Setting minimum browser support for warnings & errors.

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RSteinwand
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Setting minimum browser support for warnings & errors.

Post by RSteinwand »

Hi Albert,

Dreamweaver has an option to set the minimum browser support for warnings and it'd be nice if CSE did too.

So if I set the minimum for IE at IE9, I wouldn't see this:
[610]However, IE8 and below do not support "transparent" here (IE7 and IE8 support "transparent" only for background and border properties).
Why not just use "disable"?
Maybe I think I don't need support for certain browsers, then later decide to refine that decision. Errors and warnings would be tailored to what I think is important.

OTOH, this would involve setting properties for Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari and IE to every error and warning you have.

Maybe easier would be a checkbox to disable messages for older than IE9. (or maybe just remove them altogether?)

Boy, I sure like to make work for you, don't I? :P
Rick
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Albert Wiersch
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Re: Setting minimum browser support for warnings & errors.

Post by Albert Wiersch »

Hi Rick,

Thanks! I appreciate the suggestion.

As time goes on, I "relegate" messages, like the old IE messages, to legacy status which means they won't display unless legacy messages are enabled. In v17, message for IE versions below 8 should now be 'legacy' messages, but not for IE8 yet. In my opinion IE8 still has enough usage to have the IE8 messages still display by default. Part of the reason for this is that IE8 is the latest version of IE that can be installed on Windows XP.

I do like the option you suggest, but I do not think I would be able to keep up with it. The easier option of disabling messages for versions of IE previous to a specified version would be an easier option to add but the message "disable system" already in CSE HTML Validator should work in the vast majority of cases and offer more precise control over what messages you want to see or not see.

If you later want to adjust the messages that are displayed after you have changed or disable them, you can in the Validator Engine Options, Message Output->Message ID page.

Another option you might like is the "Enable override by message ID" option in the Validator Engine Options, Message Output page. You can uncheck that option and then it will show all the messages again (including the ones you have disabled via message ID or exact text match), but the messages that have been disabled or changed will have a special "OVERRIDE" string prepended.

And of course the message you quoted has a "[610]" in it, which means you can disable that entire group of messages by disabling flag 610. Here is a link to more details about flag 610:
https://www.htmlvalidator.com/current/d ... s_node.htm

So while more complicated (and more powerful), I think the "disable system" is the way to go. Unless I get more requests for what you suggest then I don't think I can justify the time adding such options. It's not that I think it's a bad idea or anything (it's not), it's just that what's there already can do the job and that there's not enough user requests for this.

Oh, and since browsers are becoming much more standards compliant and have frequent updates nowadays (thus always changing), I'd prefer not to add new options based on specific browsers if I can avoid it.
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RSteinwand
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Re: Setting minimum browser support for warnings & errors.

Post by RSteinwand »

Thanks Albert. I knew it would be a tough project when I posted it, but I figure there's no such thing as bad suggestions.

I also deleted all my hidden messages. I suspect a lot of them were fixed or from old code I had.

I also found the legacy (114) checkbox and it's already checked.

Flags:
I'm confused by #'s 2, 21, 23, 62, etc. and help wasn't much help. Checked to display them or Checked to suppress them?
2 - Netscape specific messages (legacy)
21 - WebTV/MSN TV specific messages (legacy)
23 - WebTV/MSN TV comments (legacy)
62 - Netscape specific warning message for layers

This one makes sense:
114 - Suppress legacy messages (like for IE7 and below)

I would think anything Netscape or WebTV could be tossed, but that's me.
Rick
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Albert Wiersch
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Re: Setting minimum browser support for warnings & errors.

Post by Albert Wiersch »

Hi Rick,

All flags default to enabled (checked). They usually cause messages to be displayed but the legacy flag suppresses legacy messages when checked, so if you want to see them then you need to uncheck the flag.

The other flags you mention (2, 21, 23, 62) are quite old. When they are checked then the messages listed under them should be enabled. I agree they could probably be tossed, but I have left them in there since I don't really see them causing any harm.
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RSteinwand
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Re: Setting minimum browser support for warnings & errors.

Post by RSteinwand »

LOL.

Thanks.
Rick
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Albert Wiersch
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Re: Setting minimum browser support for warnings & errors.

Post by Albert Wiersch »

Well, actually it looks like it is still in the config file although there is no "WebTV" category. Boy, this is old stuff... some of the WebTV messages were added back in 2002. I should probably just do a clean-up and remove it. I can't imagine that some of that old stuff is of any help to anyone nowadays.
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RSteinwand
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Re: Setting minimum browser support for warnings & errors.

Post by RSteinwand »

Well, this is the first I've heard of WebTV in a long, Long, LONG time.
Rick
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Albert Wiersch
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Re: Setting minimum browser support for warnings & errors.

Post by Albert Wiersch »

RSteinwand wrote:Well, this is the first I've heard of WebTV in a long, Long, LONG time.
Yes, the "good old days". :D

I've commented the WebTV stuff out of the config file and updated the documentation to state that those WebTV flags are "no longer used because WebTV/MSN TV support is now considered obsolete."

Maybe in another 10 years I'll remove the commented out WebTV code. :lol:

Anyway, this will probably give a negligible performance increase. :D

Still to do one of these days... figure out how best to handle the old Netscape stuff... I should probably just remove it completely and then make sure there are no unwanted side-effects introduced by the removal...
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RSteinwand
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Re: Setting minimum browser support for warnings & errors.

Post by RSteinwand »

I think it feels faster already!

I remember using Netscape, but agree it needs to be removed quickly, otherwise it'll hurt more.
Rick
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Lou
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Re: Setting minimum browser support for warnings & errors.

Post by Lou »

...and then make sure there are no unwanted side-effects introduced by the removal...
There is always that. :shock:
Lou
Say what you will about Sisyphus. He always has work.