Ent Web Musings

CSS3 Introduction

There is always a need for learning new tricks, and with the Internet and the Web, there is never a dirth of new information.  CSS3 has been around awhile, but since not all browsers support the features yet, it has become a hit-and-miss proposition as to whether the new tricks will work.  This makes it supremely difficult for developers whose project managers or clients want the new features, but also demand backwards compatibility. At some point you just want to throw up your hands in frustration and say, "Get a new browser!!!" 

Unfortunately, although CSS3 adds a significant number of new features, it is still under development by the W3C, which means not all browsers support all the features, and some (most notably Microsoft IE6) support none of them.  To get the new CSS3 features in all their glory, you'll need to upgrade your browser to the newest version of whatever browser you're using, and if you're a Microsuck... er, Microsoft fan, you may just have to do without. 

A quick test for Firefox users:  if the following paragraph has a gradient border, your Firefox browser supports CSS3.  If not, you're due for an upgrade!  As of this writing, Chrome, Safari, Opera, and of course Microsuck... er, Microsoft do not support the border-colors (plural) feature.

This box should have a gently fading gray border on updated Mozilla Firefox browsers

Some of the most significant features of CSS3 are as follows:

  • Selectors
  • Box Model
  • Backgrounds and Borders
  • Text Effects
  • 2D/3D Transformations
  • Animations
  • Multiple Column Layout
  • User Interface

To learn more about CSS3 and how to implement it in your web design projects, visit http://www.w3schools.com/css3/css3_intro.asp

For a really interesting treatise on how to use CSS3 in lieu of JQuery for a cool slide-out panel, see this tutorial:

http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/tutorials/slide-out-panel-css3/?goback=%2Egde_1851900_news_145224950

External References for MS Access

It is not uncommon for more than one MS Access database to be used in a single workplace. I have several that I use in my own business as an Access and Web developer. When I develop a new database, I hate re-writing or even copying and pasting all the simple functions that I use all the time - functions I have written to make my life easier such as Replicate(), VBIn(), VBBetween() and ErrMsg() that I use in nearly every database I create. It becomes even more irritating to copy and paste the not-so-simple ones that require importing entire modules of code, API declarations, and global variables.

What I have done instead is create a database with all these functions already in it, then make a reference to it using the Tools==>References dialog in the VBA Project window. I just click the Browse… button and navigate to the location where I have my Functions.accdb database and click OK. Done! All my functions are now ready to use in my new database.

A tip for when your database won’t compile is to check those references. Especially when you use Office automation (integration with Word or Outlook), references to functions in those project libraries can be useful, but links can also get confused – especially if you move your application to another computer. Open the dialog and look for any x’s next to your available references. If your application breaks when moving to a different computer, the referenced library may be in a different location. For example, if you moved from a system with a 32-bit Office installation to another with a 64-bit Office installation, the files would not be properly referenced.