Should We Move To A New Forum Platform?

[Gary Lewis]

We have pdf's, but Microsoft displays the W for Word when loading them.  In fact there are very few actual Word documents.  Almost all that look like Word are actually pdfs.

As for the ugly look, you should see how it looks on my end.  I've had several instances where Weebly wasn't working correctly and I had to get out and back in to finally make it work.  There's something flakey about the tables app.  (Well, there's something flakey about Weebly, and that includes the tables app.)

Part of the problem is the # of years we have across the top.  If we had two tabs with the Bullnose stuff on one tab and later stuff on the other tab then it would be easier to manage.  And it would probably display a lot better.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Yeah, the PDFs never load on my phone.
I have to suspect, that like Gary's photos, there's just too much there for them to be of any use to me.

I'm not really sure why we are even pursuing this at this point.
I told Gary what I was dealing with -years ago- ... and I'm not going to bother with it today. (or tomorrow)

[BigBrother-84]

Gary, some others explored the same potential migration to Discourse, not so long ago.

But I understand that Discourse isn't free...
EDIT:  I think this is a free open source engine, there is fees for the hosting if required.

[Gary Lewis]

Jeff - Yes, that is supposedly how we can port our stuff to something else.  But there is no application that I'm aware of to take the files that are listed there and convert them for use on any other forum.  However this is where'd we start if we were to try to have AI write a migration tool.

Jim - I realize this isn't part of the forum discussion as it isn't on the forum, but the hope was that we could find an easy way to make things easier for people using phones instead of "computers".  We didn't find a way to fix everything, but Jeff's work helped us realize that there are two issues - the table itself and the loading of the file.  Jeff's conversion to pdf made using the table easier, so I want to move to that instead of Excel.

However, to do that I need to import the existing Excel file into my pdf editor or just adopt Jeff's and get rid of the Excel file and only maintain the pdf.

Jeff - Do you know of any errors in yours?  And what did you use to convert it?  I'm not sure I can manage it exactly the way it came across with my Foxit pdf editor.  

[ArdWrknTrk]

I don't necessarily think that everything needs to be optimized for mobile, but if fully 50% of us will never interact with the forum & site on an actual computer, then that's 50% of us that this aspect is useless to.

I'm not complaining.
I've already suggested that a trained AI could automate the process.

Beyond that, I'm no coder in Python, or even C++...

[BigBrother-84]

Gary Lewis wrote

Jeff - Do you know of any errors in yours?  And what did you use to convert it?

Gary - I did it with Word, 'cause I find it easier to format the page than in Excel.

But let's go with an Excel file example.

Since I didn't have your original Excel file, I simply copied the table content from the Library, and pasted it in Excel.  But be aware that this copy/paste action worked using Chrome as web browser, but failed with Safari (remember, I'm on Mac).

But you have the original XLS file, so it's not an issue for you.

You do not need a specific PDF software, Excel does the job directly.
1- Set the print zone of your table.
2- Set the Page setup, the same way if you plan to print the file (Landscape, portrait, margins, etc).
3- Not sure on Windows version, but on Mac I go File>Save as and then I select "PDF" in the «File format» sub-menu:


The original XLS file:


The resulting PDF.  All the hyperlinks are preserved.

[BigBrother-84]

For those who, like me, don't know a damn thing about Discourse, here is a short video I made from clips I grabbed from an introduction posted on YouTube by Jono Bacon.

Looks quiet interesting.

[Gary Lewis]

Good to know, Jeff - but...  That adds a step to things that I'm not sure I'll remember to do.  The way it is all I have to do is to edit the Excel file and then save it and the changes show up on the website.  Which is why I was thinking of editing a pdf and then saving it.

But my pdf software puts a line under the text that you have to click on instead of being able to click on the text itself. Might I be able to use Word?

[BigBrother-84]

Gary Lewis wrote

The way it is all I have to do is to edit the Excel file and then save it and the changes show up on the website.  Which is why I was thinking of editing a pdf and then saving it.

Gary, just to be sure I correctly understand what you mean:
1- Presently, if you edit a XLS table already in the Library, the modifications are instantly there.  No need to re-load the XLS in the Library.
2- You are looking to do the same for PDF files that would be also available in the Library.  Just edit it directly there, no need to re-load.

Am I OK?

If so, I would say that PDF editing isn't always easy, meaning that the page and text format could result in bad surprises.  And I don't know about hyperlink editing directly in a PDF.

I use Adobe Acrobat Pro (but it is getting very expansive, in my humble opinion).  I also use Readdle's «PDF Expert» software, which is really nice and affordable.

[Gary Lewis]

Jeff - I'm watching the video, and am about half way through, but will have to pick it up a bit later.  However, it is good. Thanks.

As for the files, yes all of the files I've shared can be edited in the background by me and the results are immediately available.  That includes Excel, Word, and pdf's.  And I do edit hyperlinks with my pdf software, w/o problems.  That software is Foxit, and it is a lot less expensive than Adobe.

[BigBrother-84]

Ok, clear for me thanks.

Now, about your question:

Gary Lewis wrote

But my pdf software puts a line under the text that you have to click on instead of being able to click on the text itself. Might I be able to use Word?

So, Foxit doesn't create a "hyperlink transparent box" over the text?  Instead it creates a line we have to click on?

Strange.  Acrobat and PDF Expert do a clickable "box" over the text.

And Foxit user manual seems to indicate the same, they talk about a hyperlink «area»:

[Gary Lewis]

Actually, you've reminded me that I did figure out how to make the box.  You can see that on our page at Documentation/Specifications/Certification Label.  Initially Foxit was placing a line under the text and you had to click on the line.  But with a bit of reading I found that you can put a box around it and then click anywhere in the box to get the link.

But, as you'll see, it looks different than the "other way".  It works but doesn't look as nice.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Yeah... No

[Gary Lewis]

I think the problem is that I'm trying to squeeze too much into that table.  This is a Bullnose site so if we were to limit the years to 80 - 86 on that table then it might work.  Or, maybe there is now a better table plug-in for Weebly?

I'll have a play with it and see if I can figure out something that works for mobile devices.  In the interim I'm going to just use Jeff's pdf and take away the Excel file from the "production" page.

To my thinking that page is one of the main draws of this place and it really needs to be usable with mobile devices.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I can't say if it's a draw.
I've NEVER been able to view it.

Do you have page hit metrics, Gary?

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, if I did deep enough I'm sure I have page-hit metrics.  Let me do some poking around as they might show the split of mobile vs desktop users to be different than the rest of the site.  

[Gary Lewis]

788 hits to Manuals & Literature or 1.75% of the 44,911 visits to the site in the last 28 days.  (20,617 to the forum itself in that time.)  But I haven't figured out how to have it tell me the breakdown between mobile and desktop users on a by-page basis.

I'll keep poking around - later.

[ArdWrknTrk]

There's no field for what browser was used?

[ArdWrknTrk]

Safari could be either, but Chrome is more than likely a mobile device.
Bing or edge is going to be a laptop or desktop computer

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, there's info on the browser, but even better info on mobile vs desktop, screen size, etc.  But all of this is on the whole site, inc the forum, not just the one page.  Haven't found that yet.

The mobile/desktop split is very different from what I found in another report.  And given the granularity I tend to believe this one more than the other.

But I need to move out to the shop and work on the console for a bit, then head to the church building to install security cameras.  Maybe late afternoon to poke around more on this.  But I think the time might be better spent trying to make that page more mobile-friendly than figuring out if mobile users aren't using it.  So maybe I should just see what I can do?