In many cases (but not all) you can see a larger version of a picture by selecting it.
If you’re using a PC with a mouse just move the pointer over the picture and check if it turns into an icon of a ‘hand with a pointing finger’ thus:
If so then select the picture. Usually another browser tab will open to display an enlarged version of the same image.
Occasionally the enlarged image may appear in the same tab instead of the post. In that case to get back to the post select the browser’s Back button.
On a phone or tablet just touch the picture to find out if a larger image is available.
In both cases use normal browsing techniques to close the new tab or return to the post by selecting the original tab.
Most videos that I make are stored on Vimeo’s servers and I arrange for them to be available for Full Screen viewing when the appropriate icon in the bottom right corner is selected.
Vimeo Videos
You can see Vimeo’s Full Screen Icon here (with 4 arrows pointing outwards):
To reduce a Full Screen Vimeo video back to its original size select this icon in the bottom right corner (with 4 arrows pointing inwards):
YouTube Videos
When you want to watch a YouTube video in Full Screen mode select this icon in the bottom right corner (with 4 arrowheads pointing outwards):
To reduce a Full Screen YouTube video back to its original size select this icon in the bottom right corner (with 4 arrowheads pointing inwards):
Note:
If I have embedded a video published and controlled by someone else (be it on Vimeo, YouTube or any other site) and they have prevented Full Screen viewing then I cannot enable it.
I list Footnotes at the bottom of a post or page in a numerical list under the ‘Footnotes’ header. Then, where an item of text in the post or page refers to a specific footnote the text item is immediately followed by the appropriate footnote number in superscript (raised above the line of text.) The item of text and footnote number is coloured blue and forms a link to the appropriate footnote at the bottom of the page. So if the reader selects that link they will be taken to the appropriate footnote.
1. When Using Microsoft Edge
1.1 The Edge browser looks like this after selecting the Favourite Star at the right end of the Address Bar and then selecting the dropdown list of Recent Favourite Folders:
1.2 Select a folder from the dropdown list and then select Done to put the Address in that folder. Alternatively select More to see all folders available:
1.3 Having selected More the Favourite Folder editing window will open from which any folder can be chosen:
1.4 The chosen folder is then highlighted and the address is saved to it when Save is selected.
1.5 Alternatively after Highlighting a folder a New Subfolder will be created by selecting New folder. Its name can be edited and the address can be Saved to that.
2. When Using Google Chrome
2.1 The Top Right-hand corner of the Google Chrome browser looks like this after selecting the yellow Star in the Address bar and then selecting the dropdown list of folders:
2.2 I suggest selecting the ‘Bookmarks bar’ else ‘Choose another folder’ which opens this window:
2.3 From here you can make a ‘New folder’. It will be placed in whatever folder is currently highlighted. Again I would select the ‘Bookmarks bar’. Select Save. The windows that have been opened will close. Go back to 2.1 above and restart the process but this time select the folder you created.
NOTE: To reorder bookmarks select this icon to the right-hand side of the Address bar. On the first menu point at ‘Bookmarks‘ and a second menu will appear. Select ‘Bookmark manager’ from it:
‘Bookmark manager’ opens in a new tab. Select the folder to be reordered and then select ‘Organize‘. At this stage Chrome looks like this:
By selecting ‘Reorder by title’ the bookmarks in the highlighted folder will be sorted into alpha-numeric order and the ‘Organize’ window will close. You can then select further folders to reorder or close the ‘Bookmark manager’ tab.
3. When Using Internet Explorer (IE11 in particular)
NOTE: Internet Explorer is no longer considered to be safe and secure to use. Please use another browser.
3.1 Whilst looking at the page you may want to return to just select this icon on the Favourites bar: and the page address will be saved on the favourites bar right next to the icon. It will look like this:
Section Under Construction
3.2 If you want the favourite to be saved in a folder select this Star icon to the right of the Address bar, then select ‘Add to favourites’:
3.3 The ‘Add a Favourite’ window will then open:
3.4 Point to the ‘Create in’ field where it has a yellow star and ‘Favourites’ written and select it. A list of all favourite folders will then be shown thus:
Either select the ‘Favourites bar’ or a sub folder. The ‘Add a Favourite’ window will open. Then select the ‘New folder’ button to the right of the ‘Create in’ field to open the ‘Create a Folder’ window if you need to create a new folder, like this:
3.5 Enter a folder name of your choosing and select the ‘Create’ button. The ‘Create a Folder’ window will close and the ‘Add a Favourite’ window will change to look like this:
3.6 Further sub folders can be created in the same way.
3.7 When the folder you want your favourite in is showing in the ‘Create in’ field select ‘Add’ and the favourite will be added to that folder. The ‘Add a Favourite’ window will close. That’s it, favourite added.
3.8 If you want to add more favourites to the same folder in the same browsing session just keep browsing for the appropriate page and when you have it on screen perform the operations in 3.2 and 3.3 above. You will find your folder has been retained in the ‘Create in’ field of the ‘Add a Favourite’ window. You can then go straight to operation 3.7.
From The Home Page
When scrolling through the list of All Posts on the Home page select the link underneath the featured image which looks like this – Leave a comment – (if there are no comments), or like this – 14 Comments – (if there are 14 comments already). You will be taken to the top of the comment section, below the article, on a page with only your chosen post on it.
From The Comments Section Below The Article
The post title will be reiterated in a sentence like this – 5 comments on “UK 13 Amp Plug and Mains Extension Cable Safety Issues”: – above any existing comments. The comment form will be seen initially below the last comment.
When there are no existing comments the post title won’t be reiterated. Just the comment form will be made available.
To Start A New Comment Thread
The comment form headed – Please Comment Below (or Select An Existing Comment’s “REPLY” Button First) – See HELP for Details. – is initially positioned for you to enter a comment on a new thread. To enter such a comment select the field entitled COMMENT and enter your comment. Then enter your details, as required, below it.
To Reply To An Existing Comment
Select the appropriate Reply button below the comment to which you want to reply and the comment form with its header – Please Comment Below (or Select An Existing Comment’s “REPLY” Button First) – See HELP for Details. – will be repositioned beneath it. To enter a reply select the field entitled COMMENT and enter your comment. Then enter your details, as required, below it.
To Complete Any Comment
You must agree to the storage and handling of your data by this site before you can post a comment. There is another checkbox to be checked for this.
Decide if you want to receive emails advising you of further comments and replies, and/or any new post on this blog, by completing the checkboxes appropriately.
Finally select the POST COMMENT button.
NOTE: If you have already selected a Reply button but decide to send a New Comment instead, just select the ‘X’ following the header above the top right corner of the comment field (it may look like part of the post title text). Selecting the ‘X’ will move the comment form from the selected comment to the bottom of the page again.
Your comment (when approved) will then be linked directly to the comment you are replying to.
NOTE: If comments appear incorrectly linked the author of this blog reserves the right to relink them as appropriate.
To show the enlarged image: Hover the pointer over an embedded image. Then if it can be selected it will change to a hand pointer. Expect to see the message ‘Select this image to enlarge it’ (or something similar). Select it and it will be shown either in the current tab or a new tab (in most cases a new tab) in the same browser window according to the way the author has programmed it. If it can be enlarged it will be shown enlarged. If images can’t be enlarged they probably won’t be selectable.
To force the enlarged image to be shown in a new tab or window: Using Internet Explorer select the context menu and from it select ‘Open link in new tab’ or ‘Open link in new window’ to open the image in either a new tab in the current browser window or in a new browser window. If it can be enlarged it will be shown enlarged.
The Main Menu is directly below the full width search bar and has an orange background. it can be seen in full on wider screens including desktop PCs, tablets and phones turned on their sides to give a landscape view.
On narrow screens such as mobile phones in portrait view the main menu is replaced by an orange button with “Menu” written on it.
Description of The Full Width Menu
The main items on the menu are written in capitals and NOT in bold type. Currently all Main items have a sub-menu (for which they are its title) with a “v” to the right pointing down to indicate that.
The main items on the menu are written in capitals but NOT in bold type. Currently all Main items have sub-menus (for which they are the titles) with a “v” to the right pointing down to indicate that sub-menus exist.
Each Main item must be selected to show its top level sub-menu. Items on a sub-menu that are the title of a further sub-menu are also in capitals but NOT in bold type and have a “>” to the right to show a further sub-menu exists. See below:
The menu tree shown in the picture above has the following sub-menus and item selected:
REFERENCE>GLOSSARY OF>ENGINEERING>Structural Eng.
Those items which don’t terminate in further sub-menus, but terminate in posts, pages or links, etc., are all in bold type. When the mouse pointer hovers over them they become underlined in black to indicate they are links to somewhere. Selecting such an item will take you to its location.
Description of the Menu As A Button
When the menu appears as an orange button it should be selected to display the full list of menu items as a Scrolling Overlay with an orange background. Each sub-menu is shown in order of its appearance on a full width menu with each sub-menu heading indented and the sub-menu further indented.
Post Archives have a hierarchy in the order:
- Year,
- Months in that year,
- Posts in that month.
The numbers in parenthesis adjacent to the months are the quantity of posts published in each month.
Alternatively posts can be selected according to their Category. The quantity of posts in each category is shown in parenthesis adjacent to each category.
Making A Selection Using A Computer & A Mouse
In the days when there were only desktop computers selection of a Link, Menu Item or Button was made by moving the mouse to hover the pointer over the item to be selected, which usually highlighted it in some way, whilst the pointer changed shape from an “I-beam” or arrow to a hand with a pointing index finger and then the item was selected by clicking the left mouse button (or the only mouse button). This made it relatively easy to write about the process by referring to clicking on an item to select it.
With the advent of touchpads on laptops and touch sensitive screens the action of ‘clicking’, ‘double clicking’ or ‘right clicking’ is no longer an appropriate term to use when describing the selection process. Consequently I will use the term ‘Select’ when describing the action of ‘single clicking’ in the event of a hand pointer being present or ‘double clicking’ in the event of an arrow pointer being present. The reader will have to interpret that as best they can to describe the method they use to choose a link, select from a menu or press on a button.
In the event the reader chooses context menus by ‘right clicking’ (Windows), ‘Ctrl + clicking’ (Mac) or ‘long tapping’ (touch screens) I shall refer to ‘select the context menu’.
Making A Selection By Long Tapping on Touch Screens
This is the art of:
- tapping an item on a touch screen followed immediately by touching the screen in an unused area for a long period (Windows 8, 8.1, 10) refer here,
- just holding the finger on an item for a long time (Android) refer here,
- a ‘single-finger long tap’ (tap the screen with one finger and hold it down on the surface until the menu/list is displayed) refer here.
Browsers such as Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome have the ability to search text on the current page. So that function can be used to search all the post and comment text on the page being viewed.
Unfortunately everything is searched but that allows the commenter’s name, and the comment’s date and text to be searched.
In any of these browsers select the tab displaying the post and comments to be examined then:
Search Using Microsoft Edge
- Select the horizontal ellipsis (3 dots) under the window closing ‘x‘ at the top right of the window to produce a drop down menu.
- From the drop down menu select ‘Find on page‘. This will introduce a floating search field near the top right of the browser window into which the search term can be entered.
- As the search term’s string is entered all instances of the current string on the entire page will be highlighted with a yellow background except the current one which will be highlighted in a different colour with contrasting text. (Note: colours may vary according to your device’s colour settings.) As more characters of the search term are entered the number of instances containing the current string will usually diminish.
- A ratio is displayed immediately to the right of the search field, e.g. 16/36. This declares occurrence 16 out of a set of 36 is currently highlighted.
- Each instance of the search term can be found by:
- scrolling the page while looking at the highlighted text,
- selecting the up (↑) or down (↓) keyboard arrows to move up or down through the text,
- selecting the up (∧) and down (∨) chevrons to the right of the search field will move the highlight forwards and backwards through the instances in the text,
- keeping the “I-beam” cursor in the search field while pressing the enter key will:
- move the highlight to each instance in turn going down the page,
- with the Shift key pressed too, move the highlight to each instance in turn going up the page.
- selecting the (x) to the right of the chevrons will close the search field.
Search Using Google Chrome
- Select the vertical ellipsis (3 dots) under the window closing ‘x‘ at the top right of the window to produce a drop down menu.
- From the drop down menu select ‘Find‘. This will introduce a floating search field under the right hand end of the Address bar into which the search term can be entered.
- As the search term’s string is entered all instances of the current string on the entire page will be highlighted with a yellow background except the current one which will be highlighted in a different colour with contrasting text. (Note: colours may vary according to your device’s colour settings.) As more characters of the search term are entered the number of instances containing the current string will usually diminish.
- A ratio is displayed immediately to the right of the search field, e.g. 16/36. This declares occurrence 16 out of a set of 36 is currently highlighted.
- Each instance of the search term can be found by:
- scrolling the page while looking at the highlighted text,
- selecting the up (↑) or down (↓) keyboard arrows to move up or down through the text,
- selecting the up (∧) and down (∨) chevrons to the right of the search field will move the highlight forwards and backwards through the instances in the text,
- keeping the “I-beam” cursor in the search field while pressing the enter key will:
- move the highlight to each instance in turn going down the page,
- with the Shift key pressed too, move the highlight to each instance in turn going up the page.
- selecting the (x) to the right of the chevrons will close the search field.
Search Using Microsoft Internet Explorer 11
NOTE: Internet Explorer is no longer considered to be safe and secure to use. Please use another browser.
- If the ‘Menu bar’ is not showing press the ‘Alt’ key, while Internet Explorer has the focus, to show it temporarily. Else right click on another browser bar and select ‘Menu bar’ from the list to show it permanently.
- Go to the ‘Menu bar’ and select ‘Edit’, then from the drop down list select ‘Find on this page…’. The ‘Find:’ bar opens with a field for entering the search string.
- As the search term’s string is entered all instances of that string on the entire page will be highlighted with a yellow background except the current one which will be highlighted in a different colour with contrasting text. (Note: colours may vary according to your device’s colour settings.) As more characters of the search term are entered the number of instances of it will usually diminish.
- The number of instances of the search term are displayed to the far right of the Find Bar.
- Each instance of the search term can be found by:
- scrolling the page while looking at the highlighted text,
- selecting the up (↑) or down (↓) arrows to move up or down through the text,
- selecting the ‘Next‘ or ‘Previous‘ words to move forward or backward through the highlighted text,
- keeping the “I-beam” cursor in the search field while pressing the enter key will:
- move the highlight to each instance in turn going down the page,
- with the Shift key pressed too, move the highlight to each instance in turn going up the page.
- selecting the (x) to the left of the word Find will close the search field.
To use the built in search engine:
- Enter your search string (e.g. all or part of a word or number) in the search field above the Main Menu.
- If you DON’T press Enter the search engine will overlay a scrollable list of results as you type from which you can choose an item. This list has featured images, post titles and a post description.
- If you DO press Enter the full size WordPress list of posts will be produced, from which you can select your item.
- Scroll down the list and choose the item you want to read.
Notes:
- Selecting the down chevron produces a list of search settings which can be set or unset as required.
- The search field can be cleared by selecting the ‘x’ to the right.
- The list of results can be hidden by selecting the background or other items.
Previously I have coloured the hyperlinks (links) within hypertext (text) on this site and I may do again but, I recently installed the TwentyTwentyTwo theme which comes with the present arrangement.
So, links in text are whatever colour the author has given them but, they all have a solid black under line. When the mouse hovers over the link the solid underline becomes dashed (instead of changing colour).
Some pictures also have built-in links to other places which are activated by selecting the picture.
I find replacing the current page with a temporary visit to another page is a nuisance. So I usually arrange for links to images and other web pages to open in a new browser tab or window leaving the original page open where it was. If this doesn’t happen then I might have made a programmatic error so feel free to comment.
If the link is to another place on the same post or page it will NOT open in another browser tab or window unless, at the point of selection, an appropriate choice is made from a context menu. e.g. When the right button of a mouse is clicked on the link and ‘Open in another Tab or Window’ is selected by the user.
Flashes were introduced in the margin in 2014 to highlight various paragraphs. Since 2016 these are now embedded in the text or appear as normal images (not in the margin).
Yes some flashes give warnings which I hope are self explanatory. These types of flashes are intended to remain permanently in the text.
Here are some examples:
Other types of flashes are not so serious. For example:
See the next three FAQs below about flashes in the following list:
Flashes were introduced in the margin in 2014 to highlight various paragraphs. Since 2016 these are now embedded in the text or appear as normal images.
The flash indicates that one or more paragraphs have been added to the article containing new information since it was originally written.
This is for the benefit of those who have already read the article and are just refreshing their knowledge of it and may be interested in any changes to it. These flashes are intended to be removed after a month or so since they have no benefit to new readers.
Flashes were introduced in the margin in 2014 to highlight various paragraphs. Since 2016 these are now embedded in the text or appear as normal images.
The flash indicates that one or more paragraphs or images have been amended since the article was originally written.
This is for the benefit of those who have already read the article and are just refreshing their knowledge of it and may be interested in any changes to it. These flashes are intended to be removed after a month or so since they have no benefit to new readers.
Flashes were introduced in the margin in 2014 to highlight various paragraphs. Since 2016 these are now embedded in the text or appear as normal images.
The flash indicates that the post has been edited in some way. It isn’t as specific as the ‘NEW ADDITION’ or ‘AMENDED’ flashes.
This is for the benefit of those who have already read the article and are just refreshing their knowledge of it and may be interested in any changes to it. These flashes are intended to be removed after a month or so since they have no benefit to new readers.
Yes, there is some logic to the way lists are written on this site. I created a set of rules which I want to follow. I read various articles on writing lists first and then devised these rules in my Bullet Points and Numbered Lists post.
I have used a tool which allows me to include Google Maps on this site. The maps respond in the same way they do on the Google Maps site. I have the option to affect the way they display and have made the following adjustments:
- I have prevented a mouse wheel from being used to zoom in or out of maps. If I didn’t do this then scrolling a post or page with a mouse wheel would be problematic. Maps passing under the pointer would commence zooming and the text would stop scrolling. I found this to be a general nuisance. Zooming can still be achieved by:
- using the +/- signs displayed on the map.
- double clicking the left mouse button to zoom in and double clicking the right mouse button to zoom out.
- By selecting (clicking) the pins on a map their location details can be seen. From the details it is possible to get a route and directions to the pinned site.
- Selecting (clicking) the background clears the details shown for the pin and displays the button which will display a larger Google Map filling a new browser tab when selected.
Using the built in search engine is often the quickest way to find a Text String in an article (on a page or in a post) on this site. This is especially so if you have visited the site before and know of a word (or number) that is written into a post. See FAQ: “How do I use the built-in search engine?”
If the string is in a comment then it will have to be found using the text search engine built into the browser. See FAQ: “How can I search through the comments?”
This is what you will see at the bottom of each individual post:
- Below the post you will find a comma delimited list of all the CATEGORIES under which the post is listed.
- Below the CATEGORIES list there is a comma delimited list of all the TAGS used in the post.
This is what you will see below each post in the Homepage list, as well as lists created from a Category, Tag or Text search:
- On the left you will find the date the post was PUBLISHED.
- On the right you will find the date the post was last UPDATED.
- Below the PUBLISHED & UPDATED dates you will find a comma delimited list of all the CATEGORIES under which the post is listed.
- Below the CATEGORIES list there is a comma delimited list of all the TAGS used in the post.
Infinite scrolling was deployed on this blog, but at the moment it has been returned to a post listing scheme using pages each holding ten posts.
Pages can be selected from the pagination scheme displayed in the footer of the blog thus:
In the picture above each underlined text item is linked to an appropriate action. The number NOT underlined is the current page.
Selecting:
- any underlined page number will select a list of items on that page.
- Previous Page (only displayed when viewing pages above 1) will select a list of items on the previous page,
- Next Page (only displayed when viewing pages below the highest numbered page) will select a list of items on the next page.
If the reader wants to read posts published in the distant past they may be on pages whose numbers are not shown in the current page’s list in the footer. They may find it easier to select from the Post Archives. Easier still might be to type something into the search engine.