Stop guessing. Read the language spec.

Float: left + UL = mess

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By Jordan Biserkov | 17 Apr 2011 02:24 in Quick tip,web design

When floating an image, if there are (un)ordered list items nearby, the bullets/numbers will incorrectly position themselves over the image.
The solution: add overflow: hidden to their parent’s style.

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change Zoom to Scroll

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By Jordan Biserkov | 01:04 in Quick tip

Microsoft Natural Wireless Desktop 7000 is an amazing keyboard. But it can be made even better by changing the zoom slider (5) to a scroll.

This can be accomplished relatively easy on Windows:

• Open %PROGRAMFILES%\Microsoft IntelliType Pro\commands.xml with Notepad.
• Replace all occurences of “ZoomIn” and “ZoomOut” (with the quotes) with “ScrollUp” and “ScrollDown” respectively (again, with the quotes)
• Kill itype.exe, then run it again (it’s in %PROGRAMFILES%\Microsoft IntelliType Pro\)
• (optional) disable accelerated zooming in Control Panel -> Keyboard -> Zooming

Hint: In most programs, you can get back the zoom functionality by holding Ctrl.

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Private browsing helps web design

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By Jordan Biserkov | 9 Apr 2011 00:06 in Quick tip,web design

When testing a website’s color scheme it is sometimes useful to see all links as not visited.

You can clear your history, but that’s rather brutal.
You can clear the history of your secondary browser, but there is an easier way:
just open the site in “(In)Private Browsing” mode, a.k.a. incognito, a.k.a. private tab.

Click around as much as you want, all links remain unvisited!

Tested with IE 9, FF 4, Chrome 12, Opera 11. Should work on older versions too.

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Easier stronger passwords

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By Jordan Biserkov | 22 Nov 2010 11:36 in Quick tip

Disclaimer: I’m no security expert*.

Some passwords are stronger than others. They take more time to brute-force. They are more difficult to guess. That’s a good thing™.

Unfortunately they are also more difficult to remember. To type. So most people avoid them and use a weaker password. That’s a bad thing™.

Here’s how you can kinda have it both ways :

1. Laptop without a numpad
2. (optional) docking station
3. external keyboard with a numpad

Think of a word that’s easy to remember (and positive), say ‘victory’.

Turn the Num Lock on you external keyboard. Type ‘victory’ on the laptop.

It will show something like v5ct6ry. That’s because the Num Lock setting is global – it will also affect the built-in keyboard. This behavior has been a source of frustration for many people. Finally we can put it to good use.

*A strong password is only one of many necessary layers of defense. And the passwords you’ll get this way are really not that much stronger. Still, it’s a cool hack.

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Dear Acrobat, can you remember my page/zoom please?

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By Jordan Biserkov | 27 Jun 2010 17:02 in Quick tip

Adobe Acrobat

Edit -> Preferences (Ctrl+K) -> Documents -> Reopen last view settings when reopening documents.