Bruceee's Sandpit
Web Design with SiteSpinner
Web Design with SiteSpinner
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Page and file links
When you have a link that is misbehaving, try this:
Hover your mouse over the non-link. The status bar at the bottom of your browser should show you the page or other file that the link points at. For the link to work, you must have a page or file of that exact name in that exact location.
Capitals matter. Links are case-sensitive -- they can work fine on your local disk (your Windows computer is not case-sensitive), but they may not work on your site (if your server is case-sensitive).
You can avoid most of these problems by using page links and selecting from the SiteSpinner drop-down page select list. You can never screw up the spelling that way. But if you are making links some other way, you have to always be watching the exact spelling.
If hovering your mouse over the non-link does not produce an indication on the status bar, the link is seriously defective, and I would just redo it from the beginning.
When you have a link that is misbehaving, try this:
Hover your mouse over the non-link. The status bar at the bottom of your browser should show you the page or other file that the link points at. For the link to work, you must have a page or file of that exact name in that exact location.
Capitals matter. Links are case-sensitive -- they can work fine on your local disk (your Windows computer is not case-sensitive), but they may not work on your site (if your server is case-sensitive).
You can avoid most of these problems by using page links and selecting from the SiteSpinner drop-down page select list. You can never screw up the spelling that way. But if you are making links some other way, you have to always be watching the exact spelling.
If hovering your mouse over the non-link does not produce an indication on the status bar, the link is seriously defective, and I would just redo it from the beginning.
Images
If for any reason, an image is missing from your page, it will display with a red 'x' in the top left corner. Possible reasons for it to be missing (most likely first):
If for any reason, an image is missing from your page, it will display with a red 'x' in the top left corner. Possible reasons for it to be missing (most likely first):
- Although present on your site, the image failed to download
- Your image is present on your site, but has a different name
- You forgot to upload the image to your site
- The image failed to upload to your site
- You did upload the image, but it is in a different folder to where the link in the page thinks it should be
- A file name MyImage.jpg is not the same as Myimage.jpg.
- A jpg file extension is not the same as a jpeg extension.
- A file named My Image.jpg may be stored on your server My%20Image.jpg
Playing Detective
With a little detective work, you can determine the reason why your image is not showing up. Try one or more of the following tests:
With a little detective work, you can determine the reason why your image is not showing up. Try one or more of the following tests:
- Right click where the image should be and select 'Show image' Often the image has not downloaded from your site for a variety of reasons, and this will download it..
- Right click and examine the properties of the image, in particular the URL of the image. If your image is to show, it must exist at the exact URL shown in the property sheet.
- Check your site to see if the image is there in that folder and with that exact file name. As you should have access rights, you can browse the site with SiteSpinner publisher or your FTP program.
- Watch very closely for URL discrepancies compared to what the property sheet says, and where you know the image really is.
- Type the full URL of the image into your browser address bar. You can copy and paste from the image properties sheet. This should display the image in a new window by itself. Test alternate spellings or folder names this way too. If an image does not show under one name, a reasonable guess may get it to show itself under another name. You don't need access rights for this test.
- Relax or disable the settings on your ad blocker. Sometimes ad blockers can take a dislike to some of your images. The common symptom is that some images won't show on your computer but will show on other computers
An exercise
The second of the next pair of identical images is missing. Why? Run through the tests above and see if you can figure it out.
The second of the next pair of identical images is missing. Why? Run through the tests above and see if you can figure it out.
Looking at the image properties, you would have found that the link is looking for a file called PhaleanopisV.jpg in the images folder. There is no image of that name in the images folder. However, there is one called PhalaenopisV.jpg. I have misspelt the image name.
Phantom links
Occasionally, you will find a link that is either blank, leading to your home page or one that leads to nowhere, 'www.'. It also seems very hard to get rid of -- but not if you know the trick.
Occasionally, you will find a link that is either blank, leading to your home page or one that leads to nowhere, 'www.'. It also seems very hard to get rid of -- but not if you know the trick.
Image not missing
Why is this one missing?
Phantom links have these characteristics:
- they look like regular links
- they can cause a whole block of text to be underlined
- when you hover over the link, your browser status bar indicates that it either leads to your home page or to 'www.'
- If you click such a link you will get your home page or a "page not found" error.
- Looking at the code, you will find either a blank link or one that points to "www."
- If you go to the object editor to clear the link, you will find it already clear
- Same for the Quick Editor.
- Try to clear it again, "just in case" -- same result
This is a bug in SiteSpinner V2.50f (and probably earlier versions too). If you are deleting a link with the object editor, your natural instinct is to reset the link type field to -blank-, and to reset the URL field to either blank or 'www.', the usual default. Don't do this -- it will cause a phantom. The Quick Editor is OK if used like this, and does not cause phantoms.
Easy fix
To remove an existing phantom, open the Object Editor > Link tab and uncheck the box 'Enable Link when published'.
Easy fix
To remove an existing phantom, open the Object Editor > Link tab and uncheck the box 'Enable Link when published'.
Broken Links
Suppose you have a link on page1 that points at page2. When you click on that link on page1 it should cause page2 to appear. If it does not do this, the link is said to be broken. You will get a "file not found" error if you click on the link in question.
If you have a broken link there are two usual causes:
If you have a broken link there are two usual causes:
- Page2 does not exist -- you may have deleted, moved or renamed it, or maybe it has never existed
- There is a typo in the link on page1 so that it points at a non-existent "page". Links can be case-sensitive, so "Page2.html" can be a different page to "page2.html"