Archive for the ‘articles’ Category

A quick tip on enabling broken image placeholders in Firefox 3 and beyond

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

If you’re a keen web-developer and tend to do a lot of testing in Firefox, you will have probably come across the problem of  not noticing broken images, as Firefox will not render anything if the image cannot be found.

The one thing I certainly miss from Internet Explorer since migrating to Firefox was the broken image placeholder, or the big red cross. The only reason I personally still use Internet Explorer is purely for testing purposes, to ensure the Doxmart experience is just as good and usable in every common web browser.

To enable this feature in Firefox, the most commonly suggested method seems to be to visit ‘about:config’ in Firefox, and ensure that ‘browser.display.show_image_placeholders’ is set to ‘true’, but in my case this was already enabled and still not showing placeholders.

In order to get these working in my particular environment (Windows Server 2008, Firefox 3.5), i had to navigate to ‘%appdata%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<username>\chrome’, or, if you’re on a domain, it may be found in ‘%appdata%\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<username>\chrome’. In this directory, you should find a file entitled ‘UserContent-example.css’. Rename this file to ‘UserContent.css’ and add the following CSS rule:

/*
 * Show image placeholders
 */
@-moz-document url-prefix(http), url-prefix(file) {
  img:-moz-broken{
    -moz-force-broken-image-icon:1;
    width:24px;
    height:24px;
  }
}

Save this file, and restart Firefox. Any broken images should now show a broken image placeholder, which will enable you to easily identify missing or broken images during development.

There are also several other tweaks for Firefox that can be implemented using CSS, see this article from Mozilla for more information: Customizing Mozilla

%appdata%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\profilename\chrome
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Showcase your talents

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

Now with the new and improved personal profile you can take the opportunity to promote yourself with Doxmart. The new look site gives you a keyword sketch so others can quickly find out what you offer and how you can help. The newsflash feature lets you promote a specific opportunity or service therefore sharing significant information with others.

Even better, you can let others know what you are really good so they can immediately assess the links they might wish to make and how you could work together to solve problems and achieve goals. Check out your new profile page!

Also, to remind you about our policy change…
Having listened to member feedback, we recognised that a change in our policy was necessary in order to make it easier to help you search and find others who can help you or who will benefit from your expertise. So as from 8th April 2009, the Doxmart search engines now reference your name and, if applicable, your organisation name, in addition to your screen name. This means that your name is now publicly visible and it will no longer be possible to make this data private. Please get in touch if you have any questions about this policy change.

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Publish your knowledge

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

The enhanced Doxmart site includes improvements to the upload documents function which has been simplified and is quicker is use. This means that in a few easy steps you can effortlessly publish your knowledge, make it available to others and make money at the same time.

What is more you also currently benefit from free hosting so it costs you nothing to share your expertise and let others know what you are really good at. To take advantage of free hosting and publish your documents, visit the Document Upload Wizard.

Remember when you have uploaded your documents you can include additional information to make them more attractive to buyers by using the Edit facility. This also allows you to set the price. Once this is done you then publish them to the Doxmart marketplace by making them available for sale. You can view your document details and also check out how they will look when viewed by others from your Document Portfolio section of your My Doxmart.

Your My Doxmart page will keep you up to date with  how many documents you have uploaded and hosted on Doxmart, the feedback you have received and the amount of sales revenue you have available to cash out or spend.

Also it won’t cost you anything to publish your documents because as a current or new member registering with Doxmart you automatically receive six months FREE hosting for any documents uploaded.

Please Note: six months free hosting commences from the date the document is made available for sale.

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Future Thinking – planning ahead for better times

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009

As we all find ourselves in the middle of challenging times, there is a new wave of commentary about how we need to keep an eye to the future to ensure success.  Two reports have really struck a chord here:  ‘The Forward Thinking Report’ from the Institute of Directors and Barclays Bank PLC and ‘Web 2.0 and the evolution of Instructional design’ from Inside Learning Technologies.

Whilst focusing on the culture of the Internet, a report on Web 2.0 clearly points out how our experiences in the virtual world are influencing our decisions and thought processes in the actual one.  The lessons include how small firms don’t need to reach critical mass to enjoy economies of scale as: “five-person companies can use Salesforce.com for customer relationship management.  Expect to see a learning equivalent soon”.  Also, it reports how the power of networks proves that collaborative ‘team’ thinking is powerful.   And yet, the Internet has given rise to greater personal power as individuals can conduct their own education, find their own inspiration, shape their environment and share their adventures with whoever is interested.  Clearly, knowledge is the new power.

So knowledge about the future is key.   This brings us to the Forward Thinking Report by the Institute of Directors UK.  It offers fascinating advice that can only be considered properly if we have a mindset that even in present times, when getting to the end of the financial quarter seems daunting for many, that we do need to seriously plan for the future.  As David Taylor, entrepreneur, author and chairman of Woking FC says: “The time is ripe for bravery. It’s time to be companies to turn on a sixpence and manage their way out of this situation quickly”.

The report takes a look at forward thinking in the UK, examines the barriers to forward thinking (lack of time and too busy worrying about today mostly), analyses forward thinking by sectors, regions and company size, examines the practicalities of implementing forward thinking across an organisation and then gives practical steps that businesses can implement immediately to create their own 20/20 vision for the future.

In summary, it states that: “The world is there for those businesses that think ahead, plan, and then move fast to act with resolve and precision.  In short, those that get things done better, faster.”  One of the key elements to competitive advantage is making time to think and thinking faster and better by accessing all the knowledge and information you possibly can.  And the most trusted source of information comes from the web.

So get Doxmarting today to find or offer that knowledge to give you a platform for future success.

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