Computing

Most people have a favourite web browser and the reasons can be anything from liking the functionality or that they've got it set up a certain way. There certainly are a number of options and you can go crazy if you want to try and 'choose' between them.

General Rules

Whatever browser you have, you should update it at least twice a year, if not more often. Fortunately a number of them do so directly but in the cases of some older browsers you will need to do this manually. The other good news is that newer browsers do mean both better functionality and usability for you and also will display the latest funky websites as they are intended. To find out which version you are running find 'Help' and then choose 'About' and a window should pop up with some kind of version number.

Why? Well, simply put a browser is both a window for you onto the internet but also a window from the Internet to you and it is a constant race to ensure the browsers are as secure as possible. It is a fallacy to believe that you need to click on something for it to be downloaded onto your machine or to have some adverse effect, so the best protection is an updated browser with minimal holes!

Major Browsers

Internet Explorer - www.microsoft.com/ie/

Often vilified for not sticking to 'standards' on the web and setting its own, Internet Explorer is somewhat of a flawed gem. Unfortunately for web designers and possibly consumers too it is the most widely used browser out there, though its market share is falling from a near 90% to around 55% currently.

If you are using version 5.0 and version 6.0 you really need to upgrade, as they are no longer secure. You should be using version 7.0 and above. The latest is Version 9.0 and is both faster, more interesting and better at displaying sites according to standards.

Mozilla Firefox - www.firefox.com

An increasingly popular browser, around 21.5% of people use this Open Source (i.e. free) software which is constantly updated and revised. Additionally there are several add-ons you can get that do everything from turning pages of images into a 3D wall (Cool Iris) to displaying the weather as you browse (Forecastfox). It is also quite easy to customise with different themes.

Firefox automatically updates itself with the latest version and also updates all the little add-ons. The current version is 4.0.1.

Safari - www.apple.com/safari

Once only the preserve of Mac users, Safari can now be found on Windows and other platforms and has a market share of around 7%. It has quite a slick interface though does tend to be slower than other browsers for Windows users. Also on a Windows machine the fonts might appear a bit bloated, i.e. as though all text is bold.

The current version of Safari is 5.0

Google Chrome - www.google.co.uk/chrome

While it's only been around for a few years, Google Chrome is rapidly growing in popularity, and is currently used by around 12% of users. Chrome borrows heavily from Firefox (which Google supported, partly explaining its huge growth and popularity) but has some neat tricks. It is particularly good for those with small screens and who have browsers that tend to crash. Because if one site crashes it only crashes one part of the browser, not the whole thing.

Google Chrome is rapidly updated, and the current version is 11.0

Opera - www.opera.com

Similar to FireFox in approach though quite a slick looking browser. Roughly 2% of users enjoy it and it is heavily customisable. Honestly, we hardly use it but it's there if you're interested.

The current version of Opera is 11.10

Other Browsers

Browsers aren't restricted to those on PCs or Macs. You'll find cut-down versions on phones and tablets, sometimes the full thing. Indeed there are also some accessible versions for those who have impaired sight, such as Lynx.

You've probably noticed that on many sites text is livened up by an image which doesn't necessarily come directly from what the text is talking about, but does help to liven up the page and re-enforce what is being said. For example a 'get involved' page might have a youthful person actively engaging in some outdoor activity; a page about a poem might have a pen writing on some paper. Images draw the users eye into the page, and make your content seem more exciting.

Potential Sources

You'd be surprised where you can get decent images from. The main tip is not to look at an entire image but to think about what you need to convey and then see if sections of an image conveys that. Possible sources include:

Your photos!

Your own photos can be a great source of images. For example, with FreshSPRING.co.uk we wanted to convey youthfulness, spring, fresh ideas, etc (essentially our name) with the banner images at the top of the page. So we looked through our holiday snaps and cut sections out.

Of course you'll probably find that you also know quite a few amateur photographers, and a polite request often yields great photos at no cost. And there's no reason why you can't credit them below their image, and linking back to their website might even help your search engine optimisation.

Free image libraries

There are plenty of free image libraries on the web, but make sure that when you search for them you find 'Royalty Free' image libraries, meaning you don't need to make payments or link to the photographer. Also, be careful to read the copyright conditions attached to images, to make sure you have permission for your desired use. Some sites may ask you to give appropriate credit in the image caption, or link back to their site, for example.

Good examples of free image libraries are:

• Stock.xchng (www.sxc.hu)
• Freedigitalphotos.net

Paid image libraries

It costs less than you think to purchase the rights to use images from other photographers. One of the most widely used is iStockphoto, which has recently combined itself with Getty's Images whose images you'll see in many newspapers and on sites like bbc.co.uk. Click the image on the right to go there directly.

Such sites work on credit systems, i.e. you buy 10 credits and then pay for images depending on the size you need, or by subscription, i.e. you pay for a set number of downloads a month. The great news about the web is that often it's the smallest size that will do.

These sites are often free to surf once you've got an account and can be surfed by colour, feel and pretty much any keyword you like. When you find an image you like you can copy it directly from the page to try it out (right click, copy, then paste into a folder). You can't, however, use this on your site directly as you haven't bought the rights but it is best to try out the image and see whether it works prior to purchase.

Great sites of this type include:

• iStockphoto
• shutterstock
• fotolia
• 123rf.com

Working with Images

Often you'll want to edit the images that you've obtained. While there are many reasons to use a professional editing package like Photoshop often you don't need the full power they offer and just want to do a little cropping, improving the brightness, etc.

On Windows, if you right-click on an image file and choose 'Open With' you will find that Microsoft Picture Editor/Manager, a very simple tool that is part of Microsoft Office. It allows you to resize, crop, brighten, change colours and do more. One of the best features is the 'AutoCorrect' button at the top which is a kind of 'I'm feeling lucky see if you can get it right'. It doesn't always work but usually makes a visible improvement in your image very quickly.

PDF stands for 'Portable Document Format' and is made by Adobe. The main thing that matters is that almost anyone can open a PDF on their computer, which makes it perfect for distributing files. It also can be used to lock in a particular design so your reader sees exactly what you want them to see.

While there are a number of more serious tools needed if you're using PDFs all of the time, most people just want to be able to make them every now and again. There are several free tools, but we tend to use pdf995 because it is so easy to make PDFs.

Getting PDF995 Installed

1. Go to www.pdf995.com
2. Download both the 'environment' and the print driver
3. Install the 'environment' first, then the print driver (or whichever it asks you to do)

Making PDFs

1. Open any file that you want to PDF
2. Go to 'Print' and choose PDF 995 from the printer options, clicking Print
3. It will ask where you would like to 'Print' your file to, i.e. where you want to save the PDF
4. Up will come something asking whether you want to use the sponsored version or not (stick sponsored)
5. Wait a little while and then the PDF will be both saved and opened for you to view

Some days it seems like you have tons of fonts, others the selection is just too limiting. The good news is that you can obtain more fonts for your computer.

However, you do need to be careful, as some of the fonts you'll have on your computer came with a program and essentially came with their own license. Although you can find pretty much any font online, some font sites aren't very reputable.

Two that are pretty good and are free because the creators upload them are:

• www.dafont.com (see the top 100)
• www.1001freefonts.com

Installing a font

Most fonts come in zipped up files that make them smaller to download. They will need double-clicking and sometimes come with little 'Readme' files which you can read though or safely ignore.

Inside you'll find a font that either ends in .fon or says something like 'TrueType' or 'Aa'. In any case this is the file that you need to drag into/ copy to the folder Windows > Fonts (found in my computer).

When you drag it in you'll see a little box appear saying it is installing your font. If you already have the font it will say so and tell you to uninstall the existing version first (there's no need, you have the font and they rarely update).

If it finishes installing then you're done and the font should be there the next time you reboot the program or -in some cases- the computer.

Copying Fonts Across Computers

To protect copyright on fonts the usual copy-paste is disabled on PCs. However there are cases which (we think, though check your t's&c's) are pretty legitimate, eg. having the same fonts on your desktop as on your laptop.

Here's how you copy them across:

1. Go to Windows > Fonts in My Computer
2. Make sure the Folders display on the left (click the 'Folders' button at the top or under 'View > Explorer Bar' choose 'Folders'
3. Right-click on the 'Fonts' folder and go down to 'Send To' and then choose 'Compressed Folder'
4. Wait while it whirrs and make a big folder (could be several hundred megabytes), then find the file that is in the Windows folder called fonts.zip
5. Copy this folder to your other computer (eg. on a CD, using a memory stick or over the network) and double-click on it on the computer you want to get the fonts on and you should find a folder filled with fonts, then use the instructions above for 'Installing a Font'

Web Fonts

Unfortunately on the web there are few fonts you can use as browsers only display fonts you have on your computer, and people don't tend to have that many fonts in common. Things are improving, however, with two new services offering ways of adding interesting fonts to your site:

• Typekit – www.typekit.com - is a subscription service which allows you to use a very wide range on proprietary fonts to your site by adding a few lines of code.
• Google Web Fonts – www.google.com/webfonts - is a similar service, with the advantage of being free to use.

Both these services need you to understand a little CSS to make them work. The simplest alternative if you want to use a funky font is to use an image, which ensures your site does not display strangely and keeps you in control. This approach is probably best if you are using a funky font just for a logo or page header.

Notes

• Sometimes the filenames aren't the same as the font name, don't worry, it will appear with the font name in your programs
• TrueType means the font scales up nicely whatever size you choose whereas non-TrueType fonts only look good at particular sizes, that is the ones you see when you click on the Font-Size drop-down menu

When you start using mulitple computers and working in different places you need to take your files with you. It used to be that the easiest way to do this was using a USB Memory Stick/Key but that did require you to remember to plug it in and back it up.

Additionally you need to remember to keep backing up files regularly, not just onto an External Hard Drive in case your one fails (though this is always a good idea) but also to a remote location in case the worst happens - a fire or flood.

DropBox's Solution

We use DropBox for our web design and graphics work (and so do many of our clients). It's a little program that runs on your computer all the time (Mac or PC, plus mobiles); basically a folder that automatically synchronizes itself both with the web and any other computers on which you've got it installed.

This means it automatically backups your files remotely, to other computers via the Internet or your internal network (when it's faster) and you get a little notification telling you that a file has been added, deleted or updated. And if there's a mistake like an accidental deletion you can roll it back via their website.

It's not perfect and if you have multiple computers using the same file as the same time you can end up overwriting each other, plus if you upload a lot of files it can go a bit 'notification-crazy' but for it being simple, quick and just 'works' we're happy to stick with it.

Get DropBox Now
(this is a referral link which gives you and us more space for free)

Other File-Synchronising Solutions

Certainly DropBox isn't the only solution, we just use it because it is simple, quick and works - plus most people only need the free version. Others with varying functionality include:

• Box.net (very similar, more business focussed)
• MobileMe (Mac-based and does calendars, contacts, etc)
• SkyDrive (from Microsoft, generous free space)
• SugarSync (more functionality)
• SyncPlicity (another solution)