I first posted this question in the listings board, but got no reply or help, so I thought I would try it here under custom templates. Hopefully someone from Tech will answer me.
I have noticed that when I create my own custom template and add the Store tag or the (store html coding) to the very end of my new template it causes the template to be to large for my screen and I have to scroll across to see the whole template.
It is only out by about 1/2" each way width ways, but it annoys me because you have to use the scroll bar to center the template.
I did some tests with a new template I just created, one without the store tag and one with the store tag.
It was 100% better centered without the store tag added. !!! Why is that ??
But I would like the store in my auctions. I tried making the store smaller in the html coding to 98% instead of 100% hoping this would cure the problem. It made the store smaller but did not stop the problem of off centering my auction page.
I even added the store tag at the very bottom of my template (after the <!-- END TEMPLATE HTML --> code) to see if this worked, but it didn't make any difference. My template is still not centered within my viewing page.
There must be a way to center the auction viewing page with the store tag entered, I just need to know how please. Thanks in advance for any info or help.
Carol, somebody will probably help you before I can, as I have to take the old lady and the crumb-crunchers out to eat first, but either way, it shouldn't be hard to fix. And regardless of who helps you, the best thing you can do to help them help you is put in on practiceboard or whatever and then get right back here and post a link to it.
CB...about to sortie on his mission of mercy.
Posts: 265 | Location: Taratupa | Registered: October 20, 2005
I agree without seeing the HTML its hard to know what the problem is.
But what happens sometimes when adding something like the store window inside the template it will cause the template to become larger then the screen thus causing the scroll.
There must be a way to center the auction viewing page with the store tag entered, I just need to know how please. Thanks in advance for any info or help. Carol.
Well, I'm back. I'm a little confused about the nature of your problem, Carol, but I'm going to wing a few thoughts at you, being I haven't seen your code yet.
Putting the store tag outside the end of the template HTML doesn't sound too good. You run the risk of putting it outside of the element that centers the template in the first place. When you post the link, I can look at that.
I added the store window to one of my custom 'plates to check it a minute ago. I put a <br> and then the tag immediately after the shipping and pay tag at the bottom of my template. I had no problems, but here's the thing: I size my templates to 750px wide (I can explain why some other time) by putting this code around it <div style="width:750px;text-align:center;margin 0px auto"> </div> (actually I put a url for a background texture in there too, but that's irrelevant.)
See, what centers something in one browser often won't center anything in another. This bit of inline CSS works in IE: <div style="text-align:center"></div> but is ignored by most everyone else, including FF. For them: <div style="margin:0px auto"></div> will do it without screwing up IE.
There are a few occasions where even that doesn't work and I resort back to the old deprecated <CENTER></CENTER> tags at the beginning and end, even though code freaks wrinkle their noses. Until eBay decides to go to strict HTML and CSS instead of transitional, use it if you have to - and be happy.
Anyway, I'm hoping that the alignment codes I gave you will center your template et al. The store-front resizes itself nicely with my templates and I assume it's a by-product of putting my width at a set number of pixels.
I could be wrong. There might well be better ways to accomplish these things. I'm not a pro, I'm retired from the truck business and I just pick up what I can learn, when I can learn it.
I hope this gets you through the weekend. Keep us posted.
Arrr! C.P
Posts: 265 | Location: Taratupa | Registered: October 20, 2005
Thanks for replying and the suggestions on editing my coding. I will try that. Here are several links to the template. The first 2 links are the template copied right into the practice link with out any previewing. They look ok until you add pictures and info and do a test auction preview, then the one with the store tag goes all screwy....see what you think... _______________________________________________
This is the template copied right into the practice link with NO STORE TAG
It looks ok at this point, until you do a TEST auction and preview it, then it shows everything out of alignment. ______________________________________________
This link is the source html coding from the TEST auction preview page, so you will see lots of code at the top of the document which is part of the preview page and not part of my original template, so just ignore that top html coding.
__do you see what I mean now, how it knocks the template off. I might try the suggestion from capt and re do my html coding. _____________________________________________
This is how it looks in the TEST auction preview mode with NO STORE TAG. again same rule applies with the extra html it is from the source code.
_it is centered and looks ok to me, but it might be my browser ? I use IE to browse.______I am curious to see how it looks in other browsers ?______________________________________
Any advice good or bad on the template would be great. Thanks guys ...and gals smile.
But there is still a small scroll for 800x600. The only other thing I suggest is move it outside of the template. That is where I have mine. I added the tag at the very bottom.
If you really gotta have it inside the template then maybe you can make a table for it with a set width that way it won't enlarge the whole template but not sure what will actually happen when using the tag. Will Auctivas width override the width of the table?
Oh man! You've got enough unfinished tables here to start your own do-it-youself furniture store!
The way that template is set up, you've got a lot of "borders" (actually "cellpadding") and when you put it on a 800x600 resolution you can only scrunch them down so far before they run up against that store window, which, according to the code, will only scrunch down to 752 pixels before it says, "I've drawn my line in the sand." Just experimenting, I arbitrarily changed that width down to 700px and the problem is solved, BUT...I wouldn't use that in a listing until I cleared it with Auctiva, first. As John Fogerty sang, "...for there were many things I didn't know." And there's got to be a simpler way, anyway.
I got something else up my sleeve and I'll be back. Stay tuned.
Posts: 265 | Location: Taratupa | Registered: October 20, 2005
I just copied the template code with the store tag outside the template (in the white part) and did a test preview auction on it.
Now heres the thing, It looked exactly the same as before in test preview when the store tag was inside the template. ??? I still had to scroll a good 2 inches to the right to see the whole template (same as when it was inside the template )
So then I looked to see what my PC resolution was set at, something I never even thought about to be honest !! and it was set at 800 x 600.. hmmm ... I then reset it to a higher res of 1024 x 768 pix 32 bit color... (made my fonts screen size so small I had to put on my bi foculs to read ha ha......
I then rechecked my test preview template ...
WOW amazing difference set at the higher res... It is perfectly centered now... must be the res on my PC..
So, now I have another question lol what is the most popular res for people to view web pages at ? you see, if I keep my PC set at the higher res, then everything looks great when I AM VIEWING my auctions, but anyone set at 800 x 600 will see it all off centered.
Is there a way that I can set this template up so that no mater Who looks at it in whatever res size it will be centered ? come on Captain I know you have the answer ??
Originally posted by Capt. Binghamton: Oh man! You've got enough unfinished tables here to start your own do-it-youself furniture store!
I got something else up my sleeve and I'll be back. Stay tuned.
HE HE HE giggle Yep I know my template is a disaster ha ha .... any techie would just roll over laughing if they saw it... You can't tell I am new at this ... ? can you...lol
Can you help me with my template ? I know I have all these boarders in there, mostly in my shipping part, but I have no idea how to set the tables up so that each part of my shipping info is in its own little box ?
so what I did, hmmm is to copy and paste each table lol.... and create a new box for each bit of the info, example: payments ~ USA Buyers ~ Int Buyers. blah de blah .... can you clean it up for me ????? I will walk the plank backwards and do a douple flip if you could..
So, do you think it is my lower res causing the scrolling problem, or my messy template ???
think I know the answer to that ? before I even ask...
Is there a way that I can set this template up so that no mater Who looks at it in whatever res size it will be centered ? come on Captain I know you have the answer ??
Slap me with a wet kipper me hearty lol
In a word: Arr! You don't want to go there. There's still people getting on eBay with 640x480 resolution, and they are considered a write-off. And don't forget all the people who sign on without maximizing their browsers...AARRRrrr! Right now, conventional wisdom is go for 800x600. Which opens up another chum-bucket which I won't go into right now, cause soon you'll be chasing sheep at the funny farm.
The Auctiva store window, as is, appears to be designed to fit in an 800x600 15" monitor, but without much room to put much of a border around it...it's 752 pixels wide (I guessyou could say it has invisible padding on both sides. Try highlighting it by dragging your mouse over it and you'll see what I mean).
Keep in mind, I'm an amateur, so YMMV, but I the options I see at this point are: 1. Try reducing the amount of cellpadding in your top three tables (making your borders narrower) and see if you still like the looks of the listing when you reach the point when the store window fits without making a scroll bar at the bottom of your browser. 2. Ask Auctiva to give the store window a narrower minimum width. 3. Try editing the auction onces it's on eBay, by changing the WIDTH="752" in the store window code to something a little smaller, but do it at your own risk, if you don't talk to Auctiva first. 4. Put the browser outside the tables at the bottom
I've started re-doing your template with in-line CSS, which won't solve this problem, but should help it load quicker in many instances. Slow loads kill more sales than where the store-front is, many times over. I'll get it out to you, but don't wait on it, as I have a couple listings to finish up and have to feed one of the heirs to me meager fortune.
BTW, that store window can be a relatively slow loader in and of itself, which can prevent tables it's nested in from opening until IT loads, I THINK. Bye-bye sales. That's a good reason right there to keep it outside of your "borders". Or going to Css.
I'm off. You probably already deduced that.
CB
Posts: 265 | Location: Taratupa | Registered: October 20, 2005
Well looks like the Captain knows what he's talking about so I'll let him take over from here cause I don't know CSS either I still use basic HTML myself.
But basically we both said the same thing as far as the store window cause your template to become larger.
I code my templates to be 98% instead of a fixed width. I don't like the way the fixed width looks on larger screens, seems to be lost on the page with all that white. Its best to check any template in both resolutions and in both FF and IE - you would be amazed at how it can look in two different browsers!
I've started re-doing your template with in-line CSS, which won't solve this problem, but should help it load quicker in many instances.
BTW, that store window can be a relatively slow loader in and of itself, which can prevent tables it's nested in from opening until IT loads, I THINK. Bye-bye sales. That's a good reason right there to keep it outside of your "borders". Or going to Css.
Hi Captain,
This is all news to me this CSS thingie ? never heard of it before today to be truthful. So I did some googling and found lots of juicy info on it.
It all looks very interesting. So CSS is the NEW html programming ?
So, now I have a whole new bucket of questions to ask you.
1) if I learnt CSS coding and used it on all my templates does Ebay and or Auctiva support this coding ? and if yes, does it mean that any one can view my ebay template auction no matter what PC res they have ~ No matter what browser they use ~ no matter if they have 2 heads and sing along to johnny cash records ?
I love learning new, but still have not figured out html lol.....but I keep on trying.
Looks to me that this new CSS coding is a lot easier to use than html.
2) Is there a difference with CSS and in-line CSS ?
3) If I use the other option on the store tag (the one which does not scroll through all your auctions, but rather sits there flat and the viewer has to click to move the box along) do you think that will load faster ?
4) Do you use the store tag in your auctions ? can I see one of your auctions to see how you set things up ? if you dont want anyone to see your auctions on here, then you can email a link to my email address its rcelliott1@verizon.net
you seem very knowledgable on all topics of coding, and I can not belive you are a novice ?
all I want in life ..besides a big house a flashy car and lots of money hmmmmmm... is to have 1 template that I can use for all my listings that works for 99% of viewers and loads quick.. not alot to ask is it ?
I will just keep using this template without the store tag until I hear back from you with my NEW in-line CSS template.
and, I will walk the plank in my " going out on the town outfit " which consists of a hard hat, wellie boots and purple feather wrap. blindfolded of course !!
Thanks Capt. and thanks Whamm922.. you are so nice to try and help me...
what is the most popular res for people to view web pages at ? you see, if I keep my PC set at the higher res, then everything looks great when I AM VIEWING my auctions, but anyone set at 800 x 600 will see it all off centered.
Yep I know my template is a disaster ha ha .... any techie would just roll over laughing if they saw it... You can't tell I am new at this ... ? can you...lol