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Turning Tips Server

Woodturning Tips Auto-Generator

A
Hilton Handcraft of the Ozarks
Application

"Art is Technology"    - George Lucas

Add the code below (there are 2 common methods to choose from) to your own website page and it'll automatically display a useful, tested and informative tip about woodturning on your page.  Anytime a web surfer visits your page, they'll get a new tip automatically generated by our Tips Server!  Put the code below anywhere you like and as often as you like.  Did I mention that this is FREE.  How can we do that?!?!?!  Volume, my friends ... volume.  This is NOT advertiser sponsored.  No way and No how!

The tips are fairly short right now.  Especially with the GetQuickTip    (kinda gives it away, right?) method that is available publicly.  It limits the size of the returned tip to around 250 characters.  In the future, we might release other methods for more detailed tips, techniques and other goodies.

The Turning Tips Server is constantly being updated with new tips and fresher content.  We're dedicated to providing the woodturning web community with accurate, reliable, and proven tips to help woodturners!

 

Live Examples and Code

Method # 1 - Using an inline frame (Note: Some older browsers don't support Inline Frames and this won't display)

Click here for the example

Here's the HTML code to insert into your webpage to get you the above....

 

 

 

 

Method # 2 - Using Javascript (Note: Some browsers have Javascript turned off and this won't display)

Click here for the example

Here's the HTML code to insert into your webpage to get you the above....

 

 

Customization

Omitting any parameter is fine.  There are defaults for everything.

Choosing a category of turning tips.  That's right!  The above code will randomly serve you all of the tips in our database.  But what if you just want Finishing tips?  Or just Safety tips?  Here's the parameter and possible values for it so you can customize the tips showing on your website and to your visitors.  If you want to just get everything from the database, leave the above code alone.

Parameter Values Description
Return

(Empty defaults to FRAME)

 
  FRAME Returns HTML for an Inline Frame display
  JS Returns HTML Javascript code to display the tip
Category1

(Empty defaults to all categories)

 
  General  
  Safety  
  Sharpening  
  Equipment  
  Finishing  
  Technique  
  Wood  
  Sanding  

Text formatting options  (not required but available). Separate parameters with this character:  &

Parameter Values
TXTSize Any regular HTML <font size=     value.  For example:  TXTSize=2    or   TXTSize=5
TXTColor Any regular HTML <font color=   value.  For example: TXTColor=Red   or   TXTColor=%23FF0000
TXTFace Any regular HTML <font face=    value.  For example: TXTFace=Arial   or   TXTFace=Modern
TXTBold Either True or False.  For example:  TXTBold=True
TXTItalic Either True or False.  For example:  TXTItalic=True

You can string together parameters in any order. Just be sure to start any parameters with a ? just after the .wtt and then separate each parameter with a &.  Like this ....

GetQuickTip.wtt?TXTFace=Arial&TXTSize=3&Category1=Wood&TXTItalic=True

 

For example, this is just showing woodturning Sharpening Tips with Green text ....



Here's the HTML code to insert into your webpage to get you the above....

 

The only difference between the above code and Method #2 way above is the &Category1=Sharpening part.  You can add this little parameter and value to Method #1 too.

 

FAQ

Is this one of those applets like Java or ActiveX?

No.  This returns to your page just plain text. HTML. No Java applets. No ActiveX controls. Nothing like that.

Can we see a complete list of the tips instead of just getting them one at a time?

No.  Well, not at this time.  Probably never.  At least not right now.  Or ever.  Maybe.  Clear as mud?  It kind of defeats the purpose of providing this server for other woodturners websites, doesn't it?  It's here to help them and the woodturners around the world.  Makes more sense to distribute the help around, I think.

Are there other ways that we can add a link to the server on our own pages other than the 2 methods above?

Sure.  If you have a specific idea or need for other methods than the ones above, just let us know.  We'll work with you to get it set up on your page.  In essence, you just need to call our page, GetQuickTip.wtt, to get the text of the tip returned to you.  However you can do that should work.  We'll add methods above as we come up with them.

Is there a way to add tips to the server?

That is being considered.  The main problem is filtering out the junk, spam, commercial adverts, arguments and conflicting advice.  We, and hopefully you, want this to be professional, accurate, useful and effective tips that your webpage viewers can count on.  If we can assure that, we'll open up the database to general public input.

If I give you a tip, can I advertise my company within it?

An actual email we received from a woodturning equipment company just as we are writing the FAQ so we thought we'd include it even though it was the only one (so far) we've gotten yet.  Here's part of our response to this question .... "Thank you for your generous offer.  But  ... NO way, NO how, NOT a chance in the slightest. Thank you for your interest in the Turning Tips Server."

How about other language support?  I'd like it in French / Spanish / Australian.

Good question (we added the "Australian" part) !   That's something we'll look into.  Not sure if an auto-translation program would work well enough and not too sure I want to translate the entire database manually.  I can barely speak American anyway. We'll look into that though.

Why are you doing this?

By far the most frequently asked question (then why isn't it at the top?).  The simple answer is ... world domination.  Enough said. <grin>

 

If you have any questions, email us.

 
Add an anonymous comment to this page.  NOTE:  It is filtered to help prevent spam. So, watch what you type
Comment

11/29/05 2:37:00 PM ... Fantastic idea!
11/30/05 3:55:53 PM ... Easy to set up. Works great! Thanks
11/30/05 5:30:32 PM ... How about letting us add tips?
11/30/05 5:30:53 PM ... Great
11/30/05 5:34:04 PM ... Looking pretty good. Certainly unique. Are there any other ways to add it to my site?
11/30/05 5:36:50 PM ... Can we see a listing of all of the tips at once instead of just one at at time?
11/30/05 5:37:35 PM ... Once again, Andrew!
11/30/05 5:43:53 PM ... Simple, quick, and to the point. Nice
11/30/05 9:45:48 PM ... Can I enlarge, reduce, make bold, or otherwise format the text?
11/30/05 10:42:09 PM ... Andy Here - At the moment, no, can't change the text formatting. But that'll change. I'll provide parameters something like size, bold, italic, color and so on to change if need be. It'll be the same for both the IFRAME and Javascript methods. I'll also be changing the IFRAME backgrounding so it'll be transparent along with it. That way, it'll be closer to how the Javascript method works.
11/30/05 10:44:58 PM ... Andy Here - Give me a few minutes to make the changes here.
12/1/05 12:38:11 AM ... Andy Here - OK, I've made changes to everything above to give more control on how the text looks on your site. I've changed the Method #1 code too so that you can make the frame transparent if you want. I've tested as much as I could tonight but you never know. Let me know if there's any problems or other suggestions.
12/2/05 9:47:34 AM ... Thanks for the help getting this setup on my site
9/30/07 8:37:25 AM ... Great idea! Thanks.

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