In Firefox, it is easy to create an inline div (i.e. a div which adjusts its width to fit its contents). You just do this:
div#elemid { display: inline-block; }
However, it doesn’t work in IE. It took me a while to figure out how to get it working, so here’s the solution:
div#elemid { display: inline-block; *display: inline; zoom: 1; }
It works for the latest versions of IE, Firefox and Chrome (and possibly others – I haven’t tested yet).
Hopefully that’ll save someone some time.
If your web pages have a large number of nested div and table tags you may end up wondering whether they are all really necessary, and whether you might not be able to get by with less. While you could run through your code and assess each one individually and decide if it can be removed, there is a quicker, easier way to approach the problem. Simply add the following right at the end of your CSS definitions:
table { border: 1px solid red; }
div { border: 1px solid green; }
This will draw a border round each div and table on your page and let you visually see which are really necessary. It also works better than looking at each table / div in turn as often each seems necessary; it is only when you look at the big picture that you see that two or more can be combined.
As an illustration, here are the before and after screenshots when I applied this to the Calcatraz homepage. The excess tables / divs can be seen in the before shot (click on the image to see it full size). Notice how I’ve been able to two of them in the after shot, leading to shorter, cleaner html, with more of the presentation being handled in CSS where it should be.
Before:
After:
I’m trying to implement a Getting Things Done (GTD) system which works for me and which I can stick at on an ongoing basis. I’ve tried various set-ups in the past but constantly find them becoming derailed and eventually abandoned. In the process, however, I’ve seen enough to know it is something I want to get working more permanently. I’m making a push at the moment to get a proper system that works for me and that I continue to use. I’ll keep my progress posted on this site.
The first issue is (as I see it) the big one. The main reason GTD hasn’t worked for me to-date has been that I’ve never found the right balance between online and offline. Previous systems have either been almost entirely computer-based and then failed because I spend most of my time away from the computer / my @computer list is the largest and I need all my online time for clearing it. Or they’ve been largely offline (i.e. in a notebook or organiser) and have failed as they are too bulky to carry around or are too inflexible to use. The offline systems are further affected by the fact that much of my offline time is not in contexts suitable for use of the system.
It seems to me that my ideal system will have to be somewhat of a mix between online and offline. It will also need to be workable with inconsistent and limited time in each context.
Some ideas I have which I’d like to try implementing:
So I’m going to give the mixed online / offline system a go. It’ll take more work to set up and get going, but hopefully it will let me tailor individual parts of the system to more neatly integrate with my situation.
To kick it off, I’m going to begin with the following:
Note that I already have reasonable systems in place for initial capture – that’s something I do to a decent enough standard for the time being.
During offline time I will process inboxes into the processing pad. Then as appropriate I’ll move items onto the distributed lists when I’m in the appropriate context to do so.
I could go elaborate endlessly on the details, but I’ll save that for later. Today I’ll focus on two things: