04/22/11 by admin | Blog, Recent Posts | No Comments »
Whitson Gordon — Dropbox’s terms of service give the government access to your Dropbox files if they request them through proper channels, and that’s not exactly popular with most folks. Trouble is, when you delete files from your Dropbox, it keeps them on its servers. Here’s how to get rid of them permanently.
Dropbox’s version control system is usually a welcome feature, but if you’re trying to keep your files safe and secure, it throws up a little roadblock. We’ve already shown you how toadd a second layer of encryption to your Dropbox, but any files you had sitting around before the encryption are still on Dropbox’s servers, in the form of old versions.
To delete those files, make sure the originals are deleted first—you can re-add them later—then head into Dropbox’s web interface. Click the “Show Deleted Files” button at the top of the right-hand pane, select the files you want to delete, and hit More > Permanently Delete. After that, they’ll be gone for good and you can re-upload the encrypted versions.
How to Permanently Delete Files from Dropbox | Digital Inspiration
You can contact Whitson Gordon, the author of this post, at whitson@lifehacker.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.
11/16/10 by admin | Blog, Recent Posts | No Comments »
If you’ve had a website for a while chances are you may need a to both upgrade the site itself and update the design. So, how will you know if it’s time for a total redesign? Here are some points to consider:
- Are you still using a static HTML platform?
Besides the fact that the HTML language may have changed which can cause some issues with newer technologies, now-a-days, your visitors want more interaction. They want to engage in your content via comments, forums, polls, etc. While the search engines are constantly looking for new and fresh content.
Content Management System or Blog software is the better way to go. It allows you to interact with your visitors, continuously provide new content and even add functionality to your site that may help you improve both your visitors experience and search engine rankings.
2. Does the site look dated?
As with any fashion or design, it changes constantly so a site built in 1990 will likely stand out against todays modern design choices. Like an older car, people can tell and may be turned off wondering how serious you are about your business. Staying fresh and current shows visitors and potential customers that you care about your business as well as their experience.
If you fall into these two categories, yes, it just might be time to upgrade and redesign your current website.
When planning your redesign, you`ll want to keep your branding in mind. Just because you’re jumping into the present, doesn’t mean you should change your look entirely. Remember, your branding is how people recognize you and making changes to your logo or other identifiable aspects of your site may cause confusion.
You’ll want to stick to relatively the same colours and overall design, but you can update them to more modern tons and styles. You just don’t want your visitors all of a sudden wondering if they’ve landed on the right page and turning away.
Get your visitors involved!
Before you jump ahead, talk to your visitors via email or even by adding a poll on your site. Ask them what features they’d enjoy seeing, what do they think of your current design, ask for input into a new look. Make them a part of the process and they’ll respond with appreciation.
This will also make them aware that changes are immanent so they won’t be shocked if your website all of a sudden has a completely new look.
Toresa:)
Thinking about redesigning your website? Learn how you can do it yourself even if you have no experience.
07/14/10 by admin | Blog, HTML Tips, Recent Posts | No Comments »
Creating links is quite easy and always necessary. This series is for those that know how to click on a link but don’t quite get the mechanics behind the link itself. If you’re new to blogging, there are some fundamental HTML elements you should know and this week I thought hyperlinks should be top on that list.
In WordPress, when creating a post, there is a little button that will allow you to create a link. I use this feature often, but it doesn’t quite provide all of the link attributes I need or want so I usually end up having to edit the links manually.
A link (or Hyperlink) is used to send your visitors to another page either within your own site or to someone else’s site. You would know this from your own basic internet searches or from interacting on the sites you visit yourself. But how do you create those links? It’s very easy and I’ll show exactly how to do it, but first a little education…
Definitions:
Source page – the page containing the link
Destination page – the page being linked to from the source page
HTML elements – everything from a start tag <a></a> to the end tag
Element content – everything in between the start tag and the end tag <a></a> this is the element content
Attributes – provide additional information about and element, they are always specified in the start tag, always come in name/value pairs like target=”_blank”
When creating a link you need the correct HTML elements to make it function. Here’s an example:
<a href="http://www.creativedesignworx.com">Creative Design Worx</a>
Which would look like:
Creative Design Worx
Let’s break this down, shall we?
“a” is the anchor element which works with the “href” element which specifies the destination of your link
“Creative Design Worx” is the element content
“/a” is the end tag (notice the “/” which always signifies a closing tag)
Now you can link anything including an image which would work the same way except the content element would be different. Instead of text, you would insert the image elements:
<img src="http://creativedesignworx.com/myimage.jpg" alt="" />
Your Link tag would now look like:
<a href="http://www.creativedesignworx.com"><img src="http://creativedesignworx.com/myimage.jpg" alt="" /></a>
Which would look like:
Target Links
So those are the basics, now let’s look at how to direct the link to a specific target (this is where the linked page or destination page would open)
By default, if you don’t specify a “target” the destination page will open inside the browser window you (or the reader) is currently on (_self). But, you may not want your visitor to be taken away from your site while directing him to checkout information on another. In this case you would set the target to open in a new window, therefore, keeping your own webpage open as well.
Here’s what you would do:
<a href="http://www.creativedesignworx.com" target="_blank">Creative Design Worx</a>
By adding ” target=”_blank” right after the web url you are sending them to a new page or tab while your site remains open.
In you are sending your visitor to a link within your own website and it doesn’t matter if they leave the page they are currently on (ie. From your home page to your contact page), you would create the link like this:
<a href="http://www.creativedesignworx.com">Creative Design Worx</a>
Or
<a href="http://www.creativedesignworx.com" target="_self">Creative Design Worx</a>
Now, because _self is the default for any link, you really don’t need to waste the time to actually add that element, this is more for educational purposes.
Email Links
There are times when you will want to create an email link which will allow people to contact you directly. This method will open their email client automatically with your email address already inserted. (works with most email clients)
In this case the element is a little different than the links we did above, for an email like you would use the “mailto” attribute.
Here’s an example
<a href="mailto:yourname@mysite.com">Click Here to Email Me</a>
Now let’s say you wanted to have people email you about a specific subject and you want it to stand out when then are delivered to your email box. You can use the “subject” attribute and insert your own subject line.
Example:
<a href="mailto:yourname@mysite.com?subject=Feedback from XY Article">Click Here to send me your feedback</a>
I would suggest you don’t use these links on your webpages directly as they can be grabbed easily by spammers. Instead, use these in place like your email newsletter (not published online) or your personal emails or even in pdf documents you may create.
I think that pretty much wraps up the basics of linking. There are other attributes you can use which I’ll cover in another post.
If you have questions, comments or would like me to add a tutorial on a specific topic, please let me know by leaving a comment below.
Hope this helps…
Toresa:)
