In order to speed up the coding process I searched around to see if I could find a CSS ‘menu creator’ which could do the donkey work, and which would create CSS that I could subsequently edit. Thus I came across css3menu.com which seemed to tick the boxes.

I bought a license and went to work. Initially I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t much control over the features, such as drop shadows etc. There only seemed to be an option to select a pre-designed template. If any further editing were required, it was clear that I’d have to do it myself.

What it is really good at though is offering the ability to construct the menu structure quickly and easily. You can also set basic settings such as menu width and submenu fading; although the latter became a thorn in my side…

Once I’d created my first menu I brought it into Dreamweaver to see how it worked within the website, and to ensure that none of the Flash elements were affected. Unfortunately they were. For at least an hour I struggled to get the menu to work in (surprisingly) Safari. All other browsers (except IE6) worked fine – but in Safari the menu was hiding behind the Flash element underneath.

Normally if a dropdown menu disappears behind a Flash element there are a number of possible fixes.

Fix 1.
Adjust the z-index value of the menu DIV to be higher than that of the DIV containing the Flash object.

Fix 2.
Add the following code parameter to the OBJECT tag of the Flash item:
<param name=”wmode” value=”transparent”>

Add the following code parameter to the EMBED tag:
wmode=”transparent”

Fix 3.
If Fix 2 doesn’t work try adding the following code parameter to the OBJECT tag of the Flash item:
<param name=”wmode” value=”opaque”>

Add the following code parameter to the EMBED tag:
wmode=”opaque”

Normally these fixes would help, but in the bizarre case of the CSS3Menu.com menu, it did not. The menu appeared above the Flash item in Firefox, (Windows & Mac), IE7 and 8 and even Opera… but not Safari.

Fix 4.
After pulling my hair out for a while it occurred to me that I had turned off the ‘Open with fade’ option under the submenu tab; but the submenus were still fading in. I found the piece of code in the generated CSS:

ul#css3menu1 li>ul{
opacity:0;-moz-transition:all 0.5s;-webkit-transition:all 0.5s;-o-transition:opacity 0.5s;}

…and deleted it. The CSS generator had simply ignored my request to remove it from the menu. After doing this, all was well and menu worked perfectly.

One other slight annoyance though… if I entered an ‘&’ character in a menu item, it messed up the code and produced this in the source code:

&amp;amp;

Easily fixed though – I just had to go through with a search and replace with:

&amp;

CSS3Menu.com Verdict

A handy way to familiarise yourself with CSS dropdown menus and a fast way to create the bones of a nicely compliant dropdown menu. There are a few glitches as detailed above, and a very poor help section, but overall I think that the time I’ll save will be well worth the money.

If you want a menu to work in IE6, this one is not for you – although I compromised by including the following script in place of the menu (only to appear in IE6):

<!–[if IE 6 ]>
<span style=”text-align:center;”>In order to correctly view the navigation on this site, please upgrade your browser from Internet Explorer 6 to the <a href=”http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/internet-explorer/products/ie/home”>latest version</a>. Other browser options include <a href=”http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/”>Firefox</a>, <a href=”https://www.google.com/chrome”>Chrome</a> and <a href=”http://www.apple.com/safari/”>Safari</a>. Alternatively, please navigate our site via our <a href=”http://www.yoursite.co.uk/sitemap.html”>Sitemap</a>. Thank you.</span>
<![endif]–>

Our Lymington-based studio is looking for a talented Dreamweaver-based website designer who has a minimum of 3-4 years’ experience, who is also capable of working on graphic design projects in InDesign.

Tinstar has a large portfolio of clients whose requirements vary a great deal, so the ability to think on your feet and turn your hand to whatever design requirement is necessary will be essential.

The successful applicant will be well presented, courteous and have an excellent telephone manner. They will be involved with clients from the start, and will need to be able to take a brief and offer constructive suggestions and opinions in meetings.

IN THE FIELD OF WEBSITE DESIGN, THE FOLLOWING KNOWLEDGE WILL BE REQUIRED:

• The ability to create good looking front ends and functional content management back ends based on PHP & MySQL
• Dreamweaver & Photoshop & Illustrator
• Javascript
• The ability to create / adapt WordPress & Joomla themes
• Be fully conversant with an Apple Mac environment

ADVANTAGEOUS KNOWLEDGE:

• Magento
• XML
• Flash

IN THE FIELD OF GRAPHIC DESIGN, THE FOLLOWING KNOWLEDGE WILL BE REQUIRED:

• InDesign
• Preparing adverts, leaflets & brochures for press as PDF/X-1a with attention to detail and an eye for high quality design

ADVANTAGEOUS KNOWLEDGE:

• Quark XPress

APPLICATIONS

To apply, please e-mail studio@tinstar.co.uk for the attention of Nick Beresford-Davies with links to great-looking websites you have created, references and current salary. Please attach your CV and any (small!) portfolio files you feel with be of interest.

The Guardian newspaper had to ask for permission to print it.

The funniest part of this is imagining the content of the letter sent to the Tax Office which prompted this reply.

………………

Dear Mr Addison,

I am writing to you to express our thanks for your more than prompt reply to our latest communication, and also to answer some of the points you raise. I will address them, as ever, in order.

Firstly, I must take issue with your description of our last as a “begging letter”. It might perhaps more properly be referred to as a “tax demand”. This is how we at the Inland Revenue have always, for reasons of accuracy, traditionally referred to such documents.

Secondly, your frustration at our adding to the “endless stream of crapulent whining and panhandling vomited daily through the letterbox on to the doormat” has been noted.

However, whilst I have naturally not seen the other letters to which you refer I would cautiously suggest that their being from “pauper councils, Lombardy pirate banking houses and pissant gas-mongerers” might indicate that your decision to “file them next to the toilet in case of emergencies” is at best a little ill-advised. In common with my own organisation, it is unlikely that the senders of these letters do see you as a “lackwit bumpkin” or, come to that, a “sodding charity”. More likely they see you as a citizen of Great Britain, with a responsibility to contribute to the upkeep of the nation as a whole.

Which brings me to my next point. Whilst there may be some spirit of truth in your assertion that the taxes you pay “go to shore up the canker-blighted, toppling folly that is the Public Services”, a moment’s rudimentary calculation ought to disabuse you of the notion that the government in any way expects you to “stump up for the whole damned party” yourself. The estimates you provide for the Chancellor’s disbursement of the funds levied by taxation, whilst colourful, are, in fairness, a little off the mark. Less than you seem to imagine is spent on “junkets for Bunterish lickspittles” and “dancing whores” whilst far more than you have accounted for is allocated to, for example, “that box-ticking facade of a university system.”

A couple of technical points arising from direct queries:

1. The reason we don’t simply write “Muggins” on the envelope has to do with the vagaries of the postal system;

2. You can rest assured that “sucking the very marrow of those with nothing else to give” has never been considered as a practice because even if the Personal Allowance didn’t render it irrelevant, the sheer medical logistics involved would make it financially unviable.

I trust this has helped.

In the meantime, whilst I would not in any way wish to influence your decision one way or the other, I ought to point out that even if you did choose to “give the whole foul jamboree up and go and live in India” you would still owe us the money.

Yours sincerely,

H J Lee

Customer Relations
Inland Revenue


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