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development time
This site was originally begun in November 1999. The current
design dates from March 2002; and updated July, moving the main
text on to the left-hand side to make it easier to print.
This latest update from August 2003 involved removing
the DHTML drop-down menu in order to make download times quicker
and improve cross-browser and -platform compatibility. Most of
the update coding was done by hand in 1st Page 2000 and then finished
off in Dreamweaver 4 and Dreamweaver MX.
The site is now updated with Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 and WeBuilder 2007.
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resolution
This site has been designed to be viewed at a minimum screen
size of 800 x 600 pixels; I view this site at 1280 x 1024.
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browsers
The following browsers were not harmed in the production of this
website:
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javascript enabled
- You may find that JavaScript enabled enhances your
enjoyment of this site
- ...because if it's not then you won't be able to see the DHTML
menus!
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cookie-free mix
This site does not use cookies.
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resources i have used
Note that this list is now quite out-of-date.
HTML coding, design, maintenance
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MetaPad 3.5 by Alexander
Davidson
This is a simple Notepad replacement, but one of the most-used
applications on my PC. I use it for simple and quick code tweaks.
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1st Page 2000 v.2.00 by Evrsoft
An excellent web-design text-editor raised in Australia. Built around the IE-engine for preview this editor offers customizable shortcuts, quick previews, colour-coded text. |
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Dreamweaver 4.01, MX (version
6.0) and MX 2004 (version 7) by Macromedia
The HTML editor offering both WYSIWYG and coding views, previews
in the browsers of your choice, plus a whole array of site management
tools (inc. FTP) that make developing sites an absolute joy.
MX 2004 is utterly fantastic, by the way. The best version of
Dreamweaver yet... and it handles CSS2.1 beautifully. |
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DHTML Menu Builder 3.5 by
xFX Software
This is a fabulous tool if you need to develop drop-down DHTML menus.
You need a fast machine though, it runs rather slowly even on my
500MHz machine. |
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Astra SiteManager by Mercury
Interactive
This rather complex tool checks links throughout a whole site reporting
on any problems, broken links, missing images, orphaned files, etc. |
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Link Validator Lite v.1.5 by HiSoftware
This is a superb freeware link checker that first spiders through
a selected webpage looking for links, images, scripts, etc. before
checking to see if they are live. |
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CSE HTML Validator Pro v.4.0 by
AI Internet Solutions
Unsure whether your webpage contains valid HTML? This tool will
sort you out, point out any invalid, missing or extraneous tags. |
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Keyword Extractor by Analog
X
META tags are a pain to write. This freeware tool from the excellent
Analog X will scan a page and pull out the most frequently used
words. Use this to write your META tags. |
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eMindMaps by MindJET
This is a mind-mapping application that I use to plan my websites. |
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Terrapin FTP v.2.3.2 by Terrapin
While both DW4 and 1stPage have built-in FTP capabilities I often
prefer to use Terrapin for simple drag-and-drop webpage uploading.
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{^top}
Graphics
Books
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Macromedia Dreamweaver 4 for Windows & Macintosh - J.
Tarin Towers (Peachpit Press,
2001)
Having already learned HTML I wanted a book that would allow me
to quickly pick-up how to use Dreamweaver, and this was the book.
Once you've got to grips with the DW layout and the properties window
I found this book most helpful in helping me understand DW's powerful
site management tools.
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HTML for the World Wide Web (4th Edition) - Elizabeth
Castro (Peachpit Press,
2000)
I am a great fan of the Visual Quick Start series and this is
no exception. It takes the reader through every aspect of HTML
coding beginning with the basics and systematically working through
links, images and tables, onto more complex tasks involving forms,
multimedia and cascading style sheets (CSS).
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DHTML and CSS for the World Wide Web (2nd Edition) - Jason
Cranford Teague (Peachpit Press,
2001)
For a more thorough grounding in Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) --
that aspect of web-design that is concerned with style and design
rather than content and layout -- this book is excellent. Not only
does it cover CSS-1 and CSS-2, it also goes into aspects of Dynamic
HTML (DHTML) using JavaScript to control and alter certain aspects
of your page.
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JavaScript for the World Wide Web (3rd edition) - Tom Negrino
& Dori Smith (Peachpit Press,
1999)
This book got me turned on to using JavaScript on my pages to make
images interactive (rollovers) or to display the current date on
my page. This is a wonderfully simple book to follow and understand,
and you will be adding JavaScript code to your pages in no time.
(I also recommend the PHP and CGI/Perl books in this series.)
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Beginning JavaScript - Paul Wilton (Wrox
Press, 2000)
For a more in-depth look at JavaScript this book by Paul Wilton
is a must. And even if you don't use it terribly often it looks
really impressive on your bookshelf (or as a doorstop).
This book covers all aspects of JavaScript coding, cross-browser
scripting, cookie creation and use, plug-ins, ActiveX controls,
DHTML and server-side scripting with ASP.
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Websites and Newsgroups
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HTML Goodies
www.htmlgoodies.com
When I was still learning HTML I found this website to be really
very helpful.
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Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C)
www.w3.org
These are THE GUYS when it comes to web standards. You can find
the specifications and guidelines for all sorts here, from HTML
4.01 to HTTP, from CSS, PNG and XML to SVG and DOM.
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Alt HTML newsgroup
alt.html
This is a good and active forum for HTML queries. Newbies are welcomed
and no question is too stupid. I've learned lots on this, and in
time began to contribute too.
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Comp.Lang.Javascript newsgroup
comp.lang.javascript
Another good newsgroup for Javascript-related postings. I've also
contributed to this with suggestions and specially written code
in answer to people's queries.
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Google Groups
http://groups.google.com
If you don't have access to a newsreader (or can't be bothered
to set one up) then this a good place to access Usenet groups
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Contact us
Other sites
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