That Net Site

I have had quite a few people download the 7-zip icons I have created and with that a few comments to say there are missing archives and that it does not work for the 9.x series of 7-zip.

So I have now updated the zip file with new archive formats and I have tested this on Vista (32-bit and 64-bit) and Windows7 (32-bit and 64-bit) with 7-zip 9.15.  I have now also tested the same files on Windows XP Pro 32-bit and it works just the same – so what are you waiting for?  Update your 7-zip icons now

Here is an image showing all the current archives in the set, if I am still missing some let me know and I will eventually do a version 4

7-Zip Icons version 3

Download the Icons (4.58MB), please read the README included in the archive to install properly.

If you read my earlier post about Adobe killing of Homesite you may have thought so what will I (and others) use now.  I am very happy to say and recommend a great product called TopStyle.  Initially developed by Nick Bradbury of whom was the original developer of Homesite, TopStyle is now being further developed by Stefan van As.

As a long time user of TopStyle Lite that was included with some Homesite installs I can happily say that the latest version, TopStyle 4, is a remarkable product.  Originally designed to be for css documents, Topstyle 4 has now been expanded to cover most web code formats from html, xhtml, php, asp and so many more.

Stefan also provides great support via his newsgroups and the community in general is happy to pitch in and help others out.  The price for TopStyle is also great at only $79.95 for a new licence and only $29.95 for TopStyle 3 users.  When you compare it to other editors available on the market the price is very affordable… but the best thing about TopStyle is that you can expand on it yourself – add your own toolbars, common bits of code and a host of other user editable features – many of which I am still finding as I use it.

I am so impressed by TopStyle 4 I looked for a ‘Made with TopStyle’ badge – I did not find one so here is a set I have made up that hopefully Stefan can use and others will grab and support Stefan and his continued development of TopStyle.

Oh the link to TopStyle…  http://www.topstyle4.com/

Other sizes can be made on request

I am sure many out there that develop web sites have had the annoying need to keep tweaking styles and code for Internet Explorer 6 (ie6), I know I have and enough is enough.

There has to be a time where web developers must make a stand and say no more.  For me this is now, I feel people have had more than enough time to update to a better browser and for those that still use ie6 (or less) then they need to be told to update.

My reasons are simple, I have better things to do with my time than to keep trying to tweak web sites to suit a smaller group that continue to choose not to update their web browser.  There are many other obviouse reasons that if your nodding your heading you are already aware of, if not then go and read up on why by doing a Google search for ie6 hacks…

So how do we do this, it is simple really we add a message for ie6 users only to the top of your web page, something like this;

<!--[if lte IE 6]>
   <div class="ie6message"><img src="images/noie6.png" width="577" height="109"
alt="EEK! you're still using Internet Explorer 6!" /><br />
   <span class="ie6text">We are sorry but we do not support Internet Explorer 6 (IE6).<br />
   Please update to a newer web browser and start experiencing what the internet can really
show you.</span><br />
   <span class="ie6text">Please download, install and use one of the following browsers;<br />
   <ul><li><a href="http://www.google.com/chrome/" target="_blank">Google Chrome</a> (<strong>recommended</strong>)</li>
<li><a href="http://en-gb.www.mozilla.com/en-GB/" target="_blank">
Firefox 3.x</a></li>
   <li><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/ie7/"
target="_blank">Internet Explorer 7</a></li>
   <li><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx"
target="_blank">Internet Explorer 8</a></li>
   <li><a href="http://www.apple.com/safari/" target="_blank">Safari</a></li>
   <li><a href="http://www.opera.com/" target="_blank">Opera 9</a></li>
</ul></span></div>
<![endif]-->

Of course you will need to use your own noie6 image file or you can download this one

You will need to add some css styling for this message to your style sheet, here is what I have used (and this is simply for ie6)

.ie6message {
font:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
width:600px;
text-align: center;
margin:20px auto;
padding:12px;
background-color:#FFF;
border: 10px solid gray;
color:black;
}

.ie6message a {
color:blue;
}

span.ie6text {
text-align:left;
font-size: 18px;
}

span.ie6text ul {
margin-left: 15px;
}

span.ie6text li {
list-style: disc inside none;
}

The result is something like this;

We are sorry but we do not support Internet Explorer 6 (IE6).
Please update to a newer web browser and start experiencing what the internet can really show you.
Please download, install and use one of the following browsers;

• Google Chrome recommended
• Firefox 3.x
• Internet Explorer 7
• Internet Explorer 8
• Safari 4
• Opera 9

The more people do this and make it clear that ie6 is no longer a supported web browser the more people will move away from it.  If we keep creating ie6 specific style sheets and other code just so ie6 users can browse the web then we will never be rid of it.

So help me and many other web developers and add the code above to your web page and let every ie6 user know it is time they updated to a newer web browser.

Adobe kills off Homesite

It is sad news, my beloved XHTML editor is now dead no thanks to Adobe with them announcing the death of Homesite as of the 26th May 2009.  They acquired Homesite from Macromedia (2003) and simply let it die, without even a hint of updating it or letting anyone know it would be abandoned since they took it over.

While other editors exist and will have to take the place of Homesite, at this stage there os no product (yet) that is as good as Homesite.   Adobe have simply said use Dreamweaver, but if I wanted to use Dreamweaver I would already be doing that.  The benefit Homesite has over Dreamweaver is that Homesite is light weight and very customisable – which is very different to Dreamweaver which is well over priced (as are all Adobe products) and is over bloated with extensions and tools and add-ons that for the most part are not needed.

I have made a post in their forums to ask why and also to see if they could release the software as open source, I will not hold my breath on that one as Adobe have never been on the side of goodwill intentions… Maybe (yer right) Adobe might release the final version (5.5) as a free download – but the downloads still show Homesite trial only as a download.

I find it very dissappointing in that it has taken them several years since taking over Macromedia to announce Homesites death, I will assume that many still bought it whilst also realising that number would have reduced over time since no updates or word on updates were provided by Adobe at any time.  There forums for Homesite (http://forums.adobe.com/community/homesite) while little used were there for some communication between users, but Adobe themselves never responded to any requests for where Homesite was going.

It is a sad day that this has happened and while it may not affect many I am sure there are some like me that had a faint hope that Adobe would release an updated version.. alas that is not to be

I have been a long time Thunderbird user and while it still works fine I like the new Outlook 2007 interface and it plays nicer with Windows Live accounts

So I set out on a path to work out how to get mail from TB to Outlook… and boy was it a task and a half… not satisfied I played around with it all a bit more and use the following method that keeps all the mail fully intact without any date changes etc

I have Vista, so this applies to Vista users – I have not tested this method on XP or Windows 7 but can see no reason why it would not work with them as well.  Note use Windows Mail and NOT Windows Live Mail for this process.

1. OK 1st up you will need the Import/Export add-on for Thunderbird (see: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/2474)

2. Once you have that you will want to export any mail you wish to move to Outlook into a folder for each folder or mailbox you have in Thunderbird… depending on how long you have been using TB this may take a while.  You need to export them in EML format.

3. Once the exporting is done you will need to go to where you exported them and then you will find that within each folder is a folder called messages.  This Messages folder will contain all the EML files.  Rename that Messages folder to the name you want it to be (usually the same as the folder above it but without the numbers etc.

4.  Now copy that folder with the EML files to your Windows Mail Profile folder, something like C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Mail\Local Folders.

5. Open up Windows Mail, and it should now find each folder and message within it, it may take a little while so give it time….  be patient, there is no bar to watch it happen but it is happening so give it time… wait until it finishes finding them.  If you want to import them as all Read you can tell Windows Mail to mark them as read under the EDIT menu for Windows Mail.

6. Then go to Outlook (2007 is what I have and use) and set up an initial email account – any account just make it a POP account as that is what worked best for me – if you do not have one get a temp Hotmail one and set it up for POP and not HTTP.

7. Now within Outlook select FILE from the menu and select Import and Export…  From the pop up window select Import Mail and Addresses.  Select Next and untick Import Address book and select the Outlook/Windows Mail option from the above list.  Then select Finish and woot all your mail you put in that folder now imports into your inbox (or the folder names you used) of your Outlook account.

8. Now move that mail wherever you want it within Outlook – even to another account if you want.

9. Ok now for the next trick we want to delete the mail we just imported, you cannot just delete it via explorer (I tried), reopen Windows Mail (if it is not open already) and select the first message you want deleted and use CTRL D – hold it down and it will quickly delete all the mail in that list – do not use your DELETE key as you will (not sure why) get errors.

10.  Close Windows mail and your now ready to use Outlook – sweet

Seems long winded but it is simple to follow once you have done it a few times and it keeps all your mail, attachments and dates all correctly.

Happy mailing all