Slide.com

Throughout my blog, i’ve added in slide presentations which i’ve been able to edit the colour and size of to fit in nicely with the presentation of my blog. I used rocky slideshow but I found even though I had the option to make slideshows, http://www.slide.com gives better choices. I had to register to make an account, upload images and copy the code once I saved my presentation

sidebar widgets

I’ve tried and tested the available widgets I can use in my sidebar. I tried different options to see the best options. At one point I added and configured all the sidebar widgets available! But I thought my sidebar looked to busy. So I decided to keep the widgets I think are jut right for my blog. I have an option to the amount of ‘text boxes’ which are basically empty text boxes for me to add coding. This sounds good but I’m still limited to what I can add. Prior to the sidear widgets I have got now, I had sonific songspot- a widget that plays songs.

Other sidebar widgets I included but i then decided to remove are:
• Meta (admin area login)
• RSS1 feed (additional option to add more feeds)

Things I added are:

• Drop down list for my categories and archive (only newly introduced)
• Box.net- a widget to upload files and share them easily (had to register and add code)
• Top clicks ( Didn’t need to configure)
• My stats ( Didn’t need to configure)
• Tag cloud (similar to zoom cloud, I selected various display options)

Video problems

In my work experience page, I’ve added some different file formats just to test what will and will not work. I’m having one problem which I haven’t been able to fix which is displaying a flash video I made on the site. It baffles me that if I convert videos to suit box.net it will work, but I can’t play the video in my blog. The video I wanted to upload is what I made in my first year at university which is a .swf file. I’ve uploaded the file in box.net for you to download so you can watch it once downloaded.

Video File Conversion

I wanted to upload my video work which would make it easier for you quickly view without having to go onto the relevant page. I find box.net very handy as the files are instantly ready to be seen or heard.

Videos I have made have mainly been in .mov formats and box.net doesn’t play the video unless you download it onto your computer or it’s converted to the right file.

I then converted the file from .mov to .flv format in adobe premiere. Having converted the file type, I then uploaded the video again and this time it worked. One of the video’s I have done is called FLS.flv. The video once played is very small, but that’s because I made the size of the player small to fit in the side bar menu. Take a look at files for yourself.

I even uploaded a word document, and if you click download, you can save it on to your desktop.

It’s a good feature.

Updates from wordpress

Since I’ve had this blog, the options I had were very limited in terms of not having the option to add any additional plugins (can only use the limited choice wordpress provides) and with widgets. It’s only been since March I created this blog and within the time I’ve had it, I’ve began to notice small changes/improvements to wordpress. For example- Box.net wasn’t available for me to install, neither was the simple option of a drop down list for my category list and achieve. As well as this, I tried to install zoom cloud but wordpress would simply reject the code. Now wordpress has given the option to add ‘Tag cloud’ (same as zoom cloud) which is a good sign…
Anything is an improvement from before!!

box.net file sharing

I added a cool widget called box.net. I think wordpress administrators have begun to listen to people on wordpress.com and are understanding the limitations we had!! I’m saying this because I’ve noticed a couple of new features which I can configure and add to my blog..And I’m taking advantage of these features..
Boxfile- in my sidebar menu I made an acount with box.net, uploaded files I want to show and once I registered, box.net generated coding which I copied and pasted into my text box in admin.

Take a look at the songs, images and even word document I’ve uploaded.. I’m happy with this handy tool and if you want any of them, jut click and share!

I just added a screen print of what the process is like just to help you understand more

Theme alignment2 & CSS coding

Since I noticed the reason why my theme alignment was coming out of place, I attempted to alter the CSS styling sheet to see if any improvement was made. I have an option in my presentation page in my admin aea to d this. But I couldn’t see a difference. Also to change the layout of the theme to a more advanced way of editing, I would have to upgrade- basically pay some money to enable me to change any code.

Strangely enough, I’ve begun to notice that depending on which browser you use to view my site, it can make a difference. On mozilla firefox my blog seems to appear fine, but in internet explorer, sometimes the theme is out of line and other times it isn’t.

So maybe after all it isn’t my RSS feed buttons- it can be where you are viewing the site from.

Theme alignment

Well i’ve been researching why my theme hasn’t been in line, and I discovered that my feed buttons are placed slightly outside the sidebar menu. This forces the alignment of the body of text to be shifted to the left which is why my theme looks as it does. When I removed the RSS feed buttons, the alignment of the theme appeared fine- how it is supposed to be.

I think the RSS Feeds are a handy and useful widget to have and I want to keep it.

I’m thinking of ways to change the position of the feed button without having to chage my theme. I have an option of changing my CSS coding- but again, I’m limited to what I can do

My theme

I’ve noticed since i’ve fixed my feed button, my actual alignment on the theme i have got has changed. The theme isn’t in line as shown below, i have tried to alter the presentation in my ‘presentation’ option in my wordpress account, but i can’t seem to change anything. This version of wordpress has restrictions on what I can and cannot do. I’m looking and researching whether i can altder the theme presentation.