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THE INTERNET TUTOR ------------------------------------------------------------ This week... - Webmaster Tip: More Questions I was sitting here working on this ezine when our cat let out a howl like I've never heard. I thought it was in serious pain and ran up to see what was going on, not really knowing what to expect. The cat was at the window just making a hideous fuss. I grabbed the flashlight and went outside but couldn't see anything in the area the cat was concentrating on, but shined the light out toward the woods in the back and saw some eyes staring back at me. I don't know what it was, but the cat sure didn't like it. It was enough to give me the willies! Right now as I write I'm debating whether or not I should get my gun out. Man, that was weird. Are we having fun yet? ------------------------------------------------------------ WEBMASTER TIP - More Questions Note: In code examples I add a period after each left arrow bracket so the code can be viewed in all email programs. If you copy and paste, be sure to remove the periods or it won't work. Question 1: Someone told me I should I end my URLs with a slash. Is this true? Simon Says: Doing so will probably slow down the load time a
little. A </a href="http://www.domain.com/pictures/">Link Text<./a> ..indicates "pictures" is a directory, so the browser will look for an index page. If there is no index page, most of the time the browser will return a directory listing, which is a list of all the files in the directory. It's smart to include an index page in all your directories to prevent others from typing the URL to a folder and ending it with a slash so they can snoop at what you have there. Only when a link is to the top level of a domain is it really safe to end the URL with a slash. It isn't necessary then though, as servers are configured to return a specific file when the link is to the top level domain, usually the index page. Question 2: Why is my browser displaying code on my page? Simon Says: There can be a few reasons. The first is that you may have an error in your code. If it displays correctly for a ways and then starts displaying code, check your source code just above the point where it starts showing up and work your way down. If your page displays correctly in IE but not other browsers, then your web server may be sending the document with the MIME type "text/plain". Your web server may need to be configured to send that filename with the MIME type "text/html". Often, using the filename extension ".html" or ".htm" is all that is necessary. Lastly, if you are viewing your HTML document on your local
Windows file system, then your text editor may have added a ".txt" file extension automatically. Rename fit with a ".html" extension so that Windows will render it as an HTML ------------------------------------------------------------ SURFIN' THE WEB - Grocery Lists You think you have a weird hobby? This guy collects grocery lists he's found. He put them online. Really. Strange, isn't it? http://www.keaggy.com/grocerylists/ ------------------------------------------------------------ SOFTWARE SPOTLIGHT - Futuris Imager Futuris Imager is a fast and free image viewer for Windows. It supports more then 30 popular graphic formats, including PhotoCD. Other features: print with preview, support for TWAIN-
compatible scanners/cameras, file browser/manager, screen/window capture, wallpaper tools, image transformation filters, HEX viewer, advanced printing features http://www.knives-out.org/imager/index.php Note: I do not provide support for the software listed in this column. Contact the software vendor for support. Software featured here is software that I or my stooges have tried and found to it be useful. ------------------------------------------------------------ THE ODDBALL WALL - A Head Case On this date in 1797, John Etherington of London wore the first ever top hat. After the rabbit went do-do on his head, he said, "hey, let's see what your readers know about things worn on the head." "Okay," I said. 1) What television show featured the "conehead" characters? 2) Who would be most likely to wear a 10-gallon hat? 3) Who said, "A hat should be taken off when you greet a
lady and left off for the rest of your life. Nothing looks
more stupid than a hat." (You didn't think they'd all be
easy did you?) 4) Who would be most likely to wear a tiara? 5) What's another name for a derby style hat? 6) In The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss, what color is the hat
worn by the cat? 7) What is a Panama hat made from? 8) What style of hat did Harrison Ford wear in Indiana Jones? 9) What is a peruke? Answers below, here's the scoring: 9 correct: You deserve a pat on the head. Pat, pat, pat. Answers: 1) b. Saturday Night Live ------------------------------------------------------------ COMPUTER TIPS - Clear Your Documents Menu On the Start button menu is a listing for Documents, which is a list of the most recent files you've opened. Sometimes you may have a need to clear your Documents menu, for example, you might be working on a love letter to your wife but don't want her to discover it before it's finished. To clear the Document listings: 1) Right-click a blank spot on your Taskbar. There, your secret's safe with me! Disclaimer: Advice in this column is presented as informational and is true to the best of my knowledge. Any decisions to follow this advice is your responsibility. Your computer, your choice. ------------------------------------------------------------ Until next week, remember the words of my cousin Dennis Gaskill: Living in the past is to back up to the future, and you can't see where you're going that way. Have a superdydooper day, Simon ------------------------------------------------------------- To SUBSCRIBE: http://www.gophercentral.com/sub/sub-tutor.html Copyright 2004 by PENN, LLC. All rights reserved. |