April
2006
Tidbits
- Is this website up to date? Find out!
- Grab colors from anywhere on your desktop (Photoshop)
- Alertbox: current issues in web usability (for webmeisters)
- Adieu
Is this website up to date? Find out!
If you're using good web etiquette, you're probably posting an "updated" date on your web pages. This lets visitors know if the information you're providing is current or might need updating. Some sites, alas, don't provide this information, so it can be difficult to tell if you're viewing correct info or not.
Here's a little trick you can use to find out when a web site was last touched.
When you have a questionable page open in your browser, simply enter: javascript:alert(document.lastModified)
in the address bar. A small dialog box will open to display the date and time
the page was last updated.
NOTE: This little trick seems to work only with html (.htm or .html) pages. If you're viewing an asp (.asp) page, the updated date will remain a mystery...
Grab colors from anywhere on your desktop
If you use Photoshop you should be familiar with the eyedropper tool, which allows you to sample and match colors within that application. I often see colors on web sites that I would like to sample, but that would require me to do a screen shot of the site and save it as an image so I could view it in Photoshop and use the eyedropper tool to snatch the color info. Not anymore!
I came across a little tidbit that explained how to enable your eyedropper tool to work outside of Photoshop, so you can sample colors from anywhere on your desktop. Here's how easy it is:
- In Photoshop, open an image to which you want to apply a color or simply create a new image with nothing in it.
- Select the eyedropper tool from your palette.
- Click and hold your mouse button down.
- Move your cursor to the color you want to sample in any application open on your computer.
- Let go of your mouse button and the color will be sampled in Photoshop.
That's it! Too easy to believe, but very cool.
Alertbox: current issues in web usability (for webmeisters)
Jakob Nielsen's articles on web usability are well-known, especially his tips on Writing for the Web. His articles are collected at his site, Alertbox, and include great topics such as Usability 101, Top ten mistakes of Web design, Weblog Usability, and more. If you're the webmeister for your library, you can learn a lot from this site.
If you don't want to have to remember to check for new articles, you can sign up to have new ones emailed to you automatically. They usually come out once or twice a month, so you shouldn't be bombarded with more than you can handle.
Take a look and see what you think!
Adieu
Farewell until next time from the library system where all the computers are fast, all the books are worth reading, and all the librarians are above average!
This issue of Tidbits was written by Beth Carpenter, Web Services Manager for the Outagamie Waupaca Library System. Please send any comments or questions about this issue to Beth.
Supporting public libraries in Outagamie and Waupaca counties