15. November 2009 by Helene.

This week was my last week. After two very slow weeks, we finally heard from the client we were building a shopping cart and we were asked to start adding items.

My duties mainly consisted in finding how that specific shopping cart was working and on how to convert an excel spreadsheet into a database driven content that would be displayed so we didn’t have to insert every item individually.

After consulting with Jena and Alex, they showed me how the spreadsheet could be imported if formatted the right away. So I got to work on the raw data I was given to make sure it was ready and the last thing I learned during my internship was how to set up the file properly and import the data to the shopping cart.

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8. November 2009 by Helene.

This week was still very slow. I spent a little while figuring out how to import data from an excel spreadsheet into a shopping cart but that was it. Hopefully next week will pick up again and I will be given new projects to work on !

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8. November 2009 by Helene.

This week was a good idea of what happens when clients don’t pay, when the boss is finishing up some old things and I have nothing new to work on yet. In other words, I didn’t work this week!

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29. October 2009 by Helene.

This week was a mad scrambling to fix issues with the big website I was working on (expertox) since we had server issues and a not so happy client. I got to deal with the pressure of relying on external factors (such as the server not being ready) and try to make everything work as quickly as possible to deliver the site. It was interesting, to say the least! But it all turned out ok in the end, the site is finally live and the client is very happy.

Other than that, I worked on some minor projects, adding navigation bars and modifying pages in plain. Not the most exciting after working on Expertox, but it was a little more relaxing!

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11. October 2009 by Helene.

This week saw the wrapping up of that website I have been working on for so long.

Other than that, I reworked an old website that I had worked on previously, modified a new one using a different technique for the navigation,  finished retouching the site I was working on last week. No time to be bored, which is good!

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4. October 2009 by Helene.

This week was interesting. I experienced the joys of handling several projects at once.

I was still working on updates on the my ongoing project , which is dragging a little bit. On the other hand, Alex had a few older projects that needed minor changes or fixes. So I was given the task to work on them, as soon as possible, with the instructions to get everything completed by the end of the week since they were already behind.That meant that not only did I have to figure out how to work on each project quickly, familiarizing myself with someone else’s work , but also to be very efficient and organized to get things done in a timely manner.

As a result, I got to work on a variety of sites, from a website entirely in flash to a regular set of updates on an html website, with a dash of adding to older projects.

It was nice to see that I could work on several projects at once, eventhough i found it a little stressing, since the deadlines were very short. I managed to handle everything and that gave me a good taste for action!

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28. September 2009 by Helene.

Big projects are fun when you start with them. It’s exciting, so much to do, so much to learn. Then most of it gets done and all there is left is the client wanting to change this and that. That was pretty much the summary of my week. “Would you please modify this” Yes, of course. And then modify this, add a box on the side (on each 25 pages please) and so on and so forth. It gets frustrating but it’s the nature of the beast, I suppose!

Other than that, I worked on icons for that website, it was interesting to dab a little in graphic design. After listening to the designer who didn’t have time to create them, I went ahead and made a few. Everybody liked them, so that was good. Too bad the client didn’t! So they won’t make it to the website, but at least now I know I can create visual elements that the designer will like!

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20. September 2009 by Helene.

This was a quiet week. I continued working on the same project, which will be carried over and hopefully finalized next week. Content is coming bits by bits, since the client is very busy and we are just waiting.

On the side, I worked on a Flash site that needed to be modified. It was supposedly a simple modification but it turned to be a little more arduous that I expected. Initially, all I had to do was add a couple buttons. The files were basic enough and it didn’t take long, but it turned out that those files weren’t the ones that needed to be modified. I learned about reviewing carefully what needed to be done and express it in a clear fashion so the client would be able to provide for the correct files. That part was interesting.

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12. September 2009 by Helene.

This week was spent working on the site I started last week. I had the basic structure in place but I still had to populate all the pages.

I spent quite a few hours copying and pasting, as well as verifying all my links. This site is slightly more complicated than a basic 5 pages site. I have to make sure that both navigations point at the right link, that all the content is in place. And I have to learn how to wait after a client: they do not send you everything you need at once. Therefore, the site is half finished and I am stuck! oh well, I guess that will give me work next week!

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4. September 2009 by Helene.

This week was entirely devoted to development, and it was nice to have to think hard to figure how to make my code work.

I was given a new project to get started on, and spend my entire week working on the basic structure of the site. The fun part was to add javascript functionalities, such as a drop down menu and a collapsible menu on the left. I’ve learned a lot about those two elements, how to read the code, how to modify it to suit the requirements of a project for example.

What I learned about automated tasks in Dreamweaver also came in handy, since the site will be quite big, it is important to know how to modify multiple pages at once. I also played quite extensively with templates, making my life much easier in the process!

And finally, I got to figure out for the first time how to make a fluid layout, which expends with the content. It gave me a chance to use some clearing methods in CSS that I didn’t use much until now and refreshed me on the technique!

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