Archive for March, 2009

Fixing Blueprint CSS 0.7.1

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

Blueprint CSS

Note: Updated Tuesday 24 March 2009 @ 10:00

Blueprint CSS is a CSS framework. The latest version is v.0.8 but a lot of people are still using version 0.7.1, even though there are a number of irregularities in it.

So, this evening I’ve been sifting through the Blueprint CSS version 0.7.1 code and making a few corrections. The bulk of irregularities can be found in the source code (within the /blueprint/src/ folder) and not in the release code (/blueprint/screen.css) but these source files can be very useful so should really be fixed. There is also one error in the ie.css file in both the source and release code.

There may well be other edits, corrections or enhancements that could be made, but these are the obvious ones that I’ve spotted. Note that all line numbers refer to the original, unedited code’s line numbers, i.e. the code in version 0.7.1.

Copy everything

Rather than making changes to the original code, I created a copy of the Blueprint CSS 0.7.1 folder and imaginatively called it Blueprint CSS 0.7.2.

Edit #1: /blueprint/src/grid.css

The problem: a number of classes have been omitted. You simply have to do a compare between the code in grid.css and screen.css to see that .pull-6 to .pull-24 are missing from grid.css.

The solution: Replace the following lines of code:

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.pull-1 { margin-left: -40px; }
.pull-2 { margin-left: -80px; }
.pull-3 { margin-left: -120px; }
.pull-4 { margin-left: -160px; }
.pull-5 { margin-left: -200px; }
 
.pull-1, .pull-2, .pull-3,
.pull-4, .pull-5, .pull-5 {
  float:left;
  position:relative;
}

with this code:

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.pull-1 {margin-left:-40px;}
.pull-2 {margin-left:-80px;}
.pull-3 {margin-left:-120px;}
.pull-4 {margin-left:-160px;}
.pull-5 {margin-left:-200px;}
.pull-6 {margin-left:-240px;}
.pull-7 {margin-left:-280px;}
.pull-8 {margin-left:-320px;}
.pull-9 {margin-left:-360px;}
.pull-10 {margin-left:-400px;}
.pull-11 {margin-left:-440px;}
.pull-12 {margin-left:-480px;}
.pull-13 {margin-left:-520px;}
.pull-14 {margin-left:-560px;}
.pull-15 {margin-left:-600px;}
.pull-16 {margin-left:-640px;}
.pull-17 {margin-left:-680px;}
.pull-18 {margin-left:-720px;}
.pull-19 {margin-left:-760px;}
.pull-20 {margin-left:-800px;}
.pull-21 {margin-left:-840px;}
.pull-22 {margin-left:-880px;}
.pull-23 {margin-left:-920px;}
.pull-24 {margin-left:-960px;}
 
.pull-1, .pull-2, .pull-3,
.pull-4, .pull-5, .pull-6,
.pull-7, .pull-8, .pull-9,
.pull-10, .pull-11, .pull-12,
.pull-13, .pull-14, .pull-15,
.pull-16, .pull-17, .pull-18,
.pull-19, .pull-20, .pull-21,
.pull-22, .pull-23, .pull-24 {
  float:left;
  position:relative;
 }

Edit #2: /blueprint/src/grid.css

The problem: a number of classes have been omitted. You simply have to do a compare between the code in grid.css and screen.css to see that .push-6 to .push-24 are missing from grid.css.

The solution: Replace the following lines of code:

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.push-1 { margin: 0 -40px 1.5em 40px; }
.push-2 { margin: 0 -80px 1.5em 80px; }
.push-3 { margin: 0 -120px 1.5em 120px; }
.push-4 { margin: 0 -160px 1.5em 160px; }
.push-5 { margin: 0 -200px 1.5em 200px; }
 
.push-0, .push-1, .push-2,
.push-3, .push-4, .push-5 {
  float: right;
	position:relative;
}

with this code:

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.push-1 { margin: 0 -40px 1.5em 40px; }
.push-2 { margin: 0 -80px 1.5em 80px; }
.push-3 { margin: 0 -120px 1.5em 120px; }
.push-4 { margin: 0 -160px 1.5em 160px; }
.push-5 { margin: 0 -200px 1.5em 200px; }
.push-6 {margin:0 -240px 1.5em 240px;}
.push-7 {margin:0 -280px 1.5em 280px;}
.push-8 {margin:0 -320px 1.5em 320px;}
.push-9 {margin:0 -360px 1.5em 360px;}
.push-10 {margin:0 -400px 1.5em 400px;}
.push-11 {margin:0 -440px 1.5em 440px;}
.push-12 {margin:0 -480px 1.5em 480px;}
.push-13 {margin:0 -520px 1.5em 520px;}
.push-14 {margin:0 -560px 1.5em 560px;}
.push-15 {margin:0 -600px 1.5em 600px;}
.push-16 {margin:0 -640px 1.5em 640px;}
.push-17 {margin:0 -680px 1.5em 680px;}
.push-18 {margin:0 -720px 1.5em 720px;}
.push-19 {margin:0 -760px 1.5em 760px;}
.push-20 {margin:0 -800px 1.5em 800px;}
.push-21 {margin:0 -840px 1.5em 840px;}
.push-22 {margin:0 -880px 1.5em 880px;}
.push-23 {margin:0 -920px 1.5em 920px;}
.push-24 {margin:0 -960px 1.5em 960px;}
 
.push-1, .push-2, .push-3,
.push-4, .push-5, .push-6,
.push-7, .push-8, .push-9,
.push-10, .push-11, .push-12,
.push-13, .push-14, .push-15,
.push-16, .push-17, .push-18,
.push-19, .push-20, .push-21,
.push-22, .push-23, .push-24 {
  float:right;
  position:relative;
}

Edit #3: /blueprint/src/typography.css

The problem: the .left class has been omitted, which can cause unexpected results.

The solution: Replace the following lines of code:

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p img { float: left; margin: 1.5em 1.5em 1.5em 0; padding: 0; }

with this code:

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p img.left { float: left; margin: 1.5em 1.5em 1.5em 0; padding: 0; }

Edit #4: /blueprint/screen.css

The problem: As above, the .left class has been omitted, which can cause unexpected results. Do exactly the same in the release code, i.e.

The solution: Replace the following lines of code:

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p img { float: left; margin: 1.5em 1.5em 1.5em 0; padding: 0; }

with this code:

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p img.left { float: left; margin: 1.5em 1.5em 1.5em 0; padding: 0; }

Edit #5: /blueprint/src/typography.css

The problem: the h4 tag has an incorrect height declaration, which breaks things if the h4 line wraps a line. (Thanks to Steve Yorkstone for spotting this one.)

The solution: Replace the following lines of code:

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h4 { font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 1.25em; height: 1.25em; }

with this code:

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h4 { font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 1.25em;}

Edit #6: /blueprint/screen.css

The problem: As above, the h4 tag has an incorrect height declaration, which breaks things if the h4 line wraps a line.

The solution: Replace the following lines of code:

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h4 {font-size:1.2em;line-height:1.25;margin-bottom:1.25em;height:1.25em;}

with this code:

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h4 {font-size:1.2em;line-height:1.25;margin-bottom:1.25em;}

Edit #7: /blueprint/src/ie.css

The problem: Legacy code from version 0.6 has been left in. It needs to be replaced with the current way of defining the grid, namely a div.span-x for each column.

The solution: Replace the following lines of code:

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* html .column { overflow-x: hidden; }

with this code:

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* html div.span-1, * html div.span-2,
* html div.span-3, * html div.span-4,
* html div.span-5, * html div.span-6,
* html div.span-7, * html div.span-8,
* html div.span-9, * html div.span-10,
* html div.span-11, * html div.span-12,
* html div.span-13, * html div.span-14,
* html div.span-15, * html div.span-16,
* html div.span-17, * html div.span-18,
* html div.span-19, * html div.span-20,
* html div.span-21, * html div.span-22,
* html div.span-23, * html div.span-24 {
  overflow-x:hidden;
}

Edit #8: /blueprint/ie.css

The problem: As above, legacy code from version 0.6 has been left in. It needs to be replaced with the current way of defining the grid, namely a div.span-x for each column. Do exactly the same with the release code, i.e.:

The solution: Replace the following lines of code:

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* html .column { overflow-x: hidden; }

with this code:

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* html div.span-1, * html div.span-2,
* html div.span-3, * html div.span-4,
* html div.span-5, * html div.span-6,
* html div.span-7, * html div.span-8,
* html div.span-9, * html div.span-10,
* html div.span-11, * html div.span-12,
* html div.span-13, * html div.span-14,
* html div.span-15, * html div.span-16,
* html div.span-17, * html div.span-18,
* html div.span-19, * html div.span-20,
* html div.span-21, * html div.span-22,
* html div.span-23, * html div.span-24 {
  overflow-x:hidden;
}

Changelog

The last thing I do is update the changelog file to record the edits made, and change the version number in screen.css to 0.7.2 so that I know that this is my updated version.

I hope that helps someone.

Updates to version 0.8

I’ll blog later about things I’ve spotted need fixing in version 0.8.

Posted in CSS, Computer, General, Trouble-shooting, Web | No Comments »

Custom labels for removable drives

Friday, March 20th, 2009

Registry Editor

I found a great tip in PC Plus this month (April 2009 edition) in an article about Registry hacks that allows you to give meaningful names to your removable drives in Windows; (UPDATED 10 January 2010) I’ve tried it with both Windows XP and Windows 7, so on those grounds I would imagine that it should also work with Windows Vista.

The issue

I’ve got a SanDisk multi-card reader attached to my PC via USB, and by default it displays four Removable Disk icons in My Computer with the generic label “Removable Disk (X:)” where X is the letter assigned to the drive.

Devices with Removable Storage

The problem is that I can never remember which drive is which. Is Q: for SD cards? Which drive is assigned to Compact Flash cards?

This Registry hack allows you to customize the label.

The hack

  1. Make sure you create a System Restore point before you start, just in case!
  2. Start RegEdit (Start > Run…, type regedit, click OK)
  3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer
  4. Within the Explorer key create a new key called DriveIcons
  5. Within that create a new key with the drive letter you want to customize, e.g. Q
  6. Within that create a new key called DefaultLabel
  7. Double-click this key’s (Default) value entry and give it the name you want, e.g. Compact Flash, and click OK
  8. Refresh your Explorer window to see the change.
  9. Repeat for as many removable drives as you need to customize.

Devices with Removable Storage, and customized labels

Now that’s much easier.

.reg file

Of course, if you don’t fancy poking around in the Windows Registry you can create a plain text file in Notepad (or another plain text editor) and create the settings there. An example file is below.

Simply change the letters of the DriveIcons and the @ values.

Then save the file as driveicons.reg, and double-click it to merge the values into the Registry.

Then remember to press F5 to refresh your Explorer window to see the changes.

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Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
 
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\DriveIcons]
 
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\DriveIcons\Q]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\DriveIcons\Q\DefaultLabel]
@="Compact Flash"
 
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\DriveIcons\R]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\DriveIcons\R\DefaultLabel]
@="xD Picture Card"
 
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\DriveIcons\S]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\DriveIcons\S\DefaultLabel]
@="Secure Digital"
 
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\DriveIcons\T]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\DriveIcons\T\DefaultLabel]
@="Sony Memory Stick"

Posted in Computer, General, Windows | No Comments »

PsiWin 2.3.3 under Windows 7 Ultimate

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

Windows 7 Ultimate running PsiWin 2.3.3

Let’s hear it for Psion. Not only did they make first class PDAs, which still have a massive community of user going nuts over, but their PC connectivity software PsiWin — which they stopped developing at version 2.3.3 (copyright 1997-2001) — still works perfectly even under the beta version of Windows 7 Ultimate edition.

Posted in Computer, General, Psion | No Comments »

Wikipedia names your band

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

What a great meme, spotted on Ricky Carvel’s blog: Wikipedia names your band.

Here are the rules:

  1. Band name
    Go to a random Wikipedia article. The name of the article becomes your band name.

  2. Album title
    Next go to Random Quotations. The last 4-5 words of the last quotation on the page are your the title of your first album.

  3. Album cover
    Now go to Flickr’s Explore the last 7 days and choose the third picture. This will be your album cover.

  4. Final article
    Finally put them all together and you have an album cover.

I’ve just done it three times. I think I’ve found my new hobby!

Earl of Sefton Stakes – “Can’t hear what they say?”

Earl of Sefton Stakes
Photo credit: liao,che-yi

This is the first one I created. It was a bit too disturbing, so I signed to another record label, changed the name of the band and ended up with our new album …

Vydra – “Men just need a place”

Vydra
Photo credit: *ailicec*

Vydra did really well, reaching number 51 in the alternative rock charts. The NME said that we were quite literally “a peg above the rest” but disaster struck when the drummer left to start his own laundry business.

But not one to stay down I found another bass player, changed our name once again, and released …

Akreavenek Island – “Affirmatively says nothing”

Akreavenek Island
Photo credit: Rock the pixel

Akreavenek Island are your typical rock/metal crossover act, somewhere between Sigur Rós and Rammstein meets Extreme Noise Terror and Celine Dion. We cover mostly ballads. But with more shouting and white noise than the originals. Available now in no good record stores.

Posted in General, Humour, Music, Reviews, Web | 3 Comments »