DCP Partners

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Clearing ERR_SPDY_PROTOCOL_ERROR

SPDY is a networking protocol that was developed by Google with the intended purpose of providing a faster web experience.  However, there are occasions when opening a page in Google Chrome that you may receive an error message, followed by:

ERR_SPDY_PROTOCOL_ERROR

The message may indicate that the page is not available or may have been moved to a new address, despite the fact that the address has not in-fact been changed. It is a false indication of an error.  Often the cause of the erroneous message is an internet issue (DNS, IP configuration, etc) or low-speed connection.

One method for clearing the problem is as-follows:

  1. Open a new window in the Chrome browser
  2. Enter in the address bar: chrome://net-internals/#events&q=type:SPDY_SESSION%20is:active 
    SPDY_Session_1
  3. Click on the arrow in the upper far right of the browser window, which will open a drop-down list, and select the “Flush sockets” option.
    SPDY_Session_2
  4. “Quit” the Chrome browser (all windows/tabs) and re-open.

 

If the problem persists, you may want to try using a different browser (Safari, Internet Explorer 10, etc) … although our experience has led us to strongly recommend Chrome as your default browser.

 

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Disable the iOS ‘long-touch’ pop-up/callout

A standard behavior / ‘feature’ of iOS provides a pop-up window (‘callout’) that provides links for “Open in New Tab”, “Copy Link URL”, etc.  when a link or input element is touched and held. While handy in some cases, it is quite annoying in web-based applications where you’re trying to push a slider or interact with any touch element that requires you to hold the element down.  One of my web-apps makes use of slider elements to enter a numeric value – so when the user touched and held the slider ‘handle’, the callout would pop-up and interfere with the operation of the input element.

This behavior can be disabled quite easily thru CSS, by simply setting the -webkit-touch-callout property to “none” for the element(s) … or for the entire page.  For instance:

body {-webkit-touch-callout: none;}

will disable the callout for all elements on the page.

 

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LiveValidation – Validate all text fields

I use the LiveValidation Javascript library to handle most of my client-side form validation features. With it, fields are validated as the user types and instant feedback provides the user with specific instruction on how to correct errors – BEFORE they get to the server and database. The documentation for the library (see link above) is complete and provides lots of examples. [Read more…]

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Volunteer Plugin for WordPress

I’ve just recently completed the first version of a Volunteer management plugin for WordPress. The plugin provides AJAX-driven administration pages for Categories/Events, Volunteer Tasks, and Global Settings – as well as an AJAX-driven shortcode for the Volunteer Registration Form, which can be embedded in your content.

The plugin will generate and send email confirmation of all Volunteer Registrations and provides a listing for committee or event managers, with volunteer names, phone numbers, and email contact information.

If you have to manage multiple volunteer projects with multiple tasks, this Volunteer plugin can simplify your life.

The plugin is currently only available to DCP Partners clients, so please contact us for information on our services and how we can help you with your WordPress system needs.

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Save WordPress Plugin CSS changes

WordPress plugins offer a great way to extend the functionality of your ‘standard’ WordPress implementation. Often the plugin author includes a CSS file that provides the style attributes for the content elements that the plugin creates. However, many authors do not provide a way to change the style of the elements, without having to change the plugin’s CSS file. This works fine – however, any changes will be lost when the plugin is upgraded and the bundled CSS file is replaced.

My solution for this problem is to place CSS changes in a separate “style-override.css” file in the Theme’s directory – including all of the selectors and attributes that I’d like to change.  CSS works on the ‘last one in wins’ rule – so the last definition of a given rule will over-ride any previous definitions.

You can load this ‘style-override.css’ file at the end of the page, over-riding any previous definitions, by using the following code in your functions.php:

//load the style-override.css file at the very end of the document
//allowing CSS for plugins to be altered and protected against overwrite by upgrade
add_action(‘wp_footer’, ‘loadOverrideCSS’);
function loadOverrideCSS() { ?>
<!– load style-override.css file –>
<link rel=’stylesheet’ type=’text/css’ media=’screen’ href='<?php echo get_bloginfo(‘stylesheet_directory’); ?>/style-override.css’ />
<?php }
//pcLoadOverrideCSS()

This will use the ‘wp_footer’ hook, which is one of the last things executed by WordPress when generating the content page.

 

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WordPress 3.3 – Ready for Prime Time?

Based on the reviews I’ve been reading, I’m going to hold-off spending a lot of time with the new WordPress 3.3. Like with most bleeding-edge software updates, there are going to be performance and quality issues with the initial releases that I’d prefer others spend time finding and resolving. My clients’ sites are working fine and the new features implemented in WP 3.3 are largely cosmetic – adding little in the way of functionality. It will take several weeks/months for plugin developers to complete their upgrades for the new system, where needed, and the WordPress team a similar amount of time to get all of the bugs resolved. We’ll revisit WP 3.3 next quarter and evaluate the benefit of jumping on the bandwagon.

In the mean time, enjoy the solid performance of your present system and know that we’re keeping a close eye on the progress of this new version of the WordPress core.