantlist.css" -
BODY
{
FONT-SIZE: 8pt;
COLOR: black;
FONT-FAMILY: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, Univers, 'Zurich BT', sans-serif;
}
Type this exactly as shown here from, and including, BODY and the open and closed 'curly' brackets (better to copy and paste it.)
Change the font size from 8pt to whatever you want. Use increments of two each time, for example, start with 10, then 12, 14, 16, etc. You won't want it to be too big so 10 or 12 should be what to go for.
Leave a line space between this coding and that which is already there.
Then save the document with the same filename.
When you regenerate your WPG, this TEMPLATE Stylesheet that you have just altered will then be used.
Remember, if any future amendments wish to be made to this Stylesheet, they must be done to the Default one which is stored in C:\igdata_sets\web and not the copy that is created in your 'Project' folder that is created each time you regenerate the WPG.
Phil
To edit the font sizes on the Introduction Page, please refer to my posting here - http://www.flowergenie.co.uk/ideas/forum/index.php/topic,945.msg5275/topicseen.html#msg5275 (http://www.flowergenie.co.uk/ideas/forum/index.php/topic,945.msg5275/topicseen.html#msg5275)
Laurie.
-
Laurie
Thanks for that link, did read it all previously but not being techy minded i tend to be a bit cautious about playing about with stuff like that etc, hence the frontpage use, what you see with frontpage is what you get, but saying that i will have another look and a play, if i crash the world wide web in my playings, it was not me ;) ;D
-
No problem Phil.
I mentioned the use of Notepad for editing that document mainly because not everyone has HTML Editor software on their PC's, but if you have then you can use them instead.
I 'cut my teeth' on Notepad when I first started doing web site development, and it was a great grounding medium, because you literally had to type in the HTML coding in full.
I eventually went over to a dedicated HTML Editor purely because of the speed of use.
By this time Kathy and I were developing web sites for paying customers so we had to be fast. ;D
Good luck with your efforts. :D
Laurie.
-
i dont beleive it i have actually managed to alter a little bit of the banner text http://www.ideasforgardens.net/philhunt/ (http://www.ideasforgardens.net/philhunt/) useing your method and following you instruction, but i did copy and paste into notepad first as a backup you never know, is the world wide web still working your end ;D
-
Very creative Phil.
WWW still seems to be working okay. :D
Laurie.
-
still keeping all of georges credits/links etc as its only right, glad web still working ;)
-
Now we've digressed slightly off-topic and covered the changing of font sizes in WPG's, we need to get back on track and focus on the colours for your WPG's, as originally intended by George.
The colours are an important feature of your WPG and makes it stand out from the rest.
So, give some of the colour schemes a try that was suggested by George through the web site link he provided at the start of this topic, and let's see what you can achieve. ;D
Laurie.
-
Thanks for all that Laurie. Nice to sit back and these items being VERY well explained and documented, while I got on with another project (this "eternal" Catalogs project)
-
I did go and view the Colour site as linked by G. Said it was very interesting and have changed the colour scheme to my latest WPG project. Now all I have to do is wait for the Flash pen with the images etc. to arrive at the man's and go from there. As George requested I will have to PM him with the mumbers for the colour changes though.
-
The Flash has just arrived this morning Eric. Send that PM with colours and I'll FTP this evening.
Its a very nice day here. Going to the garden soon
(I see its 4gb, so I'll send the latest version of the Master Database by return)
-
Ive posted it as received, Eric:
http://www.ideasforgardens.net/palustris-FGT/
Comparing Before and After (the pics youve been posting recently) that is an amazing transformation.
It allows us to appreciate the amount of thought and plain hard graft that went into the making of your garden
I think a Gold Star is in order for that achievement :)
I note you sent two aerial pics of your garden, a before and after.
It would be nice to include those at some stage. They allow us to relate better to the individual photos, of course.
As requested, and in appreciation of your efforts Eric, he's your Gold Star Award.
(http://www.pixiemouse.com/igforum/star1_lgtbg.jpg)
Laurie.
-
Heres the manipulated version, with (hopefully) the Colours, Fonts, Font sizes and Images selected by Eric
http://www.ideasforgardens.net/Berghill-FGT/
Is that how it is on your computer Eric?
Note: Ive kept the initial version up for comparison. I'll remove it after a few days
-
Do several of the pictures need to be resized to fit the page, or are they mean't to be so big? :-\
Pics 14 25 and 32
Some plot you have there Eric :o
Malcolm
-
I noticed some were a bit big, but thought I'd leave them until everyone has a look. I'll adjust them in the next day or two.
-
A well-accomplished WPG there Eric.
I particularly like the aerial view of your garden. I hadn't fully appreciated the size of it until I saw that.
A lovely location, with beautiful vistas.
Laurie.
-
Yes, that is how I meant it to look.
Sorry about the pictures size in those few. For some reason my Resizing program ignored those pictures and left them at the scanned in size. They should have been 640 by 480 pixels like all the others. My fault I should have checked, but it has never done that before. I have altered the ones on my machine. Sorry again George.
Thanks for the pages though. People often ask what it was like when we moved in. If you look at the August garden tour from last year you can see that we have made a few changes in the 14 years we have been here! ;D
-
RE:
For some reason my Resizing program ignored those pictures
Do you mean GA032, GA051, or another program Eric?
-
No, I use FinePix, 'cos I can do a lot of things to the Files as well as resizing them easily in it. Almost always resize immediately after uploading so that I can photobucket them as a precaution.
Do you want me to resize them and send?
-
Phew!
No need to resize and resend. I can do that here on your copies.
Have a go using the resize program GA051 Eric.
Are you still having problems resizing photos as you bring them into your WPG using GA032?
The resizer in that make all the photos a standard size, and therefore consistenst.
Also it makes copies, and your originals are safe.
-
Still get a System Error when I try to create a Thumbnail from an existing picture.
-
Send me an email with the steps to make that happen Eric, and I'll see if I can help, and email the errfile files.
No immediate rush. I'll look at it during the week ahead.
I need to get to the bottom of that one.
-
Excellent site eric i particularly like the aerial views, wish i had an aerial view now, will have to have a go with google earth and see if i can get down low enough to get my place last time i tried it on my other property the image was just blurred, will have to have a go on this site
-
The aerial pics were not taken by my. A man knocked on the door and offered them to us. We bought them without the frames, but including the copyright. Hopefully he will come back with a later version. GoogleEarth of us is about 5 years out of date!
Will do G. Have done G.
-
tried google earth and it is about 5 years out of date, how do i know, we moved here about 4 years ago and i looked at our old address in uk and my red peugeot estate i had then is on the drive, just to confirm i looked at the place where i used to work and that is as it was years ago with no new buildings, google earth for here wont go down low enough i think the satelite camera lens gets stuck at 21000 ft ::) and you cant make out any features
-
You can get Google Earth to show when the images where taken
In the left hand Layers column, find the reference "more"
Click on the box with a + next to "more"
Repeat the above with the "Digital globe" box
Repeat again with the "year"
Then click on any of the chosen year, empty boxes, and a series of rectangles will be drawn on the Google earth image if a image aquisition pass was made on the year chosen.
A job to explain it, but give it a try.
Malcolm
-
thanks for that malcolm will give it a go tomorrow