Latest newsletter - ...updates from pavingexpert.com

[Tony McC]

It seems that some of you on the mailing list have not received the latest newsletter sent out earlier this week, and along with info on updates to the main site, there is a range of product trials with which I need help, including manhole covers, sett-jointing mortar and even more GapFast spacers.

For anyone who has not seen it, there's a PDF version available here

[Carberry]

Didn't even know you had a mailing list. Just subscribed to it.

[Dave_L]

Where does one sign up to the newsletter?

[msh paving]

on the sign up page, where do you think

MSH

[Bob_A]

Where does one sign up to the newsletter?

It's not just me then. I don't know how either.
I'd imagine it should be on this page but I can't see the button
http://www.pavingexpert.com/newsletter_01.htm

[Carberry]

Where does one sign up to the newsletter?

It's not just me then. I don't know how either.
I'd imagine it should be on this page but I can't see the button
http://www.pavingexpert.com/newsletter_01.htm

It is that page, Fill in your details and press subscribe - the big orange button at the bottom.

[Bob_A]

I found the reason why, I'm using Internet Explorer8 and not all of the page shows
It's ok when I use Firefox.

TonyMcC are you aware of this?

[Tony McC]

It seems to work some of the time with Interweb Exploder but I'm not sufficiently skilled with html and java-wotsit to know why. I have had quite a few sign-ups from IE8, so unless it's summat to do with cookies, security settings or colour of socks, I've no real clue why it does what it doesn't.

If anyone wants to have a look at the MailChimp code and tell me why, I'm more than happy to make any amendments.

[rab1]

Time for Giles to use that degree.

[enigmaenigma]

Might be wrong, but my tuppence on what it could be...no doubt Giles can educate me where my logic falls apart :p

It’s not JavaScript per se, because even with it disabled in Firefox you still get the form & button…it’s just the drop down script for filling in the fields that’s missing.

I personally think it’s the mail chimp CSS file and this part in particular:

.box {
background-color: #defda6;
font-family: Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 16px;
font-style: normal;
font-weight: bold;

It’s overwriting the other CSS elements beneath it and creating a great big green rectangle with orange border in IE8.

I quickly ran that CSS file thru the online CSS validation service and other than the obvious alerts about non standard stuff like Moz kit stuff, it seems to suggest or hint at it being CSS3

Long story short, CSS3 can support overlaying elements & images -think of a spade, wheelbarrow and maul – CSS3 will allow these to be listed alongside each other in the same bit of the CSS file and display / not be overwritten by the first item.

And no prizes for guessing what I’m going to say next most versions of IE don’t support CSS version 3…I’m unsure if even the latest version of IE supports it.

What’s that old saying about Microsoft not playing well with others.

And if you are still keeping up at the back :p

The way of getting round this was creating separate elements for each item, and then adding them as div tags in the HTML so there would be div=wheelbarrow, div=maul and div=spade in the HTML and corresponding info about these items within the CSS sheet.


Whereas your CSS has the elements marked .box { in the CSS file for the green n orange bordered box there is no corresponding div in the HTML and in the CSS no parameters in regards size for box…yes I appreciate below that there’s sizes such as 400px but this isn’t affecting the box element itself.

Personally, and if it was me, I would look at getting a blank / empty HTML page and messing with the CSS and testing in IE…far to much code / extra stuff in the live page to distract from what you need to look at.

[msh paving]

^^Just as i thought, was just waiting for someone to post it
personally i use google chrome,can't fault it MSH

[enigmaenigma]

^^Just as i thought, was just waiting for someone to post it
personally i use google chrome,can't fault it MSH

I like your adapted version :p

Problem: Internet Explorer is poo

Solution: use a better browser

EDIT:

I have just removed every bit of CSS from under this part of the CSS file:

.box {
background-color: #defda6;
font-family: Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 16px;
font-style: normal;
font-weight: bold;

And the form now displays correctly in IE8.


In fact in both IE8, and Firefox with Javascript disabled, the drop down options are there as well.

It can’t be that all that extra CSS was defunct / redundant?

You can quickly try it by downloading the webpage, opening up the folder with the supporting files that comes with it, and then opening up the CSS file marked “style_mailchimp� with notepad…a quick hatchet job on everything below / after the CSS quoted above, press save and then check / open your saved webpage to see the changes.

[rab1]

i agree ???

[Tony McC]

Chuffing hell!

I think that .box class is summat I added to make the thing look pretty. I'm fairly certain that the mc_embed id selector is something supplied by them as I'm not capable of writing code like that.

If I get time over the weekend, I'll play around and see what can be done. However, I may have already set meself up for more problems - see my other post this morning!

[enigmaenigma]

Testing so far, in regards the “style_mailchimp.CSS� file edited / altered:


• When I remove / edit the CSS file so everything beneath .box { blah, blah CSS info }has been removed…it seems to display / work in both Firefox and IE8, and has the border / background colours, along with drop down options.

This makes me think that the main info for the form that I deleted from the CSS file is contained in the HTML code, which after an admittedly brief look it does seem to be in the HTML code…it must be somewhere, or else how is it appearing on the webpage

• When I remove the .box { blah, blah CSS info } that you added to make it noticeable / place a neat & tidy border, so that the extra you added isn’t there and just all the code you think is fluent gibberish it works without borders & colours in Firefox but nothing in IE nadir and nowt.


This starts to convince me even more that the code must be duplicated in the CSS file and the HTML code of the webpage.

With the .box info present IE can display an oversized box & border but no form…once the .box bit has gone it enables you to see how the duplication bit of the code gets IE’s knickers in a twist.

Whereas Firefox isn’t worried about the duplication and can overlay the duplicate code to create / render the form.


• The Acid test, delete, remove or re-label the “style_mailchimp.CSS� so it cant be detected and no part of it can be used

The form renders with drop down boxes but without borders in both IE and Firefox…albeit a bit scruffy looking and squashed


It looks as though the bulk of the code for the form is in the HTML and whilst the CSS file adds a bit in regards formatting etc, its interfering with it rendering in IE...the extra / duplicate code by it being in the CSS file & HTML code creates a conflict in IE

I suppose you have a couple of options really?

Dispense with the CSS file and start looking at where that info is contained in the HTML code…so you can start altering / fine tuning it in relation to colours / borders and layout etc.


Or look at taking the info from the HTML code and creating a functioning CSS file, to replace the existing “style_mailchimp.CSS� file that you have.

In the meantime, it might be worth testing the rough & ready options that work above, so you can confirm that these edits / alterations don’t just look the part but work as well…I did do I really rough test after removing all but the .box info last night, so you could look for me signing up in IE8 with a bogus email hehe :p