Tracy Gander's dashboard

when i click browse it goes nowhere....

Oh, it'll work. Just take me at least 3 hours to do it – Thrundar, on August 19, 2008 17:55

Tracy, our art director, is a genius when it comes to images and site design. I am so glad she helped you with this one and that the simpler of her two suggestions worked. Good luck getting this fixed with your dial up connection! – Monique, on August 19, 2008 17:45

I did a test and reduced one of the images down to 800x552 and it worked wonders. The text in the image is now much clearer. Now I need to go delete all those original images and replace them with reduced sizes! lol. Oh well. Good ol dial up. Here we go again. But it'll look much better.

The program I used to create this is Google sketchup 5. I inserted the text in sketchup and not another program. That version doesn't have any options for changing the dpi. I don't have Photoshop...I went ahead and loaded up the images as is for now with instructions on how to view and print them on my page. I think tweaking them how you suggested will be best. However right now the page takes about 3-4 minutes to load for me. (dial up). So not sure about making the dpi density much more than it is now. Would converting this whole projext to pdf be better? I think that can be done in google doc's? Then again, a pdf doesnt show text for search engines does it? With what I have now, there is at least some text for the search engines.
http://hobbiesaboutus.synthasite.com/... – Thrundar, on August 19, 2008 14:55

Hi Thrundar,

This is a common problem experienced with graphical text. What image editing software are you using? Your diagrams are vector-based so I'm guessing that you're using Illustrator or similar.

There may be a short answer to this, or the solution may be more complex. Try the easy way and if that doesn't work you can try my long-winded option.

The Short Answer:

The Style you've selected has a maximum width of 868 pixels. Your diagram file is quite a bit larger at 1204 x 831 pixels, so it's being resized to fit the page. You may find that your image displays sharper if you export it with a width of 868 pixels.

You can also try playing around with different file formats to see which compresses better - JPG, GIF OR PNG. This tutorial may give you some insights into suggested applications for each: http://www.synthasite.com/tutorials/i...

The Long-winded One:

I suggest that you try working in a combination of Illustrator and Photoshop and to see if it works better for you. By this I mean resizing your diagram to correct pixel dimensions, and reworking the text on that file in Photoshop.

• In Illustrator, export your original vector file of your diagram only (as an EPS or PDF), leaving out the text!

• Open the exported file in Photoshop - depending on which file format you chose, it may give you the opportunity to set it's image size (dimensions and dpi).

• Type these dimensions in, or open the Image Resize dialog: Image > Image size and type 868 into the Pixel Dimensions and 300dpi into the Resolution field (I know that a web image is 72dpi, we're just playing it safe). Your image should now be the correct max width for your web page.

• Using the Text tool, write the text that you require. Arial 12pt in black should do the trick. Tip: A drop-down menu offers various anti-aliasing methods when generating type (Sharp, Crisp, Strong, Smooth). You can try those to see which option is more legible.

• Once done, save your file (in Photoshop format, in case you wish to edit the text another day). And export your final image by going: File > Save for Web & Devices. Test to see which file format works best for you, possibly GIF or PNG for this particular purpose. Be sure to watch the file size to ensure quick loading times for your web page.

I hope that this is useful to you, and that I'm not being too technical. It's tough to know how much information is too much!

t

Thanks Bengo - your input is really valued! We will pass your info on... – Marije, on August 12, 2008 04:27

That sounds great. The footer makes me think of a comment to pass on to development, if possible. It would be excellent to have a navigation widget that can be edited.

Let me explain: A typical webcomic has navigation buttons under it that jump to FIRST, PREVIOUS, NEXT, LATEST. (See a simpler variation at http://scratchinpostcomics.com/ ). If you use linked images, it means importing up to four images and affixing a link to them. There is also pagination to consider, and some comics add a 5th link to ARCHIVES.

If there were one widget, like a divider widget with more cells, that "read" as separate images in each cell for the purpose of linking, that would be awesome. I get so tired of doing navigation work on every page from scratch.

In my other comic ( http://lilnyet.com/ )I am just using arrows but it's ugly and I would like to use images. I am getting away with two but more are standard, plus room for a page number. A six-cell widget that allowed the importation of a designated set of standard objects plus a page number change would be great, assuming not all the cells required filling.

This would really put you out front compared to other comics options I have seen.

by editable banner do you mean edit the size? because we can already change the image!! – Monica, on August 11, 2008 05:59

Hi,

Thanks for clarifying, I thought that was what you were after, I was just confused by your example.

We're working on a new Style structure that should allow for the following:
- Editable banner
- Editable logo area
- Editable background image
- Editable footer
- Liquid layout of some, if not all, Styles

The team are busy with a number of new features so I'm not able to say when this will be available. We'll no doubt be shouting about it when it is!

Thanks for your patience and support!
t

gamedemon, below, has a good idea, but it's harmed by the fact that all your styles have at least some minor design features. For example, the crease under the masthead on this one: http://lilnyet.com/ And it would probably be impossible to lose that top edge and corner curves. – Bengo, on August 10, 2008 06:26

Indeed, if there are no features or decorations, and it's liquid, and you can upload a background color or pattern, then you would seem to be in need of only one additional style. – Bengo, on August 10, 2008 06:23

I should mention that I particularly want neutral layouts (black, white, grey, green) that are liquid and they should have no decorations. If there is a masthead, like Red Planet has, it should be swappable. Earthtones and textures like burlap and cotton fabric would be appealing. Also appealing would be "load your own" background patterns, because many people custom make them. Example of custom made liquid background, as I understand it: http://dummcomics.com/index?sid=105 – Bengo, on August 10, 2008 06:19

That's a great idea, but I have 275+ web pages already. You've got me thinking, but I believe a liquid layout template is the only good option. Please tell me if you disagree. – Bengo, on August 10, 2008 06:15

if you want to use the whole screen, just adjust the cellspacing of a divider widget. you can see what i mean at http://gamedemon.org (my site is under construction. the links on the first page don't work yet

I mean a liquid layout. – Bengo, on August 10, 2008 02:30

Hi Bengo,

I'm not sure that I understand exactly what you mean by "use the whole screen for display"?

Are you referring to what we term a "liquid layout"? Meaning that primary areas of the page are flexible in width, depending on your browser window.

An example is Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/ - resize your browser and observe the way in which the center column rescales the content to fit the resizing column? (in this instance the left & right columns are fixed width). A less noisy example might be http://www.cesserdigital.net/

I ask this because the example site you give does not have this flexibility.

Our current styles are all of a "fixed" width, centered in the window. Many do however allow for a full-width column of text or image (which you already make use of).

Sorry but I don't fully understand what it is you're asking for. I understand your frustration, but can you possibly give me more information please? Perhaps some more examples might help too.

Thanks!

I post about 10 images everyday on my website, that's no problem at all. But the problem is how to manage them in the file manager.
I mean now there ate about 50-60 pics in the file manager and it's so bulky (eventhough not tough to add new) but headache to see back to others

Hi Brenda..et al,

I use Flickr to upload my pictures...it is free unless you would like to pay for Pro acct. Once the picture is uploaded I edit or just go straight to 'all sizes' tab, from there you can use the suggested size and HTML code (which links back to your photostream) or grab the photos URL, insert with an HTML widget (this option requires that you know a little HTML to adjust width, height, centering, etc). Here are a couple of links that you may find helpful...besides the tutorial already mentioned...

• http://www.tizag.com/htmlT/images.php
• http://www.tizag.com/cssT/float.php
• www.flickr.com, create a Yahoo acct and you are good to go
• Other places to upload your pics are http://www.kodakgallery.com/Welcome.jsp and www.photobucket.com...just to name a few.

PS And the last thing...I promise ;-) if you get a Flickr acct, you can choose the Flickr widget in Synthasite. PS...just joking =D, hope this helps!

i am real new to website creating. I have uploaded images and when I insert them on my page they are huge. I do not know how to determine what size they will be on my page and what that size looks like. I have tried pik site and resized but they still come back huge.