I’m looking to gather a resource of Brisbane Copywriters (copywriters based in Brisbane), if you know of anyone, or are a copywriter who is interested in being listed on http://www.clickfind.com.au/developers-directory/copywriters-brisbane.cfm and www.clickfind.com.au then please contact me to find out how you can get listed, get extra business and also receive additional SEO benefits (those that make your site rank better in Google).

In fact if your not based in Brisbane you can also be listed on our Australian Copywriters page.

My email is copywriters-listing@clickfind.com.au

I was working on a design the other day that only had text fields with no labels, the label was in the text field and would disappear when clicked on. Then I came to the password fields and was a little stumped as how to solve this, as any value in a password field is displayed as dots, not text.

I was thinking about using an overlay, but that got too complicated. I figured out a way to do this with JavaScript, basically write a function that on page load converts all password fields to text, but when they get focus they are cleared and the type is set back to type “password”. It worked like a charm.

The code I created is specific to the website I was working on, but I’m pasting it here anyway in case it might be some help to someone.

function doClear( o ) {
function setValue( o, myText ) {
if ( o.value == myText ) {
o.value = ”;
}
else if ( o.value == ” ) o.value = myText;
}
switch ( o.id ) {
case “username”: {
var myText = ‘Enter Username’;
break;
}
case “password”: {
var myText = ‘Enter Password’;
o.type = ‘password’;
break;
}
case “su_emailAddress”: {
var myText = ‘Your Email Address’;
break;
}
case “su_username”: {
var myText = ‘Choose a Username’;
break;
}
case “newsletterEmail”: {
var myText = ‘Enter Email Address’;
break;
}
case “su_password”: {
var myText = ‘Choose Password’;
o.type = ‘password’;
break;
}
case “su_passwordConfirm”: {
var myText = ‘Confirm Password’;
o.type = ‘password’;
break;
}
}
setValue( o, myText );
}

function displayPasswordValue( id ) {
var passwordElement = document.getElementById( id );
passwordElement.type = “text”;
}
function passwordInit() {
displayPasswordValue( ‘password’ );
displayPasswordValue( ’su_password’ );
displayPasswordValue( ’su_passwordConfirm’ );
}
YAHOO.util.Event.onDOMReady( passwordInit );

Always nice to hear “This is one of the best Australian business directories I’ve seen.” which were the words of John Hacking from Search Tempo in Brisbane.

As most of you probably know, I’m associated with Executive Results a health and fitness business based in Brisbane and have recently placed first for Brisbane’s Fittest

It’s not as glamorous as it sounds, although I did beat two of the fittest personal trainers in brisbane I know there must be some seriously fit people in Brisbane who will beat my time by a mile. I pretty much poored everything in the challenge and although I did not puke as some of the others, I did almost pass out! I love it though, bring it on..

Pacific Fox a Business associated with clickfind and Commerce Engine is entering the SEO arena in Brisbane. A new website design will be launched soon for the Brisbane based business and it will reflect the new Search Engine Optimization direction it is heading in.

Visit Pacific Fox (SEO Brisbane) now for an SEO package on Bartercard or cash.

If you’re getting a “Connection Failure” error when using the ColdFusion CFHTTP tag and have absolutely no idea what the problem could be as surfing the page via the browser works, then the web server most likely compresses the content and ColdFusion can’t handle the output.

To fix this issue just add the following two cfhttpparam tags to the request, they will tell the remote web server not to return a compressed response.

<cfhttpparam type=”header” name=”accept-encoding” value=”deflate;q=0″>
<cfhttpparam type=”header” name=”te” value=”deflate;q=0″>

I’ve passed the Google Advertising Professional Exam! The test is $50 and has about 110 questions, nothing to drastic. Some questions are a bit tricky as they are so simple they confuse you, just go with your gut instinct.

If you’re looking to become a Yahoo Local Certified Ambassador – good luck!

I’ve followed several dead links and emailed the email addresses that were listed to get more info, all of them bounced. If you do find the right email address or link please do let me know.

ambassadorteam-ysm@yahoo-inc.com

yahoosearchmarketing@kowabunga.com

ambassadorteam@overture.com

Why are custom Google Analytics settings defined in the client-side code?

I would think the most obvious place for these settings would be through the Google Analytics admin interface or an XML file that only needed to be downloaded once, not upon every page visit.

Would love to know more about the thinking behind this.

I passed my Google Analytics Qualification today and am now Google Analytics Qualified (yeah, if only it would make me more money~!).

You can take the certification at https://www.starttest.com/8.0.0.0/starttest.aspx?cmd=home

First, forget about importing Excel into MS SQL, it is to time consuming to get it right. You are better of converting the Excel file to a simple CSV file, change the setting to a large string value for the columns, import it into MS SQL and then convert the field types to the proper field types.

Why does Google Analytics not track a browser with JavaScript disabled? Surely a simple 1px transparent image would do the trick where JavaScript can’t?

Many times, businesses getting online for the first time will only purchase a domain name thinking that will provide the tools necessary for a proper web presence.  Soon, however, they return when they realise they also need web hosting, which actually provides the ability to produce and store a website and email account(s) for the domain name.  To the unsuspecting business owner, this process can end up being more surprising and stressful than it should be.  For this reason, we have put together a helpful guide for getting your business online for the first time including what is needed to start running email accounts and your own website.

• Register your domain name.
• Purchase hosting for your domain name.
• Set up email account.
• Build a website.
• Market your website.

1) Register your domain name. Find a domain provider, which can depend on the type of domain you want to purchase. Be wary of the price when purchasing a domain name because there is a huge unjustified price gap in Australia. 

Please note:

a)      Since registering domain names falls under a completely different class of rules and regulations than the trademark process, one cannot assume that his/her business name will automatically give them the rights to a domain name.   Therefore, it is important to research the possibilities for a good domain name.  You can use a domain lookup tool to see if your desired domain name is available.

b)      You must also have an ABN, an Australian Business Number, before registering a .AU domain name and pass the eligibility process specified by the auda.  This is done in order to lessen the amount of people purchasing random domain names with intentions of reselling them for huge profits in the future.

2) Purchase hosting for your domain name. Without a hosting account, you simply have the lease for the domain name and nothing else. By not purchasing hosting, which is the space on a server that will store your website, there is no way that you will be able to set up a website or email account.

a)      Deciding on a web host can depend on your business location, or the location of your web visitors.  If you, for example, have a company that markets itself overseas to one specific country, it is wise to purchase a country-specific domain name as well as hosting in that country.  Since the location of your web host is said to identify the location of your website, it has been a highly debated topic by search engine optimisers for years that it will actually give you bonus points in search engine results.  In addition, the speed of website loading and downloads will be better for your visitors.

b)      Many times, web hosting companies also act as domain providers meaning you can purchase and manage both of these features from the same company.  This will save you the trouble of having to manually set up the name servers for a domain name to point to the hosting account in another location.

3) Set up your hosted email address. Now that you have a hosting account where actual space is allocated for storing mail messages, your email address for your domain name can be set up.  With this option, you can now have an email address that reads something like manager@yourdomainname.com.au (or sales@yourdomainname.com and info@yourdomainname.com), which is more professional looking than using an email address from a free provider, such as hotmail or Gmail.  Your web host can most likely provide assistance with the email setup process as it can vary slightly depending on the provider.

4) Build and upload a website. So web visitors have something to look at, it’s a good idea to create a website.  The process involves planning, building and uploading.

a)      Think about how you would like your website to look and be organised.  You can get ideas by looking at other websites and noting what works, and what does not.  A key to a good website is to make it engaging, informative, and most of all, easy to navigate.  If the information is the star of the show in your website, think about how best to deliver it.

b)      As for building the website, you can either attempt to do it yourself or pay someone to do it for you.  The choice here might revolve around how complex and professional a site you are looking for.  Some web hosts even provide easy website building software, such as Sitebuilder, that most beginners can use.  Otherwise, it is a wise decision to pay someone to build it for you, which can save you hours of headaches in the long run. Content management system software such as Joomla!, Drupal and WordPress may also be something worth looking into if you are looking to take matters into your own hands.

c)       After a website is created, it must be uploaded to the hosting account for it to appear on the internet.  This process is completed using an FTP program, one either provided by your hosting company or downloaded from the web. (e.g. FileZilla- free ftp program).

5) Market your website. During the entire building process and follow-up maintenance, importance falls on optimisation.  Optimisation generally refers to Search Engine Optimisation and the importance of presenting your website with appropriate keywords.  Optimisation can also refer to the upkeep process, meaning your website is always in its best working order.  Check for broken links, page loading times and grammatical errors periodically.

Beyond these ideas, successful website marketing has been found through various activities such as joining social networks, blogging, creating email and newsletter campaigns, starting an affiliate program and putting on contests.  Listing your products and services with a reputable online business directory, such as Clickfind, can also increase chances for potential customers to navigate to your website.  Using these possibilities to build a web presence is an essential and ongoing step to getting your business online.

Now that you are armed with the steps involved in getting a business online, and realise it takes more than just a domain name to get there, how about checking out Digital Pacific to help get you started.  Digital Pacific offers a variety of web hosting packages and services, including domain names, hosting for email accounts, website building software and SEO packages that can make the process that much easier.

Written by Brooke from Digital Pacific

Just a quick warning for everyone who are about to use eway (www.eway.com.au) for their recurring online payments (accepting Credit Cards online etc.).

 If you are using their services in Development and you test it once in LIVE they will assume you are now using their services and will whack you with a yearly $400 fee. I wasn’t even aware of the yearly fee until I got whacked with it. Make sure you read the fine print on this.

 Keywords: recurring online payments, eway, payment gateway api

This error is to do with the maximum file upload size allowed by ASP as global setting. By default the max size is set to 200KB.

To change this setting you need to edit the MetaBase.xml file located under c:\windows\system32\inetsrv\

1. Stop IIS
2. Open c:\windows\system32\inetsrv\MetaBase.xml
3. Search for “AspMaxRequestEntityAllowed”
4. Change the value to 1073741824 (one gigabyte) or some other maximum value that’s valid for your setup
5. Save and close the file
6. Start IIS

This is another one of those cases where I have to write about an unpleasant experience that will save you some headaches, time and money.

If you are thinking about using ClixGalore for your affiliate marketing – don’t! We used ClixGalore Affiliate Marketing both for Advertising and to generate extra revenue.

I have to admit I ignored posts warning me about ClixGalore and can now only blame myself. But I hope you’re smarter than I was!

We’ve build up a nice commission with ClixGalore and asked how to get the money out, that on its own was a painful process! The guys from ClixGalore are very unhelpful, full of riddles and can’t give straight answers. When I finally figured out the puzzle, it was something like “we process on the 1^st of the month if the payment threshold is met, then it takes another 21 days to go through another process, and then it gets processed”….. errrrrr….

In any case, our payment should have been processed weeks ago, but it’s completely off the radar, the amount doesn’t even show up in their system anymore, we’ve gone to ZERO. The only answer I get is “I have to talk to my manager”, “I passed it on to my manager”.

Honestly, save yourself some time and don’t join these people. If you have any questions in regards to them please don’t hesitate to ask, or if you have similar experiences with these people post them below.

Keywords: Warning, Bad, Don’t pay

To check gmail with cfpop you need to use the following code before you make your cfpop call

<cfscript>
javaSystem = createObject( “java”, “java.lang.System” );
jProps = javaSystem.getProperties();
jProps.setProperty( “mail.pop3.socketFactory.class”, “javax.net.ssl.SSLSocketFactory” );
jProps.setproperty( “mail.pop3.port”, 995 );
jProps.setProperty( “mail.pop3.socketFactory.port”, 995 );
</cfscript>

<cfpop action=”getheaderonly” name=”rsEmail” startrow=”1″ maxrows=”50″ server=”pop.gmail.com” port=”995″ username=”your@username.com.au” password=”yourpassword”>

If you want to delete some rows from a Query of Query with the DELETE statement you will most likely have encountered the error: Query Of Queries syntax error. Encountered “DELETE.

You can’t use the DELETE statementin QoQ.

Try the following instead

<cfquery
dbtype=”query”
name=”rsDelete”>
SELECT        expiryDateTime
, cacheHash
FROM        variables.instance.cacheCollection
WHERE        (expiryDateTime < <cfqueryparam value=”#now()#” cfsqltype=”CF_SQL_DATE”>)
</cfquery>
<cfloop query=”rsDelete”>
rsDelete.deleteRows( javaCast( “int”, (rsDelete.currentRow – 1) ), javaCast( “int”, 1 ) );
</cfloop>

I’ve written a ColdFusion CFC that integrates with the Flickr API. I know there is already another component out there written in ColdFusion, but I found that one a bit too complicated (no offense intended) and it did not do what I wanted it to do, which is simply displaying the sets and photos.

See an example of the FlickrCFC in use here Boot Camp Photos

I’m more than happy to share the code base, it’s not ready yet for publishing here but can certainly send a copy to anyone who requests it. Of course a nice text link in return is always appreciated! A text link in return is required (when you email please include the link you can offer).

Been battling with MS SQL 2008 and ran across the issue (it’s actually a feature!) of not being able to save changes made to a table in designer view. I got the following error:

Saving change is not permitted. the changes you have made require the following tables to be dropped and re-created. You have either made changes to a table that cant be re-created or enabled the option Prevent Saving changes that require the table to be re-created.

Seems there is an easy fix (if you know where to look), go to
Tools Menu >
Options >
Designers >
And untick the option “Prevent saving changes that require a table re-creation”