RE: [WSG] Are wireframes necessary when using web standards?
Nancy, Wireframe more often is used to refer to outlined page designs. I.e. a very rough idea of what a page design will look like, normally just black outline boxes, no colour, no real text, no nothing :) They are a way to start visualising the design of a page and how all the elements will fit together, but are by no means a final design. HTH Beau // -Original Message- // From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] // [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Nancy Johnson // Sent: Friday, August 06, 2004 3:37 AM // To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] // Subject: RE: [WSG] Are wireframes necessary when using web standards? // // // Showing my ignorance: // // Don't wireframes show flow only? Like the map view in // Dreamweaver? Or is it an actual possible design one creates // often in Photoshop, though this article indicated Freehand. // // Nancy // // -Original Message- // From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] // [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Andy Budd // Sent: Friday, August 06, 2004 5:19 AM // To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] // Subject: Re: [WSG] Are wireframes necessary when using web standards? // // Ian Fenn wrote: // // > My client wanted something to show internal stakeholders // so I started // > doing a few wireframes but suddenly wondered, "Why am I // doing this? // > Why don't I just build the website using web standards?" // > // > A day later I finished a working prototype of the website // in question. // // > The client is happy but another producer has been quite // vocal with his // // > opinion that the prototype was built too early. // > // > From my perspective, a prototype has more value than // wireframes. Web // > standards make development much more rapid, so we can // respond quickly // > to any other needs thrown up before going into production. // > // > What do you think? // // Here's my take. // // I think wireframes are a great first step in developing a // site with a // complex user flow. I'll often literally just sketch them on // paper. They // take no time at all and are very easy to change. Because they are // rough, people don't get too attached to them as well, which // is a bonus. // // If I'm creating slightly more polished wireframes I'll do them in // Freehand. I've all the widgets and templates created, so I // can knock a // batch of wireframes up very quickly. I can annotate them myself with // instructions or print them out and have people scribble on them with // suggestions. All very useful. // // I can then hand them over to the client and they can sign // each one off. // This forces the client to understand and take responsibility // for each // wireframe and the signed off wireframes become part of our project // spec. // // HTML prototypes can be extremely useful as they give you and // the client // a real understanding of the user flow. It's fine looking through a // batch of wireframes, but nothing gives you the feel of a // website like, // er, a website. // // However I think you have to be a particularly gifted developer to be // able to knock up a half descent HTML template in anything // near the time // it takes to create one in Freehand (or the graphics package of your // choice). // // Also for the HTML template to be as flexible as it's paper // equivalent // you really do need some mechanism for adding // notes/instructions (like a // div that you can toggle on and off) and allowing the client // to comment // and sign them off. Obviously as they are HTML there is no // way you can // really include them in your spec. // // The other big issue is that people get very protective of // their 'code'. // I could see it being very tempting not to change something on a // wireframe because it's a 'hassle' rather than for any strategic // reasons. also their is the temptation to try and cut corners // and turn // your prototype into the real thing. Never a good idea in my // book, as, // by definition, a prototype is a rough, rushed version of what you // actually want to build. // // My position them would be to always wireframe and to build // prototypes // when you have the time/budget. // // Andy Budd // // http://www.message.uk.com/ // // ** // The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ // // Proud presenters of Web Essentials 04 http://we04.com/ // Web standards, accessibility, inspiration, knowledge // To be held in Sydney, September 30 and October 1, 2004 // // See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm // for some hints on posting to the list & getting help // ** // // // ** // The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ // // Proud presenters of Web Essentials 04 http://we04.com/ // Web standards, accessibility, inspiration, knowledge // To be held in Sydney, September 30 and October 1, 2004 //
RE: [WSG] Quark and tagged PDFs
Title: Message Cheryl, I don't have any firsthand experience with Quark, but if there is an Adobe plugin/tie-in for directly creating PDFs (as opposed to 'printing' to PDF), then I would imagine that the choices are there. On a guess, I would think that you'd need to make sure the PDFs being created weren't overly 'secured' in the PDF format, in particular they would probably need to allow "Selecting and Copying of Text". You'd also have to make sure that your people were actually producing *text* in the PDFs, not images that looked like text (if you know what I mean). Hope that helps, and as I said, those are guesses, so if there's someone out there with a clue, please share it :) Beau -Original Message-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Lead, CherylSent: Monday, 5 July 2004 3:01 PMTo: [EMAIL PROTECTED]Subject: [WSG] Quark and tagged PDFs Hi, Does anyone know much about creating accessible PDFs using Quark? We're looking at ways to make our site fully accessible, and we use lots of PDFs. I've been reading about tagged PDFs and how screenreaders can read them, but I don't know enough about Quark. Our designers use it to create our PDFs (and it's quite unlikely they will change programs without a good reason). First of all, is it possible to do - can accessible PDFs be created using Quark, and if it is, is there much work involved? Thanks Cheryl ** IMPORTANT MESSAGE **The information contained in or attached to this message is intended only for the people it is addressed to. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, disclosure or copying of this information is unauthorised and prohibited. This information may be confidential or subject to legal privilege. It is not the expressed view of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia or any of its subsidiaries, including Colonial First State Investments Limited, unless that is clearly stated. Commonwealth Bank of Australia or its subsidiaries cannot accept liability for any virus damage caused by this message. Colonial First State Investments Limited ABN 98 002 348 352, AFSL 23 24 68.**
RE: [WSG] Form submission: CAPTCHA test and accessibility
Nick, I can't remember where I saw it, but one service I signed up to had the option to click a link and *hear* the keyword as well, I assume they were using some sort of text-to-speech to do that, or you could also apparently call them and get one read to you or something like that. Personally, I don't like them. As a user, any additional 'transaction' required for me to complete a task is just another hurdle for me to cross to get where I'm going. I'm sure there are better ways to prevent automated systems, but this one seems to work so people have stopped working on new ones for now... What annoys me is that with the proliferation of this sort of thing, people will get used to it, accept it, then not really notice that they have to do it all the time, and then no one will realise that we've just condemned visually impaired users (and anyone else who can't load images for whatever reason!) back to the dark-ages of not being able to access anything. Just my 0.02c Beau // -Original Message- // From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] // [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Nick Lo // Sent: Friday, 16 April 2004 9:18 AM // To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] // Subject: [WSG] Form submission: CAPTCHA test and accessibility // // // I was wondering if any of you had opinions/thoughts on the use of // CAPTCHA tests (or whatever proper name is given to the // little numbered // images used to verify a form submitting user is human and not a // spamming machine). // // They are obviously a reaction to the ever increasing amounts of spam // being imposed on, e.g. comments systems, however I wondered how much // their uptake could end up excluding certain users, e.g. // vision impaired. // // Nick // // * // The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ // See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm // for some hints on posting to the list & getting help // * // // * The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list & getting help *
RE: [WSG] Constructive Criticism please
Title: Message Jackie, i'm using ie6 on winxp, and one thing i noticed was that you need to include border sizes on your navigation links (all except the top section), to avoid it all jumping around on hover. i *hate* when that happens ;) because you're adding borders in when i hover, you should just make it so that without a hover, they have the same width border, just either transparent or the same colour as the background, then everything will stay where you place it on hover, just change colour. Cheers, Beau -Original Message-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jackie ReidSent: Thursday, 15 April 2004 11:23 AMTo: [EMAIL PROTECTED]Subject: [WSG] Constructive Criticism please Hi all... if anyone has the time or the inclination could they please have a decko at these pages and give me some constructive criticism... like does it work at your end, any coding blunders etc! before i go at it hammer and tongs and start filling the content in. (have validated it ok) http://www.mockorange.com.au/mocksites/test/jugernaut/juganaut.html http://www.mockorange.com.au/mocksites/test/jugernaut/index.html css = http://www.mockorange.com.au/mocksites/test/jugernaut/css/juganaut.css Also when is a css doc too big and should be divvied up into a couple of pages... ps: the links aren't functional as yet. Thanks Jackie
[WSG]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII User-Agent: NuralNet WebMail Client Hi Cameron, I am currently using www.phpwebhosting.com and find them very good and very cheap. I am considering going to www.dreamhost.com and they look pretty darned good. One of the best things they offer that I want is IMAP, which phpwebhosting don't have. phpwebhosting are very flexible tho, and you get unlimited subdomains, relatively unlimited transfers/databases and lots of storage, with more if you need it, so it's a tough call at this stage for me :) oh yeah, and both have shell access which is critical for me :) HTH Beau - Original Message - Hi, I was in the hunt for a good (cheap) web host. Explanation and replies here: http://www.themaninblue.com/writing/perspective/2004/01/21/ Thanks, -- Cameron Adams W: www.themaninblue.com __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus * The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ * * The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ *
RE: [WSG] PDA Browser Testing
Umm - actually, if you're connected to the 'net on your Palm, you can enter a URL and browse away to your heart's content (Channels menu -> Open Page...). from memory the main restriction is that it requires an HTML meta tag in the header of the document to tell it that it will be able to display the page; other than that, it is a browser in it's own right, and can handle a fair amount of the stuff that a normal browser can (albeit *much* smaller on a Palm screen :) Beau // -Original Message- // From: Miles Tillinger [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] // Sent: Friday, 9 January 2004 9:23 AM // To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] // Subject: RE: [WSG] PDA Browser Testing // // // // AvantGo only allows you to sync with various websites that // provide an AvantGo feed. AvantGo is not a browser, it just uses // the browser on your devices OS to display your AvantGo channels, AFAIK. // // -Original Message----- // From: Beau Lebens [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] // Sent: Friday, January 09, 2004 11:32 AM // To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] // Subject: RE: [WSG] PDA Browser Testing // // // // // And also this one for Palm OS5 simulator, not sure if this // has a browser // // to test with though // // http://www.palmos.com/dev/tools/simulator/ // // If you can get that working, then you can install AvantGo // (http://www.avantgo.com/) which will provide you with browser // functionality, // and as far as I'm aware that would be the most popular browser for Palm // devices. With that installed, you can get it to browse content via your // computer's connection. // // Beau // // // * // The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ // * // // * // The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ // * // // // * The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ *
RE: [WSG] PDA Browser Testing
// And also this one for Palm OS5 simulator, not sure if this has a browser // to test with though // http://www.palmos.com/dev/tools/simulator/ If you can get that working, then you can install AvantGo (http://www.avantgo.com/) which will provide you with browser functionality, and as far as I'm aware that would be the most popular browser for Palm devices. With that installed, you can get it to browse content via your computer's connection. Beau * The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ *
[WSG] Resizable Google
Hey All, Don't know if anyone else noticed this, or if I'm really late to notice or what, but I just realised that Google pages are now resizable using the Text Size settings in Internet Explorer. They definitely weren't a couple months ago. I've posted a short note about it here; http://www.dentedreality.com.au/notes/2003/12/16#Resizable%20Google if you're interested. Beau -- Beau Lebens Information Architect [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dented Reality - www.dentedreality.com.au Information Architecture, Usability, Web Development * The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ *
RE: [WSG] PHP Question...
that's a very valid one that i didn't mention simon :) i had that exact same problem on my server, where my hosted site is configured to parse all files as XML and PHP (apparently) and so I had conflicts - ended up having to use something like this; ?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?\n"; ?> Beau -Original Message-From: Simon Jessey [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]Sent: Monday, 8 December 2003 8:25 PMTo: [EMAIL PROTECTED]Subject: RE: [WSG] PHP Question... Another thing to consider is XML. Some people (myself included) create XML files on a regular basis. The PHP short tag The problem doesn't usually arise, because the server strips the page of PHP as it is being served; however, it is better to be safe than sorry, eh? --Simon Jesseybusiness: http://keystonewebsites.com/personal: http://jessey.net/blog/e: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message-From: Beau Lebens [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]Subject: RE: [WSG] PHP Question... for compatibilities sake, you should always use the -Original Message-From: Chris Stratford [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]Subject: [WSG] PHP Question... Wondering, what is the difference between using: /* php code */?> as opposed to: /* php code */ ?>
RE: [WSG] PHP Question...
for compatibilities sake, you should always use the Beau --Beau LebensInformation Architect[EMAIL PROTECTED]Dented Reality - www.dentedreality.com.auInformation Architecture, Usability, Web Development -Original Message-From: Chris Stratford [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]Sent: Monday, 8 December 2003 7:07 PMTo: [EMAIL PROTECTED]Subject: [WSG] PHP Question... Hey People! Sorry me again… Wondering, what is the difference between using: /* php code */?> as opposed to: /* php code */ ?> • Chris Stratford• [EMAIL PROTECTED]• www.neester.com
RE: [WSG] Targeting IE5
Ben, I totally agree, there's so much that can be done either using some
Apache rewrite magic - %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} + Regular Expressions = powerful
client detection or even just with some embedded PHP code or similar so that
different pages and/or sections of pages can be pulled in as required.
There are some totally amazing things that can be done with Apache if start
playing with content negotiation, authorisation and access control and
rewrite rules etc - it's a real eye opener and a whole new world of goodness
:)
Best to all,
Beau
// -Original Message-
// From: Ben Boyle [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
// Sent: Thursday, 9 October 2003 8:02 PM
// To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
// Subject: [WSG] Targeting IE5
//
//
// I would have thought the best way to target a browser (be it IE5
// or other)
// was content negotiation. Detect the browser and serve content in the
// appropriate format. Does anyone else get the feeling this technique is
// rarely used whilst cruder methods proliferate?
//
// IMHO, web servers can do a lot more than just serve files and should be
// exploited for all they are worth - and that's plenty. I feel this
// cornerstone of the web is oft overlooked, much to the detriment of the
// online experience when cruder technologies are called on to compensate.
//
// Maybe it's just too difficult for developers to get access to webserver
// configuration, or too tedious to produce content in multiple
// formats? Gotta
// weight that against the time and effort we've all invested in workarounds
// and hacks though ... The right tool for the job. One can't solve every
// problem with a hammer.
//
// cheers
// Ben
//
// *
// The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/
// *
//
//
//
*
The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/
*
RE: [WSG]Tables or DIVs / Spans?
Hi all, along a simliar vein to this question, how's this one; If you are designing a form/survey, would you also go for a table? It's not *really* tabular data, you are using the table for layout/perhaps grouping of elements more than anything. I know we should be using things like fieldsets, tab order, labels and all other wonderful form elements like that, but they are also compatible with tables (except perhaps fieldsets to some extent...), but what's the verdict about the overall layout? I know some forms are easily re-designed to avoid tables, but others would really struggle without some sort of rigid, grid-based layouts. Where do we sit on this one? Personally, I think I'd go for a table-based design if the layout was particularly complex or I thought it required it, but I'd attempt to redesign the form (if that was an option) so that this wasn't necessary. Beau -- Beau Lebens Information Architect [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dented Reality - www.dentedreality.com.au Information Architecture, Usability, Web Development // -Original Message- // From: Adam Carmichael [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] // Sent: Wednesday, 24 September 2003 9:01 AM // To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] // Subject: Re: [WSG]Tables or DIVs / Spans? // // // Thanks for your feedback :) // // I thought td with class was correct for tabular data - I just needed some // confirmation. // // James: I might do a chmod 100 on the php code. *grin*. then again i might // not - i'd need to change root passwords or obfuscate to actually // enforce it // as I don't have any of encode or compile utilites (but now i'm // getting off // topic). // // - Original Message - // From: // To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> // Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2003 10:20 AM // Subject: Re: [WSG]Tables or DIVs / Spans? // // * // The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ // * // // // * The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ *
