New Breeder's Directory format

[Susan Mouw]

Ok, I've been working on a more interactive online Breeder's Directory and have uploaded the latest work-in-progress.

Please check your entries. I will also be going through each and every entry to make sure there were no errors in transmission. But, every entry had to be re-typed and that leaves a lot of opportunities for error.

Check it out!  Let me know how you like it.  The next step will be to convert the printed version to a more spreadsheet type style.

Oh..just fyi - the default sort order is alphabetical by last name. If you need to return to the default, just refresh the page.

Edited to add - I just went to re-check some things and found the format was hosed due to a font error. It fixed itself after I refreshed again, but if you get to the page and the table columns don't look like they are lining up - just refresh. I'll keep researching the problem.

Update 2/16/15 11:35AM (EST): The interactive breeder's directory is now working in Internet Explorer. Please remember to refresh your browser so the latest version of both the .html and the .css files are loaded. The sort function will not work if you do not have javascripts enabled. - Susan

[John]

A typo in the Notice to Buys heading...ABD should be ABC.
I think District and Country could be omitted and would save space.  State/Province is all that in needed there.
On mine, please omit the phone and email icons.  Website is all that I would like listed for contact.
It would be nice if can shorten the pages of the listings.  There is a lot of blank space to scroll thru.

[Susan Mouw]

It would be nice if can shorten the pages of the listings.  There is a lot of blank space to scroll thru.

Are you referring to the printed PDF, John? That format will be going away.

[John]

No...the new stuff (the PDF doesn't have icons and such).
Here is my listing on the old Word/PDF list:

John W Blehm (2015) 1, 9, 11, LF lavender B
Birch Run MI 10, 12, bantam lavender
Fowl Stuff h t t p : / / F o w l S t u ff . c om

The new listing has my address and omits my business name, Fowl Stuff.  There are several members that don't want their addresses listed, so please be sure to transcribe the listings without adding or deleting info.

[Susan Mouw]

As I said, I will be going through each listing to correct errors, but someone will catch an error on their listing at a glance, where I have to do a visual comparison.

Because of the number of invalid entries in the old word version, I took all membership info from the membership spreadsheet, in the absence of all membership forms except for those that have sent new forms in this year and a few early renewals from December 2014. Bird varieties and shopping preferences were taken from the old breeders directory.


But I am still confused as to where the excessive white space is.

[Mike Gilbert]

Susan, the space between the listings is very excessive, and makes it very hard to use.   I fail to see how this format is any more user friendly than the old version- in fact it is more difficult to use unless you are looking for a specific name.   Most people are looking for a specific variety, and that was a strength of the old system.   I would strongly urge you to go back to it.   Why fix something that does not need fixing?

[John]

Don't know about white space, but this is the blank space I see...

[Susan Mouw]

OK, this is not what it should look like. I think this might be related to the same problem I had earlier. Please refresh your browsers. It looks like the new stylesheet isn't getting loaded at first.

The old format is still there, Mike.

[John]

Because of the number of invalid entries in the old word version, I took all membership info from the membership spreadsheet, in the absence of all membership forms except for those that have sent new forms in this year and a few early renewals from December 2014. Bird varieties and shopping preferences were taken from the old breeders directory.

I know of the one invalid entry that you pointed out the other day.  The rest was up to date as of 12/31/14 and just needed to have the listings deleted of the memberships that lapsed.
Those listings with "(2015)" were up to date with 2015 memberships that were received. 
I believe there should be a policy were listings over say 3 years old will be deleted unless updated to make sure the info is current.  I was going to get around to something like that and that is why I started including the year that each listing was added/updated.

[John]

refresh your browsers

Doesn't help.

[Mike Gilbert]

OK, this is not what it should look like. I think this might be related to the same problem I had earlier. Please refresh your browsers. It looks like the new stylesheet isn't getting loaded at first.

The old format is still there, Mike.

Where?   If it is still there, why does the new format come up when I click on the link?   And who decided a change should be made?

[John]

The blue link to the PDF file is in the center of the page.  I would suggest one remains even after the new online list is debugged.  The PDF will still be easy to print and use for many.

[Mike Gilbert]

Yeah, but will a newbie know that and be able to find it?   Why not make the old one the default from the link, and the new one the other option?  I'm just not seeing any major advantage for a lot of time and effort spent.   Can somebody explain it to me?

[Susan Mouw]

This is what the online breeder's directory should look like:



If it doesn't look similar to this, then please let me know. A screen print, such as what John has posted, will be helpful in determining the problem. I still believe it is because the stylesheet isn't loading, but I'll be testing that to see.

You would still see the new page (an html file), whether the updated stylesheet loaded or not. The stylesheet is a separate file (a .css file) that dictates the format for a website (fonts, colors, formats, etc.)

I will get this figured out and get it fixed. It is my opinion that a sortable and searchable table type format is much easier to use than a printed .pdf. Just last week I was looking for LF Whites and had a heck of a time trying to sort through the entries.

Some may not like this interactive format and prefer the printed format - that's fine. The pdf won't be going away, but it may be in a better format.

[Susan Mouw]

Yeah, but will a newbie know that and be able to find it?   Why not make the old one the default from the link, and the new one the other option?  I'm just not seeing any major advantage for a lot of time and effort spent.   Can somebody explain it to me?

Mike, the old breeder's directory is in the exact same place that it was before I added the online interactive table. That has not changed. Everyone will still have a choice to use one or the other.