Wednesday 30 November 2011

Getting multiple Backgrounds to work on one page using CSS

The Problem here is this:  Take a look at this screenshot. 


I wanting to show 3 layers at once using the z-index.  However to do this I needed to set the div position to 'absolute' and that through the layout out in other areas.


One suggestion I got was to make a relative container to put the other DIVs in .


However I got this solution to work where I can use 2 backgrounds in one DIV.  There's also a fix for IE 8


Multiple Background in CSS DIV  -  


Here's the css that worked for me on Wise Monkey Media -   






background: url("../../images/wisemonkeymediatail.gif") no-repeat scroll right bottom, url("../../images/mp-background-shading.png") repeat scroll center top transparent;




check the next blog for my IE8 fix 

Tuesday 29 November 2011

Can you force an old module from Joomla 1.5 to work on Joomla 1.7

I'm using this news reel GK4 on this Surfing News website.   It's got one really cool feature which I like is that you can scroll left or right through the pages of news items.  However this feature isn't carried over in the Joomla 1.7 update.  So I was wondering if I could force it to work.  The answer to this I think is no.  Here's what I tried

* Copied the folder over

* copied the jos_module entry for gk4 into the new site.  You have to do this by hand as there are extra fields, and some have been ended.

* changed the params - it now starts with {  and ends with }  .  Also /n  needs to be swapped for :

this still produces a NSP error.   The next stage would be to google  how to change my Joomla 1.5 module into joomla 1.7  or something similar.  If you know of a solution then please let me know.

Monday 28 November 2011

tar: Unexpected EOF in archive

i got this message while unzipping a gzip file

tar:  Unexpected EOF in archive
tar: Error is not recoverable: exiting now

The reason I was getting it was because the file had not fully downloaded to the server.

Saturday 26 November 2011

Understanding Someone Elses MYSQL

Working through someone elses lovely Legacy code I've come to this MySQL statement that seems a bit odd.  So this blog is about trying to understand it.  Which by the way ultimately I don't.  If you do and can explain it to me better than these notes then let me know :)  After this blog I will be going away and trying prove it is wrong - so please check future posts.

SELECT pay_rate, LEFT(TIMEDIFF('24:00:00',TIMEDIFF(start_time, end_time)),5) AS hours, hours_only FROM shifts WHERE (employee_id = '160' AND shift_date BETWEEN '2010-11-12' AND '2010-11-18') OR (employee_id = '160' AND postdate_staff_invoice = '2')



SELECT pay_rate,  // we only looking to return 1 field



LEFT     // check here for 'LEFT' explained  - http://www.roseindia.net/sql/mysql-example/mysql-left.shtml  -

take this example  mysql> SELECT left ('GirishTewari',6)as LeftString;

this means that in this example we're taking the first charcters of this result

TIMEDIFF('24:00:00',TIMEDIFF(start_time, end_time))

#########

So what does

TIMEDIFF('24:00:00',TIMEDIFF(start_time, end_time))

mean.  Well

TIMEDIFF() returns expr1 – expr2 expressed as a time value. expr1 and expr2 are time or date-and-time expressions, but both must be of the same type.

* in this example the second expression will be calculated from the row from the database we're in.

AS   - I normally use this after calling FROM as a form of shorthand ie
         
FROM tableOne AS t1


#################

WHERE (employee_id = '160' AND shift_date BETWEEN '2010-11-12' AND '2010-11-18') OR (employee_id = '160' AND postdate_staff_invoice = '2')

Well at least this makes more sense - except for what's after the 'OR'


To be honest this mysql looks all wrong.  I think the next stage is to find out what result we're expecting.  IS IT JUST TO FIND OUT THE PAY RATE !!


//////////

Here's some searches I've made in looking for answers.


MYSQL LEFT EXPLAINED

Friday 25 November 2011

Moving a PHP script from a local network onto a Website

While I'm working on a script that sits on a local server I've put it up on our own webspace.  The only thing is I seem to be have a problem with the folder locations

ie
require_once '/Classes/PHPExcel.php';

needed to be changed to

require_once 'Classes/PHPExcel.php';


i think the way to do this is have a configuration page where I can set up folder directions.   Like

$pathtoclasses = 'Classes';

the require once will then read

require_once $pathtoclasses.'/PHPExcel.php';

that can be changed easily when putting this software back on the server.   I've put this floder directions in db.php for know as I'll need to change the configuration on this page anyways.

Thursday 24 November 2011

Zoom out with paint magnifier tool

Just incase you find yourself using Microsoft Paint then you may find yourself frustrated by the 'Magnifier Tool'

the thing is you don't seem to be able to zoom out.  It's a one way thing, even after trying 'shift +click' or 'alt+click'.

The only way you can zoom out is using the Zoom in and Zoom out slider at the bottom right hand side of the page :))


Tuesday 22 November 2011

How to delete your Video on Screenr.com

I've recently been using Screenr to record help videos, one thing that wasn't straight forward ( everything else on there is extremely easy to use ) was deleting a video after I'd made it.

The trick is you have to continue the process of publishing before you get the option of 'deleting the screencast' which is in red texgt at the bottom right hand side of the screen.

Wednesday 16 November 2011

joomla virtuemart - putting a equalled sized box around products on Category pages

my categories pages where looking a bit untidy with some items being taller and wider than others.

So on request I wanted to ' make a box to around products in Virtuemart on Joomla '

after adding some simple css to the existing browse page.  namely


.browseProductContainer {
    border: 1px solid #CCCCCC;
       width: 235px !important;
}



the sol 
my page looked like this



the solution was to add a height to the table under the 'browseProductContainer DIV'

table.tablebrowse1 {
height: 375px;
 margin-top: -20px;

}

It's now sorted and you can look at Womens Dresses

Tuesday 15 November 2011

joomla 1.7 - error 500 - Unable to load renderer class tp=1

After initially thinking that this was an issue with a module by changing the template over to another and checking to see if that works I can see this is definatley a problem with the template.

My next port of call was to turn off module positions and then I found that I had been using this code

jdoc:include type="social"



WHICH SHOULD BE

jdoc:include type="modules" name="social"


the issue is now fixed.

Monday 14 November 2011

Invalid characters when sending mailout

When sending out a mailout I need to change these characters in the html  - the


,  change for \ ,

- change for \  -

Wednesday 9 November 2011

Display Static Social Buttons on the Left hand side for Joomla 1.7

Afer doing a search for ' joomla static social buttons ' I found the Anything Tabs  plugin for Joomla.  Which is exactly the kind of this I was looking for.  However the only thing is the buttons are on the right and not the left.  Here's the hack for this.


OPEN plugins/system/anything_tabs/anything_tabs.php

FIND all instances of

style="position:fixed;right


AND CHANGE TO

style="position:fixed;left

The best joomla 1.7 module for Social Buttons on Articles / Blogs

After installing a ' Share This for Joomla ' yesterday and not having much success today I refined my search terms to 'the best joomla 1.7 social plugin for articles'  as it dawned on me that what I needed was a plugin, as that could then appear on every article without the need to assign a module position.

Thats when I found this Social Bookmarking for Joomla  I've installed it and it seems just what I need.  You can choose from loads of different displays.  Here's how my page looks a the moment.

Tuesday 8 November 2011

in Joomla 1.7 unable to use ?tp=1 - error 500

When trying to see where my modules where using the '?tp=1' method I was getting a 500 error

' unable to load renderer class '


After rolling back to a previous version that worked I saw that it was a problem with the last module I had installed which was ' Share This for Joomla ' - > mod_JoomlaShareThis_j17

I have contacted the programmers so will let you know if I get a response.

Monday 7 November 2011

sony vaio laptop not working battery light comes on when you press on button

sony vaio laptop not working battery light comes on when you press on button

Our old laptop wasn't responding at all when pressing the on button.   This worked for me

* remove the battery 


* unplug power supply


* hold power button for 30 seconds


* reinstate battery and power supply.

Facebook Advertising Webinar

Here's the checklist for the first week of the Facebook Advertising Webinar 

* Start by considering who are the essential connections for your
business. Who are your advocates? Set goals for who you would like to
connect to your business.

*  If you have a physical location, claim your Facebook Place by searching
for it on Facebook. You may have fans already waiting. This is now your
Facebook Page.

*  If you don’t have a Page already, create your Page at facebook.com/page,
fill out as much information as possible and add photos.

* Make your first post. Create a schedule to track what and when you will
post. Post at least twice per week.

* Add other administrators to your Page, so they can post, respond, and
advertise for your Page.


* Invite your employees, friends, and customers to like your Page.


* Get a personalized link for your Page by visiting facebook.com/
username. (You’ll need at least 25 fans).


* Put your Facebook Page’s personalized link in all of your marketing
materials (business cards, receipts, e-mails, chalk boards, signs etc


To be honest there isn't anything here that I haven't done, except for making sure all my customers are sending  invites to there friends.

Friday 4 November 2011

How to add Virtuemart Manufacturers Images

I'm using a module called mod_vm_manufacturers_logos  Where I show a range of Manufacturers logos.

Anyway when going back to a site it's a bit confusing as to where you add a new logo.  As you don't do it through the Virtuemart admin.   What you need to do is

* save the file as the same name as your Manufacturer

* make sure the file is saved as a .gif

* save it in the folder /images/manufacturers


There you go :).

Tuesday 1 November 2011

Joomla 1.7 can't see my template

Joomla 1.7 has a slightly different method for templates.  In Joomla 1.5 you can just drop your template folder into

public_html/templates/ 

once you've done this you can then see it when you login to 'administrator'

>> goto 'extensions' and drop down to 'template manager'


However this doesn't work in 1.7 - here you need to goto
>> 'extensions'  ->  'extensions manager'
>> and find the 'discover' link

Then you will be able to find the template as normal.