brmecham.com » How To http://www.brmecham.com Brian Mecham, web designer, seo expert, statesman, entrepreneur, disc duplication, artist, computer geek, business owner, etc. Wed, 12 May 2010 18:22:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 How to Create a Simple Javascript popup window http://www.brmecham.com/how-to-create-a-simple-javascript-popup-window/ http://www.brmecham.com/how-to-create-a-simple-javascript-popup-window/#comments Wed, 12 May 2010 18:01:42 +0000 Brian Mecham http://www.brmecham.com/?p=120 javascript popup
Sometimes on your website you may want to open some content in a popup window rather than a new page, which allows the visitor to remain on the current page and view the new content.

Click to see an example of how this works.

Here’s how you do this…

Add the following javascript code to the header of your website (somewhere in between the <head> </head> tags)…

<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
<!-- POPUP WINDOW SCRIPT -->
var win=null;
function NewWindow(mypage,myname,w,h,scroll,pos){
if(pos=="random"){LeftPosition=(screen.availWidth)?Math.floor(Math.random()*(screen.availWidth-w)):50;TopPosition=(screen.availHeight)?Math.floor(Math.random()*((screen.availHeight-h)-75)):50;}
if(pos=="center"){LeftPosition=(screen.availWidth)?(screen.availWidth-w)/2:50;TopPosition=(screen.availHeight)?(screen.availHeight-h)/2:50;}
if(pos=="default"){LeftPosition=50;TopPosition=50}
else if((pos!="center" && pos!="random" && pos!="default") || pos==null){LeftPosition=0;TopPosition=20}
settings='width='+w+',height='+h+',top='+TopPosition+',left='+LeftPosition+',scrollbars='+scroll+',location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=no';
win=window.open(mypage,myname,settings);
if(win.focus){win.focus();}}
function CloseNewWin(){if(win!=null && win.open)win.close()}
window.onfocus=CloseNewWin;
<!-- POPUP WINDOW SCRIPT -->
</script>

Now place the following code on your website, like a normal hyperlink but with some extra code. Edit this line according to the link you are wanting to open…

<a href="http://www.yoursite.com/awebpage.php" onClick="NewWindow(this.href,'TitleGoesHere','550','400','yes','center');return false" onFocus="this.blur()">OpenThisPage</a>

That’s it.

]]> http://www.brmecham.com/how-to-create-a-simple-javascript-popup-window/feed/ 0 Install Windows XP from USB Flash Drive http://www.brmecham.com/install-windows-xp-from-usb-flash-drive/ http://www.brmecham.com/install-windows-xp-from-usb-flash-drive/#comments Tue, 04 May 2010 09:52:58 +0000 Brian Mecham http://www.brmecham.com/?p=112 install windows xp from usb flash drive

After spending a lot of time trying to get this process (install Windows XP from USB Flash drive) working I found an easier, quicker, solution (compared to most online tutorials). It’s called WinToFlash.

This tutorial shows you how to install Windows XP from a USB Flash drive. (Seriously, easy!) It would probably also work for Windows 2000, Windows Vista, Windows 7, etc.

Optionally you can follow these nLite tutorials to remove unwanted Windows files before installing Windows:

I just finished doing this on my Asus 1001p netbook, after removing Windows 7 Starter (which consumed over 500MB of the 1Gig of memory at bootup, no programs running!)

I decided to opt for installing Windows XP via a USB Flash drive. I didn’t have an external DVD drive available. After following various complicated tutorials (which never did fully work for me) I found a very simple way to take the resulting Windows install files created by nLite (or copied from your Windows install disc) and create a bootable USB Flash drive: WinToFlash ( http://wintoflash.com ).

With WinToFlash all you need to have is a Folder on your PC containing all the Windows install files. Then you just open WinToFlash, tell it where your Windows install files directory is, then tell it what letter your Flash drive is (i.e. J: ). It does the rest for you. SIMPLE Once it’s done boot from the flash drive on your netbook (or PC you want to install this copy of Windows on).

When I first tried this I was getting BSOD (blue screen of death) errors when Windows setup was starting. (The problem was not with WinToFlash) After doing some research online I decided it might be due to some corrupt files (the XP disc I copied files from was too scratched up)… so I located another disc and went through the nLite process again (was easy because it saved my previous settings)… then did the WinToFlash process again. This time Windows XP installed without a problem from my USB Flash drive! (much easier than the tutorials that wanted me to accomplish this with 3+ programs and never worked)

The best thing about this is:

  • My Windows install was only 270MB (with all Asus 1001p driver integrated and non-essential windows XP stuff removed, thanks to the nLite tutorial)
  • Bootup to XP is fast (less than 30 seconds)
  • Memory usage is at less than 200 MB even after installing a bunch of programs (disabled non-essential startup processes).
  • No CD/DVD drive necessary for installation.
]]> http://www.brmecham.com/install-windows-xp-from-usb-flash-drive/feed/ 0 How to Find the Absolute Path on Your Web Server http://www.brmecham.com/how-to-find-the-absolute-path-on-your-web-server/ http://www.brmecham.com/how-to-find-the-absolute-path-on-your-web-server/#comments Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:06:52 +0000 Brian Mecham http://www.brmecham.com/?p=61 find your web server absolute pathFrom time to time, especially when moving a website from one server to another, I have to find out what the “absolute path” of my website is.  Absolute path pertains to the directory on the server that the website is installed on.

Sometimes when moving a Joomla, WordPress or other website to a different directory or different server you’ll need to change the absolute path for the site to work. In joomla this requires editing the configuration.php file, in WordPress this sometimes requires editing the database or ensuring that you update the settings before moving your files/database over to the new directory/server.

How do I find out what the absolute path is?

The easiest way is to create a file named pathinfo.php and paste only the following code into that file:

<?php
   $path = getcwd();
   echo "Your Absoluthe Path is: ";
   echo $path;
?>

Now, upload pathinfo.php into the root directory of your website and view it in your internet browser ( example: http://www.mysite.com/pathinfo.php )

This will display your absolute path.

]]> http://www.brmecham.com/how-to-find-the-absolute-path-on-your-web-server/feed/ 0 How to remove blank lines in dreamweaver http://www.brmecham.com/how-to-remove-blank-lines-in-dreamweaver/ http://www.brmecham.com/how-to-remove-blank-lines-in-dreamweaver/#comments Wed, 15 Jul 2009 07:25:45 +0000 Brian Mecham http://www.brmecham.com/?p=59 How to remove blank lines in Adobe DreamweaverAs I am creating websites I sometimes come across situations that require a more than basic knowledge and a bit of research to figure out.

Here’s a helpful hint regarding removing blank lines from an html file using dreamweaver, should you ever want to do that without having to manually delete the lines…

Click CTRL + F
Select “Current document” in “Find in” (You can also select the folder if you have multiple files)
Search in “Source code”
Tick “Use regular expression”
Type “[\r\n]{2,}” (without quotes) in “Find”
Type “\n” (without quotes) in “Replace”
Press “Replace All”
  1. Click CTRL + F
  2. Select “Current document” in “Find in” (You can also select the folder if you have multiple files)
  3. Search in “Source code”
  4. Tick “Use regular expression”
  5. Type “[\r\n]{2,}” (without quotes) in “Find”
  6. Type “\n” (without quotes) in “Replace”
  7. Press “Replace All”

That’s it. Have fun.

]]> http://www.brmecham.com/how-to-remove-blank-lines-in-dreamweaver/feed/ 0 I Finally Figured Out How to Accomplish More in a Day! http://www.brmecham.com/i-finally-figured-out-how-to-accomplish-more-in-a-day/ http://www.brmecham.com/i-finally-figured-out-how-to-accomplish-more-in-a-day/#comments Fri, 22 May 2009 04:28:55 +0000 Brian Mecham http://www.brmecham.com/?p=56 The key to doing more during a 24-hour day is DOING LESS!

How?

Here are some tips that have been working for me in my quest to have a more productive day:

  • Stop trying to multi-task.
  • Organize and clean your workspace; get rid of the clutter.
  • Create a list of what you want to accomplish.
  • Focus on one thing at a time and get it done before starting something else.
  • Check your e-mail less often (schedule specific times each day to read and respond to email).
  • Reduce the amount of programs and files that are open on your computer.
  • If you have side hobbies like I do; set apart a time to work on those, but not at the same time you’re trying to get some work done.
  • Take regular periodic brakes and get away from your desk, go outside; Perhaps two 15-minute breaks and a lunch break during your workday.

I realized that if I want to actually get a lot of work done I have to be organized and focused. I’ve accomplished much more this week than past weeks as a result of putting these ideas into practice.

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