M. Susan Vaughn's dashboard

Hey Miz Ginevra! It was either document how I did it or forget and then when I go to do it again on another site I'd be totally lost again. I have to write these things down, and if I can help someone else along the way - we're all a lot happier. hee hee.

I no longer have this problem. Naturally, though, as soon as I click "post reply" the dang thing won't work. That would be just my luck. On the other hand, I haven't had this problem in months and that's a good thing. Don't know what was causing it though. Good luck you guys and gals - hope you find the cause of this occasional "oops."

Susan
http://www.raisin-toast.com
http://www.redeasel.com
http://www.vaughnfineart.com

Hi Bob - it is (Width) 1569 x (Height) 949 pixels

I know, strange dimensions, but hey, it worked.

Susan – M. Susan Vaughn, on November 16, 2009 15:38

I think I figured out how to solve this problem, Bob! When you save your background image on your computer (in my case I save it after I create it in Photoshop), be sure and save it as a small or medium sized image. Make sure it isn't taking up a lot of space.

When I reduced (not the size) but the properties of the image to be smaller, the background popped right into Twitter.

For instance, when you are in Photoshop and click "Save As" to save your image as a jpeg, a box will pop up that you can scroll 1-12, 12 being the highest resolution and a larger file (this does not affect the dimensions of the image), I put mine down to 7 then I clicked "Save." The image file size is smaller - not the dimensions of the image.

The background image popped right into Twitter with no problem. Then, when I realized I had to make changes to get the background to fit like I want it, again I saved it as a smaller file and each time, the background image popped right in.

Try it and let me know if this works for you - and everyone else too!

Susan
http://www.raisin-toast.com
http://www.redeasel.com
http://www.vaughnfineart.com – M. Susan Vaughn, on November 16, 2009 15:00

For anyone interested - I just published a tutorial on how to add Lightbox to your TypePad blog Here:

http://www.redeasel.com/portfolio/how...

I still need for TypePad Customer Support to please help me figure out how to use the Lightbox on the same page as Comments are Open.

Thank you!

Hope this helps anyone who wants to add Lightbox. I will tell you this - it is complicated and nerve-wracking, but once it works, boy does that feel great.

Susan
http://www.redeasel.com

I FOUND THE PROBLEM!!!! And YES, it is a TYPEPAD problem, not the Lightbox script. Hopefully, you all at TypePad can fix this.

Just now, I was looking at the page for Edward Abela and the page for Cristina Acosta and realized that Edward's did not have the "Comments" open. Cristina's page had the "Comments" OPEN.

I wanted to utilize the "Comments" on the Artist pages so that readers could comment on the Artist's work. It would be a nice addition to the Artist's Gallery page. However, when I mark the "Comments" as "Open" the Lightbox does not work and 3/4 of the page is blacked out.

When I disable the "Comments" for that page, the Lightbox works perfectly. So here's the deal - I am going to add the Artists to Red Easel but disable the "Comments" on their Gallery pages until you figure out how to correct this problem.

Again, it would be great to utilize the "Comments" feature on the Artist Gallery pages for obvious reasons. So, if you can fix this snafoo at TypePad, I sure would appreciate it!!!!!

Susan
http://www.redeasel.com

I sent an email to the Lightbox Creator: Lokesh Dhakar, with the following information (but I also wanted to pass it by you in the event you can give me a faster answer since I am anxious to get over 100 artists added to the new gallery in Red Easel) :

Hello from North Carolina!

I love your Lightbox! I have searched and read through a number of posts in your forum to no avail.

First, go here:

http://www.redeasel.com/portfolio/edw...

This page is using Lightbox 2.04 - no problems at all. Everything seems to be working properly in Firefox and Safari. However, IE and Windows 7 have issues with the layout of the page.

I noticed that earlier versions of Lightbox on other websites do not seem to be having this problem. Your recommendation?

The Lightbox effect in the Artist Portfolio pages of Red Easel looks WONDERFUL! when its working. I have over 100 artists to add to my site, so this is critical. Okay, the next problem had me completely stumped...

Again, use Firefox if you can and open up:

http://www.redeasel.com/portfolio/edw...

Everything appears to be working fine in Firefox.

Now, go here:

http://www.redeasel.com/portfolio/cri...

As you can see, the page loads and then 3/4 of the screen from the top down turns black.

What happened here is that I was creating a new page for another artist, and I used the exact same code as was used for Edward Abela's portfolio page. When I published the page (before making any changes to the content images and information for the artist) the top 3/4 of the page went black.

This seems odd since Lightbox is working fine on Edward's page but not on Cristina's page. Both of these pages are in the "Portfolio" section of my blog. Here is the CSS and Script for this blog section and for their pages: (the following attachments are all in Rich Text Format. I used TextEdit to review and save the script.

By the way - my computer information is the following:

Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro1,1
Processor Name: Intel Core Duo
Processor Speed: 2.16 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 2 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP11.0055.B08

MAC OS X 10.6.2 Snow Leopard

NOTE TO TYPEPAD!!!!: The Attachments I sent to Lokesh are not in this post, but you can see from below what I did send him and hope that you will look at that same within my template and blog code. You should be able to open up my account and see the HTML, CSS, and Javascript, correct?

HTML for Edward's PAGE:

* * * * *

HTML for Cristina's PAGE:

* * * * *

TEMPLATE for PAGES within the PORTFOLIO BLOG SECTION:

* * * * *

STYLESHEET (CSS) for PORTFOLIO BLOG SECTION: - an addendum to the Theme Stylesheet:

* * * * *

THEME STYLESHEET (CSS) for PORTFOLIO BLOG SECTION - this is the main CSS page for the Blog:

* * * * *

I used the Script for Lightbox 2.04. But, just to make sure I didn't screw something up (although if I had, wouldn't it have messed up Edward's page too?) I thought I would provide you with the script for Lightbox 2.04 that I used since I did make the necessary edits for location of elements within the script that I uploaded to my host - TypePad.

NOTE TO TYPEPAD!!!: You can find this script in my "File Manager" for Red Easel - in the Home / Lightbox204 / folder. If you need me to provide you with the actual script - I can email it to you. Please let me know what else you need. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

LIGHTBOX CSS: (Rather than place this in my stylesheet - which I did initially - I instead uploaded it to the File Manager within my Red Easel blog and directed the script to that URL as you can see when looking at the HTML for Edward's PAGE above)

* * * * *

LIGHTBOX Javascript:

* * * * *

PROTOTYPE Javascript:

* * * * *

SCRIPTACULOUS Javascript:

* * * * *

BUILDER Javascript:

* * * * *

EFFECTS Javascript:

* * * * *

I think that's it. I'm sorry for bothering you with this, but it is really important to me to get this working before I add anymore artists to the site. In the time that I have been working to add this feature to the site (about 5 weeks now) I have tried everything to get it to work. By the time I got it working - yesterday - I was so thrilled! However, when the black screen showed up in Cristina's page I felt like I was back to square one.

Thank you!!!!!!

Susan Vaughn
http://www.redeasel.com

By the way guys, while waiting for an answer to this question I figured out where to put all the files and how to update the javascript and css. BUT, now I can't get the Lightbox to work accept on one page. Read below... – M. Susan Vaughn, on November 15, 2009 04:37

Just want you guys & gals to know that I've waited 10 days and I NEED you BAD! But, I'm making progress and wanted to share with you what I have accomplished thus far so maybe you can help me bring this soapbox to the finish line before I have so many artists to add to Red Easel (now over 100) that I die of old age before they are all added.

Here is what I have figured out regarding adding a Lightbox effect to images in TypePad - Oh, and I managed to create a nice little Thumb gallery table too!

Check out this page:

http://www.redeasel.com/portfolio/edw...

What you might notice is that I have a beautiful table of 4 thumbnails showcasing Edward's work - with text descriptions beneath the thumbnail (that in and of itself took me 6 friggin' weeks to figure out how to create!!!) Now for the lightbox effect I've been dying to get working on TypePad. I wanted my readers to be able to click on a thumbnail image and have the larger image show up in a lightbox effect with a transparent dark gray background. Yay! It works on Edward's page! I've been messing with that dang script since yesterday and haven't moved from this spot but twice in 24 hours. My butt is numb - but that's beside the point. Okay. Looks pretty grand don't you think? Hey! It works!

BUT - there seems to be a problem somewhere and I need your HELP tracking it down. PLEASE!

I put the same script - dot for dot, and note for note in another page for another artist (Cristina Acosta) and the top half of the page is pitch black while the bottom half looks just fine.

I went over every dot and every comma and thought it was something I did while replacing image URLs and information from Edward's script to Cristina's. But, nope, after hours of messing with it I just copied Edward's script entirely (which I KNOW works on his page) and pasted it into Cristina's page and started over. I published her page having made NO edits to the script at all. It was an exact copy of Edward's script. I went to the published page and the top half is cut off by a black screen. Like this...




Here is the page URL for Cristina's page:

http://www.redeasel.com/portfolio/cri...

As you can see, Cristina's page is in the same blog destination as Edward's page. And, the script in her page IS Edward's same script. So why is it that if the script can call up all the information for the Lightbox effect in Edward's page it can't do it in Cristina's?

I will tell you this much, I am getting pretty darn close to making this Lightbox happen in TypePad. I think Edward Abela's gallery page looks awesome. I was so thrilled when that Lightbox kicked in and started working I almost had a ... had a ... happy fit. Then it bummed out on Cristina's page.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE HELP ME! Please with ice cream and whipped cream on a shortcake with strawberries on top.

Doesn't make sense to me why a script works perfectly on one page but not on another.

When it is all working like a champ, I will share the entire process for creating a lightbox in TypePad with your readers here on Get Satisfaction.

Susan
Over at "RaisinToast"

By the way, I just noticed that Twitter 'MONITORS' but is not 'ACTIVE' in this community on Get Satisfaction. Sounds like a lame business model for twitter to me. What's the point if Twitter customer service representatives are not involved in the maintenance of the site and the program.

Get it in gear you guys at Twitter! What happened, did you get too big for the individual customer?!!!!!

Susan Vaughn
http://www.raisin-toast.com
http://www.redeasel.com
http://www.vaughnfineart.com

I am so frustrated with not being able to update my background! Not only does it not update, but sometimes it uploads the background image from my personal twitter account which is an entirely different log in from my business twitter account! Geez! I had Safari - Firefox - and Flock open all at the same time. I would try to upload the image to one, then the other, then the other. I did this for over an hour. This is a terrible flaw in the personalization program with the site. FIX THIS PLEASE!

Susan Vaughn
http://www.raisin-toast.com
http://www.redeasel.com
http://www.vaughnfineart.com

Just wanted you all to read what I wrote as a reply on another question for Six Apart about adding "LightWindow" or "ThickBox" to TypePad...

I just asked this question specifically here on Get Satisfaction. I downloaded the file for Lightbox 2.04. You can find it at:

http://www.huddletogether.com/project...

and here:

http://www.huddletogether.com/project...

In the file there is a "css" file. Do I place this in the "Stylesheet" or in the "Theme Stylesheet?"

In addition, there is the "javascript" file, labeled "js." In that file are 5 Dreamweaver Javascripts - builder.js; effects.js; lightbox.js; prototype.js; and, scriptaculous.js. I have no idea where to put this javascript information. I read the instructions on the site, but for the life of me I can't figure out where to put it in the Advanced templates. I've tried several different ways, but none of them work, so I am obviously doing something wrong.

There is also a file titled "images" and an "index.html." I have no idea what to do with this information either.

Teach me, please?

Once I figure out how to add the Lightbox feature to my TypePad blog, it will be a big deal because I'll be using it on all the paintings in Red Easel and on my Vaughn Fine Art portfolio site. I really love the lightbox feature and look forward to adding it to my blogs.

Thanks!

Susan
http://www.raisin-toast.com
http://www.redeasel.com
http://www.vaughnfineart.com

Hi Colleen. I just asked this question specifically here on Get Satisfaction. I downloaded the file for Lightbox 2.04. You can find it at:

http://www.huddletogether.com/project...

and here:

http://www.huddletogether.com/project...

In the file there is a "css" file. Do I place this in the "Stylesheet" or in the "Theme Stylesheet?"

In addition, there is the "javascript" file, labeled "js." In that file are 5 Dreamweaver Javascripts - builder.js; effects.js; lightbox.js; prototype.js; and, scriptaculous.js. I have no idea where to put this javascript information. I read the instructions on the site, but for the life of me I can't figure out where to put it in the Advanced templates. I've tried several different ways, but none of them work, so I am obviously doing something wrong.

There is also a file titled "images" and an "index.html." I have no idea what to do with this information either.

Teach me, please?

Once I figure out how to add the Lightbox feature to my TypePad blog, it will be a big deal because I'll be using it on all the paintings in Red Easel and on my Vaughn Fine Art portfolio site. I really love the lightbox feature and look forward to adding it to my blogs.

Thanks!

Susan
http://www.raisin-toast.com
http://www.redeasel.com
http://www.vaughnfineart.com

Hey, don't forget about the strange links question - I'm still having that problem.

Thanks!

Hi Kimmie. On both of my blogs: "Raisin Toast" at www.raisin-toast.com and "Red Easel" at www.redeasel.com if you go to any post, you will see the number of comments on that post, however, if you click on "Comments" you will go to the post with the comment section below it, but no comments from previous readers are visible. I get the comments in my email but they are not showing up on my posts.

Thanks for looking into this, Kimmie.

Susan
http://www.raisin-toast.com
http://www.redeasel.com
http://www.vaughnfineart.com

Woohoo! I feel like a grown-up now! Thank you Garth! I appreciate you checking the CNAME configuration and confirming that it is correct. Then I followed your instructions on domain mapping and sure enough my entire blog is set up correctly now. I changed all the urls in the "top-menu" of all the blog sections so that when you click on a navigation button, the url is my domain. Yippee! Thank you so much!

Susan