University of Bristol Photographic Society
Access Information
Using the website
With this new version of the website, our aim was to retain all the useful features of its predecessor while at the same time bringing you new features, more information and making the whole experience far more intuitive.
This page provides additional information on using the website, including details on standards compliance, as well as our access scheme.
Accessing the members-only section.
The strength of this website is in the tools it offers to our members. From booking a place on trips to uploading your photos, we want to be able to offer the best interface with the minimum hassle.
To access the members-only content, you will require: your username and password (emailed to you when you joined) and a browser with cookies enabled.
Then, simply visit the login page to enter your details. You will be forwarded to your Control Panel, where you can change your details (such as password) or upload photos. Alternatively, there is a login box on the main page.
Once logged in, your browser will have access to all the content you require. To log out, simply click the link (on the menu), or use accesskey "x". Your session will end automatically when you quit your browser.
Help & Alert boxes.
Many of the pages on the site feature help text, in the form of help boxes (an example is shown below). Where possible, we have tried to offer insights and tips from our members to make things simpler for everyone.
Occasionally, and particularly in the members-only section, we need to tell you something urgently. Important information is displayed in an alert box, and should generally be read rather than skipped over. Less common is the message box, which contains temporary information about a page: for example, whether or not a feature is under construction or testing.
This is an example of a help box.
This is an example of an alert box.
Using Accesskeys.
Accesskeys are a powerful tool when navigating a website you visit regularly -- they can speed up tasks you perform often and reduce pointless clicking. They are supported by most modern browsers.
To use accesskeys, simply hold down control (Mac) or alt (Windows) and press the desired key. Your browser will go to the page specified in the website's accesskey scheme. Details of our scheme can be found below.
|
Accesskey |
Action |
h |
Takes you to the website's main page. |
c |
Takes you to the committee information (contact) page. |
a |
Takes you to this page (access info). |
s |
Takes you to the image search page. |
u |
Takes you to your control panel. Only available when logged in. |
x |
Logs you out. Only available when logged in. |
Standards Compliance & markup.
From the outset, this new version of the website was designed to conform to the W3C standards for XHTML 1.0 and CSS 2.0.
Though not all pages have been strictly validated, it is our desire to maintan this high standard in order to better promote accessibility and flexibility accross a wider range of browsers and viewing agents. In addition to this, we believe that the XHTML/CSS paradigm greatly facilitates further developments, freeing up our time for more photography and making the website easier to update and maintain.
In addition to this, semantic markup has been adopted site-wide. This means that a logical structure of XHTML tags is in use (paragraphs denoted with the p tag etc.), which again facilitates flexibility, development and crucially access.
Older browsers.
Though it was not our intention, the methods used in the current design of the website may not render correctly in older browsers (Netscape 4.0 era, in particular).
It was felt that, in order to better get the information and features accross to our large member-base, the solution in use at the moment offered better flexibility and opportunities for future development. Hanging onto the older browsers was simply holding us back.
Due to the nature of the XHTML markup used, it should still be possible to enjoy this site in older browsers with CSS support dissabled. The pages should still render in a logical and legible manner, though the experience will be somewhat less polished (we don't reccomend this for most users).
Bugs and/or suggestions.
As a final note, we do appreciate feedback on the website. Should you have a suggestion, or should you happen upon a problem or inconsistency (a 'bug'), please do not hesitate to get in touch with the webmaster to discuss it with us.
Helping us to develop a friendly, useful website is in the interests of every member. Plus, did I mention we'd really appreciate it?