When using ASP.Net AJAX to perform a postback from within a textbox input control, I found that the textbox loses focus after the postback.  To overcome this, I added the following code:

ScriptManager.GetCurrent(Me.Page).SetFocus(MyTextBox)

However, upon setting focus back to the textbox, the cursor lands at the beginning of the text in the control.  To solve this, just add the following JavaScript on the page or within window.setTimeout:

var textInput = $get('MyTextBox');
if (textInput.createTextRange)
{
    var range = textInput.createTextRange();
        range.moveStart('character', (textInput.value.length));
        range.collapse();
        range.select();
    }

When using the JavaScript focus() method to set focus to an input element in FireFox, the following error may be produced:

Permission denied to set property xulelement.selectedIndex

This is a known bug in FireFox which, based on my research, was supposed to be fixed several versions ago.  To avoid this error, autocomplete needs to be turned off for the element in question.  This can be accomplished:

Via JavaScript, using element.setAttribute('autocomplete','off');

Or

Via HTML using autocomplete=”off”.

I have read that this error is also produced with the JavaScript select() method but have been unable to reproduce it.

Your web designer has just completed your site and it’s live and available to see on the Web.  You’ve thanked your designer for a job well done and you’re excited about the prospects of new customers and increased awareness of your business.  What do you know about the setup, configuration and ongoing charges for your site?

When I work with new clients, I always give them the “run over by the truck” story.  If I’m run over by a truck and can’t help them with their Web sites, have I given them enough information to give another designer so he can quickly get up-to-speed and continue maintaining their sites?  When I take over site maintenance, I always ask for this information, and I am amazed and little data my clients sometimes have about their sites.  If a designer leaves, falls ill, or is otherwise unable to continue work on a site, a site owner may be left with now knowledge to transfer for a new designer.

Before you pay your designer, make sure you have this key information about your site.

Is your domain name registered under your name?  You NEED to make sure of this.  If your designer or someone else registered your domain, you may not own your domain name.  This can be DISASTROUS if you lose contact with that person and need to renew the registration or make change to your Web site.  If there is one thing I stress to all clients, it’s to take control of domain name registration.

Do you know all the passwords for your site?  Be sure to ask for passwords for the hosting control panel, FTP site, database, e-mail accounts, and any information pertaining to the security of your site.  If your designer does not pass these along to you, you may not be able to update your site content, e-mail accounts, or other site aspects in the future.

How is your site configured?  Some sites require special configuration because of features that you’ve requested.  Examples of configuration details include whether it uses an SSL certificate, a database, and payment processing.  Depending on the complexity of your site, your designer may have needed to alter the default site settings.  Make sure you get documentation from your designer detailing any special considerations from the site that may not be readily accessible or understandable by a new designer.

Who is responsible for what aspects of your site?  Hosting, email, domain registration, SSL certificate registration and payment processing may each be handled by a separate entity.  Be sure to get the company name, phone number and Web site address for the billing and technical support contacts from these services.

How has billing been arranged?  Hosting plans, SSL certificates, and other parts of your site or domain registration may be billed to you monthly, quarterly, yearly or in some other interval.  Are these set up to automatically bill your credit card?  If not, how will you be notified of a payment and how do you arrange payment?

Your Web site can be a vital part of your business, and it’s imperative that you have control of all its major aspects.  For some of my clients, previous designers did not pass along this vital information, which left them vulnerable to a variety of maintenance, security, and other problems.  Ask your designer to take an hour or so to document these Web site aspects for you.  You’ll be glad you did!

Over the last 10 years or so, we've received various forms of domain name scams.  They usually involve some sort of fear tactic stating one of the following:

• Your domain name will (expire / be overtaken / be transferred) unless it's renewed through a certain registrar
• Other variations of your domain will be registered with other top-level domains (such as .net, .org, .biz, .info)
• Your trademark or tradename may not be protected unless you register other variations yourself
• We (a domain registrar) are giving you a certain period of time to stop this activity or we'll allow our client to go through with the registrations

There are so many issues with this that it's not even funny:

• Anyone can register any domain name at any time without seeking your permission
• ICANN, the international oversight body on domain registrations, has rules governing registrations that are abusive or not done in good faith
• So what if someone else publishes web sites with these other domain names?  It's highly unlikely that they would affect your business unless you have a significant on-line presence.

All one has to do is search for "domain name scams" and find all sorts of resources on the topic such as http://www.firetrust.com/en/blog/chris/domain-name-scams and http://successfulsoftware.net/2008/04/19/chinese-domain-scam/ .

Here's the one I just got this morning:

Dear demtron ,

   We are Beijing Himense Technology Co.,Ltd, a domain name register organization in china. We received a formal application from a company who is applying to register” demtron ” as their domain name and Internet keyword on Nov 17，2008. Because this involves your company name or trade mark so we inform you in no time. If you consider these domain names and internet keyword are important to you and it is necessary to protect them by registering them first. Please contact us within 7 workdays. If out of the deadline, we will approve the their application unconditionally.


Kind Regards,
Alice.Yang
Auditing Department
Tel:+86-10-81128599
Fax:+86-10-81493938
Email:alice.yang@himense.cn
Beijing Himense Technology Co.,Ltd
http://www.himense.cn
 

If you have any other examples of the scams, post them here and help get the word out!

(Updated 14-Jan-2009 - find out if anything else happened in Part Two of this series!)