Thumbnails splattered all over

Are you using Auctiva's Thumbnail viewer, or trying to create one?

Got any examples you can post links to?

Danno

I am using Auctiva's Thumbnail creater in a template. I have switched to other styles when it did not work so I don't have examples you can look at right now. I have only posted listings that did not have this problem. One that did work is currently on one of my eBay auctions. It is at [Thumbnails that worked at this auction] I will go to one of my problem listings and get a better description for anyone who might be able to help.
Thanks

Hi,

That layout in the link you posted is the typical layout for Auctiva's thumbnail viewer.

The pattern starts with images at the top right of the main image with three rows of two images each, and then the pattern moves to below the main image with 3 more rows of 6 each. That accounts for all 24.

If you check the assigned numbers in the listing editor, the sequence should correspond to the left to right and top to bottom numbering I just described.

The pattern does look more scattered / random than usual, due to the different sizes of the thumbnails.

Here's a sample of one of my Saved Listing from a few months back at the practiceboard.

http://www.practiceboard.com/?10057022

Although they aren't all uniform, I did try to keep a "ordering" to sizes/shapes.

Danno

After several tests I find that if I eliminate just #24 I get the same result. However, if I eliminate two pictures and have only 22 pictures then the thumbnails work as advertised. A block centered above the "Description" box with the medium picture top left of that area, three pairs of two thumbs to the right and two rows of six and a final row of four below the medium pic that shows whatever thumbnail the mouse hovers over. It is interesting to note that there appears to be two empty spaces on the bottom row of thumbnails just waiting for me to add two more. But if I add even one, everything falls apart.

That said. Here is where the thumbnail pics are placed if I add the 23rd picture and choose TOP as the placement of the thumbs:
The "enlarged" pic is in the upper left corner (not centered as it should be) #1, 3, & 5 are vertical just to the left of the "enlarged" pic. Below the enlarged pic are two rows of five with my pics # 7 through 11 on row 1 and #13 through 17 on the second row. #2, 4, 6, 12 and 18 are way over on the right vertical and across from # 1, 3, 5, 11, and 17 but separated by 8 1/4 inches of nothing. #23 sits right on top of the "Description" heading. #19, 20, 21, and 22 are half way to the bottom of the description which happens to be pretty long so those pictures are 80 inches (not a typo) below the bottom row of the pics under the "enlarged" view box.

I tried all positions of the thumbs from the template choices. "Top" "Left" and "Top and Left" have absolutely the same results. "Right" and Top and Right" are equal to each other and cause a large horizontal mouse bar as it does not fit a screen. "Bottom" and "Top and Bottom" are equal to each other and everything matches similar to "Top" except that it all sits below the description and #23 sits on the "Payment" heading instead of the "Description" heading. The extra four are half way from there to the bottom of the page as the mouse scrolls. Not one of them showed a thumbnail for picture #24.

I really do not want to pare down my picture set to 22 from 24 but maybe that is what I will have to do.

quote:

The "enlarged" pic is in the upper left corner (not centered as it should be)

IMO...That's as designed (as seen in your example with 24). You need to account for low-res monitors at 800x600 in thinking about layout with a 400+ wide large image and 80x80 thumbs. Don't forget, you also have template borders and margins to consider. I believe that's why they semi-wrap the large image at right and bottom, and the images at right require off-center of the main image, i.e. space efficiency in attempt to have all the images on-screen at low-res. It also explains the limitation on positions (too large a field for either left or right).

Is it possible the problems with #23 and #24 are relevant to a specific template. If you swap for the template you used in the posted example, does that help?

Danno

BTW....I used the Thumbnail Viewer on all my Antiquarian book sales in the Spring, per my posted example. It does the job, but does need planning and consideration for template and image placement for good results.

All templates I tried did had the same result.

Hi,

I built a test listing using 24 images from my library with a randomly selected template and got this result:

http://www.practiceboard.com/?10059572

Danno

I just tried the one that worked as advertised (the one in the link in an earlier post linked again here [Link to example that worked OK]. I now remember trying that one. I now get the SAME thumbnail placement results as my splattered example that are explained in my earlier post only in text form. But I also get something else different from what I am supposed to get.

On the "July Picnic" template that is used on the GOOD example, I now get three EXTRA vertical blue bars with the red and white stars. The outside bar is contiguous with the top part of the red/white/blue border and there are three floating vertical bars that start an inch below the top part of the border. The LEFT side is messed up, too. It has 2 1/4 vertical bars with the 1/4 of a bar at the edge of the screen. There is a horizontal mouse bar, BUT an extreme right mouse slide still only shows the 2 1/4 vertical bars. None of those vertical bars show without a horizontal mouse slide to the right. The GOOD example I gave all fits on my screen. None of the right vertical bars is contiguous with the piece of top bar that sticks down an inch.

The BOTTOM is also messed up. The GOOD example has a single blue stripe with red and white stars the are immediately below the "Contact Us" information. In my "splattered thumbs" listing broken line of blue squares where the bottom line of blue stripe with red and white stars belongs...except for the part under the 2 1/4 right vertical stripes where the horizontal line has a single white and a red star before the stripe goes off the page. It has a few pixel separation below the right vertical bars.

The LEFT four vertical bars continue past where they are supposed to stop ant go past the bottom medium picture view to the regular eBay section of shipping/handling and insurance info.
THEN---- and THEN...the four fields for "Shipping & Handling," "Service," "To," and "Shipping Insurance" instead of being 12 inches wide total are all squished to fit under the four vertical bars (about 3 inches or so).

THAT, I believe is not what the thumbs are supposed to do.

AND, if I remove two pictures to a total of only, 22 everything falls back to perfection. Similar to the GOOD 24 picture link example.

Hi,

Can you copy the HTML code using the <HTML> icon on the Saved Listings page to the practiceboard for one of the problem 24 examples you describe.

Are you adding any special "widgets" to the code from other 3rd parties?

Danno

Edit: I noted you are adding a fairly large table on the prior example you posted. I do know that failure to properly close some HTML tags (especially TABLE), can cause havoc in the code and the template to look weird.

I will try to get the HTML you asked for.

I am NOT creating ANY HTML stuff on my own. It is all created by Auctiva standard "Create and eBay Listing" page and using their templates.

There is no third party stuff on the page.

Thanks for your help.

This shows the thumbnail splatter, but does not have all the border problems that I described. It does have some border problems, though, on the right and on the bottom.

http://www.practiceboard.com/?10060376

On the left, The problem difference from the problem that I see on Auctiva, is probably because the HTML copy does not include the stuff Auctiva adds for eBay. Namely the S&H, To, Service, and Insurance sections at the very bottom.

This is the same Auctiva template but with 22 thumbnails instead of 24. This one works as advertised!

http://www.practiceboard.com/?10060490

Hi,

My code analyzer immediately found errors with missing closing tags, per prior observation.

I'll try to walk the code and see what elements were added that's caused the problem.

You can run an easy test and verify. Edit the Saved Listing and switch to HTML mode. Delete all the code and text and Preview without Saving. If that restores the template and the Thumb Viewer, it verifies that something in the Description is causing the corruption. BTW....this one looks exactly like one I diagnosed with missing TABLE close in the template forum, just the other day.

Danno

Edit: The code pasted to the practiceboard is definitely incomplete. Look at the bottom of the listing to see one of the HTML "<" appearing on a bullet with missing code thereafter.

I did not find the code you were referring to. I had to look up "Bullet" on the Internet to find out that I was searching for <ul> code.

Can you copy the entire line of code you are referring to and respond with that info. Then I can put that in a search box on the Practice Page to find it.

Hi,

On both practiceboard pages you just posted, scroll all the way to the bottom of the HTML code and you'll see it abruptly ends with...

<font face="Georgia" color="#000000" size="3">Parlor Magic </font></div></li><li><div align="left"><

That last "<" means more code followed and at least a close to the <div align="left"> is missing. My analyzer suggests alot is missing. If you examine the visual page, you'll see the text with o (that's a bullet) and Parlor Magic, followed by another bullet and the "<" symbol.

This really looks like an incomplete page from a code builder or a copy attempt from another page that missed getting all the code. That's what is distorting the page and element placements.

Danno

I'll bet you nailed it now.

I do believe ths was a copy from another book.
Perhaps something happened during the copy to get it messed up.

I will start with a fresh page that works and see how that does.

Thanks a lot for tracking this down. It has been bugging me for months. My granddaughter is better at HTML than I am. As you can tell from my previous comments, that would not take much.

Hi,

You're welcome. Grandpa to Grandpa....Hope that advise helps. Coding keeps me young....hehe

Have a good one.

Danno

At one time I could hold my own in Basic, Cobol, Fortran and Pascal. Not much use of those these days.

Thanks again for the help.

Fred
Galdor41 on eBay