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Author Topic: Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate  (Read 12212 times)

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate
« on: March 10, 2009, 08:33:47 pm »
I don't know about every one else but, even though I appreciate and plan to use the Cook Bood sectiion, it is rather unweidly to navigate and really disrupts the navigation of the entire forum.  Is there anyway we can put all the info under one single heading to start and have a 2nd menu to zip to the section we're interested in?  Kind of like the COOK BOOK on the main line, you click on that and up pops a menu similar to the PM board where you can then click on a sub topic and scan the recipes from there?

Just a thought.

Brian  :brian:

Disregard, I was viewing in the subject viewing frame which I now realize is different that the homepage presentation.  Using the Jump to guide was the cause of my confusion, I just have to learn to navigate the forum by returning to home, which gives me the added advangtage of checking each section for the latest entries.
« Last Edit: March 10, 2009, 09:02:15 pm by Brian D. Bray »
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Offline reinbeau

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Re: Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate
« Reply #1 on: March 13, 2009, 02:20:33 pm »
I agree with Brian, especially if you're a user of the 'Jump To' box in the lower right-hand corner.  Could there just be a listing for the Cookbook, without all of the subforums?  It's a major PITA to have to scroll past all of that to get down to the Farm and Garden section, for example.  I don't think any of the child boards need to be shown there at all, actually, it would clean up that box nicely for those of us who use it.  Pretty please?  :-*

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Re: Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate
« Reply #2 on: March 13, 2009, 03:31:56 pm »
Reinbeau:

I am so confused to what you are saying here. I added one forum (no larger than the General Beekeeping Forum) which also list child boards - WHICH are the shortcuts to the proper forum you are looking for in the cookbook. No need to click on cookbook, then click on type of meals, then sub category from there - just click a child board and if it has sections, you are just a click away.

Let me ask you (nicely of course) which forums would you do away with to get to the FARMING FORUM, would you move the farming forum higher up - Honestly, there are two ways to have the cookbook, (technical terms now - Forum is the whole site, category is what we commonly call a forum (as in the General Forum) and BOARD are the collapsible GROUPINGS that all categories are placed in) so for example:

NOTE: I just realised that the only board you cannot collapse is the first where Bylaws and admin are, all the others you can!

To test this, go down to Farming, Garden and Outdoor - you can collapse this board (using the "-"  and "+" key tabs in the boards upper LEFT hand corner - you will see a minus sign there now if the board is opened  - click the minus and it shrinks to just a header. If you try this, you can collapse the entire forum where nothing but headers are present, but still the "New MEssages fsince last vist) and all search features still work.

The second and only other alternative is to have the cookbook in its own BOARD at the bottom of all the other boards, removing the CHILD FORUM LINKS and having a MASSIVELY long page with over 30 categories making the page massive.

To see this in terms I'm maybe not explaining well, check the HELP TAB under your avatar image. it explains: what a Forum, Board, Categories and child forums are - and that is the order from largest to smallest directory setup.

I honestly don't understand how one category takes up so much space, it should not have the ability to expand out on your screen because it is not a board - it should really look no different that any other category (AKA forum) on the site. Please help me understand.

« Last Edit: March 13, 2009, 03:48:50 pm by beemaster »
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Offline JP

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Re: Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate
« Reply #3 on: March 13, 2009, 09:16:23 pm »
About 2 days ago when I clicked on unread posts there were about 15 recipe posts, ie: Bud's cajun mustard, Cindi's duck gravy and biscuits, etc...

Perhaps this is what they are referring to John, I don't know for certain.


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Offline beemaster

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Re: Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate
« Reply #4 on: March 14, 2009, 12:26:09 am »
Maybe so JP, I'm confused - do you see the cookbook forum being any different than any other???

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Offline JP

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Re: Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate
« Reply #5 on: March 14, 2009, 01:19:30 am »
Maybe so JP, I'm confused - do you see the cookbook forum being any different than any other???



John, to be honest, I didn't even know we had a cookbook forum but it does look like any of the others.


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Offline Natalie

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Re: Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate
« Reply #6 on: March 14, 2009, 11:23:44 am »
I think when we saw all those recipes showing up in the recent posts the other day it may have been when you were posting them into the new categories for the first time. I have not seen anything since.

Offline beemaster

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Re: Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate
« Reply #7 on: March 14, 2009, 01:44:16 pm »
Natalie:

Likely so... As each is moved (and I have lots more to move) they will appear, just as any other post - it cannot be helped. Members though can PURGE the POSTS NOT READ from the main page using a link toward the upper right side of the screen right above where the first forum is listed. That will clear ALL POST NOT YET READ, it isn't selective, but I think it is the only way.

Thanks.....

P.S. I have been following your posts concerning your sister and other events, I just hope you understand that your experiences (I believe) are those that we are all supposed to experience, but have lost the abilities for many reasons - hopefully you've read some of my long posts too? Best of luck and always seek the truth, KathyP said it well - the negative energy is powerful and deceptive, it lies and blind you from what is real.
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Offline Natalie

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Re: Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate
« Reply #8 on: March 14, 2009, 01:53:21 pm »
Thank you John, I appreciate your thoughts on the subject as I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to talk with me about the situation. The members here are such great people.

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate
« Reply #9 on: March 15, 2009, 12:45:37 am »
Let me try to explain what I was referring to.

In the short cut option (Jump to {lower left corner}) the list of topics and sub topics is huge.  Now instead of being able to click on the "Jump to" tab and select another topic the list is so long, with every section of the cook book included that it has become nearly iimpossible to navigate the forum using this "short cut" method.  In order to speed up my brousing the topics I must scroll back up to the top of the page, click the home tab, and then click on the topic I want.  Much slower than before but still faster than using the "Jump to" shortcut.

Next time your in a topic window scroll down to the jump to tab and click on it.  You will see a list 3 pages long, over half of if belonging to the cook book, that has to be searched through to find your desired topics.  The cook book menu in the Jump to short cut literally cuts the forum into 3 sections, the 2 most people are used to and then the Cook book right smack dab in the middle.  Can't we at least move the cookbook to the bottom of the topic menu to speed up navigation between the more popular topics like it had been?
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Offline beemaster

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Re: Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate
« Reply #10 on: March 15, 2009, 01:30:12 am »
Brian:

I've never used the JUMP TO WINDOW in my life, didn't really pay attention to it - but, IF you use it, you only need hit the "HOME button on your keyboard" to go right to the top of the forums list -or could use the PAGEUP and PAGE DOWN keys, as well as end to quickly go from top of the jump to list to the bottom and visa-versa. Also, you can grab the scroll bar in the JUMP TO window to hike back up quickly, but using the HOME KEY on the KEYBOARD gets you right back to the top of the forums list

Not sure if this helps, but I explained the two choices I have and either choice would STILL make the JUMP TO window  a long list of categories.

The other option (and I hate the thought, because it causes disorderly recipes) is to dumo them into one board with no categories - it would just be one big list of recipes and it would also mean starting over from the top - you cannot move multiple posts at once, just one ast a time - meaning 2 hundred moves JUST to create a hodgepodge of recipes in no order what so ever.

Then grabbing the scroll bar takes me less than a second to move to anywhere in JUMP TO - I guess I'm still missing the point. I am ready to pull the recipe forum and keep it where it is - just posting a link to where it is on my main site - then of course people would complain they had to leave the bee forum to go to the cookbook - I can't win on this one.

Do me a favor though, please try the HOME key on the key board, or PAGE UP or PAGE DOWN or END keys (over by the number keypad somewhere - see if that helps and let me know. Thanks.


BTW Brian, I ALWAYS just use the BROWSER'S "BACK" BUTTON - it takes me right where I left off, at the top of the previous page - curious, do you use that at all???

John
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Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate
« Reply #11 on: March 15, 2009, 03:08:34 am »
When on a topic I start with the oldest "new" entry and work back using the previous key, I then have been going to the "Jump to" option the jump to another topic.  I occassionally use the back arrow but upt until the installation of the cook book found it much quicker and easier to use the jump to buttom.
Currently I'm paging up to  home, clicking to the topic, noting latest postings, and then selecting the chosen topic.  It is slower but it does give me up to the minute knowledge into which topics have had the most recent postings that I haven't yet read, or I can go back to check new posting in a topic I've already visited.
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Offline Natalie

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Re: Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate
« Reply #12 on: March 15, 2009, 11:03:13 am »
John, I do use the back button to do the same thing.
When I first come on to the siter I check recent posts and replied to posts and I can check out any new topics and any that I have been following.
If I want to look up something specific then I do a search.
Maybe there is a whole lot more to the options here but it works for me and I don't feel like I am missing anything.

Offline reinbeau

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Re: Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate
« Reply #13 on: March 16, 2009, 08:20:24 am »
John, no one is talking about doing away with anything other than getting rid of the entries in the Jump To box (Brian knows exactly what I'm talking about) down in the lower righthand corner of the page.  We all have our own ways of using the forum controls.  I really didn't mean to upset you (I can't imagine how I did and apologize for it) I just was suggesting something that will streamline things for those of us who use that box.  I know how to expand and collapse the main page folders, that isn't how I read the forum.  The software is versatile and there are many ways to enjoy reading the forum, if that Jump To box can't be fixed, I'll adjust (although it's the way I read all forums across the internet), but I was hoping Robo or someone could tweak things a bit.

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Re: Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate
« Reply #14 on: March 16, 2009, 12:42:14 pm »
Reinbeau:

You haven't upset me, no appologies needed. I have never used the jump to box, I can't even imagine how it makes life easier compared to the VIEW POSTS SINCE LAST VISITED button or HOME, but you said it, we each do things differently.

I don't think it can be fixed, Robo could prove me wrong I'm sure if indeed it can though. There is only one other solution, which keeps some form of order and that it is moving all the child boards into the main topics of the cookbook - but that means starting over again - which frankly, I would rather not do, it would be easier to leave everything back where it is on the http://cook.beemaster.com page and just link to it.

I had high hopes but I haven't heard a "Nice Job" yet, only issues about it being bothersome. Not all ideas work as well as I hoe, although in hindsite most have been very successful.

We'll keep digging at a solution - the only last resort is to make it ITS own board and place it at the bottom of the forum - but I'm not sure if even that would reduce the issues in the JUMP TO box. Let me work on it, if there is an answer - we'll find it :)

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Offline Robo

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Re: Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate
« Reply #15 on: March 16, 2009, 03:14:05 pm »
Fixed.

I removed all children from the jump box.
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Offline reinbeau

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Re: Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate
« Reply #16 on: March 16, 2009, 03:59:42 pm »
Fixed.

I removed all children from the jump box.
Yea!   :cheer:  That's exactly what I wanted!  And John, I think the recipes being so accessible here is a great idea, I just haven't used it much yet.  I have a great little extension for Firefox called RecipeFox, that makes it really easy to capture recipes from the web, especially for those of us who use either Master Cook or Living Cookbook (I use Living Cookbook and absolutely love it!) to store our recipes.  From there it is easy to export to text so the recipe could be copied and pasted into the forum.  I have tons I've gathered, I'll go through them and post a few - haven't tried them all, but some are very interesting!

Thank you, Robo, for making Beemaster even easier to navigate.

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate
« Reply #17 on: March 16, 2009, 08:56:52 pm »
Thanks Robo, that was exactly what I was refering to.  I can now navigate the forum the way I'm used to and can address the child boards from the main topic in that menu.   :-D   :brian:
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Re: Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate
« Reply #18 on: March 16, 2009, 11:32:03 pm »
Rob:

Is the setting you changed the one in admin pane saying HIDE CHILD BOARDS??? I thought it was to remove them from the FORUM MAIN PAGE, not the Jump to option - curious??? Or did you do the voodoo that you do, so well :)

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Re: Cook Book, needs to be easier to navigate
« Reply #19 on: March 16, 2009, 11:34:25 pm »
It was a code change
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