Developer

Mac Diff/Merge Utility for Dreamweaver

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If you have done web development on a PC in Dreamweaver you have probably used WinMerge to check for differences between local and remote files.  Since I moved to the Mac a few years ago I have been neglectful in finding a similar tool for the Mac.  Thanks to some changes in my current day job I now have a larger team and more of a need for getting my act together on this.

The tool I have decided on in a free one called DiffMerge.  Part 1 of the install is the typical Mac install (drag a file to the Applications folder).  Part 2 is a little more detailed (but dead simple).  There is a readme.txt file in the installer image with instructions for copying 2 files to facilitate command line usage (You will need this for Dreamweaver).

Once you have done the installation and followed the readme.txt fire up Dreamweaver and click Dreamweaver > Preferences > File compare and set the path to your equivalent of the screenshot below:

DiffMerge for Dreamweaver on the Mac

Save, Format, View Dreamweaver Checked Out By Report

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I wrote a post a while back about a file I created to format Dreamweaver search results for printing. Recently the need arose for me to apply that same formatting to Dreamweaver’s “Checked Out By” report.

Here is what your report will look like:

Checked Out By Report View

Download the search_results.zip file here. It contains the files to transform both “Search Results” and the “Checked Out By” report.

*** UPDATED 2/27/2015 ***

As a security measure Chrome blocks access to local files. You must open Chrome from the command line with a flag to allow access to local files.

Follow these steps to allow local file access in Chrome on the Mac:

  • If you have Chrome open, close it
  • Open a terminal window
  • Execute the command: 
    open /Applications/Google Chrome.app --args --allow-file-access-from-files
  • Once Chrome opens select ‘File > Open File’ and browse to your local xml file
  • Voilà

Best Firefox Add-ons for web developers?

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I’m looking for the best Firefox Add-ons for web developers.

A few things you should know about me:

  1. I like lists.  A lot.  I make them all the time for everything.
  2. I hate repetition and drudgery in my work.  If there is a (legitimate) shortcut I want to know about it.
  3. I’m a ColdFusion web developer who dabbles in jQuery.
  4. I dig Firefox for helping me with all of the above.

Now this is where you come in… What are your favorite/most useful Firefox Ad-ins that help you get your work done on a daily basis?

Here are mine (alpha order):

  • ColorZilla – Eyedropper/colorpicker
  • Dummy Lipsum – Generate “Lorem Ipsum” dummy text.
  • Evernote Web Clipper – For selecting text to evernote
  • Fast Dial – Visual bookmark homepage
  • Firebug – My main usage is debugging AJAX
  • FIreGestures – Executes commands with mouse gestures
  • FireShot – Screen shot utility
  • iMacros – Awesome utility for building test cases or automating repetitious tasks
  • TinyURL Generator – Generates TinyURLs
  • Web Developer – Adds tons of tools (too numerous to list)
  • Xmarks – Sync your bookmarks across multiple machines (and platforms!)

Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you.

I’m an ACE (Adobe Certified Expert) in Advanced ColdFusion 8

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Two months of studying paid off today.  I took my ACE exam for ColdFusion 8 and passed with a 98%, which also means I qualified for the Advanced status.  The Web Application Construction Kit is all you’ll ever need to become a CF Ninja.  For the exam I’d recommend reading the first volume cover to cover. Additionally I found the ColdFusion MX 7 Certified Developer Study Guide to be very useful.  Even if you don’t need it for your job challenge yourself and go for it.

Hide .lck files (and others) in Aptana on the Mac

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I’m test driving the Aptana Studio plugin for eclipse.¬† It looks very slick.¬† Just a quick “how to” note for hiding files (like Dreamweaver .lck files, hidden system files, etc) in the project window.

  • Click the Project Window Tab
  • Hit FN+CMD+F10
  • Select “Filters…” in the dialog that opens
  • Check the boxes beside all the types you want to hide
  • Click ‘Ok’

Pretty simple.¬† So why did it take me an hour to figure it out 😐

ColdFusion Dying… Again

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So I took some database training with Global Knowledge last week.¬† My office paid for the training.¬† Apparently that “back end” training may be all for naught though since my front end programming language is on life support.

Today’s Global Knowledge newsletter letter informed me (in very cheeky fashion) that ColdFusion is # 5 on their “Dying Technology” list:

“If any of these skills are your main expertise, perhaps it’s time to retrain.”

Here’s the whole article: http://www.globalknowledge.com/training/generic.asp?pageid=2347&country=United+States

The notion of ColdFusion being dead has been debated into the ground so I’m not going to belabor it.

IMHO, ColdFusion is the best thing that ever happened to me from an IT standpoint.¬† If you want to get things done quickly, easily and reliably use it.¬† If you are thinking of ColdFusion along with COBOL, Netware, Flannel Shirts and “Grunge” Bands From Seattle, and¬† you might want step outside your house more.¬† It’s not the mid 90’s anymore.

Via Con Dios, Geocities

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Yahoo has officially pulled the plug on Geocities.

http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/05/03/rip-geocities/

I learned HTML making my Geocities site. I would love to see that brilliant collection of animated gifs and snazzy javascripts, but alas, I cannot find it anywhere in my archives. Even though the site I had there was terrible, I did learn some of the very basics constructing it.

Although I had long forgotten Geocities I definitely felt a little nostalgic when I learned of its demise.  Via Con Dios, Geocities.

Anyone else a little misty eyed?

Adobe CS4 Download File Too Large For USB Sandisk Cruzer

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Adobe CS4 Download File Too Large For USB Sandisk Cruzer

Part I
I finally took the plunge and bought the upgrade to CS4 yesterday from Adobe.¬† Downloading the gi-normous 4.8 GB file was like watching my cat try to eat a chijuajua.¬† Painful.¬† I guess I could have downloaded all the trials and entered the license code, but it just feels more “official” to download the single file.¬† At $599 I need “official”.¬† Update: I moved my downloading operation to my work computer since it was dying at home.¬† Once I finally got the file downloaded though I encountered a second problem.


Part II
I have a Sandisk Cruzer (8 GB).¬† However, after trying to put the 4.8 GB file on it 10 times and getting “The disk in the destination drive is full, please insert a new disk to continue” each time I finally did some googling and realized that the problem was that by default the Cruzer is formated to FAT32 and the maximum file size for FAT32 is 4GB.¬† Here is how to reformat to NTFS.

Dual Monitor Heaven USB2VGA

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I have finally joined the world of dual monitors.¬† Finances and standards at my office have thwarted my quest for two years to have a dual monitor setup.¬† My propensity to multi-task and staring at a fairly small (by developer’s standards) monitor for many hours a day has made this a painful defeat.

But at last… victory.

Meet the USB2VGA from startech.com (purchased via Dell).¬† This little guy finally allowed me to win the battle of not having to “open the box” to install any hardware.¬† It works quite well, is cost effective, and best of all… easy to configure.¬† If you can plug a device into a usb port then you have skills to set it up.

Can a dropdown box be imperialistic?

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usa! usa! usa! 

I¬†recently received a¬†request from a management member to put “United States of America” at the top of the countries dropdown list for our user registration process.¬† While this may seem an innocuous change to that person we do have a lot (maybe 1/3) of users not born in the U.S.¬†¬† I know it used to be popular to put the good¬†ole¬†U S of A atop of dropdown lists for its vast superiority “convenience” but it seems somewhat “politically incorrect” or “imperialistic” to me.¬† Any thoughts?