Hyperlinks

[nupee]

I have created hyperlinks and when I click on the link it takes you to that
page and takes the viewer away from the website. However, I would rather
the link open up a new window so that a person will still have my website
open.

 

[DavidF]

Hyperlinks that open a new browser window:
http://msmvps.com/blogs/dbartosik/archive/2006/01/13/81266.aspx

DavidF

 

[puter guy]

Thanks David! This was exceedingly helpful! Usually your links point to a
generic webpage (e.g. /30 or /33) and I usually find myself going in circles
to find the answer; and sometimes I don't. This particular link was direct
and with a little troubleshooting, I was able to solve my issue in less than
5 minutes.

I've posted a couple questions now and between the two David's responses and
reading other posts, I've been able to set up a nice webpage:

http://www.snipesfamily.net

I'm still working on layout (e.g. picture size, links, navigation, etc.) but
it's coming along well.

Thanks again!

Dave

 

[DavidF]

Thanks, Dave the 'puter guy! Sometimes I just don't have enough time to
answer in detail, and David Bartosik's material usually leads to either an
answer, or a better asked question. And then there are sometimes, I just
don't know how to help people, especially with uploading issues. That is
really hard to troubleshoot without sitting in front of a computer. Anyway,
thanks...and good work on your site...creative and entertaining.

DavidF

 

[puter guy]

Hi David:

Thanks for the quick response and feedback on my site. Just like every other
web surfer, my family members have short attentions spans so I've gotta grab
their attention

I've encountered a problem with trying to link my pictures to a new window.
Using the link posted above I understand the code:

<a target="_display"
href="http://www.snipesfamily.net/index_files/BD01_HL.htm"><IMG
SRC="C:\Documents and Settings\snipes_d\Desktop\MS
Publisher\Pictures\Daddy\BD_01.jpg"/></a>

Simple enough, the link points to a webpage and the IMG points to an image
on my C: drive that serves as the place holder for the hyperlink. However,
looking over David's fragment I came up with this:

<a target="_display"
href="http://www.snipesfamily.net/index_files/BD_HL.htm"><IMG
SRC="http://snipesfamily.net/index_files/image9471.jpg"/></a>

Again, the link is pointing to the same webpage (e.g. larger picture), and
the image to be shown on the webpage is sourced from a file on my website. I
hope this is clear thus far...

The problem I've run into is that when I publish my site, Pub renames all of
my files so I can't add the specific address (e.g. .../index_files/R_D01) to
my fragment. because the name changes to something like - image1234. I've
tried publishing, grabing the file name, adding to frag address, and then
republishing but Pub reassigns it another name - d'Oh!

The long and the short: how do I point to a specific image that serves as a
place holder for a link when I don't know what the name will be since the
name is changed when I publish (obstensively changing the web address name)?
I'm haunted from past posters describing how their links point to their C:
drive and not the website and I don't want to follow suit...

Thanks again!

Dave

 

[John G]

SNIP
Dave,

Your site looks very intersting in IE but seems to show (at least to me)
nothing but a blank yellow page when viewed in Firefox, which is becoming a
popular browser.

John G.

 

[DavidF]

Dave,

You are almost there. You need to import the image rather than embed it in
the Pub page. Using your code snippet:

<a target="_display"
href="http://www.snipesfamily.net/index_files/BD_HL.htm"><IMG
SRC="http://snipesfamily.net/index_files/image9471.jpg"/></a>

First create a subfolder on your site called "images", at the same root
level as your index.htm file and the index_files folder.

Second, take your original image, which I assume is "BD_01.jpg", and resize
it to the size you want to display on your page using a third party image
editing program, and then upload it to your new "images" folder.

Now use this code snippet:

<a target="_display"
href="http://www.snipesfamily.net/index_files/BD_HL.htm"><IMG
SRC="http://snipesfamily.net/images/BD_01.jpg"></a>

Note that you do not use a forward slash after the image file name, and be
sure to size the code fragment box the same size as the image. Though it
should not make any difference, another poster had problems using the
underscore in a file name, so if you have problems, use BD01.jpg .

If you don't have an image editing program, let me know. I can suggest a
freebie such as irfanview or there is a workaround, but it would be better
if you optimize the image in a third party program.

And though you did not ask for it, you can also add the ALT tag if you want.
Here is an example:

<a target="_display"
href="http://www.snipesfamily.net/index_files/BD_HL.htm"><IMG
SRC="http://snipesfamily.net/images/BD_01.jpg" ALT="Whatever text you want
to add"></a>

If you use this code snippet, and mouseover the image, you will see
"Whatever text you want to add" . You could change the text to say, "click
here for a larger image"...or add some other description of your choice.

Good luck.

DavidF

 

[puter guy]

Great! Thanks again as always! Nice description on saving files to another
folder on the same root level as my index.htm & index_file. I believe I read
a similar fix somewhere else on this board, but did not understand the
directions...

I will give this a shot and thanks for the ALT text. I went through and
labeled each picture only to realize that on mouseover it just said "picture"
and not the description. That will be a nice addition to either describe the
pic or instruct on what to do.

The next issue I'll tackle is Pub's issue with allowing users to dL pics and
other content. I believe I read something somewhere here, but I'll get to
that when the time comes. As always, one thing at a time

Thanks again!

Dave

 

[puter guy]

Hey John:

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, my wife pointed that out when she tried to
view the site with firefox. We use that almost exclusively to surf the web at
home because of IE's uncanny ability to convey script viruses, etc.

I had planned on researching that issue on this board once I have my site in
a good place. I've instructed fam and friends to use IE if only to view my
site. If you know of any work arounds of setting adjustments that would do
the trick, I'm all eyes

Thanks for the feedback John,

Dave

 

[DavidF]

Dave,

John is correct about your home page not loading correctly in FF, but your
other pages do load. For example:
http://www.snipesfamily.net/index_files/DAVE.htm The issue is that Publisher
produces "smarter" html code for IE, and "dumber" code for other browsers,
and sometimes the "dumber" code simply doesn't work in FF. Sometimes running
the design checker tool will find some of these issues.

I am betting that you are using a script on your home page that you are not
using on your other pages, which is what is keeping the page from loading in
FF. In general, I would suggest that you Publish to the Web, to a folder on
your computer where you can find the HTML output. (I put my test folder on
my desktop so it is easy to delete the old code when I want to test new.)
Then open FF, File > Open File and browse to that folder, and open the
index.htm file to test for cross browser compatibility. In general, "reverse
engineer" the page until you find the design element that is incompatible
with FF. In particular drag any code fragment boxes you have inserted into
your home page, off the page into the scratch area, and produce your html
code and test. Then add back the design elements...the code boxes, one at a
time until you find the one that is creating the problem.

I suspect on your home page, that whatever script you are using to display
the reminder to visit the Calendar page, might be causing the problem.
However, it might also be the "filled objects" you are using for your
navigation system. It appears that you have created ovals, and overlapped
text boxes with links? Not sure how you created them, but you might need to
insert a "button" from the design gallery, or clip art, and approach this in
a different way. Also, it appears that you have filled an oval for the
picture of you and your family...this might also be the problem. You might
need to recreate that image as a transparent GIF file. Or it may be that you
are already using a transparent GIF, and you are overlapping the menu items
with the image, which can also create problems. My point is that you drag
design elements off the page into the scratch area until the page loads ok
in FF, then add them back one at a time to test. If a particular element,
code fragment box, image, etc creates the problem with FF, then find an
alternative design...or alternative script. Even your weather script might
be an issue, and you might try the script from
http://www.wunderground.com/about/faq/weathersticker.asp . It seems to be
loading awfully low on your page...unless that is what you intended.

I also noticed on http://www.snipesfamily.net/index_files/DAVE.htm and some
of your other pages, that you have somehow managed to add links that open in
a new window, within your text boxes. These links do not align correctly in
FF. I didn't think it was possible to code a link within a text box to open
in a new window? My question is how did you do that? Seriously, I want to
know...

Designing a website to be compatible with every browser is a challenge
regardless of what tool you use to produce your site, and Publisher is not
exception. However, I have seen a lot of Publisher produced sites that load
just fine in FF, so with some trial and terror...and some redesign, you can
get your page fairly compatible.

Good luck...

DavidF

 

[DavidF]

For some reason Microsoft decided to disable the right click, save picture
option with Pub 2003 webpages. Your easiest workaround is to upload the
images that you want to make available to download to your new images
folder, and then provide a link to them, and instruct people to use the
right click option to save them after they load in the browser. When you
right click an image that loads independently from your Publisher page, you
do have the option of saving that file.

If you don't want to duplicate the images, then you could also just adapt
the code snippet to import your images into your page, rather than embed
them, and provide a link to those images. If you size and optimize your
images before you upload them, and use the insert html code fragment to
import them, you will also find that the images look better in FF. This is
because you are bypassing the coding engine in Publisher which makes copies
of the images, and provides a lower quality image for FF.

Hope that is clear...

DavidF