Bookmark Icon

[Dogfish]

No big deal really, but I just noticed I don't get one of the little bookmark icons for this site. Makes it a little easier to spot in a list of bookmarks.
-Jim

[llamavan]

I'd like that, too ... but I have no clue how to go about it. When Matt comes up for air, maybe he can enlighten me.

Gwen

[timsrv]

That would be cool......a little van icon or something. I too am clueless on how to do that. Tim

[VanSurfer]

Seems that they're called a "Favicon." Google makes me seem smart at times.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Favicon
http://www.thesitewizard.com/archive/favicon.shtml

[llamavan]

AWESOME!!! I'll see what I can do with that. :D

Gwen

[timsrv]

According to the instructions I found on Network Solutions (our host), all that's required is uploading an ico type file 16X16 in size to the root htdocs directory. I found a simple favicon file of a van and uploaded it as per the instructions. I spent a whole lot of time messing around with this and I could not get it to display.

I'm not sure what's wrong. I even deleted cookies and rebooted my PC.........still nothing. I've done all I can think of.......at least for now. Perhaps Gwen or Matt will have better luck. Tim

[timsrv]

LOL, I just checked FireFox and Safari.......both work! Cool little van icon displays!!!

Internet Explorer sucks :no:. I wasted over 2 hrs messing with settings due to IE's lameness. Maybe eventually it will show up on IE as well??? Time will tell I guess. Tim

PS: I'm not partial to that particular favicon, so if anybody has one they like better, post it here and I'll put up whatever gets the popular vote.

[llamavan]

Yeah, if I read the information correctly before (I'm going on memory from ... was it yesterday or ? :dizzy:), anyway, IE won't show it, at least not without a bunch of extra hoop-jumping.

We may not be able to have a full van for the favicon. I'd like it to be a full, recognizable Van if possible, but 16x16 (even 32x32 reduced) isn't much to work with. What's up there now could be interpreted as just about anything, even a VW bug. But ... we have one, and that alone is COOL. :thmbup: I don't have to go through the uploading learning curve, and that's even cooler! :wnk: :yes:

Thanks, Tim!

Gwen

[Dogfish]

It works for me as well... thanks everyone.

As far as something easily identifiable goes, consider the cargo van from the site logo... the one with "TVP" on it.

Or perhaps since the front end is most identifiable a stylized front end only drawing. From the front wheel to the bumper... top to bottom or only include half a wheel. One drawn line for the body shape however... and a circle or semicircle to represent the tire...

Simple... elegant... achievable. Copyrightable even.

-Jim

[Dogfish]

Here is something I did to clarify the concept.

132

133

A 32 and a 16 square

-Jim

[timsrv]

Yeah,

I actually shrunk my avatar 1st, but at 16x16 you couldn't tell what it was. Then I drew "TVT" one pixel at a time, but at 16x16 that was lame too. There are the animated ones that keep changing letters (those are kind of cool) but they take up more room and are more work. What I read recommended 1 kb or less file size and even the little thing I put up there was 1.3 kb.

For something so simple and petty it took a whole lot of time and won't even work for IE users......WTF?. I got pretty familiar with the root htdocs directory of the hosting site though, so I'm not quite as intimidated by messing around there anymore (but I'm not sure if that's a good thing :cnfsd:).

Of course now that I know what to do, putting something different up would be easy. I'm not going to mess with coding though, so IE users would still be left out. FWIW, if IE users don't want to look at the microsoft icon, they can edit their favorites menue to "change icon", then they can put up whatever custom thing they want. It's easy to do, but it will only display on their computer. Tim

[Dogfish]

Well... you are welcome to use the one(s) I made if you like them. I think someone more talented could do better, though.

-Jim

[timsrv]

Well it looks like IE is just a little on the "slow side" I just tried it and I see the icon is now displaying..........even in my bookmarks. Did this just happen by itself or did somebody give it some help? Tim

[llamavan]

Not me.

Gwen

[Dogfish]

This is only for Firefox users...

I just installed Favicon Picker 3 (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7849/).

Works great. It lets you add favicons to bookmarks that don't have any... or replace ones that you don't like. It should help to organize things.

Someday I will look at all the add-ons that are available.
-Jim

[Omicronmike]

I am one of those people still using an ancient AOL email account and the AOL browser which uses the IE engine. The root cause for many apparent problems with IE and AOL is how slow it is to update its caching to reflect changes posted on websites. It can take a day or two. I suspect something like this caused IE to not show the favicon and why it eventually showed up later.

[trestlehed]

Omicronmike wrote:

I am one of those people still using an ancient AOL email account and the AOL browser which uses the IE engine.

Good God man! You must have the patience of Job!
I ditched AOL sometime around 1996 and swore never to go back.
I also ditched Microsoft PCs just over a year ago and swear never to go back. :no:

Someone please send this poor soul an iMac with Firefox for Christmas! :)>:

[Omicronmike]

I guess you would be shocked to know that I own a small computer business that has been an Apple authorized service center since 1974 which even predates my first 1984 TV. I have been using Apples since the Apple II. Yes, I absolutely appreciate many things that are superior about the Mac today. I had done lots of traveling all over the world, much of it prior to having wi-fi everywhere and the convenience of having email and the address book on the aol servers, not my local computer, was a big advantage. Plus, I get stuck in my ways, like with my faithful old TV. When I have updated my company website, I have noticed that IE and AOL are the last to refresh their caching system to reflect changes, but that does not matter for email. My email address must be over 15 years old now and old timers do struggle with changes like this!

[trestlehed]

Yep, my email address is almost 15 years old as well... with msn even!
If it works and is convenient, why change it?

[glohworm]

I use Opera as my browser of choice and the little favicon showed up when I bookmarked the site. However, with Opera and, I believe Google Chrome, my homepage has thumbnail miniature pages of my favorite sites. Did I say this correctly?

Gary

[Dogfish]

This is only for Firefox users...

...I just installed Favicon Picker 3 (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7849/).

Works great...


Since I plugged this Firefox add-on here, I thought I should update this thread. It may be leaning toward off-topic, though.

Favicon Picker 3 (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7849/) does work great, and I have added icons for my fave's that didn't have any and replaced one's that I didn't care for. However, I recently installed Firefox 4. Favicon Picker 3 (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7849/) does not work with F4 and the developer finny08 will not release an updated version.
His reasons for not updating are here: Meet finny08 (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/favicon-picker-3/developers)

I like F4 enough that I do not want to reinstall an older version. I'll have to wait until someone releases a similar add-on.

-Jim

[cablemirc]

I own a small computer business that has been an Apple authorized service center since 1974...


hate to be a troll on my first post ever, but Apple Computer wasnt even established until April 1, 1976. not that anyone probably cared, i just happen to be an Apple geek (who also owned an Apple IIe).. lol.

love the favicon, btw. :), and great little site here. joined today, learned alot already... (fusible links anyone? lol).

[Omicronmike]

You are correct and my memory has been fuzzy. More accurately, I have been servicing Apple products since the Apple II+ including such memoriable products as the Apple /// (I still have a couple working ones), the short lived Lisa and today's beautiful, but very difficult to open products, especially when you cannot even see those itty bitty screws!

[cablemirc]

You are correct and my memory has been fuzzy. More accurately, I have been servicing Apple products since the Apple II+ including such memoriable products as the Apple /// (I still have a couple working ones), the short lived Lisa and today's beautiful, but very difficult to open products, especially when you cannot even see those itty bitty screws!


lol. i honestly didnt expect a reply, but thats cool, but based on the conversation, i guess you would have the same email still... lol. forums dont seem to active. i think i'll post something in off topic and continue the conversation there.