AJAX and Accessibility

I’m working on a project that requires the use of some javascript for a simple survey.  The rub is that the pages all need to be accessible.  I’ve not yet done any work with any AJAX and accessibility but found a few links to articles to get me started.

AJAX and Screenreaders: When Can it Work?
Accessibility of AJAX Applications
AJAX and AccessibilityContinue reading “AJAX and Accessibility”

Accessing A Subversion Repository Via an SSH Tunnel from Windows XP with Interactive Password Login

First off, I didn’t want to simply forward port 22 on my firewall to my local machine as I didn’t want to completely expose it to the net.  I have a number of hardened Internet servers that are completely exposed (for ssh connections, that is) and sufficiently locked down that I felt comfortable configuring my network to only allow ssh connections from a specific server.  What I did there was specify firewall rules to only allow connections on port 22 → Continue reading “Accessing A Subversion Repository Via an SSH Tunnel from Windows XP with Interactive Password Login”

Goal Oriented Design and Its Impact on Your Site’s Effectiveness

Take a 5 second look at your website, and then close your eyes.

What were the top three things that you noticed? If those top three things are not related to the top three things directly related to helping your business turn visitors into customers, your site isn’t implementing Goal Oriented Design principals.

Goal Oriented Design is a layout philosophy that prominently features the information and/or activities on your site that are most relevant to bringing in new business. Continue reading “Goal Oriented Design and Its Impact on Your Site’s Effectiveness”

Chaging the Default Browser under Windows XP for IE and Firefox

There are times when you might want to change your default browser; especially if you are a developer and want to make sure that something works as it should with both IE and Firefox.

To change your default browser:

  • Go to: Start/Control Panels/Add or Remove Programs
  • Click on "Set Program Access and Defaults", the last button in the left-hand nav
  • Click on the "Custom" set of options
  • You will see an expanded list of items, Web Browser, E-mail Program, etc.
Continue reading “Chaging the Default Browser under Windows XP for IE and Firefox”

getURL() in a Projector Firefox Bug and Solution

If you have ever tried to do a simple getURL() command in Flash from an .exe projector you’ll notice that it fails when Firefox is your default browser.

Following is the solution to the problem in both AS 2.0 and AS 3.0

Here’s the code for the fix in AS 2.0:

// code on a keyframe on the main timeline

var swfUrl:String = _root._url;
var lastSlashIndex:Number = swfUrl.lastIndexOf("/");
var pipeIndex:Number = swfUrl.indexOf("|");
var baseUrl:String;
if (pipeIndex >= 0)
{
baseUrl
Continue reading “getURL() in a Projector Firefox Bug and Solution”

How to Run Firefox 2 and 3 at the Same Time

Here’s a quick how to on running Firefox 2 and 3 at the same time under Windows

  1. Right click the shortcut of the Firefox 2, click "Properties". Add "-profilemanager" at the end of the shortcut path. Click OK. Then run this shortcut to launch Firefox Profile Manager.
  2. Create a new profile, name it "firefox3". And uncheck the "Don’t ask at startup"
  3. Go to Properties of the Firefox 2 shortcut again, remove the "-profilemanager" and add "-p default" at the end
Continue reading “How to Run Firefox 2 and 3 at the Same Time”

VB6 Code for Openning an External File

The following VB6 code will open an external file with it’s associated application.  This assumes that there is an application on the system that is already associated with a specific executable.
Under your General Declarations:

‘ Runs an external file/launches it’s associated app
Private Declare Function ShellExecute Lib "shell32.dll" Alias "ShellExecuteA" (ByVal hWnd As Long, ByVal lpOperation As String, ByVal lpFile As String, ByVal lpParameters As String, ByVal lpDirectory As String, ByVal nShowCmd As Long) As Long

On whatever Form/Button/Event→ Continue reading “VB6 Code for Openning an External File”