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Now you won't miss important Website Forge related upgrades, updates or information.

Shane Merem
http://www.websiteforge.com/
Web Design and E-commerce

Many of our customers are now using Fed Ex for larger freight shipments.  We discovered that freight is handled with a completely different online user account for the calculation of shipping costs.

We have added this Fed Ex Freight support to Website Forge.

Please contact LIVE SUPPORT or support@websiteforge.com with any questions.

Shane Merem
www.websiteforge.com
Web Design and E-commerce

Recently more and more customers have asked for an opt-out option for their Membership Module's e-mail system.

The reason we had not done this in the past is because we don't allow and still do not allow spamming.  You may email any customer or subscriber you have -- they are a customer and should expect communications from you.  Therefore an "opt out" feature really did not apply (in our opinion).

We do, however, undertand the urge to follow good email practices -- which  many of you interpret as providing an opt-out link. 

So, due to many customer requests...  We have added an opt-out option to the bottom of emails sent using your mailer.  Please test it out and let us know what you think.

Contact LIVE SUPPORT or support@websiteforge.com with any questions.

Shane Merem
www.websiteforge.com
Web Design and E-commerce

You may have noticed you must click a flash object before using it.  This is a very annoying new behavior that Internet Explorer causes.

We recently found a way to avoid this extra click - restoring the proper use of flash objects.

Any NEW flash objects you use in your Website Forge site will not require this extra click.

How do you insert flash objects into your Website Forge web site?

You can change the "Frame Type" of any frame to "Media Player" and you can upload and select your Flash, WMV, or MP3 object.

Shane Merem
www.websiteforge.com
Web Design and E-commerce

WF sub-account support fixes

* Permission tree updated to better reflect the navigation tree
* Remember last visited screen in WF member's area. Forward there on login automatically.
* Checking if URL (member's area screen) is allowed for a sub-account.
* Other little tweaks:
    - removed Edit button from the module list
    - Important System Notice
    - My Forms

Membership

* Mailer: Unsubscribe link added at the bottom of every message of a mail campaign.
* Image Uploader: both sign-up and edit profile functionality process images exactly the same way AND image thumbnail is being updated instantly. 

Ecommerce

* Product option improvements
    - Multi-select Enum option type
    - Grid View for options
* FedEx Freight Account Number support.
* Removed emails and phone numbers from Shipping Vendor notifications.
* Correct display of Large Text fields in order details and order notifications.

Builder

* Form Builder js code revamped for FireFox compatibility.
* SWFObject support. Flash- and mp3- frames are changed to work via SWFObject - they don't require a click to be activated (which is required in some IE versions).
* Templates to change SWFObject will be revised eventually. This will fix the "flash overlaying flyout menu" issue.

SPAM has become one of the most annoying aspects of the internet.  It's bad enough that you receive unsolicited e-mail urging you to purchase something -- now I receive e-mail all day long with random jibberish.

Website Forge already checks mail against "blacklists" and uses "rulesets" to help identify SPAM. 

A new method of figthing spam is called "greylisting".  Most hard core spammers will use special mail server software to blast out SPAM.  Because many of the messages sent are rejected for one reason or another -- the spammer's servers generally do not attempt to re-deliver the message.  In other words, just one attempt is made to send the spam.

A normal e-mail server will attempt to resend the e-mail several times every few hours or so.

Here is where the "greylisting" comes in.  A greylisting server will reject the first attempt of any suspicious email.  IF the sending server attempts to re-deliver the same message, the message will be allowed to move to your INBOX.

It's true that some valid e-mail might be delayed at times, however the reduction of spam can be very substantial.

I was receiving up to 50 e-mails per day and after enabling this "greylisting" feature I received only 3 spam messages this morning and 35 valid emails.  It works!

To learn more about greylisting you can follow this link: http://greylisting.org/

How do you enable greylisting for your Website Forge e-mail boxes?

Login to your Member's area and go to the "Manage E-mail" area.  You can edit individual mailboxes and check the "enable greylisting" checkbox.

REMEMBER! You may experience some delay in e-mail when you enable this feature.  However the average delay should be around 2 hours or less and often 15 minutes.  This delay depends entirely on the re-send setting of the sender's mail servers.

Shane Merem
www.websiteforge.com
Web Design and E-Commerce

Anyone that knows me would certainly categorize me as a "geek" and very few geeks can write well.

Most writers seem to agree on some basic concepts to help any writing sound better.  Tips like writing in first person voice, avoiding overused words and many other techniques.

I found a product called the Plain English Style Writer  a few years back and found that it quickly converted my mundane geek-like writing into smooth, understandable writing. 

I found that many of our customers could benefit from the same product, however the cost makes it prohibitive for some people.

I found a very cost effective alternative at www.worddog.com a few weeks ago.  It runs $20.00 per copy!  I have tested it out and like it alot.  Although it does not have as many features as the Plain English Style Writer -- it is a very effective tool for those of us who struggle to communicate clearly with the written word.

I ran the above copy through Word Dog and here is what I ended up with.  Aside from a few subtle word changes, it told me to remove the word "very" from a few different sentences.  A subtle change that does make my text read better.

Anyone that knows me would categorize me as a "geek" and few geeks write well.

Most writers seem to agree on some basic concepts to help any writing sound better.  Tips like writing in first person voice, avoiding overused words and many other techniques.

I found a product called the Plain English Style Writer a few years back and found that it quickly converted my mundane geek-like writing into smooth, understandable writing.

I found that many of our customers could benefit from the same product, yet the cost makes it prohibitive for some people.

I found a cost effective alternative at www.worddog.com a few weeks ago.  It runs $20.00 per copy! 

I have tested it out and like it a lot.  Although it does not have as many features as the Plain English Style Writer -- it is an effective tool for those of us who struggle to communicate clearly with the written word!

So visit www.worddog.com and take a look.  I can finally recommend a good copy editor that won't break the bank. 

I am not promoting this particular company just because we recently redesigned their web site :)  I am recommending them because they are the ONLY alternative to the more expensive products AND it works great!

I found this e-mail very funny.  I thought I'd share.  We can all relate.

Shane Merem
Web Design and E-commerce
www.websiteforge.com

For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on. At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics (and I just love this part):

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.

2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed an Illegal Operation" warning light.

7. The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying.

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.

9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.

Sub-accounts
* Permission internals changed. Many revisions.

If you are currently beta testing sub-accounts you must recreate permissions.

The sub-accounts themselves are there but their permissions need to be recreated. So I advise that you email those UN's making them aware of the change.

* Indication of the current sub-account being managed under the Sub-accounts :: Permissions screen.

* Section-specific permissions. For an ecommerce module, unfold the Order List section. You will see it's a link unlike all other sections. Click on the link and a popup will appear. For Order List, two permissions have been implemented:
- Can view credit card #
- Can delete orders

 Membership module
* Image Uploader for new members (Image fields made functional during the signup process)

* Next Allowed Package parameter of a package. Allows you to specified chains/sequences of allowed Package transitions. Say if you have two packages: Free and Paid, you can setup Next Allowed Packages for both=Paid. In which case once the trial period is over (Free package expires), the members can't select the Free package again. They will be forced to pick Paid package.

* Click to Send Email feature for member list allows you to submit a message using a Feedback frame to a certain members.

 Ecommerce module
* Add to Cart from Wish List (similar to Gift List)

* Custom labeling of payment types (Example if you only accept Paypal, then you can rename that payment type to “Credit Card” since Paypal will allow anyone to pay you with a credit card even without a paypal account. Some people are getting scared away thinking they cant buy because they don't have a paypal account)

 Item List frame type
* Multi-buy Mode option for List layout type so you can enter quantities for multiple items and hit the ADD TO CART or BUY button only one time.

 WF Admin/Member's Area
**internal upgrades not displayed**

Shane Merem
Web Design and E-commerce
www.websiteforge.com