Parallax <-- Can you fix this!
Chuck Rice
Posts: 210
Non-Windows users have been living with the garbled text code block problem for a long time. Phil Pilgrim outlined the simple fix required back in 2007. See this thread:
Post Edited (Chuck Rice) : 4/26/2009 9:06:47 PM GMTPhiPi said...
Peter,
It's not just your browser. Part of the problem comes from the dotNetBB style sheet at forums.parallax.com//forums/styles/dotNetBB/css/style.css. Here's what it uses for code blocks:
.msgCode {
background-color : #EEEEEE;
color : #000099;
font-family : Lucida Console, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helevetica, Sans-Serif;
font-size : 8pt;
cursor : default;
font-weight : normal;
padding-left : 10px;
padding-right : 10px;
padding-bottom : 5px;
padding-top : 5px;
border : 1px inset threedshadow;
}
Lucinda Console is the only monospaced font listed. All the others are proportionally-spaced. If you don't have Lucinda Console installed in your system, or if your browser won't use it, you'll get a proportionally-spaced font instead.
It would be a simple matter to fix it, I think. Just changing the font-family line to the following would do the job:
font-family : Parallax, ProggyCleanTT, Lucinda Console, Courier, Monospace;
With this, your browser has a choice of several monospaced fonts and will use the first available font listed. If none of those exist in the system, it will default to any other "Monospace" font (the last choice), instead of a proportionally-spaced "Sans-Serif" font. This would also allow Spin programs for the Propeller to display in all their glory.
Perhaps the IT Guy could weigh in on this possibility...
Comments
Post Edited (JonnyMac) : 4/26/2009 5:41:15 PM GMT
I do empathize with all the non-widoze users out there who have this problem, but I think this thread would be better served in a different forum. Maybe the "Support Using this forum".
If the problem has existed this long, there is some breakdown in the lineage of getting it fixed. The item may have fell through the cracks, but saying someone won't fix something just because he is anal, well that is just absurd. If it were my company, and that were the case, we would have a new IT guy.
We have to remember keeping a job is doing the job, if he doesn't know that, he doesn't deserve it.
James L
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James L
Partner/Designer
Lil Brother SMT Assembly Services
Chuck, in this thread, I show how you can do this yourself by copying Parallax's style sheet to your own computer to modify and use within your browser. I've tried it, and it works, but I don't currently use it.
-Phil
Thanks Phil. I will give that a try. What I did after seeing your post (finally found it after getting annoyed enough to search the dotNetBB vender site which lead me to the msgCode. A google for msgCode lead me to your post. I found an old copy of windows and moved the font to my Mac and am now much happier. But a real fix would be better. In fact, I think it would be nice for the code tags to use the Parallax Font.
Everybody:
Forgive me if my note ended up sounding harsh. It was not my intention to make this sound like I was bashing Parallax. In my experience Parallax has been very helpful, even if they ar sometimes a bit thoughtless about other operating system users. But they cannot fix things unless they know about them, so I thought I would bring it up. I also thought that other Propeller-heads like me might be suffering in the same way. The Propeller Forum may not have been a good place to post it, but that is where it causes me the most grief. Perhaps a moderator can move this thread if this is not a good place.
It's not a problem to say how you feel - always do so. We know that the DotNetBB tool we're using is a ticking time bomb, and we've got a replacement slated. As for the IT Guy not modifying the code, it's because we'd rather replace the whole thing with something more functional the minute we have the time. He's actually got a work plan and a schedule for his projects. The number of requests he processes for small tweaks to standard installations of all of our tools (internal and external) for running the business is substantial.
This is what we're doing right now, in order of priority:
Upgrade shopping cart software on www.parallax.com to fix some intl. shipping problems and coupon issues
Code/install a number of small customizations to the shopping cart system
Replace forum software
The top issue is a real bugaboo for us, internally. Although we've got our business software talking to the web site so that our sales staff does not have to enter orders (you've seen how our live inventory levels are shown on-line, too), we've got a list of issues that are problematic for our operation. When we ran into one another in the kitchen last week he told me that he was ready to get the upgrade installed for our shopping cart software, so we're close.
IT Guy is aware of the forum problems, and we're keeping this tool on life support until we can replace it.
We're a small company, so you know (37 employees) and we don't care to be a big company. We've slated the addition of future IT resources to our current fleet of One (1) IT Guy and team. But the forum software replacement is a great job for our current IT Guy - he's the one who was able to stuff all the old YahooGroup threads into the "archiver" posts so he knows how to handle a port to a new system and I want him to do it.
Chuck, you stepped up the importance of dealing with this issue and you've put it back on our close-range radar. Thanks for doing that and always say it like you see it.
And I'm not able to move threads anyway, so this will stay put unless our tech support guys move it. Lost that privilege a while ago.
Sincerely,
Ken Gracey
Nice!! Let IT Guy know that's a seriously good value add.
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Propeller Wiki: Share the coolness!
Chat in real time with other Propellerheads on IRC #propeller @ freenode.net
Safety Tip: Life is as good as YOU think it is!
I've got a ton of links both in documents and my website which
point back to http://forums.parallax.com/forums/...........
Any chance we can keep the existing URL structure when the old forum is replaced?
OBC
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New to the Propeller?
Visit the: The Propeller Pages @ Warranty Void.
If the forum software is replaced, I would propose the following minimum requirements for the transition:
1. Account names, avatars, and profiles must be seamlessly transported to the new forum software, obviating any need for current users to reestablish their accounts.
2. If you must archive the current forum, make sure the author names are preserved for each post. I notice that in the BASIC Stamp archive they are not.
3. Make sure that all posted images are preserved in the archive, both as attachments and inline.
4. Pursuant to OBC's fears, make sure there is a simple algorithm for translating the url of an original thread to the url of an archived thread. (I will even provide an online tool for doing the translating, if necessary.)
Archiving the current forum's threads would be much less desirable than providing them with continuity into the new forum. I mean, who ever reads the BASIC Stamp archive? It's basically dead and buried at the end of the forum page (usually scrolled off the bottom) like a vestigial organ. There's just too much ferment, discussion, and good info in the current forum to hermetically seal it and start over.
-Phil
Post Edited (Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)) : 4/27/2009 8:35:18 PM GMT
We also don't want a bunch of broken links. I don't know if this will be an issue or not, but we'll of course do our best to keep links in tact.
Right now I need to go talk to the IT Guy to get our shopping cart upgrade finished, though. Just spotted him walking through the reception area with a big pot of coffee. Usually he only carries a Nascar mug of coffee, but this time he had the whole pot. I'll let him drink for 20 minutes and then pay him a visit about the shopping cart. Need to get that project finished and I'll take up the forums issue next.
Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc.
Thanks for adding this concern to your huge list of many tasks! [noparse]:)[/noparse]
OBC
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New to the Propeller?
Visit the: The Propeller Pages @ Warranty Void.
Or a bad employer! one that lets you get to close to the "edge" before telling you to attack the world.
James L
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James L
Partner/Designer
Lil Brother SMT Assembly Services
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OS-X: because making Unix user-friendly was easier than debugging Windows
links:
My band's website
Our album on the iTunes Music Store
Create a rule whose Action is Whitelist/modify content
Set Host to "is" "forums.parallax.com"
In the CSS tab, insert the following:
.msgThread1 a:link, .msgThread1 a:visited, .msgThread2 a:link, .msgThread2 a:visited { text-decoration: underline !important; color: #000099 !important; } .msgCode { font-family : Parallax, Lucida Console, Courier, Monospace !important; font-size : 9pt !important; }This will underline links in messages and display code in a 9pt mono-spaced font.
If you aren't using GlimmerBlocker, you should be. That and Click2Flash make the web a nice place.
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OS-X: because making Unix user-friendly was easier than debugging Windows
links:
My band's website
Our album on the iTunes Music Store
Post Edited (SSteve) : 5/1/2009 2:55:45 PM GMT