Anybody who develops websites knows all about having to test for all kinds of different web browsers. Here’s a good page that will help you get a better grasp on multi-browser testing of your websites.

The site uses a neat screen shot request grouping mechanism to fetch all sorts of different browser screen shots of your web site. Browsing through the rendered images that have been returned is easy as well.

Here I am, just claiming this blog, you can move along now.

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Straight from the php.faqts knowledge base:

There is a difference between the two, but speed-wise it should be
irrelevant which one you use.

This seems to be a common issue.

Here’s a quick article about preventing this issue.

It’s always best to have another quick source for grabbing your ftp accounts.

• Keep a spreadsheet of all your ftp accounts.
• Or keep a text file.
• Or write them on a sheet of paper and keep it in a fireproof safe next to your desk.

Also, keep account information safe and secure.

I guess what I’m really trying to say is that you should not depend on an application like Dreamweaver to remember all your account information in a reliable manner. Use something else.

Maybe try this password archiving application?

• pwArch

Adobe Flash (It’s weird not calling it Macromedia Flash anymore…) on a website doesn’t like to play nice with DHTML objects when they overlap on the layout of a website. I’ve run into this issue a few times. Sometimes a dynamic drop-down menu will not play nice with a flash object that it can’t overlap.

Here is a good visual example of Flash & DHTML conflicting

You can’t get that drop-down menu to lay over the top of that flash animation in some cases. At least, you can without probably going through too much trouble to make it worthwhile. If you want to take a crack at it I have some links later on in this article that will get you going in the right direction.

Flash & DHTML Overlap Avoidance is the most bullet-proof option

• I like to avoid situations like this so that I don’t get hung up spending too much time on something that is minimal in importance to the overall scope of the site.
• I like to and sometimes need to make dhtml and flash work around each other in a website in a short matter of time.

For those two reasons I generally will say that you should:

Plan around the fact that Flash animations will probably overlap some of your dhtml stuff.

Just design with this issue in mind.

Make sure any dhtml stuff won’t overlap with flash stuff.

Simple.

Where should a person start looking to deal with the Flash & DHTML overlap issue?

If you want to try to make your flash stuff play nice with your dhtml stuff, then check out these links and start playin’ with code and techniques to make it work for your situation:

• About Flash content displaying on top of all your DHTML layers
• About making an Adobe Flash movie with a transparent background
• A fun little forum discussion about Flash overlapping DHTML
• A good forum discussion about this Flash & DHTML confict

A iFrame could be the answer

I’ve also seen suggestions to put the Flash animations in an iframe. This works, but then again, your flash animation is in an iframe. Most would consider this not worth the trouble. I would anyways. The technique could be called the iFrame Shim, from what I’ve heard. Either way:

• A good article about the “iFrame Shim”

There are some tutorials out there too

If you must, here’s a good tutorial:

• Tutorial to layer Flash and HTML

You will find that there are techniques to make Flash not overlap your dhtml, plan on spending a little bit of time to make it work for your situation and you’ll be alright. But, if you don’t have much time to deal with this conflict, avoid it.

Please.

I can’t stand testing websites in those wretched versions of Internet Explorer that way too many people still use, you might be one of them. The one thing about being a web developer that I increasingly enjoy less and less is the battle with making sites work on old, piece of crap browsers as well as the nice new ones.

I’m not ridiculing your choice of brower. I’m just pleading that you try something a little more updated than Internet Explorer 6 or less if you are able.

Firefox is nice. So is Opera. Even Internet Explorer 7 makes my life of development much easier. Netscape 9 looks pretty good (granted, it looks like Firefox with a different skin, at least that was my first impression). Any of those are very nice options.

Sure, it might be confusing to switch to a new browser. The menus might look different and things might work a little differently that you are used to with Internet Explorer 6. But, you wouldn’t decide to keep your Ford Festiva if you were offered a free upgrade to a BMW on the basis that the BMW would be different than the Ford Festiva you are used to, would you?

Lets not even get into the security issues involved with using outdated browsers. Just know that you should try to keep updated and your browsing experience will be more secure.

If you do upgrade and like your new browser, do us all a favor and recommend to your friends that they all upgrade too.