link/upload ques - how do you create absolute links?

[Denise]

Hi, again. We published our website (shhrc.org), but it still needs work. 2
big things: on IE, most of the links work except for some linking to pdf's.
I see that thay are trying to link to our server, which looks wrong, but one
of them works. Also a lot of links on FF don't work (some that work on IE).
I saw where you told someone about changing the links to absolute links but I
don't know how

 

[Spike]

The site is looking good in IE 7 on Vista OS

Look at page "Our Facility" there is a picture hanging out on the left

You have done well

As for the PDF's
S:\Website\Web Pub\Forms\Eq Skill & Treat Prin II broch & reg.pdf
S:\Website\Web Pub\Forms\Bus aspects of hippo brochure & reg.pdf

Your links appear to be directed to the S drive on a computer Oops!
PDF's should be placed on the internet server with your web site and linked
to their directory

All in All GREAT job

Spike

 

[Denise]

We updated the folder to the server at the same level as index and
index_files and they look like they're there. I don't understand why it
doesn't refer to them. I'm sure I'm missing something . . .

 

[Denise]

I just re-read my last post and realized I wasn't very clear. First, thanks
for your comments - I wantd to know what some knowledgeable people thought of
the site.

What I was talking about was the fact that the links to pdf's are trying to
go to my server, and that isn't even the lastest version of them. I uploaded
everything again, incl. some changes. Does the order of upload matter?
Should my forms folder be at the same level as the index? Even when I
publish it to my desktop, it's not looking at the latesd version of the
forms. Help!

 

[Spike]

The pdf's need to be on the same server as the web site
Then the links on the workshops page need to be changed to reflect the
location of the pdf files
You have the right idea but the hyperlinks are incorrect

Your link reads
S:\Website\Web Pub\Forms\Eq Skill & Treat Prin II broch & reg.pdf
The link is directing the user to a harddrive S: (somewhere) in sub
directories \Website\Web Pub\Forms

Should read something like
http://www.shhrc.org/forms/skil_001.pdf

In the above example the PDF is in a folder named "forms" in the root
directory
Be careful of upper case letters in links My self I prefer ALL lower
case letters in links and no spaces
Suggestion rename the PDF's for ease of creating links
Skill & Treat Prin II broch & reg.pdf could be skill_001.pdf

Spike

 

[DavidF]

Denise,

I will address your pdf issue here. Yes, the "Forms" folder should be at the
same directory level as the index.htm file and the index_files folder. I
would not put it in the index_files folder as you will be periodically
updating that folder, and you don't want to have to upload the "Forms"
folder again.

Assuming that you created a folder called "forms" on your host at the same
level as your web files, and uploaded your
files to that folder, then write an absolute link to the file, vs a relative
link. Currently it would be:

http://shhrc.org/Forms/Eq Skill & Treat Prin II broch & reg.pdf


However, this won't work until you rename your files...and you should
probably also rename Forms to forms. In general, when you name your files
avoid using spaces, and do not use other special characters other than
underscores or dashes...that means no "&"...that alone would break the link
even if everything else is correct. I personally also avoid underscores
because when the hyperlink underline is present, you can't tell whether
there is a underscore or a space, and that sets you up for errors. Most
people suggest using only lower case also, as this is another place where it
is easy to make an error. With those "rules" in mind, then your link would
look perhaps like this:

http://shhrc.org/forms/eq-skill-treat-prin-2-broch-reg.pdf
or perhaps
http://shhrc.org/forms/EqSkillTreatPrinIIBrochReg.pdf
or all lower case. The main thing is to decide now how you are going to do
it, and then be consistent or you will have problems. You might also think
seriously about using a much shorter file name...once again, less chance of
making an error.

Including external files in a Publisher web:
http://msmvps.com/blogs/dbartosik/archive/2006/01/07/80561.aspx
This is an article for more background, though the site seems to be down
right now.

DavidF

 

[DavidF]

Sorry, I posted a few minutes after you and didn't see your post. You win
<g>.

DavidF

 

[DavidF]

Denise,

Both Spike and I have addressed your pdf question...

As per the links. Please always give specifics. We don't have time to look
at every page and test every link, and we are likely to miss some anyway.
Also, even if you posted it before, always give us your Publisher version.
Each version works a bit different.

With that said, I see that on your home page http://shhrc.org/ the links in
the main text such as the one for: "For more information on Equine assisted
activities and therapy." do not work, and yet on
http://shhrc.org/index_files/Page1964.htm the links work. I suspect that is
because you have grouped your text boxes on the home page with some other
design elements, and you did not on the Staff page. When you grouped it, it
converted all that text into an image, which can kill the links. Try left
click drag to try to select some of the text on your home page and you will
see that you can't...tis a picture. So, assuming that is what you did, now
that you have everything arranged, ungroup the text box and test it again.

One other place where the links always fail in FF is when you use a bottom
navbar in Publisher...tis a bug. It too is converted to an image and the
links won't work in FF. Once again the solution is to ungroup that navbar
from the vertical navbar in the left column that you created using the
wizard. Select the bottom navbar > Arrange > Ungroup. Now, before you do
this, note that this will also disconnect that navbar from the wizard, so if
you decide to change your site...add another page with a new navbar button,
that link will not show up in the bottom navbar...you will have to add it
manually. So wait until you are pretty sure that you are finished with the
organization of the site and then do it. Worse case, edit manually, or you
could rebuild your navbar.

Now if you have other links that are failing in FF, post back and give us a
link to that page, and be specific.

One thing you did not ask about but you should do is to compress your
graphics before you upload them. Right now they are very slow loading.

Reference: Compress graphics file sizes to create smaller Publisher Web
pages (2003):
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/publisher/HA011266301033.aspx

Reference: Compress Pictures dialog box (2007):
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA100363901033.aspx?pid=CL100605171033

Good job on the design though...how did you make the "rounded corner text"
boxes? Are you using Pub 2007?

DavidF

 

[Denise]

Thank you all so much! I could not have done this without you.
Everything seems to be working, incl. in FF, except for one bookmark. If
there's no easy fix, I'll take it out. I'm using Pub 2007. On shhrc.org,
from the home page, there's a bookmark at Premier Accredited Center. You'll
see what it does in FF.
Again thank you so much!

 

[Spike]

I see you fixed the links to the pdf's

http://shhrc.org/forms/bus-aspects.pdf
http://shhrc.org/forms/skill-treat-2.pdf

I do not get the pdf's
Did you rename them and post them in the forms directory?

Spike

 

[Spike]

Must have been a bug between my ISP and yours
They work OK now

Spike

 

[DavidF]

You are welcome.

The link works just fine. It is the page that has the problem:
http://shhrc.org/index_files/Page4297.htm The blue background image you are
using on each page is not working correctly. I get a dark, gradient fill
instead. I assume that is what you are talking about?

I asked in my previous post how you built that rounded edge background, and
now I would suggest that you study what you did on that page that is
different than the other pages, and you will find your solution. If you used
"bring forward" or send to back or some other series of Arrange commands,
perhaps that is the problem. Perhaps the whole thing is off the page
slightly in the scratch area. Perhaps run Design Checker under Tools on that
page and see if that helps you find the problem. If all else fails, rebuild
the background on that page.

One thing I notice is that you apparently still have the "allow Png..."
option checked, as that blue background is a huge PNG file in FF. Here is an
example: http://shhrc.org/index_files/image4419.png That image is
approaching 1 meg in size and as a result takes almost 5 minutes to download
on my machine with dial-up. In IE, the background is not converted to an
image...different code for IE. The good news is the content of your page
loads quickly, so I didn't have to wait to read that. I would suggest that
you try unchecking the PNG option and see if the background becomes
something easier to load than the PNG. It is possible that it will only
become a slightly smaller GIF, and not look as good as the PNG, but you
might want to try it...and at least should be aware of it...

DavidF

 

[Denise]

It makes sense that the problem is the page, not the link - didn't think of
that. I will play around. The rounded corners came from an autoshape in the
template "Radial", and then I did fill. I'll recreate the page and see if
that fixes it. Thanks again.

 

[Denise]

I tried your suggestions and they worked. The page looks OK now. I also
turned off "allow png". David, would you try it one more time and let me
know if it still takes 5 min to load? Thanks!

 

[Rob Giordano \(Crash\)]

Most image links on the home page are broken, only two images visible, links
to all other pages ... pages are missing (404).



--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rob Giordano
Microsoft MVP Expression

 

[DavidF]

Hi Denise,

In FireFox the background has been turned into a GIF instead of a PNG this
time, and it is smaller at 170KB, and loads quicker.
http://shhrc.org/index_files/image320.gif

But in fact, your pages and specifically the images looked better with the
PNG option. Larger image sizes, but cleaner images. Even your "banner" and
menu buttons looked better as PNGs. You might have to go with the PNG option
for better looking pages in FF, even if they do take longer to load.

Did you compress your images after unticking the PNG option, and before
republishing? If you insert a jpg image into your page, and resize it on the
page to less than 100% of it's original size, and do not compress it, then
when you publish that page, Publisher will make either a lower quality gif
copy of that image, or a PNG if you have that option selected. However, if
you compress the image before publishing, Publisher will resample and resize
that image, and produce just a smaller size version of that image in JPG
format. There are images that I think were originally inserted as jpgs that
are being converted to lower quality gif files this time, and better looking
png files the last time, though larger in file size. If you compress all the
images before publishing with the PNG option unchecked, those jpg images
would stay jpg images and maintain that quality. Try that and compare the
quality of the graphics in FF.

To test this out, without making any changes to your Pub file, Publish to
the Web, and direct your output to a folder on your computer. Then compress
all the images in your Pub file, and publish to a different folder on your
computer, and open the .htm files in FF, and compare them side by side.
Compare the index.htm files of both before and after compressing. Then check
the option to allow PNGs, compress, and publish to yet a third folder on
your computer, and open those .htm files. You can open all three home pages
(index.htm) in different tabs in FF...or different windows. My hope is that
after compressing the images, the quality will be comparable to the quality
of the version using PNGs. Let me know what you discover if you have time.

By the way, I didn't have the same experience as Rob. The images were there,
and the links worked. He probably looked at your pages before you got the
index_files folder uploaded.

DavidF

 

[DavidF]

Denise,

I have not used the Autoshape much before and did some follow up testing.
What I found is that most of the weight of your autoshape has to do with the
use of the texture fill that you are using. I created an rectangular
autoshape with rounded corners like you are using. If I filled that
autoshape with a texture, then the file size was 100 kb if I disabled the
PNG option, and it created a gif file of the autoshape. If I allow PNG, then
it created a PNG file of autoshape, and it was 256 kb! Over 2.5 times as big
of file! And then I removed the texture and just filled with a color, and
got a 7 kb png file with png enabled, and a 4 kb file with png disabled.

My recommendation is to find a fill color that you like and use it instead
of the texture, and the download time issue will be cured.

And for the benefit of all, do not fill the autoshape with text. That text
will be converted to an image, which will kill any links. Instead put the
autoshape behind a text box, and send to the back. The text box will remain
text, and links will still be active. Also do not group the text box with
the autoshape, or the text box will be combined with the autoshape to
produce an image, which kills the links, etc.

DavidF

 

[Denise]

I haven't had a chance yet to try all your suggestions, but I will. I
changed the autoshape fill and I hope that will help for now because I needed
to put up some changes. I will definitely let you know how it looks with the
various formats.

 

[DavidF]

Actually, I don't think you have to unless you want to see how it changes
the images. The primary problem was with the texture in the autoshape. By
changing it to just a color, you dropped the file size to around 5 kb, which
of course loads almost instantly.

I do think that experimenting with allowing PNGs, and compressing might be
worth it. You have an image on one of your pages that is rotated at an
angle. When you do this, those images are converted to low resolution gif
files when you view them in FF. But if you allow PNG, they are converted to
PNGs, and seem to be much better quality. The only question is whether the
larger file size is worth the added quality. Just study you files while they
are on your computer and decide for yourself.

DavidF