Check it out if you’re interested and leave me comments with suggestions. They’d be much appreciated.

Finding Images Without Alt Tags

I did some internet sleuthing and found the following code to search for images without ALT tags:

<img((?:(?!alt)[^<>])*)>

What it does is search for “<img”, and then the next “>” that occurs, hopefully the end of your image tag. it then checks for the phrase “alt” anywhere in there to find an alt tag. The downside, is that if you’re image HTML looks like this:

<img src=”malt.jpg” />

Dreamweaver won’t pick up on it. That’s something I’ll look into if I revise the code, but I wasn’t working on a beer website so I didn’t think it was going to be a problem.

Auto-Generating ALT Tags

Because it’s impossible to give an accurate description of each of the 400 images without consuming a lot of time, what we’re going to do is base the ALT tag on the file name.

Here is the FIND field:
<img src=”(.*?)(.gif|.jpg|.jpeg|.png|.GIF|.JPG|.JPEG|.PNG)((?:(?!alt)[^<>])*)>

Here is the REPLACE WITH field:
<img src=”$1$2″ alt=”$1$3>

What’s happening here? You’ll seethat we’re checking for the existence of the “alt” tag once again, but we’re also breaking down the image tag down. Each section to be broken down is within parentheses. The first chunk is the image’s source, then the image’s extension and then the last chunk before the end (that doesn’t contain an alt tag). For example:

<img src=”myDogShelby.jpg” border=”0″ height=”300″ />
becomes
<img src=”||||PART 1: myDogShelby||||PART 2: .jpg||||PART 3: border=”0″ height=”300″ /||||>

Then what we’re doing is reconstructing the image link as follows:

<img src=”myDogShelby.jpg” alt=”myDogShelby”  border=”0″ height=”300″ />

Simple? I thought so.

Finishing Touches

What happens when using this technique is that you’re also throwing the path into the ALT tag:

<img src=”images/shelby.jpg” />
becomes
<img src=”images/shelby.jpg” alt=”images/shelby.jpg” />

This is an easy fix, simply do a global search and replace. Replace:

alt=”images/
with
alt=”

Easy peasy, japaneasy. This is pretty straight-forward, hope that helps and saves you oodles of time.

RB  What is your job in the industry?

I work as a Web Developer/Designer for an ad agency in Canada’s capital. I also do freelance.

RB  How long have you been in your current role?

I’ve been doing freelance for over 5 years and have been with the ad agency for almost 2 years.

RB  How has the credit crunch affected your profession?

The credit crunch doesn’t seem to have impacted the work we’re receiving at the agency. The pipeline of work seems about the same as last year at about this time. I’ve spoken with some other freelancers and they were looking to move to more full-time positions because “recession” is a pretty big word when you depend on contracts to pay your rent.

RB  Has there been a noticeable difference in business compared to last year?

The freelance work has been a tad slower, not sure if I can actually attribute that to the credit crunch at all. Work at the ad agency doesn’t seem to have changed at all.

Thanks for the quick questions, Rob.

LC Is this what you wanted to be “when you grew up”? If not, how old where you when you decided to pursue this career?

When I was younger, my career selections for what I wanted to be when I grew up were based on some iffier motives such as salary instead of better motives, such as actually enjoying what it is that I wanted to do. I was 17 when I came to the decision that I wanted to be a Graphic Designer.

LC What did you do before you were into graphic design (hobbies/interests/jobs)?

I did a lot of work on my computer in my spare time. I designed websites, did 3D modelling and put together graphics. Didn’t dabble all that much in competitive sports, but played them quite a bit casually. Previous to jumping into the Graphic Design field, I was a camp counsellor; it certainly teaches you a lot about interpersonal skills. If you can communicate with children, irrational clients aren’t that much far off.

LC What steps did you go through to get where you are today?  (schooling, grasped opportunities etc..)

I’ve gotten to where I’m at now by applying myself when in the Graphic Design program at our local college. Applying myself goes above and beyond meeting the assignment’s basic requirements, but instead, making an effort to do the best you can. I surrounded myself with people who were ready to criticize my work, and that made improved me and that specific project. Maintaining deadlines with clients, pumping out good work and establishing strong client relationships are essential to excelling in the field of Graphic Design. All of these build your reputation. In the service industry, this is crucial.

LC  Did you work for other people before you owned your own design company?  If so, for how long?

I do a lot of freelance and have worked at an full-service advertising agency. Technically, I’m always working for someone. I’ve been doing freelance for approximately 4 years and have been working in an ad agency environment for one and a half.

LC  Have you always been an artist of sorts?

Always. But it wasn’t until I was older that I decided that this core talent could be applied to my career focus.

LC  Did you have mentors that helped you get where you are today?  If so, do they still help you?

Yes on both accounts. I have many strong mentors in my life that help me develop my talent, get me out of some jams and give me sound business and career advice. I would not be where I am right now without them and I certainly won’t be where I will be in 5 years without them.

LC  What does you current job entail ( a day at the office)?  How many hours a day/week do you work on average?

I work 40 hours a week at an advertising agency, and approximately, 20 additional hours freelance. The projects I work on are different, but similar, but I do about the same at both. That would include: website design, web development, electronic production (movies, web banners), Flash, etc. The graphic design program where I studied gave us a good taste of a variety of fields including illustration and print. It was my preference to take the more web-oriented route because it has always been my passion.

LC Do you love what you are doing  and why?

Absolutely. It was a hobby to start off with and I certainly can’t refuse to be paid for something I enjoy. I love what I’m doing because the projects are always different, every day, there’s an opportunity to expand your skillset, work for a client without boundaries, work in a new medium or work with new people. Your job always changes and it’s always refreshing.

LC  Is this what you plan to do until you retire  or do you have bigger future plans?

I plan on always keeping my fingers in the Graphic Design pie because I have a feeling it’ll always be a passion. I can’t imagine myself not being fascinated by the creativity of others in commercial art.

LC Do you ever get stressed out? What do you do to cope with the stress?

Stressful events pop up every now and then. Usually I’d take a walk or lie down and sort through what’s giving me issues. In my experiences, it’s not best to handle stress while staring at your inbox and the soothing glow from your computer screens.

LC What steps do you take to balance your life? ie: excercise, love/relationships, work, fun

Ultimately, as work starts to pile up, it’ll start being a balancing exercise to maintain everything at levels you would like them to be. It’s key to establish how much weight you place on each aspect of your life before problems arise so you don’t end up with broken promises or disappointed people in any of those aspects.

LC Do you try and practice the 7 habits?

I’m not quite what the 7 habits are, but I’m sure they’ve popped up in previous answers.

LC Do your hobbies relate to your job?

Between freelance and working at an ad agency, the time I do have left for hobbies are not graphic design related. (Apart from the people you do the hobbies with of course, you do make a lot of friends along the way.)

LC  What makes you happy in life? Is this helping make you happy in life?

That’s certainly a loaded question, but I’ll keep it relevant to the topic at hand so you don’t end up with an essay on my childhood dreams, interpersonal relationships and favorite types of food. Being content with what I do for a living is right up there on a list of goals to consider my life a happy one.

LC  Is there anything you would do over again if you had the chance to better where you are at this point in your life?

Luke, I’m not one to live with regrets. I’m afraid I don’t even have an answer to this question. Everything I’ve been through, good and bad, has helped, in some way or another, to get me to where I am.

LC  Do you have any advice for me as I’m coming up?  Anything to look out for?  Ways to better myself for success?

When people are trying to avoid paying their bills or use you for your services, standing your ground is more important than your reputation. Your reputation only matters with good, honest, loyal people. Don’t work for free, if someone asks you to work for free, tell them to come dry wall your basement for free and see how they react.
Love what you do, make an effort to improve.

Thanks a lot, Luke. It was fun. 

Network with Others in your Niche
Talk to others about their issues and concerns. You may be able to pull out some information that can constitute a basis for one of your blog posts. Also consider exchanging guest posts with a fellow blogger.

Invite Questions from Readers
Readers will always have questions, general questions or questions about content. Communicate with your readers and find out what’s on their minds.

Write Sequels
Think about writing a follow-up for one of your most visited articles. Or a complete article addressing issues that readers had posted in your comments section.

Make a Post About Writer’s Block
I imagine this post speaks for itself.

Hope that helps.

A new version means a new syntax, new file and most importantly, new features. It’s also worth noting that the JS file was compressed, so if I recall correctly, you’re saving a few KB this version.

Check it out here: http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/

I will have a tutorial up some time this week simplifying the details on how to use it.

What do you do?

Well would you rather be right or happy?

If you want to be right, you can be. You’re the one who’s developing the site, and you’re the guy with the Photoshop file. You’re the one who can use plenty of design lingo and overwhelm the client. But what are the repercussions? Every mother loves her baby just like every person loves their idea. Do you want to be the one who rebels against the client who still needs to pay half his invoice? Do you want to rebel against someone who’s word of mouth references can get you new business.

If you want to be happy. That’s easy. In the above situation. Try applying filters or modifying the design in such a way that the blurred image looks intended instead of unprofessional. Do your best with the parameters established by the client to keep them right and happy. You’ll have to settle with just being happy.

Now, I’m a strong believer in being happy. But I also know when I need to stand my ground, not for my own benefit, but for that of the client. If it’s a cause that the client strongly believes in, then I know when I need to take a step back if it means that my reputation, future, paycheque or opportunity within the company will suffer because of it.

Hope that helps.

There are a handful of rules that will automatically place in the rungs of “All-Star Web Designer and Developer”. It is my objective to share these with you.

1 - You Are Always Right
The client never knows what the client wants. It’s up to you to tell them. If they disagree with you, it’s because they just plain don’t know what they’re talking about. In the event that client may think that they’re right, it’s up to you to raise your voice and threaten to take them to court so that you can push your way of thinking. If at all possible, belittle any ideas the client puts forth.

2 - Design For Your Browser
There’s only so much time you can spend on developing a website. Develop your website so that it’s optimized only for the browser that you use. In the event that the client or their users use a different browser, it’s simply not your problem. Suggest that they use the same browser you do. Another suggestion would be to include a message such as “The site was optimized for Mozilla Firefox” in the footer of your website.

3 - When Someone Critiques Your Design, They Are Personally Attacking You
That’s right. If a client say that they have a problem with your design, that should be interpreted as them having a problem with you. The design was never an issue. To deal with such a situation, you should rebuff the client’s comments with “Nuh uh, you’re the one you isn’t reaching the target demographic“, or “Why don’t you move YOUR header graphic 10 pixels higher“. In the event that these comments draw blank stares, follow-up with calling the client a “doodie-head”.

4 - CSS Is Too Much Work
Why go through the trouble of coding CSS and typing out all sorts of complicated characters that require using the SHIFT button on your keyboard, such as { and } when you can splice up designs in tables? In Photoshop, lay out your guides, export as HTML, and you’re done. If additional tweaking needs to be done, use Font tags.

5 - Using Adobe Flash Frivolously Is a Must
No site is complete without something bouncing or moving everywhere on the user’s screen. This means that the client and company will be perceived as being hip and professional. Some uses include:

• Splash Page animations. Tip: Don’t implement a Skip Intro button, we don’t want to ruin the immersion experience.
• Logo animation. Consider rotating or fading the client’s logo in and out. If possible, incorporate movement.

Here are a few bonus tips to make your Flash piece everything your client has ever imagined:

• Be sure not to ease animation. Animations should look inorganic. Besides, you’re not a movie editor or a producer, you’re a web person.
• Keep the FPS low. You don’t want to overload the Windows 95 machines that are still around.
• Keep things moving. If at any given time, something on the website isn’t moving, you’ve done something wrong.

That’s all for now. Hope that the article wasn’t too out of the ordinary.

Validate Anything That Comes In Via Querystring

Although you may expect your query string to do something simple in your application, it can provide hackers with a intrusion point. Example:

http://www.pat-burt.com/somePage.php?error=1

I use the querystring to provide me with a 1 or a 0. But don’t expect hackers to only provide you with a 1 or a 0. Let’s say you’re using the result of the value “error” in your SQL statement:

UPDATE userStatus SET error=1 WHERE userID=248

You can see how the hacker can change the error value to something malicious directly in the address bar to manipulate your SQL statement to their advantage in the following example. It wouldn’t take much to change the query string to produce the following SQL statement:

UPDATE userStatus SET error=1; UPDATE SET password=’HACKED’ WHERE userID=248

What you’d need to do is strip characters or convert the query string’s result to an integer (in this case). If you’re expecting either of those values, check for either of those values before anything goes into your query string.

Validate Anything Posted to a Form

Info posted from a form should also be validated. Keep in mind that forms can be posted to without even viewing the actual form. That means your form validation needs to go beyond using HTML to put a limit on the number of characters in your text field. Using the programming language of your choice, you should validate input based on:

• Length
• Illegal characters
• Type of input (integers, phone numbers, text)

Hope that helps.

Procrastinate

Risky suggestion, but I made it anyway. Procrastinating a project until it’s vital is a great way to get your productivity going. Instead of working at a leisurely pace, you will notice that when there’s a tight deadline, you’ll be working as fast as your little fingers can go.

Use Downtime To Plan

Downtime, such as time spent commuting or in bed alone, is the best time to give thought on how you should get your work done. Use this time to plan or conceptualize so that you spend less time doing it when you have all the resources you need in front of you.

Meet Your Deadlines

Make it a habit to meet your current deadlines. Once the client has a feeling that you’re quick tog et work done, you’re less likely to voluntarily push back a deadline because of your own laziness.

Reward Yourself

Nothing quite like a little positive reinforcement from yourself to encourage you to keep up to speed on your projects.

Prioritize

This is a little different for everyone. Myself, I like to prioritize projects based on deadlines. After that, if two projects share the same deadline, I take of the project that’s shortest first to get that out of my mind. That being said, it’s very unpleasant to work long and hard into the night, finish a huge project at 1am, and then have to finish a smaller one afterwards. I much prefer finishing up with the huge project, and then having the opportunity to relax.

Hope that helps