Help Needed On EVTM Features/Format

[Steve83]

ctubutis wrote

Gary, can you put the Previous & Next buttons right next to each other at both the top & bottom of the pages?

That's close to what I imagined, but PREV at the far Left T&B, and NEXT at the far Right T&B.

[Gary Lewis]

Ok guys, thanks for the input.  Please see what you think on the first two sections - Intro and Grounds.  If you like that I can put it the rest of the way through, but don't want to get carried away if that's not what you meant.

[85lebaront2]

Great! Easy enough and since it is top and bottom works quite well.

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks, Bill.  But, before I go much further perfecting "sealing wax", which might bring on my 19th Nervous Breakdown, let's think about options again.

I went back to see how I'd done the certification label links and realized how I can make links work.  So I put the '85 EVTM on the 1985 EVTM Test page that way.  And, the links work, even on a phone, although the fancy stuff of zooming in on something doesn't work - shucks.

And, maybe better yet, the search function works - albeit probably only on a computer.  Hit Control-F, type into the search line what you are looking for, and hit Enter.  It'll show you the first instance, highlighted in orange on my browser, and any other instances on that page in yellow.  Hit the down (or up) button and it'll advance to the next one.

So, here are two ideas:

Sections: What if I break the big pdf into the 36 sections (for the '85 one) just as the other two have always been.  But, instead of pasting pictures of each page in the sections, put in the pdf of just those pages.  And, have the pdf OCR'd so it can be searched?  (We could still do the Prev/Next Section buttons.)

The down side of breaking it up is that a search only finds things in the section you are in.

Full: This idea would be to put the whole EVTM on in one pdf, just like I now have now but fully OCR'd.  The Index page would be fully functional with links that you click on.  You can try that on the few links I've set up.

But, the normal ways of getting back are to use the slider or type in the page # you want, like 2 for the Index.  And there doesn't seem to be a slider for a mobile device, so you are faced with slogging through page after page to get to the index.  So I put a Back To Index button at the top.  But there may well be other options y'all will think of.

So, please give this some thought and testing and let me know what you think.  PLEASE?

[Gary Lewis]

I think I've found something I do not like - any pdf I put out there can be downloaded.  So any EVTM, brochure, etc can easily be used elsewhere.  And I don't want to put a lot of work into one and have it "borrowed".  And, I'm concerned about the legitimacy of scanning purchased documents that then can be downloaded in their entirety.

The worst case is the full EVTM, where I'd have created links from each entry of the Index as well as have OCR'd the whole file.

Next would be the sectional pdf's, where I'd still have OCR'd the file.

So, I'm thinking strongly about staying with the sectional approach with pictures of the pages on them.  And, converting the brochures to jpg's as well.

Thoughts?

[85lebaront2]

It's your site, do whatever you feel is best. My site I had a lot of it as pdfs with a copyright statement, whether it was Chrysler, Ford or what ever. The copyright statement was appended on each upload so it couldn't be missed. I was doing it mainly for the turbo Chrysler products.

[Gary Lewis]

Ok guys, I've decided that I don't want to put the EVTM's on the website as pdf's, either partially or in toto.  The main reason is due to the ease of downloading them that might be an issue with those who are selling them.  So I've removed the 1985 EVTM - Test page, and redirected it to the 1985 EVTM page.

And, I've done a ton of work on the '85 EVTM.  The main thing was in getting all 216 of the previous/Index/next section links top and bottom of each page.  (Yes, I added an Index link that takes you back to the first 1985 EVTM page that has the section listing, description of what is in each, and links thereunto.)  Please check it out and see what you think.  

Then Prashant called wanting a wiring diagram for the fuel system on his '86 460.  I wound up sending him links to both the '85 and '86 because his truck didn't originally have the 460, so I'm not sure what his wiring is really like.  But, while looking at the two fuel system pages I realized that I couldn't tell which was which.  There was nothing on the page that said 1985 or 1986.  So I added "1985 EVTM:" or "1986 EVTM:" to the top of each page so you can tell where you are.

And with that, I'm going to take a holiday on the website work.  I know there's a lot more to do, but for now my brain is fried and my fingers are sore.  Plus, I have powder coating to do!  

BUT, if you find errors on the '85 EVTM, please let me know.  I'm going back through it, but would appreciate a few fresh eyes taking a look.