…Javascript Answers…

You thought I was going to say “Water,” didn’t you? Go ahead, admit it!

The problem is that I’ve got some programming experience, but not a ton of it. I utilize various utilities (utilities are for utilitizing, or utilization, aren’t they?) to maintain this site.

I’m as interested making the site aesthetically-appealing as I am in making it appealing for its content. (Someday I’m going to achieve at least one of these two goals.) So I’ve added various scripts in different languages. Some I understand, some I don’t.

As I’m still learning CSS, I’m largely using the default “style” that came with MovableType. Already I’m frustrated with it. It’s nice and clean, but wastes screen-estate (like real-estate only virtual ;)).

In addition, I’m using some Javascript to make these so-called “nice titles” when you mouse-over the links.

I think the Javascript is not liking something about the stylesheet I’m using. I suspect it has to do with the fact that I’m not using html tables to create my layout, but I’m doing it all with CSS positioning. Some of the percentage values used are—so I believe—conflicting with the Javascript. If you mouseover a link, you’ll see that sometimes things “move” on the page; the right column as well as the menubar at the top, appear to shift right. When you “un-mouseover” (mouseout? mouseoff?), it shifts back left. In a worst case, this makes it difficult to click the link! In addition, sometimes it “erases” part of the page when this happen.

I believe I’ve fixed the “unable to click a link because it shifts too much” problem by eliminating percentages in the column widths. I think now the line-height value may be the current cause of the shifting, because this still uses em values and/or percentages. Since I can’t find a way to fix this, I’ve accelerated my search for a new layout/design/style to use. (I’m also doing a logo redesign. You can see the new logo by visiting my bookstore.)

I understand I’m not the only one having these kinds of troubles and I may just have to abandon the nicetitles script.

Bummer, it sure is pretty.

Anyone have any ideas? Ray? How about you?