Override any CSS Style Instantly!

While creating a new website for ASPE's IT Division for nationwide training, I ran into a problem with my formatting. In my CSS stylesheet, I began by outlining an over-arching style to command the entire site. I noted it thus:

* {
margin-left: 0px;
margin-top: 0px;
font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, Serif;
border: 0px;
}


This CSS text would take every item in the entire website, and give it a 0 pixel border, remove any margins on the left and top, and prepare it for a serif font. This worked gloriously, allowing me to overcome many standard problems that body {} doesn't always get to.

However, I first ran into a problem with Ordered lists , and Unordered lists. Different Browsers have different margins for such lists, and setting the margin-left to 0px effectively hid the bullet or numbers of these lists. After laying in a few pages (there are close to 160 in the first phase of this project) I started to notice an issue. To show these items I had to manually set the margin on these items to show. I solved the issue by including:

ul, ol {
margin: 0em 1em 0em 0em;
padding-left: 30px;
}

This gave them a slight margin, and a strong padding to shove such items back into the page and set them apart.


The second problem came up when my horizontal rules also failed to show up. After investigating the problem, I noted that the

---

element would automatically disappear when given a border attribute.

The border element was given in the * portion of the CSS, and was subject to a border on every page, in every instance. The only solution was to completely override the master stylesheet.

I whipped out my old teaching materials, and found a seldom used element:

! important

and brought it into play. ! important overrides any element on anypage, at any time. This will override the master stylesheet, as well as inline styles. The final solution:

hr{
height:1px ! important;
border: none ! important;
background-color:#000000 ! important;
}

every time the

---

tag was used, the

---

which is invisible, is given a height (1 pixel tall), given "none" as a border condition, and given a background color of black- just in case something should go wrong.

An elegant solution to a problem which cannot be adjusted without tearing out huge portions of the website.

InDesign Tip: Save All Open InDesign Documents at one time!

Blogger Question: I keep 3 windows open in InDesign CS3 at a time when working catalog files. Is there a way I can save them all at once?



If you're a designer like me, you will often have 3-4 InDesign documents open on your desk at one time (Let's not even get started on how many documents I have on my desktop... Its a running joke!). Old documents that you'll need to grab elements from, template pieces, and image grabs... Or just so much work that you have to keep everything open in order to stay on task. But, what do you do if you need to close out prior to a storm, or a quick dash out for an appointment?

CMD + Option + Shift + S

When pressed together, this function will save all of your documents back in their places without forcing you to adjust dialog boxes or InDesign settings.

---

Why would you need to "save" an InDesign document? First and foremost, probably just for peace of mind issues.

Most designers feel that they cannot always trust the temporary file. While the temporary file reloads automatically on indesign start, it doesn't always work. If an error exists, the temporary file will load, and recrash InDesign.

Plus, its always a safe bet to save your work. If possible, every 15 minutes. Best practices and all that.

Thanks! And, if there are more questions you'd like to know, I'll do my best to answer them.

Tyler Dockery
Senior Partner, Knotts & Associates

What Iphone Apps I am addicted to:

WIth the new iphone being a combination wii/nintendo DS, phone, email center, text messager, mobile internet browser, what apps have I got that are addicting me?

I am addicted to:

Othello (free)
Aurora Feint (free)


Which Apps are on my phone?

First things first: I haven't bought any apps yet, and will probably not consider them for quite some time. The free Apps I feel are essential:

Othello (free) : Great you vs Computer action in the classic strategy game to control territory
Stones (free) : A 2-player only version of Go. I am not good, but getting better.
Voicenotes (free) : Take voice-recorded notes and play them back later
ReMovem free (free) : because I have a daughter. The IPhone version of macintosh program OTIS. Otis is available for the iPhone for roughly $3.99
flashlight (free) : Good in a pinch. Don't laugh, it works.
Jirbo Match (free) : Because I have a daughter. Memory is good for children's mental development
LOL cats (free) : Because I need to smile every now and then
Aurora Feint (free) : Match game with time limits and goals to reach.
Zenbe Lists (free) : grocery lists with checkoffs. Awesome. Internet synching still turns me off, but lists work without it.

Purchasing the iPhone

After trying and trying to get my verizon account in order, I had a funny experience the other day. While playing with my daughter at a friends' house, her Godfather thought it might be humorous to push me in the pool.

It was, I laughed. Everybody laughed. Everyone I've told about it laughs. My phone and wallet were in my pocket. My verizon razor phone flashed disco lights for about 5 days, and then went off permanently.

I decided the time was RIPE for me to get an iPhone. The biggest hurdle: getting my wife on board. The strategy: she gets one too, and I buy them. She thought this was a very very bad idea. After I discussed my need, she promptly announced that she would read the bad reviews online, and visit the website.

The conversation went a little something like this: "Aha! it says right here.. Ooh! But doesn't... Ahh! Um... Hm... GPS built right in?..."

So we went down and bought in. The apple store was hopping, but the employees weren't breaking a sweat. Our line wait was about 3 minutes before a service person pulled us right out and got our order started.

I was a little weirded out that we HAD to sign up right there on the spot for a plan. We ordered 700 minutes between the two of us and unlimited internet access for roughly $170 a month. Additional people would be about $5 each. I'll have to see about getting a plan for the entire Knotts & Associates team....

Later, I went back and doubled my minutes at the AT&T store: Total price? $20 more. 1400 minutes per month which rollover, and unlimited nights, weekends, and mobile-to-mobile. What a great deal!! I'm part of the olde garde, and did not want any text messaging. While this normally would have cost us $0.15 to receive, and an additional $0.30 I opted to have all text messages blocked from my phone.

Whether I count turning off text messaging, or switching to the iPhone: Best decisions I ever made.