Forum software has been upgraded this morning Jan 31, 2021

[Donna]

@bgs thank you! I will check all of this out.

[bgs]

Not that we need it but I actually did use the paintbrush feature on the previous upgrade to change colors a bit so it was easier on the eyes.  

[Donna]

@bgs ah, ok! I hadn't used the paintbrush before and I got myself into some real trouble because I changed it to a crazy color and couldn't get it to go back to the default. I thought it might cause frustration for people who changed it and then couldn't get it back to normal.

Did you change the colors to be lighter? I do think the colors that it changes (the background colors of bars and buttons and such) are a bit dark. Did you change them to a softer blue?

[bgs]

There was another icon next to it I used too ---mountains maybe.  Seems like after I got blue with the paintbrush that one would go from gray to blue. After initial adjustment I never messed with it again.  I had it set for a softer blue but seems like I  had to get it just right or else couldnt see lettering in places. Even though colors seem a little darker now I can see the lettering.  If you adjust the color I am afraid where it says posted 9 hours ago by your avatar on above post will blend into background so wouldnt see it at all as that print is in more of a gray.

I hate to say this but the font in the posts is actually too large.   typing into dialogue box its too small.  Both were fine before upgrade.    I am on mobile on android smartphone so need good balance between size and use of screen space.  I only come here on my phone.

[Donna]

@bgs ok, it sounds like the color picker is actually useful, so I can put it back. I does frustrate me that they don't have a "reset" button on the color picker so that it could be put back to the original – I'm going to look into it and submit a support ticket to suggest they add the ability to reset it once it's been changed.

The purpose of the mountain icon would have been to change the background image (the pale blue single crochet background), but we didn't have any alternate images uploaded to choose from, so using that icon wouldn't have changed the background. That icon disappeared because I turned off the option to "change background image" because there never was another background to change to, but I just hadn't noticed that it was still set to "background picker" rather than "single image." ⬅️ (Edit: see my post below for clarification.)

I just reduced the percentage by which all the fonts were increased. Let me know if that is better. I will look into increasing the font in the post/reply box. All font sizes changed with the forum software upgrade because of the associated forum theme upgrade. The developers of the forum theme changed the way fonts are handled in the theme – my understanding is that they started over with a clean slate in terms of which font sizes are used because they are using a different method to control the font sizes. And so there is no way to just go back to the old font sizes.

[Donna]

@bgs Looking into it a bit more, the mountain icon is gone because they folded that functionality into the "Customizer" (the icon that looks like a toggle button next to the paintbrush). The settings I changed in the back end were just coincidental and didn't remove the mountain icon.

[bgs]

The icon that was next to the paintbrush changed color intensity blue to gray whether that was what is was supposed to do or not.  I guess those options let us adjust our individual screens instead of you trying to come up with best tweak for all.

I have 2 selections under toggle switch

Mobile navigation bar (which works)

Larger font size for posts which does not change anything as far as I can tell. 

Not seeing any change in fonts.  Too large in posts so have to scroll forever to get thru one post and too small as I type. 

 

[ReniC]

On 1/31/2021 at 9:06 AM, Donna said:

@ReniC you're welcome! I will work on the font. I too don't like it's small size and lack of contrast.

Thanks Donna! I appreciate that.

[Donna]

@ReniC you're welcome!

[Donna]

1 hour ago, bgs said:

Not seeing any change in fonts.  Too large in posts so have to scroll forever to get thru one post and too small as I type.

@bgs To help me work on the fonts, what mobile device are you using (iPhone, Andorid, etc.) and what browser are you using? When I view the forum on my iPhone with either Safari or Chrome, the fonts are still quite small – much smaller than they are on the desktop.

[Tampa Doll]

Donna, I just got a e-mail from owlvamp.  This is what she has said.

I see things were changed and I can't reply at all. I can read but not reply. I get that long skin space , but it won't let me type in it. Plus I see that our respond post are shorter.

Hopefully you can help her.

My printing is still light, but not as light as they were.

[Donna]

1 hour ago, bgs said:

I have 2 selections under toggle switch

Mobile navigation bar (which works)

Larger font size for posts which does not change anything as far as I can tell.

You won't see a background picker using the "Customizer" toggle icon because (1) Crochetville only has one background image, not multiple to choose from, so that option won't show and (2) I think the background picker might not be available on mobile.

 

1 hour ago, bgs said:

The icon that was next to the paintbrush changed color intensity blue to gray whether that was what is was supposed to do or not.  I guess those options let us adjust our individual screens instead of you trying to come up with best tweak for all.

You piqued my curiosity on this. So I did two things (1) I went to the Wayback Machine to see a version of the Crochetville forum before the upgrade and (2) I experimented with the demo themes on the theme developer site.

The most recent date the Wayback Machine had for Crochetville was November 2020, and I was able to see the background picker in action. Prior to our forum/theme upgrade, the "change background image icon" gave you two choices: the pale blue crochet background or a solid gray color (no image at all). I don't know if that was the theme developer's intention (to allow a background with only color and no image) or simply a byproduct of Crochetville not having offered any other background images to choose from. Due to the theme upgrade, there is no longer an option of having no background image at all, simply because they've changed the way picking background images is handled.

I'm attaching screenshots from November 2020 Crochetville on the Wayback Machine:
(1) With my cursor hovered over the mountain icon, the hover text says "Change background image"
(2) Crochet background selected
(3) Solid gray color (no image) background selected

Probably nobody's interested in digging this deep, but if you want to see a background picker in action,  you can go to a demo theme here (this is the theme developer we use) – https://www.ipsfocus.net/themes/theme.php?id=7 This theme has four different background images that can be chosen using the "Customizer" toggle icon.

 

 

 

 

[Donna]

24 minutes ago, Tampa Doll said:

Donna, I just got a e-mail from owlvamp.  This is what she has said.

I see things were changed and I can't reply at all. I can read but not reply. I get that long skin space , but it won't let me type in it. Plus I see that our respond post are shorter.

Hopefully you can help her.

My printing is still light, but not as light as they were.

Thank you! I'll get in touch with owlvamp.

Mary Jo, is there a specific location(s) that the font is light? For the actual post content, I have it set to absolute plain black, so there isn't anything darker.

[bgs]

20 minutes ago, Donna said:

You won't see a background picker using the "Customizer" toggle icon because (1) Crochetville only has one background image, not multiple to choose from, so that option won't show and (2) I think the background picker might not be available on mobile.

 

You piqued my curiosity on this. So I did two things (1) I went to the Wayback Machine to see a version of the Crochetville forum before the upgrade and (2) I experimented with the demo themes on the theme developer site.

The most recent date the Wayback Machine had for Crochetville was November 2020, and I was able to see the background picker in action. Prior to our forum/theme upgrade, the "change background image icon" gave you two choices: the pale blue crochet background or a solid gray color (no image at all). I don't know if that was the theme developer's intention (to allow a background with only color and no image) or simply a byproduct of Crochetville not having offered any other background images to choose from. Due to the theme upgrade, there is no longer an option of having no background image at all, simply because they've changed the way picking background images is handled.

I'm attaching screenshots from November 2020 Crochetville on the Wayback Machine:
(1) With my cursor hovered over the mountain icon, the hover text says "Change background image"
(2) Crochet background selected
(3) Solid gray color (no image) background selected

Probably nobody's interested in digging this deep, but if you want to see a background picker in action,  you can go to a demo theme here (this is the theme developer we use) – https://www.ipsfocus.net/themes/theme.php?id=7 This theme has four different background images that can be chosen using the "Customizer" toggle icon.

 

 

 

 

Thank you!  So I did remember correctly that it changed between  the  blue (Crochetville background) to gray.   I played with it when it first appeared, selected the Crochetville blue and not messed with it since.   I did go give a look at the background picker. Interesting.  Just one of the many choices you have to make.   I dont envy all the choices you have to make to get the site set up so it works ok for so many of us between pc's, tablets, smartphones, old eyes, and technically challenged.  I was still learning how some of the features on the previous upgrade(s) worked.  I find the search feature tricky---always have to play with it a bit to get it to search a particuliar section.  The first choices that come up to search thru are not particularly helpful in regard to this forum.

[Donna]

1 hour ago, bgs said:

Thank you!  So I did remember correctly that it changed between  the  blue (Crochetville background) to gray.   I played with it when it first appeared, selected the Crochetville blue and not messed with it since.   I did go give a look at the background picker. Interesting.  Just one of the many choices you have to make.   I dont envy all the choices you have to make to get the site set up so it works ok for so many of us between pc's, tablets, smartphones, old eyes, and technically challenged.  I was still learning how some of the features on the previous upgrade(s) worked.

You're welcome! I'm glad you found the link to the demo forum with the background picker interesting! I was thinking I might be going deeper into this and getting more esoteric than anybody wanted. Thank you for appreciating all that goes into making the forum work.  I'm grateful to have a lot of years of experience in sorting out all of the technical aspects, especially way back in the beginning when I was really involved in understanding (and sometimes rewriting) the underlying code. Software is always changing and needing upgrades, bug fixes, security fixes, and so on, so there's always something new to figure out.

[Donna]

1 hour ago, bgs said:

I find the search feature tricky---always have to play with it a bit to get it to search a particuliar section.  The first choices that come up to search thru are not particularly helpful in regard to this forum.

The choices that are not helpful – do you mean the drop-down menu on the search bar? Like this:

[Tampa Doll]

Donna it is probable my eyes  this is what I like, but don't think can be made normal.

This is the usual posted font.  I will just have to get use to it.  Do not go crazy trying to fix it.   I am working off a lap top, so that could be the problem.

 

[Donna]

3 minutes ago, Tampa Doll said:

Donna it is probable my eyes  this is what I like, but don't think can be made normal.

This is the usual posted font.  I will just have to get use to it.  Do not go crazy trying to fix it.   I am working off a lap top, so that could be the problem.

Thank you, Mary Jo! Ok, I understand now! I see it isn't the color of the font (since that's as dark as it can go) but the actual thickness of the letters themselves. I won't go crazy 😉 but I will keep it in mind.

[Donna]

@Tampa Doll of course all of these themes are created by people with much more youthful eyes than any of us here! 😂

[bgs]

2 hours ago, Donna said:

The choices that are not helpful – do you mean the drop-down menu on the search bar? Like this:

Yes that is the drop down bar that doesnt seem to help much at least for me.  I cant remember and have to fumble around a lot to find the drop down menu that lists all the specific places to search in the forum eg free patterns.

 

[Donna]

@bgs You can bypass the search drop down by clicking on the magnifying glass (in the search bar) without entering any search terms in it. This will take you directly to the advanced search page. There, tick the content type "Topics," then a drop down list of forums will appear, and you can select which forums you want to search in (you can select more than one).

Edited to add: Oh, and since you use the forum from mobile, you'll need to touch the magnifying glass in the top menu, and then when the search bar pops up, just touch the magnifying glass again without entering any search terms. That will take you to the advanced search page.

[bgs]

THANK YOU SO MUCH DONNA!

I never thought to hit the magnifying glass again.

Edited February 2, 2021 by bgs

[Donna]

Just now, bgs said:

THANK YOU SO MUCH DONNA!

You are very welcome!! ☺️

[Donna]

11 hours ago, bgs said:

I never thought to hit the magnifying glass again.

I only thought of it because it replicates the way it is done on desktop – where you click the magnifying glass on a blank search box to shortcut to advanced search. On mobile, the magnifying glass in the top navbar doesn't have a search box, so touching that magnifying glass brings you to a blank search box (where you touch the magnifying glass again) like the one on the desktop version.

[Donna]

Ok, this is my updated into for anyone having the following problem:

• Unable to access the reply box when viewing the forum on a mobile device (so far reports I have received of this problem have only come from iPad users).
• On mobile, the reply box is a single-line box, and when you tap/touch that box, the size of the box does not expand and it does not bring up the on-screen keyboard for you to type

In researching this issue, I have found that some other forums using the same forum software have had reports of this problem as well.

First, be sure that you have tapped the reply box more than once. Members on some other forums have reported some lag in the reply box responding to a tap or have needed to tap it two or three times to get the box to enlarge/keyboard to appear.

The problem seems confined to obsolete iPads (see list of vintage and obsolete Apple products here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201624).

If your iPad is obsolete and you have upgraded it to the most recent software update, and you are still experiencing this problem, I'm afraid there is no fix for it. Obsolete iPads often can't run newer apps and can't update existing apps (reference: Is Your iPad Obsolete and Outdated? https://www.lifewire.com/obsolete-ipad-4138570). Even though the forum is not an app, a similar logic applies to the software that runs the forum. It is not possible for developers to design software or apps that work with all obsolete devices.

If you are having this same issue with an iPad or other device that is not listed as obsolete, please reply here and let me know:
(1) the device you are using (iPad, iPhone, Android, etc.)
(2) the software version you are using (to find the software version on an iPad, go to Settings > General >About > Software Version)
(3) the browser you are using (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, etc.)