Tutorial Discussion Forum

Link alteration

2012-01-17T16:53:54Z

This tutorial references alteration of links. The code does not work for me right now, although it used to.

Call for Volunteers: How-tos for Clearing Browser Cookies

2011-06-20T18:52:47Z

It was recently pointed out that the tutorial entries in howto that cover clearing cookies in different browsers haven't been update since 2003. Because we sometimes refer to these entries in answers to Support requests, it would be much more helpful if the instructions weren't so laughably obsolete.

I'd like to get some volunteers to write up instructions for clearing cookies in a variety of current browsers (see the list of old, old browsers here). Please comment with a draft, or if you have any questions or suggestions for a better way to bring the documentation up to date.

Move FAQ 176 to s2howto tutorial

2010-12-06T19:45:06Z

I'd like to move FAQ 176 to an s2howto tutorial. It's very complicated for a FAQ and though I'm not sure on the usage of that particular fact, it seems like it doesn't really "fit" with the rest of the FAQs in the Customization categories. Here's the text:

What are the different style layer types?

S2 was designed from the ground up to allow a much-increased level of flexibility when customizing your journal. Because of this, S2 styles are composed of "layers". Each layer in a S2 style deals with a different aspect of the style, including color, translation, and HTML options and settings. A complete S2 style is the result of putting its different layers together for use.

→ See a basic list of definitions that are used in S2

To become familiar with the various layers available to you in S2, go to the Advanced Customization area and click on "Public Layers". You will be presented with a page that lists all of the available system layers, starting with the Core Layer.

Core Layers

The Core Layer is the center of S2. This layer defines all of the most commonly used data types (such as integer, string and boolean variables), properties (colors, text, and presentation options), classes (pages, journal views, entries, comments) and functions. All other layers inherit the functionality of the Core Layer.

The Core Internationalization Layer defines how text properties and date/time formats, among other things in the Core Layer, would be displayed in a different language.

Layout Layers

A Layout Layer combines the functionality from the Core Layer and the relevant Core Internationalization Layer to create the pages people see when they visit your journal. A single Layout Layer controls all of the views of your journal: the Recent Entries view, the Friends view, the Calendar view, the Day view, the Month view, and your individual comment pages.

You can define a custom set of properties in your Layout Layers, which can then be configured via the basic Customize Journal area. Because of this, once your Layout Layer is completed, you may never have to change it again — you can change your customizations by altering your Theme Layers and your User Layers.

Each Layout Layer can have up to three different types of child layers. For examples, click on any of the "children..." links on the Public Layers page.

A Layout Internationalization Layer performs many of the same functions as the Core Internationalization Layer, but it is specific to your personal Layout Layer. This allows you to make your Layout available in different languages to other users. For example, if your Layout Layer has an Internationalization Layer beneath it which converts everything to German, then users who have selected German as their preferred language on the the [[gmlitem:/manage/settings/index.bml.cat.display]] tab of the [[gmlitem:/manage/settings/index.bml.title.self]] page page will see your navigation links, custom text, etc. in German, without any additional configuration on their part.

Theme and User Layer

A Theme Layer is used to set properties or override functions from the Layout Layer. Any defined Theme Layer "children" can be chosen from within the Customize area. → Using a theme layer

The User Layer is the layer in which all Layout-specific options, configured via the Customize Journal area, are saved. A layer of this type will automatically be created for the user upon saving their Individual Customizations. Although User Layers can be created manually, they should not include functions or properties other than what is available in the Customize area. If you create a User Layer that contains additional properties or functions, this additional information will be lost the next time you customize your journal. Instead, you should use a Theme Layer for this type of customization.

JavaScript Embedding Updated

2010-08-05T16:38:56Z

I have edited the Embedding: JavaScript tutorial to change language="JavaScript" in the examples to type="text/javascript". The "language" attribute has been deprecated since at least HTML 4. I've also shuffled around the closing tags so that the <noscript> tag group comes after, not inside of, the <script> tags.

Google Webmaster and print_custom_head()

2010-06-18T17:37:36Z

Now that Release #65 is live, the Manage Settings page can be used to enter the unique code for Google's Webmaster tools. It works for all account levels, but only for personal accounts. Therefore, the Using print_custom_head() tutorial should be modified to say that communities must still go this route, but personal accounts don't.

Spaces in Tags

2010-04-15T01:58:38Z

tamar helpfully pointed out to me that Adding a Header Image -- Overview included a link to the "header image" tag using a plus instead of a space. I've gone ahead and edited the entry but I haven't looked through other entries to see if there may be broken links. If anybody else notices one, please comment here with a link

Tutorials on renaming Edit/Memories/etc. links

2010-03-16T21:44:44Z

In view of the new Share This feature, these tutorials need to be fixed, otherwise Share This will not work.

http://community.livejournal.com/s2howto/42263.html
http://community.livejournal.com/s2howto/25011.html

They need this line added:

$link->print_raw();

The command line, DNS cache clear, nslookup, traceroute, and ping. OH MY. [final draft]

2010-03-13T04:13:16Z

Okay, I think this should incorporate everything from http://community.livejournal.com/howto_userdoc/162458.html to make this a final draft.

This should be filed under the existing Memory Category @ General Tutorials

Create 'Opening the Command Prompt or Terminal'

DISCLAIMER: This document is not an official LiveJournal document. It is a resource document maintained by a fellow user. The original source of information is noted, where available. LiveJournal takes no responsibility for the information found in this document.

Open a Command Prompt or Terminal

Windows 2000/XP:

Click Start, then select Programs, Accessories, and then Command Prompt.

Windows Vista:
Click the Vista logo, then select All Programs, Accessories.
Right-click Command Prompt and select Run As Administrator.

Macintosh OS X:
Click Applications, then open Utilities, then open Terminal.

Linux:
Due to the number of Linux flavours, if you are not sure how to access the command prompt or terminal, please consult your system's documentation or technical support resources.

Copying text from a Command Prompt or Terminal

Windows XP/Vista

1. Right-click and select 'Mark' from the right-click menu.

2. Select the text you would like to copy.

3. Press the Enter or Return key to copy the selected text.

4. Paste the text as appropriate, by holding down the 'Control' key and pressing the 'V' key.

Macintosh OS X

1. Select the text you would like to copy.

2. Copy the text by holding down the 'Command' key (also called the Apple key) and pressing the 'C' key.

3. Paste the text by holding down the 'Command' key and pressing the 'V' key.

Linux:
Due to the number of Linux flavours, if you are not sure how to copy text from the command prompt or terminal, please consult your system's documentation or technical support resources.

These should be filed under a new category "@ Troubleshooting Tutorials":

Edit 'Clearing DNS Cache: Windows, Macintosh OS X and OS X 10.5, and Linux'

DISCLAIMER: This document is not an official LiveJournal document. It is a resource document maintained by a fellow user. The original source of information is noted, where available. LiveJournal takes no responsibility for the information found in this document.

The DNS Cache stores information on the IP address that any given domain or subdomain points to. This is separate from your browser's cache of visited pages. Emptying your DNS Cache will force your computer to request updated DNS information. However, as your Internet Service Provider may also have cached DNS information, it may take up to approximately 48 hours to receive fully updated DNS information after a change has been made.

To empty your DNS Cache:

1. Open the Command Prompt or Terminal. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

Windows 2000/XP/Vista:
2. Enter ipconfig /flushdns

Macintosh OS X:
2. Enter lookupd -flushcache

Macintosh OS X 10.5 (Leopard):
2. Enter dscacheutil -flushcache

Linux:
2. Restart the nscd daemon by entering /etc/init.d/nscd restart

Create 'Troubleshooting with nslookup, traceroute, and ping'

DISCLAIMER: This document is not an official LiveJournal document. It is a resource document maintained by a fellow user. The original source of information is noted, where available. LiveJournal takes no responsibility for the information found in this document.

To retrieve DNS lookup information:

1. Open the Command Prompt or Terminal. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

2. Type nslookup livejournal.com. If requested, you may also need to lookup subdomains, such as nslookup l-stat.livejournal.com or nslookup community.livejournal.com.

3. If necessary, copy the information (including the original command) into a text editor, email, or support request. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

To retrieve traceroute information:

Windows 2000/XP/Vista

1. Open the Command Prompt. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

2. Type tracert www.livejournal.com and press the Enter or Return key. This process may take several minutes to complete. If requested, you may also need to traceroute to subdomains, such as tracert l-stat.livejournal.com or tracert community.livejournal.com.

3. If necessary, copy the information (including the original command) into a text editor, email, or support requset. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

Mac OS X or Linux

1. Open the Command Prompt or Terminal. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

2. Type traceroute www.livejournal.com and press the Enter or Return key. This process may take several minutes to complete. If requested, you may also need to traceroute to subdomains, such as traceroute l-stat.livejournal.com or traceroute community.livejournal.com.

3. If necessary, copy the information into a text editor, email, or support request. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

To retrieve ping information:

Windows 2000/XP/Vista

1. Open the Command Prompt. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

2. Type ping www.livejournal.com and press the Enter or Return key. This process may take several minutes to complete. If requested, you may also need to ping subdomains, such as ping l-stat.livejournal.com or ping community.livejournal.com.

3. If necessary, copy the information (including the original command) into a text editor, email, or support request. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

Mac OS X or Linux

1. Open the Command Prompt or Terminal. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

2. Type ping -c 10 www.livejournal.com and press the Enter or Return key. If requested, you may also need to ping subdomains, such as ping -c 10 l-stat.livejournal.com or ping -c 10 community.livejournal.com.

3. If necessary, copy the information (including the original command) into a text editor, email, or support request. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

Summary of Changes, 2009

2010-01-26T15:08:49Z

Tutorials added:
- Clearing DNS Cache: Windows, Macintosh OS X and OS X 10.5, and Linux, as mentioned on Jan. 31 here
- Install, use, and remove the LiveJournal application on MySpace, as proposed on Sept. 4 here
- [s2] [paidaccount] How to display AdSense in custom styles, as proposed on Sept. 29 here and here
Tutorials edited:
- [s2] [paidaccount] [all] Adding a Navigation Strip, edited link as proposed on Feb. 28 here
- [s2] Edited these "Adding a Counter" tutorials to suggest using the Free Text/Blurb option, as proposed on Apr. 4 here:
- [s2] [s2 layouts by feature] Changing Date Format and [s2 layouts by feature] Changing Time Format edited to point to an existing tutorial instead of S2 docs, as proposed on May 2 here
- [s2] Thumbnail images fixed on all the layout information entries, as proposed on May 4 here
Tutorials removed (hidden):
- [s2] [paid accounts only] [Tranquility II] Adding usericons in the Recent Entries view, as proposed on Jan. 29 here

Previous summary of changes, Jan. 15, 2009

The command line, DNS cache clear, nslookup, traceroute, and ping. OH MY.

2009-11-09T10:04:56Z

I have no idea how to format proper names/titles, etc. But this suggested grouping would work best for me when providing information to users who open web-ui requests.

I need someone to tell me how to correctly to fill in the "how to copypasta text from the command prompt/terminal" bit. I could really use this, because it's not uncommon for people to get frustrated and do screenshots instead, and (1) that means that only sighted volunteers can help answer these requests and (2) I personally cannot see the screenshots from many locations. I'm not sure if it's as complicated on MAC OS X as it is in at least some versions of Windows.

This should be filed under the existing Memory Category @ General Tutorials

Open a Command Prompt or Terminal

Windows 2000/XP:

Click Start, then select Programs, Accessories, and then Command Prompt.

Windows Vista:
Click the Vista logo, then select All Programs, Accessories.
Right-click Command Prompt and select Run As Administrator.

Macintosh OS X:
Open a Finder window.
Click Applications, then click Utilities, then click Terminal.

Linux:
Due to the number of Linux flavours, if you are not sure how to access the command prompt or terminal, please consult your system documentation or your favourite search engine.

Copying text from a Command Prompt or Terminal

Windows XP/Vista

1. Right-click and select 'Mark' from the right-click menu.

2. Select the text you would like to copy.

3. Push the Enter key to copy the selected text.

4. Paste the text as appropriate, by holding down the 'Control' key and pressing the 'V' key.

Macintosh OS X

1. Select the text you would like to copy.

2. Copy the text by holding down the 'Control' key (also called the Apple key) and pressing the 'C' key.

3. Paste the text by holding down the 'Control' key and pressing the 'V' key.

Linux:
Due to the number of Linux flavours, if you are not sure how to copy text from the command prompt or terminal, please consult your system documentation or your favourite search engine.

These should be filed under a new category "@ Troubleshooting Tutorials":

To empty your DNS Cache:

To retreive DNS lookup information:

1. Open the Command Prompt or Terminal. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

2. Type nslookup livejournal.com. If requested, you may also need to lookup subdomains, such as nslookup l-stat.livejournal.com or nslookup community.livejournal.com.

3. If necessary, copy the information into a text editor, email, or support request. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

To retreive traceroute information:

Windows 2000/XP/Vista

1. Open the Command Prompt. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

2. Type tracert www.livejournal.com. If requested, you may also need to traceroute to subdomains, such as tracert l-stat.livejournal.com or tracert community.livejournal.com.

3. If necessary, copy the information into a text editor, email, or support requset. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

Mac OS X or Linux

1. Open the Command Prompt or Terminal. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

2. Type traceroute www.livejournal.com. If requested, you may also need to traceroute to subdomains, such as traceroute l-stat.livejournal.com or traceroute community.livejournal.com.

3. If necessary, copy the information into a text editor, email, or support request. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

To retreive ping information:

Windows 2000/XP/Vista

1. Open the Command Prompt. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

2. Type ping www.livejournal.com. If requested, you may also need to ping subdomains, such as ping l-stat.livejournal.com or ping community.livejournal.com.

3. If necessary, copy the information into a text editor, email, or support request. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

Mac OS X or Linux

1. Open the Command Prompt or Terminal. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

2. Type ping -c 10 www.livejournal.com. If requested, you may also need to ping subdomains, such as ping -c 10 l-stat.livejournal.com or ping -c 10 community.livejournal.com.

3. If necessary, copy the information into a text editor, email, or support request. If you are unsure how to do this, it is explained in the [linked] tutorial.

CSS

2009-10-07T19:17:33Z

I'm planning to rewrite this tutorial for S2: http://community.livejournal.com/howto/17028.html. Not sure how I missed it before... (Just posting here as a sort of reminder to self.)

How to display AdSense in custom styles

2009-10-02T20:26:52Z

Rough draft, moved from here:

If you have your journal style customized, to display Your Journal - Your Money ads on your journal pages, you need to call the "print_ad_box(string type)" method of the Page class in the code of your layout layer. Where 'string' is defining ad format as follows

's2.top' for [[gmlitem:/manage/settings/index.bml.setting.adsense.horiz_top]]
's2.vertical' for 160x600
's2.box.top' for 300x250
's2.bottom' for [[gmlitem:/manage/settings/index.bml.setting.adsense.horiz_bottom]]

To add html code around the ad block, viewer_sees_ad_box(sting type) clause could be used. Where 'string' is an appropriate banner value.

Example

The following code could be used to display the [[gmlitem:/manage/settings/index.bml.setting.adsense.horiz_bottom]] banner:

var Page p = get_page();
if (viewer_sees_ad_box("s2.bottom")) {
   "<div class=\"ad\">";
   $p->print_ad_box("s2.bottom");
   "</div>";
}

Security icons in S2, the overriding thereof

2009-09-29T03:19:27Z

I would very much like to ask this user if they would consent to have their tutorial included in s2howto: http://community.livejournal.com/everything_lj/5263489.html

Thoughts?

LiveJournal on MySpace

2009-09-08T02:59:13Z

I just noticed a new tutorial posted, and wanted to have it documented here. Apparently based on the discussion in lj_userdoc.

Community maintenance stuff

2009-09-04T17:10:31Z

The link to http://www.queech.com/janine/howto/howtogenerator.html on the profile is kinda b0rked & probably should come down.

User-Agent and Embedding

2009-08-24T17:27:34Z

So, the embedding howtos need to be updated to, at a minimum for all the scripting ones, say "Your server-side script must send a User-Agent string along with this request. If you don't know how to do this, contact the documentation for the scripting language you want to use." or something like that.

Below is a list of the methods and whether they need to be changed or not.
HTML Frames: OK
JS: OK
Perl: Needs to add UA - a print segment after the GET but before the blank line (\n\n)
PHP: Needs to add UA. Needs to use the fsockopen() method and deprecate the other two (as they don't easily support adding UA. Unfortunately, fsockopen is restricted on a lot of hosts. C'est la guerre.). Can do this by adding a print statement after the GET but before the \n\n.
Python: Needs to add UA. Not sure how to make that happen.
ASP: No clue.
ASP.net: No clue.
CF: No clue.
JSP: No clue.
ADP: No clue.
Flash: OK

Anything that invites users to retrieve the site with a server-based connection needs to make sure that we tell users to provide a User-Agent string along with the request. Some languages and libraries do this automatically, some don't.

Any takers? :D

nslookups and you!

2009-08-19T02:45:57Z

Okay, so, this comes up from time to time. We ask users to do nslookups for either livejournal.com or subdomains (ie l-userpic.livejournal.com) and we tell users to use their fave search engine to find info on nslookups.

Unfortunately, this can be confusing for some users and even employing the help of google search leaves them utterly confused. As such, we end up typing the instructions for them onto requests.

I'd like to see a how2 on nslookups for the various operating systems out there, so instead of pointing people to search engines then dealing with confusion, we could just point them to the how2 doc. Would someone (more knowledgable than me) be willing to write up a how2 on nslookups?

ETA: We also need a how2 for traceroutes/pings - which would be best as a seperate document from a how2 for nslookups. So would someone be willing to write this, also?

(This is what happens when the Support Admins 'talk' about things! :p)

Facebook Beacon

2009-06-26T21:14:27Z

healingmirth very kindly put together a thing on using the thing. http://community.livejournal.com/learn_support/1249182.html

What say we work this into a thing?

Potential new tutorial

2009-06-18T04:16:51Z

The RTE is great at keeping markup. Sometimes this is a bad plan. There should be a guide on stripping markup, both before and after posting. (This was originally pitched in lj_userdoc, where it was cheered but redirected here.)

Tactics include the notepad dodge, pasting into the HTML editor, and going into HTML mode & removing manually.

Previews work again

2009-05-04T18:08:44Z

I've edited all the posts listed on the list of layouts to fix the preview images. Most of the hotlinks were referring back to stat.lj.com or p-stat.lj.com; I've edited all of them to refer to l-stat, which hopefully won't be going any where soon.

Date and time formats

2009-05-03T02:08:14Z

These two feature guides:
http://community.livejournal.com/s2howto/10426.html
http://community.livejournal.com/s2howto/48596.html

should refer to http://community.livejournal.com/s2howto/48596.html instead of the S2 docs which are really kind of dense...

Also typo in both: "list of layout" -> "list of layouts"

Changes to "Adding a Counter" Tutorials

2009-04-04T17:22:48Z

It looks like some tutorials were never updated when HTML was allowed for Free Text/Blurb modules. Although it's still possible to create a theme layer to add counter code, it's easier and generally safer to do it through the Free Text option. Therefore, I updated the following tutorials with a yellow box disclaimer suggesting that course of action.

I also fixed the broken user tags on some of those that were left over from the days when one had to enter the LJ user code manually.

Wrong Link in Nav Strip Tutorial

2009-02-28T17:19:40Z

[paidaccount] [all] Adding a Navigation Strip still links to "Edit Personal Information" (editinfo.bml) page, which hasn't existed in some time. I've edited the post to point to the correct page.

The DNS Cache and You: new howto

2009-02-01T04:25:16Z

Created http://community.livejournal.com/howto/41338.html for the express purpose of using it in http://www.livejournal.com/support/faqbrowse.bml?faqid=129 in case someone is having locally-based DNS woes.

Tutorial Hidden

2009-01-29T15:03:40Z

[paid accounts only] [Tranquility II] Adding usericons in the Recent Entries view has been hidden, because 1) the code is badly out of date, B) the code has a major typographical error, and iii) the layout has a toggle option for showing icons on Recent Page now, so the whole tutorial is obsolete.

Tutorial Discussion Forum

Link alteration

Call for Volunteers: How-tos for Clearing Browser Cookies

Move FAQ 176 to s2howto tutorial

What are the different style layer types?

Core Layers

Layout Layers

Theme and User Layer

Further Reading

JavaScript Embedding Updated

Google Webmaster and print_custom_head()

Spaces in Tags

Tutorials on renaming Edit/Memories/etc. links

The command line, DNS cache clear, nslookup, traceroute, and ping. OH MY. [final draft]

Open a Command Prompt or Terminal

Copying text from a Command Prompt or Terminal

To empty your DNS Cache:

To retrieve DNS lookup information:

To retrieve traceroute information:

To retrieve ping information:

Summary of Changes, 2009

The command line, DNS cache clear, nslookup, traceroute, and ping. OH MY.

Open a Command Prompt or Terminal

Copying text from a Command Prompt or Terminal

To empty your DNS Cache:

To retreive DNS lookup information:

To retreive traceroute information:

To retreive ping information:

CSS

How to display AdSense in custom styles

Example

Security icons in S2, the overriding thereof

LiveJournal on MySpace

Community maintenance stuff

User-Agent and Embedding

nslookups and you!

Facebook Beacon

Potential new tutorial

Previews work again

Date and time formats

Changes to "Adding a Counter" Tutorials

Wrong Link in Nav Strip Tutorial

The DNS Cache and You: new howto

Tutorial Hidden