Admin: Clearing Up Some RAMH Clutter, Part 3

Sometime in the next couple of days, I’ll switch Running After My Hat over to its new look. For anyone interested in such matters, I’ve prepared some screen captures to give you an idea of what to expect. Below, I’ll include an annotated version of some of those screen captures in this post, highlighting various features.

If you’d prefer to test-drive it yourself, feel free to just head over to the test site. You’ll find it to be not particularly full-featured: for example, it includes only a few months’ posts, comments, categories, and so on.

And I don’t think you’ll be able to post comments, but am ready to be surprised :).

[Note: most of the images below can be enlarged by simply clicking on them.]

Let’s start with about what you might see in your browser window when you visit the new RAMH:

Notes:

• The translucent-gray notation at the top right isn’t part of the new look (haha). It’s added by the browser.cam Web site as it captures a screen image, to indicate the software the user’s assumed to be using for this image. I’ve tested using Safari, both under Apple OS/X and Windows, and using the Firefox, Internet Explorer and the Chrome browsers under Windows. So what you see in these screen captures is pretty much what you’ll see on other platforms.
• I tried to keep the color scheme about the same as the original site — minimizing the “shock of the new” effect — sticking to browns, tans, pale yellows, and a white background.
• Fonts, likewise, are mostly unchanged.

Now for some details. Here’s the page head:

Notes:

• I’m going to be changing the header image itself, in the not-too-distant future. Again, though, I’m trying to ease all of us (especially myself!) into this new thing.
• The “search” box is moved up into the header image.
• Menu across the top of the page is mostly unchanged. However, at the right-hand edge is a new feature, labeled “Adjust text size.” Click on the + sign to enlarge the current font a little, and click on the – sign to reduce it.

These adjustments to font size use a multiplier — something like “increase the font size by 10%” or whatever. This means that the adjustment sometimes seems to jump by more than one whole font size. I have also not adjusted the line height, just the font size, which can make things look a little crowded if you jack the height up a lot. If you experiment with it at the test site, you’ll see what I mean. And yes, you will get used to it. :)

Moving on to a sample post:

Notes:

• At this scale, you can see some font changes — particularly in headings. Nothing egregious. But probably obvious, if you’re paying attention.
• See the extra white space, around the image in this old-formatted post? The new theme has a wider column for post contents. Among other things, this means that images will be wider (and taller), and ditto embedded YouTube videos. Here at the old layout, the max width is 500 pixels; at the new one, it’s something like 625 pixels. (I’ve always been jealous of the generously-sized images on display at the Seven Impossible Things… blog!) It also means that I’ll be able to include longer lines of poetry without going crazy trying to figure out how to break/indent them across multiple lines.
• I plan to keep using the same little audio-player widget I’ve always used, formatted the same way.
• Although not shown here, commenting may function a little differently. As you can see here, I’ll be trying out a so-called “threaded comments” feature, so the little Reply links will actually work as most people expect. And I expect to keep using reCaptcha, since it seems to have so many fans. Some of whom grumble about it sometimes. :)

And finally, looking at the sidebar, which I’ve (obviously!) stuck over to the right…

Notes:

• This is a partial sidebar. The actual categories lists and so on may (probably will) be longer. I’ve just trimmed out some of the yadda-yadda in this screen shot.
• No separate “Archives” page anymore. I don’t think anyone ever used it more than once or twice, and I always hated the way it looked under the old theme. Down with the “Archives” page. Up with a simple monthly calendar.
• The “recent posts” list has been re-titled in a way that will encourage newcomers to think I’m cleverer than I actually am. (Sssshhh…)
• Notice also that bulleted lists in the new theme use little arrow symbols instead of plain-vanilla bullets. I’m still trying to decide if this is charming or absurd. For the time being, arrows it is.
• The list of categories is set up to collapse/expand, as you’d like. I think this uses a cookie to “remember” you; on subsequent visits, it will retain whatever expansion level you chose.
• I expect to use more or less the same old blogroll categories  — Touchstones, etc.
• I’ll be dumping some blogroll links which I included early on in RAMH‘s history but haven’t visited in a long time. And I’ll probably be adding some new ones.

That’s about all I can think of for now.

Comments or questions? Let me know in a comment to this post, since (as I said) I think the comments over at the test site may be turned off.