This is an interesting one. By default, Google wants you to use posts on a single blog page, with the option for extra static pages for reference information.
You can use the Page widget in the Layout to create a page using the link of a label search. This will give what appears to be a page of blog posts on a related topic, but is actually an archive. Those posts will also show up on the home page. (Going to the page will give a status message of "you are viewing all the posts with label X" but there's a way to get rid of that.)
To get themed posts to show on a "static" page without showing on the home page as well is more tricky. There are several ways to do it if you don't want anything on your homepage at all, or want the homepage to be a single, static post (including using custom 404s or page redirects). To show both - i.e. to have a "normal" blog on the homepage, with "extra" themed posts on their own pages - is non-standard, not how Google wants it to work, and thus requires changes to the HTML of the template, plus JavaScript. I found a nice little tutorial on how to do this, plus how to hide the identifying label from the label widget. One thing that isn't mentioned in the tutorial is that it doesn't just hide the labelled post: it also hides anything posted the same day (I don't know enough about JavaScript or Blogger to be able to say why). For the lack of hassle, I'm prepared to just put a different date on a post when using the specific label.
Thursday, 1 September 2016
Monday, 13 June 2016
Outlook revisited
It never improves.
Today, I foolishly decided to correct my Outlook configuration. You can have any number of .pst files associated with an account, but Outlook will keep its main outlook.ost file for holding the calendar, notes, tasks, journal, contacts and the rest of it. When you set it up for the first time, it will gleefully pounce on the first e-mail address (and associated .pst file) that you add as the default, and that cannot be easily changed.
Not too much of a problem if you only have one account and it's an Exchange account; more of a problem if you have a bunch of accounts, of varying types, on more than one server.
Oh, and Outlook won't let you use the .pst file associated with an IMAP account as your default Outlook delivery location (I think because an IMAP account is e-mail only, and doesn't have all the other bits). If you have a secondary Exchange e-mail account it will grab that, which is no good if it's not your primary account (or if, as in my case, it's in someone else's organisation - I need to be able to see it and send from it, but I don't want to be sending from it by default, and I certainly don't want my own org Outlook details mixing with those of the client org.)
If you get caught like this, first things first - go into Accounts and remove everything. E-mail addresses need to go before their respective data files. IMAP data files will be recreated, so there's actually no real point keeping them, unless you want to check that everything has synchronised correctly. The default e-mail has to be removed last, and you may have to close Outlook and go into Control Panel > Mail > Profiles and do it there.
[Aside: if you have moved your Windows profile, say to another drive, you will have Outlook files in both places. The default outlook.ost file will go in <new drive>\<profile>\Documents\Outlook Files, but all the mail .pst files will go in <old drive>\<profile>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook]
Go into the above locations and delete (or move to a subfolder if you're feeling fragile) all the .pst and .ost files, with the exception of the outlook.ost. NB: if you have POP3 data files, back them up first, unless you know you've a copy of emails on the server!
If you have no non-Exchange main org e-mail, create a new base account - I used an admin account. Open Outlook and configure this account for POP3. Outlook will then configure this as the default, meaning all the contacts, calendar etc will be within your organisation, associated with an e-mail address you control.
Add back the IMAP accounts. Outlook will create new data files for them and synchronise - there seems to be no way of changing the location to pick up the old versions. (Sort of makes sense given that the local versions of these are more of a cache than an actual mailbox - the live mailbox lives on your mail server.) When they're all in place, you can pick up the saved data files from the subfolder one at a time, and make sure synchronisation has run OK and that you have all the mail. (If they're POP3 data files, this may be the only copy of these mails you have, depending on the server.) Once done, the old files can be deleted or (certainly in the case of POP3) kept as a backup.
Lastly, add in any non-organisation IMAP accounts. Name them such that they group. Add in any non-org calendars. (Will need a separate post on that because I can't remember how I did it!)
Today, I foolishly decided to correct my Outlook configuration. You can have any number of .pst files associated with an account, but Outlook will keep its main outlook.ost file for holding the calendar, notes, tasks, journal, contacts and the rest of it. When you set it up for the first time, it will gleefully pounce on the first e-mail address (and associated .pst file) that you add as the default, and that cannot be easily changed.
Not too much of a problem if you only have one account and it's an Exchange account; more of a problem if you have a bunch of accounts, of varying types, on more than one server.
Oh, and Outlook won't let you use the .pst file associated with an IMAP account as your default Outlook delivery location (I think because an IMAP account is e-mail only, and doesn't have all the other bits). If you have a secondary Exchange e-mail account it will grab that, which is no good if it's not your primary account (or if, as in my case, it's in someone else's organisation - I need to be able to see it and send from it, but I don't want to be sending from it by default, and I certainly don't want my own org Outlook details mixing with those of the client org.)
If you get caught like this, first things first - go into Accounts and remove everything. E-mail addresses need to go before their respective data files. IMAP data files will be recreated, so there's actually no real point keeping them, unless you want to check that everything has synchronised correctly. The default e-mail has to be removed last, and you may have to close Outlook and go into Control Panel > Mail > Profiles and do it there.
[Aside: if you have moved your Windows profile, say to another drive, you will have Outlook files in both places. The default outlook.ost file will go in <new drive>\<profile>\Documents\Outlook Files, but all the mail .pst files will go in <old drive>\<profile>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook]
Go into the above locations and delete (or move to a subfolder if you're feeling fragile) all the .pst and .ost files, with the exception of the outlook.ost. NB: if you have POP3 data files, back them up first, unless you know you've a copy of emails on the server!
If you have no non-Exchange main org e-mail, create a new base account - I used an admin account. Open Outlook and configure this account for POP3. Outlook will then configure this as the default, meaning all the contacts, calendar etc will be within your organisation, associated with an e-mail address you control.
Add back the IMAP accounts. Outlook will create new data files for them and synchronise - there seems to be no way of changing the location to pick up the old versions. (Sort of makes sense given that the local versions of these are more of a cache than an actual mailbox - the live mailbox lives on your mail server.) When they're all in place, you can pick up the saved data files from the subfolder one at a time, and make sure synchronisation has run OK and that you have all the mail. (If they're POP3 data files, this may be the only copy of these mails you have, depending on the server.) Once done, the old files can be deleted or (certainly in the case of POP3) kept as a backup.
Lastly, add in any non-organisation IMAP accounts. Name them such that they group. Add in any non-org calendars. (Will need a separate post on that because I can't remember how I did it!)
Thursday, 18 February 2016
Twitter defaults
Needed to make a note of this again for a client as I'd forgotten since the last account I set up.
Twitter icon (replaces egg) - needs to be square and ideally 400 x 400 (can crop it when you add it)
Header (only seen on your own page) - ideally 1500 x 500 with no gradient colour, as – ignoring any pre-processing you've already done – Twitter will compress the snot out of it anyway when you upload it.
Interestingly, for pictures you want to include in the twit-stream, they need to be no more than 440 x 220 with a ratio 2:1 (info from this Postcron piece).
Twitter icon (replaces egg) - needs to be square and ideally 400 x 400 (can crop it when you add it)
Header (only seen on your own page) - ideally 1500 x 500 with no gradient colour, as – ignoring any pre-processing you've already done – Twitter will compress the snot out of it anyway when you upload it.
Interestingly, for pictures you want to include in the twit-stream, they need to be no more than 440 x 220 with a ratio 2:1 (info from this Postcron piece).
Saturday, 5 December 2015
The Assembly folder
This is a weird one. In a search for something else entirely (which might become the subject of another post), I clicked on the c:\windows\assembly folder, and the result was a bit weird:
Specifically, the weirdness was in the icon for the filetype. I wasn't sure if I'd been able to see the contents of this folder in the past, but a bit of research shows this is .NET's answer to the system32 folder's .dll mashup. The folder on my computer is 1.7GB, which seems excessive, but the real problem with it is you can't make sense of what it's showing you - because it's pulling that info from a variety of subfolders, which it hides.
This, in itself, is interesting - and this is info from Geeks With Blogs about how that kind of shell namespace works.
The subfolders can be viewed from a standard command prompt. Easiest way to accomplish this in windows seems to be to use the subst command to map a drive letter to one of the subfolders, e.g.
subst z: %windir%\assembly\GAC
(you can then use subst z: /d to remove it when you've finished).
Alternatively, as the display of the namespace is controlled by desktop.ini, unhiding that and renaming it will cause the file structure to display in Explorer.
Specifically, the weirdness was in the icon for the filetype. I wasn't sure if I'd been able to see the contents of this folder in the past, but a bit of research shows this is .NET's answer to the system32 folder's .dll mashup. The folder on my computer is 1.7GB, which seems excessive, but the real problem with it is you can't make sense of what it's showing you - because it's pulling that info from a variety of subfolders, which it hides.
This, in itself, is interesting - and this is info from Geeks With Blogs about how that kind of shell namespace works.
The subfolders can be viewed from a standard command prompt. Easiest way to accomplish this in windows seems to be to use the subst command to map a drive letter to one of the subfolders, e.g.
subst z: %windir%\assembly\GAC
(you can then use subst z: /d to remove it when you've finished).
Alternatively, as the display of the namespace is controlled by desktop.ini, unhiding that and renaming it will cause the file structure to display in Explorer.
Wednesday, 21 October 2015
Outlook
Many years of using Outlook, never seen this one before. Thanks for the minor heart attack, Microsoft...
E-mails "disappear" due to advanced filter setting on imap folder items
E-mails "disappear" due to advanced filter setting on imap folder items
Saturday, 17 October 2015
Windows 10 "upgrade"
Windows 10. Where do I start? What a mess.
Microsoft have decided that They Know Best and don't want everyone using Windows 7 for the next decade (because it actually works) in the same way that they used XP for a decade (because it actually worked). There's a big push to get everyone on Windows 10 whether they want to use it or not. That's a big problem as 1) there are serious security considerations with the new OS and 2) Microsoft will try to download many gigabytes of data in the background in the hope that you won't notice - whether you want to upgrade or not.
Microsoft has released a knowledgebase article about managing the install process, including preventing install of the updates. Typically (and usurprisingly) it's not exactly a walk in the park for non-technical users.
First things first: Microsoft are offering a free upgrade until next July. Even if you want it, there is no rush.
Generally good idea: turn off "recommended updates" in Windows Update. All you need to have for safety are the security updates, and you can still review the recommended updates and install them if you want to.
If the little Windows 10 square window has appeared in your system tray, at least one of the updates has already installed. To avoid a huge download (and potentially slow connection/extra bills if you're on a restricted connection) do the following:
1) Uninstall the relevant updates. These are KB3021917, KB2952664 and KB3035583 in Windows 7, or KB2976978 and KB3035583 in Windows 8.
2) Check the system drive for hidden folders $Windows.~BT and $Windows.~WS. These can both be deleted if you need the space, but use the command line - they won't all be deleted through Disk Cleanup, despite claims to the contrary. You can leave them if you think you may want to upgrade at some point in the future and the download damage has already been done. (In that case you can right-click on the system tray icon and hide it to stop it bugging you.)
3) Look for the updates listed above, then hide them in Windows updates (or they'll be offered again).
If the icon hasn't appeared yet, go into Windows update, look for the relevant updates and hide them, so they aren't scheduled for download. Setting Windows Update to "notify me but don't download" is an option (and the one I go for personally) but it really only works if you've got the discipline to check through updates as they come in and install the relevant ones, rather than just ignoring the "updates waiting" icon in your system tray. You don't need useless crap, but you do need security patches.
Microsoft have decided that They Know Best and don't want everyone using Windows 7 for the next decade (because it actually works) in the same way that they used XP for a decade (because it actually worked). There's a big push to get everyone on Windows 10 whether they want to use it or not. That's a big problem as 1) there are serious security considerations with the new OS and 2) Microsoft will try to download many gigabytes of data in the background in the hope that you won't notice - whether you want to upgrade or not.
Microsoft has released a knowledgebase article about managing the install process, including preventing install of the updates. Typically (and usurprisingly) it's not exactly a walk in the park for non-technical users.
First things first: Microsoft are offering a free upgrade until next July. Even if you want it, there is no rush.
Generally good idea: turn off "recommended updates" in Windows Update. All you need to have for safety are the security updates, and you can still review the recommended updates and install them if you want to.
If the little Windows 10 square window has appeared in your system tray, at least one of the updates has already installed. To avoid a huge download (and potentially slow connection/extra bills if you're on a restricted connection) do the following:
1) Uninstall the relevant updates. These are KB3021917, KB2952664 and KB3035583 in Windows 7, or KB2976978 and KB3035583 in Windows 8.
2) Check the system drive for hidden folders $Windows.~BT and $Windows.~WS. These can both be deleted if you need the space, but use the command line - they won't all be deleted through Disk Cleanup, despite claims to the contrary. You can leave them if you think you may want to upgrade at some point in the future and the download damage has already been done. (In that case you can right-click on the system tray icon and hide it to stop it bugging you.)
3) Look for the updates listed above, then hide them in Windows updates (or they'll be offered again).
If the icon hasn't appeared yet, go into Windows update, look for the relevant updates and hide them, so they aren't scheduled for download. Setting Windows Update to "notify me but don't download" is an option (and the one I go for personally) but it really only works if you've got the discipline to check through updates as they come in and install the relevant ones, rather than just ignoring the "updates waiting" icon in your system tray. You don't need useless crap, but you do need security patches.
Monday, 24 August 2015
Setting up a NAT network on VirtualBox
VirtualBox is available as a free download from Oracle.
It can be set up in various ways. New in the latest version is something called "NAT network" - essentially allowing you to run several virtual machines that share a virtual network, and NAT through the host machine's network card.
Set-up comprises:
1. Create virtual machines
2. Create virtual network - this affectively sets up the router (which was the bit I didn't realise)
3. Add the virtual machines to the network
Create the virtual network by going to File - Preferences - Network - NAT networks
Add a new one, call it whatever you like, then go into the settings for it and set the network CIDR - by default this is a class A network with a single subnet. If you're going to run a DC on this network with DHCP, untick the "Supports DHCP" option on the NAT network. Essentially, this page is setting up the (virtual) gateway router that sits between the guest VMs (either client or server) and the host (which, to the VMs, is equivalent to the internet). Port forwarding is not required for standard applications.
Having set up the NAT network, all the VMs have to be configured to use it - this is the virtual equivalent of plugging the cable in. Right-click on a VM and choose "Settings", then Network. Click the "Attached to:" drop down and choose "NAT Network". If there is only one NAT network configured, it will be chosen by default. Repeat for all VMs on the same network.
All that remains is to fire up the server VM and set up a static IP address in the same range, and a DHCP scope. Any client VMs can be set up to use DHCP.
It can be set up in various ways. New in the latest version is something called "NAT network" - essentially allowing you to run several virtual machines that share a virtual network, and NAT through the host machine's network card.
Set-up comprises:
1. Create virtual machines
2. Create virtual network - this affectively sets up the router (which was the bit I didn't realise)
3. Add the virtual machines to the network
Create the virtual network by going to File - Preferences - Network - NAT networks
Add a new one, call it whatever you like, then go into the settings for it and set the network CIDR - by default this is a class A network with a single subnet. If you're going to run a DC on this network with DHCP, untick the "Supports DHCP" option on the NAT network. Essentially, this page is setting up the (virtual) gateway router that sits between the guest VMs (either client or server) and the host (which, to the VMs, is equivalent to the internet). Port forwarding is not required for standard applications.
Having set up the NAT network, all the VMs have to be configured to use it - this is the virtual equivalent of plugging the cable in. Right-click on a VM and choose "Settings", then Network. Click the "Attached to:" drop down and choose "NAT Network". If there is only one NAT network configured, it will be chosen by default. Repeat for all VMs on the same network.
All that remains is to fire up the server VM and set up a static IP address in the same range, and a DHCP scope. Any client VMs can be set up to use DHCP.
Wednesday, 19 August 2015
Office registration
For Office 2010 Pro - only had this problem with trying to activate with a VLK.
If it gives peculiar errors on activation, or appears to activate but keeps asking to activate again on reboot, then activate via vbs:
a. Open an administrative command-prompt
b. Run one of the following command-lines based on your Operating System:
x86
cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\ospp.vbs" /act
x64
cscript "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\ospp.vbs" /act
Slightly (sort of) related: Office performs a licence check whenever you start up an Office product, causing the Office Software Protection Platform service to start. This then doesn't shut down automatically. However, you can set this in the registry (need to create a new value):
Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform
ValueName: InactivityShutdownDelay
ValueType: DWORD
ValueData: The number in seconds, that the Office Software Protection Platform will stay running for, after the most recent activity. The windows default for this is 300 seconds.
Details taken from the MS Technet forums.
If it gives peculiar errors on activation, or appears to activate but keeps asking to activate again on reboot, then activate via vbs:
a. Open an administrative command-prompt
b. Run one of the following command-lines based on your Operating System:
x86
cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\ospp.vbs" /act
x64
cscript "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\ospp.vbs" /act
Slightly (sort of) related: Office performs a licence check whenever you start up an Office product, causing the Office Software Protection Platform service to start. This then doesn't shut down automatically. However, you can set this in the registry (need to create a new value):
Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform
ValueName: InactivityShutdownDelay
ValueType: DWORD
ValueData: The number in seconds, that the Office Software Protection Platform will stay running for, after the most recent activity. The windows default for this is 300 seconds.
Details taken from the MS Technet forums.
Tuesday, 18 August 2015
AV rescue
Starting point for AV tools for a USB stick.
(All downloads available from BleepingComputer)
Create a bootable USB flash drive (requires WinPE from Windows ADK)
Will need to amend .cmd file by changing xcopy path.
Anti-rootkit
Malwarebyes Anti-Rootkit
TDSSKiller (only removes the TDSS rootkit)
Vba32 AntiRootkit
McAfee Labs rootkitremover
Panda antirootkit
TrendMicro RootkitBuster
MS Rootkit Revealer
GMER
aswMBR - specifically for MBR rootkits (needs reboot in safe mode)
Anti-malware
AdwCleaner
Malwarebytes AntiMalware
Anti-virus
EmiSoft Emergency kit (portable)
AVG remover
Avast remover
Sophos AV removal (standalone)
Specialist software
RogueKiller - stops running processes
rkill.exe - as above
ComboFix 15 - NB useful to have, USE WITH CAUTION. Win8 or below.
TreeSize Free - identifies storage use
CCleaner - Piriform crap cleaner. Old files.
Recuva - Piriform file recovery
Hijack This - identifies startup hijacks.
Revo uninstaller - (30-day trial)
Process Explorer - task manager on steroids
Desktop utils
HashTab - adds an extra entry to file property page showing checksum. (free/$10)
SpeedFan
(All downloads available from BleepingComputer)
Create a bootable USB flash drive (requires WinPE from Windows ADK)
Will need to amend .cmd file by changing xcopy path.
Anti-rootkit
Malwarebyes Anti-Rootkit
TDSSKiller (only removes the TDSS rootkit)
Vba32 AntiRootkit
McAfee Labs rootkitremover
Panda antirootkit
TrendMicro RootkitBuster
MS Rootkit Revealer
GMER
aswMBR - specifically for MBR rootkits (needs reboot in safe mode)
Anti-malware
AdwCleaner
Malwarebytes AntiMalware
Anti-virus
EmiSoft Emergency kit (portable)
AVG remover
Avast remover
Sophos AV removal (standalone)
Specialist software
RogueKiller - stops running processes
rkill.exe - as above
ComboFix 15 - NB useful to have, USE WITH CAUTION. Win8 or below.
TreeSize Free - identifies storage use
CCleaner - Piriform crap cleaner. Old files.
Recuva - Piriform file recovery
Hijack This - identifies startup hijacks.
Revo uninstaller - (30-day trial)
Process Explorer - task manager on steroids
Desktop utils
HashTab - adds an extra entry to file property page showing checksum. (free/$10)
SpeedFan
Monday, 17 August 2015
Outlook tweaks
With reference to Office 2010 Pro.
Outlook - always defaults on install to minimum usability!
Navigation pane can be turned off from View tab. All folders apart from Sent are in the "Messages" view.
Generally, to change nav pane for all folders, change the default message view.
Specifically here, change the page to suit, then apply current view elsewhere: View tab > Change View > Apply current views to other mail folders...
Select folders from the list which appears. This will not change hidden folders (ones with their own views) or any folders where the view has been manually changed. For the latter, reset all views first: start up Outlook from a command line with switches:
outlook.exe /cleanviews
Navigation pane can be turned off from View tab. All folders apart from Sent are in the "Messages" view.
Generally, to change nav pane for all folders, change the default message view.
Specifically here, change the page to suit, then apply current view elsewhere: View tab > Change View > Apply current views to other mail folders...
Select folders from the list which appears. This will not change hidden folders (ones with their own views) or any folders where the view has been manually changed. For the latter, reset all views first: start up Outlook from a command line with switches:
outlook.exe /cleanviews
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)