11 · 30

Removing browser padding!

Both Internet Explorer and Netscape Communicator introduce padding between their edges and contents. Padding is the blank space between the inside edge of the browser window and the actual web page contents. This padding can range from 10 to 12 pixels depending on the browser, platform and version. Here we'll look at a simple HTML trick to remove the padding around web page contents. You would have noticed that this page however, has no such padding and the contents are placed flush against the edges. You can remove the padding either by using frames or using specific attributes to <body> tag and style sheets. This web site employs the latter method. To remove padding you include four attributes in the body tag as: <body marginwidth="0" marginheight="0 leftmargin="0" topmargin="0"> Netscape uses marginwidth and marginheight while Internet Explorer uses leftmargin and topmargin. Since we have set all these attributes to 0, the web page will be displayed without any padding. Internet Explorer follows style sheets better than Netscape. Thus, we can do away with the I.E. specific attributes (leftmargin and topmargin) in the BODY tag by using the margin property in style sheets. body {margin:0} Note: we have set the margin property to 0 and assigned it to the body selector. This style is placed inside the HTML head between <style> - </style> tags or in an external .css file. Since I.E. recognizes this style, we no longer need leftmargin and topmargin and can remove them from the <body> tag. The final document should look like: <html> <head> <title>Some title</title> <style> body {margin:0} <style> </head> <body marginwidth="0" marginheight="0"> ... Contents ... </body> </html>
About the Author Kyle Reddoch is a Web Expert and Internet Guru located in Amarillo, TX. To learn more about him, go to his website at KyleReddoch.com.
11 · 29

Automatically redirecting visitors to another page

It might so happen that during the web site maintenance process, you might rename a page or move it to another location. One of your kind visitors (rare!) informs you that he/she stumbled on this page and it shows a "404 page not existing error". Think about other users who have 'bookmarked' this page or worse still, search engines that have indexed this page. A remedy for this problem would be to use an automatic redirection and we employ the <META> tag to accomplish this job. Using the http-equiv and content attributes with appropriate values, we can set up this redirection.

<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="10; url=somepage.html">

The <meta> tag has to be included in the HTML head. The content attribute takes two values. The first specifies the number of seconds for the page to refresh and the second is the page URL address. (Note: These two values are enclosed in only ONE pair of quotes and separated by a colon). The code above redirects the user to somepage.html in 10 seconds. It is also wise to include a link to the new page in the HTML body section for older browsers that do not recognize the <meta> tag, something like:

The page has been moved here

About the Author Kyle Reddoch is a Web Expert and Internet Guru located in Amarillo, TX. To learn more about him you can go to his website at KyleReddoch.com.
11 · 28

Important HTML Tip - Quoting HTML attribute values

This is an important HTML tip. The values of attributes can contain text, hexadecimal color codes or numbers. In case of JavaScript event handlers, the values consist of small JavaScript code. A sincere advice for good and clean HTML coding is to ALWAYS put quotes around attribute values. It is a good habit, will save you many headaches and avoid errors especially when attribute values contain spaces. Thus, using bgcolor="#ffffff" instead of bgcolor=#ffffff results is greater browser compatibility and differentiates it nicely from other attribute-value pairs. Quoting attribute values is also required in XHTML. Your pages will fail the W3C validation if you leave the values haning around with the quotes.
About the Author Kyle Reddoch is a Web Expert located in Amarillo, TX. To learn more about him visit his website at KyleReddoch.com.
11 · 27

Do You need a Twitter Background?

With the ever growing popularity of social media, namely Twitter, I have had many people come to me and ask if I design backgrounds for Twitter. My answer is, Yes!! If you are needing a background for Twitter consider using me. Plus for a limited time only, there is no charge for twitter backgrounds. You read right, NO CHARGE! You can contact me through my website, KyleReddoch.com, or through Direct Message on Twitter.
11 · 27

Web 2.0 – The Internet Evolves

Every once in a while, technology takes a startling leap ahead. Call it an evolutionary “fast-forward.” Web 2.0 is such an event. It is basically changing all the rules as it relates to how people use the Net. But I’m getting ahead of myself. To understand this important change, you need to remember Web 1.0... For the longest time, websites were nothing more than virtual billboards, online pamphlets for businesses. During the dot-com boom, companies paid designers huge sums to develop these colorful but static sites. Many of these sites still exist today, languishing and forgotten relics littering the information superhighway. Recently, programmers have discovered ways to make sites more interactive, more dynamic. The sites operate more like a program than a “pamphlet.” We call these types of sites, Web 2.0 applications. To get an idea where the Web is going, take a look at my current favorites: Google Maps All of us have seen various mapping sites out there, but Google Maps was the first to add Web 2.0 features. Specifically, the ability to “grab” the map and move it, zooming with your scroll wheel, and “dragging” your route make this site extremely user friendly. PhotoShop Express Adobe has long been known as the leaders when it comes to photo manipulation. Their flagship product, PhotoShop is found on the computer of most graphic designers. Well, they’ve just released a beta of their FREE online version: PhotoShop Express. While it doesn’t have every feature that experts expect, it has the most commonly used features most amateur photographers use. Kayak I love this site. Basically, it is a travel site, but instead of giving you its own set of airfares, it actually searches all the big names in travel and gives you THEIR best deals. This site saves me a lot of time. You’ll notice the Web 2.0 features right away. Zoho If you don’t have Microsoft Office but need the same functionality, look no farther. This site pushes the limits of Web 2.0 by transforming your web browser into an office suite, complete with word processor, spreadsheet, database, and a host of other programs. But Web 2.0 is not limited to “productivity apps.” Many entertainment companies are sitting up and taking notice of the exciting new opportunities the Internet has opened up. Hulu Hollywood has longed tried to figure out how to make a buck in cyberspace. Well, hulu.com is an exciting experiment. Basically, you can watch just about all NBC and Fox television shows, even past episodes, for free. The revenue stream is generated by non-skippable ads that appear during the broadcast. Second Life Redefining the online gaming world, this site is very similar to the PC-based Sims game. In the Sims you had no specific goals to achieve, no simple objectives, just the responsibility of taking care of an artificial person. Second life takes that concept to the next level by allowing you to interact in real-time with others all around the world. Be whomever (or whatever) you want in this alternate reality. I’m very excited about the future of the Web. Newer, more interactive sites are being launched daily. You may never have to buy software again!
About the Author Kyle Reddoch is a Web Expert located in Amarillo, TX. Learn more about him at his website, KyleReddoch.com.
Kyle Reddoch

I am an aspiring Web Developer, Android Fanatic, Family Man, and all around Web Geek! I also do Freelance Development work.

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