Interesting but simple request.
Three images to rotate every 10 seconds on the front page of a web site.
Well this called for an Animated PNG. We first quickly tried an Animated Gif but the 256 colours makes pictures files quite grainy.
There is a Firefox add-in but it didn't work with our latest version so we downloaded a free but useful utility called "APNG Anime Maker."
Now the client has a very nice rotating set of images on their web site.
Just waiting for the next tricky bit of logic.
Just for your information, the alternative was some groovy jquery logic and even found that DotNetNuke has a free Widget Module called the Carouselat http://dnnwidgets.com/.
Still the Animated PNG is the simplest and easiest way to go in this case, but can see us using some jquery logic in the future for Web Development.
###
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
CSS Div Overlapping the footer area
CSS can be very tricky as well as being quite elegant.
Sometimes you wish you'd stuck to html tables, and with html 5 becoming more prevalent, everyone will soon switch back to tables.
One issue we had recently was overalapping divs.
This was caused by the heightr being set on a div on the right side so the bottom footer was appearing over the top.
It seems the div itself expanded more than it's height.
The solution was to remove any height styles in the div and everything fitted.
Sometimes you wish you'd stuck to html tables, and with html 5 becoming more prevalent, everyone will soon switch back to tables.
One issue we had recently was overalapping divs.
This was caused by the heightr being set on a div on the right side so the bottom footer was appearing over the top.
It seems the div itself expanded more than it's height.
The solution was to remove any height styles in the div and everything fitted.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
How to best do an online survey or questionnare
Interesting question.
This was asked by a client for whom I do asp.net and Classic asp updates for.
Said they were better off using an online program like Survey Monkey.
Funny enough when looking, there are quite a few programs out there.
wufoo also looks good.
So for Online Surveys or questionnaires there are three things to look for.
Let's first look at the top three components and how the online and inhouse software can meet your needs.
1) If the audience is internal and the company is using Microsoft Office 2003 onwards, then the infopath tool is brilliant.
Once the audience goes external, then this becoimes a more expensive option and you would look at some online tools instead.
Noting not much comes close to the ability to add multiple lines with numbers and calcs as easily as infopath does.
2) If security is important, then that also needs to be checked and locked down. Emailing may not be the best option etc
3) Reporting always comes after and should be specified up front. What's trickier is reporting on open ending questions or multi-lined questions. This might even effect the way the questions are phrased
There you go, online surveys are go....There's lot of otehr components in successful surveys, but these three points cover the more technical aspects.
###
Tom Bizannes has a Business Degree and specializes in Microsoft Office and Web Solutions (Including SharePoint).
This was asked by a client for whom I do asp.net and Classic asp updates for.
Said they were better off using an online program like Survey Monkey.
Funny enough when looking, there are quite a few programs out there.
wufoo also looks good.
So for Online Surveys or questionnaires there are three things to look for.
- Is the audience internal or external?
- How important is the security of the information?
- What kind of reporting do you want from this afterwards?
Let's first look at the top three components and how the online and inhouse software can meet your needs.
1) If the audience is internal and the company is using Microsoft Office 2003 onwards, then the infopath tool is brilliant.
Once the audience goes external, then this becoimes a more expensive option and you would look at some online tools instead.
Noting not much comes close to the ability to add multiple lines with numbers and calcs as easily as infopath does.
2) If security is important, then that also needs to be checked and locked down. Emailing may not be the best option etc
3) Reporting always comes after and should be specified up front. What's trickier is reporting on open ending questions or multi-lined questions. This might even effect the way the questions are phrased
There you go, online surveys are go....There's lot of otehr components in successful surveys, but these three points cover the more technical aspects.
###
Tom Bizannes has a Business Degree and specializes in Microsoft Office and Web Solutions (Including SharePoint).
What's the perfect size Company for IT work?
Interesting discussion I had today with a new employee at one of my middle sized clients.
She said, that this employer was just right. Smaller firms had too much putting out fires, little tasks to do etc, whilst big firms had too many processes and fixed ideas.
When I mentioned the Six Sigma with it's massive failure rate in industry, she mentioned a very large IT firm that uses it. No wonder they've tried to outsource so much work from india, because there are too many processes to get anything done.
This kind of changes the way one looks at what companies you'd want to work for.
The whole industry is changing at the moment due to cost cutting, so even the sizes and types of firms that are good to work for are changing.
Even one company that aggressively promotes that it was voted a top firm to work for a few years ago, now with it's Six Sigma implementation and other processes, everyone there seems under the gun and not the most pleasant workplace.
As for me, as long as the company makes sure it's employees have access to plenty of Moccona Coffee, they are ok.
She said, that this employer was just right. Smaller firms had too much putting out fires, little tasks to do etc, whilst big firms had too many processes and fixed ideas.
When I mentioned the Six Sigma with it's massive failure rate in industry, she mentioned a very large IT firm that uses it. No wonder they've tried to outsource so much work from india, because there are too many processes to get anything done.
This kind of changes the way one looks at what companies you'd want to work for.
The whole industry is changing at the moment due to cost cutting, so even the sizes and types of firms that are good to work for are changing.
Even one company that aggressively promotes that it was voted a top firm to work for a few years ago, now with it's Six Sigma implementation and other processes, everyone there seems under the gun and not the most pleasant workplace.
As for me, as long as the company makes sure it's employees have access to plenty of Moccona Coffee, they are ok.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Microsoft Access Upgrade Issues
Had someone yesterday said it was too hard to upgrade a Microsoft Access Application to the 2007 or 2010 version.
Where do people get this idea?
Ignorance is not good.
My answer was simply, "We've done it quite a few times".
There are a few issues and googling Microsoft Access Upgrade quieries brings up 35 million results.
And "MsAccess Upgrade Issues" brings up just under 10 million results. (Pros like me refer to Microsoft Access as MsAccess and if you are googling for help, this is useful to know).
The main issues with upgrading access that I know are:
This means bad code is more likely to cause issues than ever before.
Also, Windows 7 running MsAccess 2007 or MsAccess 2010 can have issues which weren't there with MsAccess 2003 on an XP PC running applications on the network file share.
To prevent this, my Excel Speed app can show up some network issues, and one often needs to tweak the network and the PCs via some group policies and registry settings to fix.
Also one often raised question, is why not move the backend into sql. That's ok if you are using sql 2000, but from sql 2005 onwards, Microsoft SQL Server locks a chunk of rows at a time. So a well behaving multi-user application will start locking up when you move the data into SQL.
To get around this, ASP.Net is one solution, as it copies the record to memory and releases and lock and only writes back when it detects you have made a change.
Why they couldn't just build this into MsAccess is quite silly, as it would promote more use of Sql Server which can only be a good thing for someone qualified in Sql Server like me.
Converting your MsAccess Applications to newer versions is not tricky if you use a professional. ###
Where do people get this idea?
Ignorance is not good.
My answer was simply, "We've done it quite a few times".
There are a few issues and googling Microsoft Access Upgrade quieries brings up 35 million results.
And "MsAccess Upgrade Issues" brings up just under 10 million results. (Pros like me refer to Microsoft Access as MsAccess and if you are googling for help, this is useful to know).
The main issues with upgrading access that I know are:
- Moving the data, schema and logic to a 2007 or 2010 version, when you have access security set.
- Dealing with hard-coded references to Excel, Word or Outlook
- Some file manipulation macros
- Generally dealing with really badly written code
- ADO References caused by Windows 7 Service pack
- New APIis if you are also using the new 64 bit of office
- File Searching / handling functionality
- Making the toolbars apepar in the ribbon
This means bad code is more likely to cause issues than ever before.
Also, Windows 7 running MsAccess 2007 or MsAccess 2010 can have issues which weren't there with MsAccess 2003 on an XP PC running applications on the network file share.
To prevent this, my Excel Speed app can show up some network issues, and one often needs to tweak the network and the PCs via some group policies and registry settings to fix.
Also one often raised question, is why not move the backend into sql. That's ok if you are using sql 2000, but from sql 2005 onwards, Microsoft SQL Server locks a chunk of rows at a time. So a well behaving multi-user application will start locking up when you move the data into SQL.
To get around this, ASP.Net is one solution, as it copies the record to memory and releases and lock and only writes back when it detects you have made a change.
Why they couldn't just build this into MsAccess is quite silly, as it would promote more use of Sql Server which can only be a good thing for someone qualified in Sql Server like me.
Converting your MsAccess Applications to newer versions is not tricky if you use a professional. ###
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Microsoft Office Migrations
Thinking of upgrading to Microsoft Office 2010?
A quick search in Google Insights shows a very interesting trend:
Searching on the words "microsoft office upgrade":
The top five in order are:
In the last 90 days, it's just the United states followed by the United Kingdom.
Does this mean that the US and the UK have put off their upgrades until now in order to reduce costs etc?
Then looking at just Australia, you get QLD followed by NSW and then VIC.
Does this mean the floods put QLD off and that NSW is just trying to cut costs?
There are a few pain points, especially in Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access or (MsAccess) as it's commonly referred to in web searches.
There's a conversion tool aimed at MsAccess, from a mob called converter technology. They don't seem to have a handle on Excel or even a way to check the network is optimized for the combination of Windows 7 and Office 2010.
We even developed a network speed/locking tester written in excel that can show up issues before Office goes into production. Now to write one in MsAccess that covers issues with DAO/ADO connections taking forever.
One of the most interseting outcomes of the Excel Speed Tester is that a good network environment can read and write your file fastger than alot of PC hard disks can. This means that having your files on an optimized network can be faster in some cases than on your hard disk. We do say quite carefully, "In some cases", because once a network gets busy, most of us can feel if not see the effects.
For more information on the Speed tester email me via http://www.macroview.com.au.
The whole migration story gets murkier when Office 2007 is also thrown in as this is a nightmare version in terms of upgrading/coverting macro driven applications.
Unfortunately for us Excel and MsAccess Developers, Office 2007 will plague us for years, and even now, companies are migrating to Office 2007, because some ignorant adviser said this was less risky than office 2010. They obviously haven't consulted us!
###
A quick search in Google Insights shows a very interesting trend:
Searching on the words "microsoft office upgrade":
The top five in order are:
- United States
- Australia
- United Kingdom
- Canda
- Germany
In the last 90 days, it's just the United states followed by the United Kingdom.
Does this mean that the US and the UK have put off their upgrades until now in order to reduce costs etc?
Then looking at just Australia, you get QLD followed by NSW and then VIC.
Does this mean the floods put QLD off and that NSW is just trying to cut costs?
There are a few pain points, especially in Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access or (MsAccess) as it's commonly referred to in web searches.
There's a conversion tool aimed at MsAccess, from a mob called converter technology. They don't seem to have a handle on Excel or even a way to check the network is optimized for the combination of Windows 7 and Office 2010.
We even developed a network speed/locking tester written in excel that can show up issues before Office goes into production. Now to write one in MsAccess that covers issues with DAO/ADO connections taking forever.
One of the most interseting outcomes of the Excel Speed Tester is that a good network environment can read and write your file fastger than alot of PC hard disks can. This means that having your files on an optimized network can be faster in some cases than on your hard disk. We do say quite carefully, "In some cases", because once a network gets busy, most of us can feel if not see the effects.
For more information on the Speed tester email me via http://www.macroview.com.au.
The whole migration story gets murkier when Office 2007 is also thrown in as this is a nightmare version in terms of upgrading/coverting macro driven applications.
Unfortunately for us Excel and MsAccess Developers, Office 2007 will plague us for years, and even now, companies are migrating to Office 2007, because some ignorant adviser said this was less risky than office 2010. They obviously haven't consulted us!
###
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Web Marketing
Seo is a four letter word. Find out why.
Web Marketing is different from print advertising in many ways and requires a different approach.
Three things to look at are:
1-someone with web marketing knowledge
2-optimizing your web sites
3-utilizing other sites, email marketing and other sources to enhance your internet presence
What do I know?
A 400x better response than a competitor. 20x the calls from 5% of no of visitors of a competitor. That is why SEO is a four letter word.
Whilst you can pay people to increase your seo, beware what happened to BMW. They got blacklisted by google!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Excel 2007 Chart losing ActiveChart
Interesting issue today with Excel 2007 and a little bit of VBA.
Have a client with issues with an excel addin not interacting well with the bloomberg addin.
So to get around this we used the old toolbar in the addins option.
Problem is that Excel 2007 deselects the Chart, so the active Chart code doesn't work.
This issue doesn't occur in Excel 2010 or Excel 2003.
We were first getting this ambiguous message:
"The specified dimension is not valid for the current chart type"
Another reason to go straight to Excel 2010 to crunch your data and charts.
Regards,
Tom Bizannes
Excel and Database Magician
Have a client with issues with an excel addin not interacting well with the bloomberg addin.
So to get around this we used the old toolbar in the addins option.
Problem is that Excel 2007 deselects the Chart, so the active Chart code doesn't work.
This issue doesn't occur in Excel 2010 or Excel 2003.
We were first getting this ambiguous message:
"The specified dimension is not valid for the current chart type"
Another reason to go straight to Excel 2010 to crunch your data and charts.
Regards,
Tom Bizannes
Excel and Database Magician
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Migration to Excel 2010 and Access 2010 the easy way
Migrating to a new version of Office used be quite painless. With the major openxml format changes and major overhaul to both Microsoft Access and Excel, there are many breaking changes that can break many an existing application.
With the right amount of planning, most issues can be dealt with prior or when the migration goes ahead.
What is disturbing is the amount of mis-information about the different versions of Microsoft Office.
This article focuses on what you need to be aware of, and what are the best choices when upgrading the desktops and notebooks of all your users.
Recently a client asked me to assist with migrating to Excel 2007 using a $20K tool.
This appeared to have been written in ancient vb and doesn't seem to be built to cater for the two biggest issues with Excel Migrations.
What I couldn't believe was how developers make tools without knowing the product or add extensions to their products as an afterthought.
The Tool did work okay against Microsoft Access databases, although still haven't put this under pressure to test how it deals with issues we have discovered in simple access databases like fields not being big enough so forms just crash erratically.
Firstly there's the choice between the Microsoft Office 2010 32 bit or the Microsoft Office 2010 64 bit version.
Recommendation from Microsoft is to upgrade to the 32 bit version.
Only a few super power users will need the 64 bit version, and that's most likely due to badly designed cubes or lack of good database guys to roll up information nicely.
Why not 64 bit version of Microsoft Office?
Because that's causes alot of applications with code to break. Also many addons will not work, due to library differences between 32 and 64 bit office. It's not because the 64 bit version is buggy. It's different.
Version of Windows 7 to go to?
Go to the 64 bit version of Windows 7. Any 32 bit office app that doesn't work in Windows 7 64 bit version should be trashed or the developers given a talking to. There are some issues about the Windows 7 Service Pack 1 causing problems for users who don't have the same service pack. Microsoft has a few workarounds.
On first glance it appears to be mainly office 64 bit users who would be effected. The solution being to change the code to use late binding on the adodb (MDAC) libraries. Thes are used mainly to link to sql and other dobc databases. Most Access developerws went back to dao development, unless there were sql links, so alot of code can be fixed quickly and easily.
Do you upgrade your Microsoft Access databases to SQL Server?
No. Not unless you know what you are doing. If the Access databases only have 5 to 10 users, then keep them in Access. If you have more, be ware that sql can cause more locking and other issues, if you do not know what you are doing.
What about Excel files. Should we upgrade them?
Only if you want to as many excel workbooks might be linked to others.
The solution we came up was to add an addon in the Excel ribbon that dealt the linking and the other major issues so the users could do their conversions with less pain, or one click of the button as they say.
What items are missed or done the wrong way?
The new colouring themes are often forgotten about or not done correctly.
Ironically, the word guys try to dictate the styles, but Excel and PowerPoint users are mostly effected by the colouring. Some clients have spent thousands on graphic designer ideas for styles and fonts, but these guys don't always have a grasp on Office 2007 or Office 2010 themes as they live in their adobe software world.
###
Tom Bizannes is a Microsoft Certified Professional with a business background.
He works for a Microsoft Gold Partner in Sydney, Australia
http://www.macroview.com.au
With the right amount of planning, most issues can be dealt with prior or when the migration goes ahead.
What is disturbing is the amount of mis-information about the different versions of Microsoft Office.
This article focuses on what you need to be aware of, and what are the best choices when upgrading the desktops and notebooks of all your users.
Recently a client asked me to assist with migrating to Excel 2007 using a $20K tool.
This appeared to have been written in ancient vb and doesn't seem to be built to cater for the two biggest issues with Excel Migrations.
What I couldn't believe was how developers make tools without knowing the product or add extensions to their products as an afterthought.
The Tool did work okay against Microsoft Access databases, although still haven't put this under pressure to test how it deals with issues we have discovered in simple access databases like fields not being big enough so forms just crash erratically.
Firstly there's the choice between the Microsoft Office 2010 32 bit or the Microsoft Office 2010 64 bit version.
Recommendation from Microsoft is to upgrade to the 32 bit version.
Only a few super power users will need the 64 bit version, and that's most likely due to badly designed cubes or lack of good database guys to roll up information nicely.
Why not 64 bit version of Microsoft Office?
Because that's causes alot of applications with code to break. Also many addons will not work, due to library differences between 32 and 64 bit office. It's not because the 64 bit version is buggy. It's different.
Version of Windows 7 to go to?
Go to the 64 bit version of Windows 7. Any 32 bit office app that doesn't work in Windows 7 64 bit version should be trashed or the developers given a talking to. There are some issues about the Windows 7 Service Pack 1 causing problems for users who don't have the same service pack. Microsoft has a few workarounds.
On first glance it appears to be mainly office 64 bit users who would be effected. The solution being to change the code to use late binding on the adodb (MDAC) libraries. Thes are used mainly to link to sql and other dobc databases. Most Access developerws went back to dao development, unless there were sql links, so alot of code can be fixed quickly and easily.
Do you upgrade your Microsoft Access databases to SQL Server?
No. Not unless you know what you are doing. If the Access databases only have 5 to 10 users, then keep them in Access. If you have more, be ware that sql can cause more locking and other issues, if you do not know what you are doing.
What about Excel files. Should we upgrade them?
Only if you want to as many excel workbooks might be linked to others.
The solution we came up was to add an addon in the Excel ribbon that dealt the linking and the other major issues so the users could do their conversions with less pain, or one click of the button as they say.
What items are missed or done the wrong way?
The new colouring themes are often forgotten about or not done correctly.
Ironically, the word guys try to dictate the styles, but Excel and PowerPoint users are mostly effected by the colouring. Some clients have spent thousands on graphic designer ideas for styles and fonts, but these guys don't always have a grasp on Office 2007 or Office 2010 themes as they live in their adobe software world.
###
Tom Bizannes is a Microsoft Certified Professional with a business background.
He works for a Microsoft Gold Partner in Sydney, Australia
http://www.macroview.com.au
Monday, March 07, 2011
Web Marketing the easy way
What would you do if you could click a button and automatically have enough info to knock your competitor's links below yours?
By following some basic steps this can be easy to do.
The web us all about words. And it is also about providing information and entertainment to the masses.
As long as you can address these points and find out what your competitors are doing then you will get more business.
Tom Bizannes
Web Marketing faster and easier
Tom Bizannes
Web Marketing faster and easier
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