How to Submit
Text and Photos
For This Website
Submitting Text
You cannot prepare text on a word processor for use on the internet. Word processor formating codes have no meaning when viewed on a website. The result is usually gibberish, unreadable characters, coding that obscures the text you want people to read, or a stuck browser.
Word Processor
When you type a letter on a word processor, what you see on the screen looks the same as what is printed out. But the two are very different. Only 128 characters may be seen and printed (the upper and lower case alphabet, 10 numbers, various punctuations, and spaces — about what you see on a typewriter keyboard. To achieve any formatting beyond simple typing, word Processors put in hidden codes that are not keyboard characters. These codes can change type font size, style, color and decoration (bold or italic). They can set color of background, line spacing and margins, super and subscripting, centering and justification, bulleted and indented paragraphs, and a host of other neat layout designs. The more sophisticated a word processor, the more hidden codes it can use to format text.
There are no standardized codes for word processing. Most word processors use proprietary coding that other word processors can't read directly. The program must first translate the codes into the reading processor's coding system. The result does not always look the same as the original. Sometimes, even older versions of a word processing program can't read documents formatted by newer versions.
When people began talking about setting up a worldwide computer network, one of the first things they did was form a study group to set standards for text coding. Standardization was necessary to insure that computer users in different countries, using different processing systems, different written characters and different programs would see text the same way. Further, these standardizers all agreed that their work should be "open source" efforts — meaning that nobody could copyright or otherwise protect any internet coding. Computer manufacturers and website designers led this iniative and they are still working on it to this day.
By working almost from scratch, these designers — with the help of computer manufacturers — were able to achieve for the internet what was impossible to do for word processing. Bringing together writers, printers, designers, artists, and programmers, they established a forward-looking website coding standard. Initially, the internet was full of computerized text that only looked like typewritten pages. But as computer manufacturers and software designers developed new products, the "look" of the web began to change. The first step were systems for stylizing type fonts, sizes, color and justification. The next step was to set up a way of manipulating text on the screen as was possible on the printed page — to place text anywhere on the page; to have text wrap around pictures; to enclose text in boxes; to achieve different kinds of paragraphing, and to use color everywhere. The third and latest step is to improve the interactivity between websites and users.
Designed from Scratch
While standards have been laid down, interpretation of those standards is still questionable. Manufacturers and software writers continue to interpret codes differently, so that the same coding may look different on different computer systems. In addition these standard interpreters began adding their own coding ideas which were made possible only on their computers or software. Despite this straying from standards, the innovations allow users to try new things, decide if they like it, and — if they do — it becomes a standard on its own. Then — if the originator is willing to share the coding — others incorporate the innovation into their next hardware or software versions. If the originator won't share the code, other software and hardware workers can only approximate the coding, which may give a far different result.
The upshot of "open source" internet standardization is that — for the most part — web innovators have achieved what word processor manufacturers could never do. They've made it possible for computer users all over the world to use their own personal computers and local software to read messages from anywhere.
Writing Text for the Web
That briefly is why it is not possible to use word processor text on the internet -- the coding for each is different and mutually unreadable.
Writing for the Web
Fortunately, to put a biography, publication, classified, or picture on The Naval-Aviator Network website, you don't have to learn any coding or buy any special program. The only thing you have to do is send us your written material in plain text (*.txt). Plain text has no word processing codes to be removed, and applying the internet coding is quick and easy.
"Plain text" is essentially limited to the 128 characters and punctuation that make up the messages you want to send. There are no word processing codes to interfere with our website formatting, and requiring our time to remove. When your document arrives, we'll add the coding to make it conform to our Network style and it's ready for uploading.
If you use Windows, you already have a plain text editor in Windows Notebook. Just write your message in Notebook and send it along to us for coding. If you still want to use your word processor, type your text, then use "save as" to preserve your document as plain text, with a *.txt ending to send to our network.
Preparing Photos for the Web
While text is limited to 128 characters, photos are generally limited by resolution — the number of dots per inch (dpi) on a computer screen. To explain, in old newspaper days, pictures were usually done in 65 dpi because of the coarseness of the paper. You could see the dots in old newspaper photos. With the advent of offset printing in the 1960s, finer paper was possible and screening improved to 85 dpi. Because magazines were printed on fine-grain smooth-surface paper, photos could start at 133 dpi and might climb to 330 dpi. The paper surface and press capabilities were have always been the determining dpi factors.
Photographs Welcome
When computers first came out, cathode ray monitors had the same poor quality standard as newspapers. Pictures were coarse and small-font text was almost impossible to read. Most computer print-outs were done on dot matrix printers that showed the dots used to form each character. But improvements in monitors and printers now allow better computerized details. Today's plasma screens are offering magazine-quality resolutions with very fine detail.
In a Nutshell:
- Save word processed files as *.txt (check your manual)
- Use a scanner to digitalize text from printed paper copies
- Save photos as *.jpg, and clipart and b&w photos as *.gif or *.png files
- Keep picture widths to 3½-inches for most photos and 7-inches maximum
- Get printed photos digitalized at your friendly photo shop or drug store
- When its all in your computer, attach text and photo files to an email and send
- Contact the webmaster to send anything by snail mail (don't send originals!)
Email Webmaster with Communications
Form on 'About Us' Page for Help
Modern monitor technology has can now reproduce several million colors. This allows very fine picture color. But high quality photos also come in large file sizes which can slow downloading to a crawl, particularly with older systems.
We Like Illustrations
Generally, webmasters use only three picture formats — *.jpg, *.gif, and *.png. The *.jpg files offer the best color for the smallest file size. Both *.gif and *.png tend to be smaller files, but they allow only 256 colors. For this reason, these two formats are mostly used for clipart, line drawings, and black-and-white photos. However, both formats offer one other advantage over *.jpg files — both have the ability to make one color transparent. Thus, an illustration with a transparent background can be used against any page's background color. And *.gif files can also be animated to produce moving characters or drawings on the screen. Fortunately, several drawing programs have the ability to change picture files from one format to another. So changing illustrations from a undesirable format to one of the three preferred formats is simple.
Size is about the only other issue with illustrations. Computer screens offer unlimited depth, which can be scrolled on the screen by the user. But width is different. It's hard to read text lines that run off the screen, or pictures that can't be seen in entirety on a monitor. For this reason, the Naval-Aviator Network uses a page width of about 8 inches (800 pixels). This width fits the smallest screens, makes text lines easy to read, and keeps pictures within bounds.
In most cases, a 3½-inch wide picture gives adequate detail on a website. It fits nicely on half an 8-inch wide screen page. If details don't show because a picture is too small, there are two solutions — crop the image to focus on the most important part and blow the photo up to regular size; or double the photo size to a maximum width of seven inches, which fills the page width. Those are the two standard sizes we use on the Naval-Aviator Network website. This keeps both text and pictures within the width of even the smallest monitors
So, when sending illustrations, use the *.jpg format for color pictures. Use *.gif and *.png formats for other illustrations. Keep picture width to 3½-inches, or to seven inches maximum. And don't worry about the picture depth, which can be scrolled.
Transferring Files
When you have your files ready to submit to The Naval-Aviator Network, there are several ways to do it. We use only two.
Email and Attachments — The best way to send us anything is via email. If you have a computer with internet access, you can send us digitized text and pictures almost instantly. Just write your email as you would a covering letter. Tell us what you're sending and the file formats you're using. When you have the cover letter written, look along the bottom of the screen for "Attachments." Click on the word, and your Explorer program will give you a list of directories and files on your computer. Find the file(s) you want to send. Click on the file names to add the document or picture to your list of attachments. You may add items separately, or sometimes as a group. Then send the email to webmaster@naval-aviator.net.
Postal Mail Is Slow
Snail Mail — If you don't have a computer, or don't feel competent to use one, your best bet may be snail mail. If you choose this method of transmission, please avoid sending originals. They are precious because they usually are not easily replaced. Make photocopies of your documents and send those. With pictures, you'll have to send the originals, which we'll scan and return to you within a day or two. We can also work with slides and transparencies. A solution to sending original photos for non-computer users is to visit your favorite corner drugstore and have your photos digitized on a CD-Rom. Then send the CD with your photocopies. Of course, you can always have a friend attach the digital files to an email, too.
Our Responsibility
Our Responsibility
We try to be as helpful to contributors as possible. If you write something, we'll try our best to make it look and read as you want it. We'll format it for our pages, check spelling and sometimes grammar, size and place the photos, and generally make you proud of your contribution. We'll put it in the appropriate section of our website.
When we have your piece on the net, we'll email you and ask you to check for changes or corrections. Depending on how well we understand your wishes, the exchanges of emails may go on for a while. Don't be discouraged. we'll eventually get it right. And later, if you still want to change something or add a new thought to your piece, we'll be glad to work with you on that, too.
Finally, there's no financial charge for submitting items to our website. Our only requirements are that you must be a registered Naval or Marine aviator or a close surviving relative. The purpose of registration is to insure that everyone who submits items is known to us. A password discourages someone else from using your name to submit information or gain contact with another participant.
If you have a question that's not answered on this page, please email us at webmaster@naval-aviator.net. We'll get right back to you.
— Prepared by the Webmaster
USE THE COMMUNICATION FORM ON
THE "ABOUT US" PAGE TO LEARN MORE
Submitting Text
You cannot prepare text on a word processor for use on the internet. Word processor formating codes have no meaning when viewed on a website. The result is usually gibberish, unreadable characters, coding that obscures the text you want people to read, or a stuck browser.
Word Processor
When you type a letter on a word processor, what you see on the screen looks the same as what is printed out. But the two are very different. Only 128 characters may be seen and printed (the upper and lower case alphabet, 10 numbers, various punctuations, and spaces — about what you see on a typewriter keyboard. To achieve any formatting beyond simple typing, word Processors put in hidden codes that are not keyboard characters. These codes can change type font size, style, color and decoration (bold or italic). They can set color of background, line spacing and margins, super and subscripting, centering and justification, bulleted and indented paragraphs, and a host of other neat layout designs. The more sophisticated a word processor, the more hidden codes it can use to format text.
There are no standardized codes for word processing. Most word processors use proprietary coding that other word processors can't read directly. The program must first translate the codes into the reading processor's coding system. The result does not always look the same as the original. Sometimes, even older versions of a word processing program can't read documents formatted by newer versions.
When people began talking about setting up a worldwide computer network, one of the first things they did was form a study group to set standards for text coding. Standardization was necessary to insure that computer users in different countries, using different processing systems, different written characters and different programs would see text the same way. Further, these standardizers all agreed that their work should be "open source" efforts — meaning that nobody could copyright or otherwise protect any internet coding. Computer manufacturers and website designers led this iniative and they are still working on it to this day.
By working almost from scratch, these designers — with the help of computer manufacturers — were able to achieve for the internet what was impossible to do for word processing. Bringing together writers, printers, designers, artists, and programmers, they established a forward-looking website coding standard. Initially, the internet was full of computerized text that only looked like typewritten pages. But as computer manufacturers and software designers developed new products, the "look" of the web began to change. The first step were systems for stylizing type fonts, sizes, color and justification. The next step was to set up a way of manipulating text on the screen as was possible on the printed page — to place text anywhere on the page; to have text wrap around pictures; to enclose text in boxes; to achieve different kinds of paragraphing, and to use color everywhere. The third and latest step is to improve the interactivity between websites and users.
Designed from Scratch
While standards have been laid down, interpretation of those standards is still questionable. Manufacturers and software writers continue to interpret codes differently, so that the same coding may look different on different computer systems. In addition these standard interpreters began adding their own coding ideas which were made possible only on their computers or software. Despite this straying from standards, the innovations allow users to try new things, decide if they like it, and — if they do — it becomes a standard on its own. Then — if the originator is willing to share the coding — others incorporate the innovation into their next hardware or software versions. If the originator won't share the code, other software and hardware workers can only approximate the coding, which may give a far different result.
The upshot of "open source" internet standardization is that — for the most part — web innovators have achieved what word processor manufacturers could never do. They've made it possible for computer users all over the world to use their own personal computers and local software to read messages from anywhere.
Writing Text for the Web
That briefly is why it is not possible to use word processor text on the internet -- the coding for each is different and mutually unreadable.
Writing for the Web
Fortunately, to put a biography, publication, classified, or picture on The Naval-Aviator Network website, you don't have to learn any coding or buy any special program. The only thing you have to do is send us your written material in plain text (*.txt). Plain text has no word processing codes to be removed, and applying the internet coding is quick and easy.
"Plain text" is essentially limited to the 128 characters and punctuation that make up the messages you want to send. There are no word processing codes to interfere with our website formatting, and requiring our time to remove. When your document arrives, we'll add the coding to make it conform to our Network style and it's ready for uploading.
If you use Windows, you already have a plain text editor in Windows Notebook. Just write your message in Notebook and send it along to us for coding. If you still want to use your word processor, type your text, then use "save as" to preserve your document as plain text, with a *.txt ending to send to our network.
Preparing Photos for the Web
While text is limited to 128 characters, photos are generally limited by resolution — the number of dots per inch (dpi) on a computer screen. To explain, in old newspaper days, pictures were usually done in 65 dpi because of the coarseness of the paper. You could see the dots in old newspaper photos. With the advent of offset printing in the 1960s, finer paper was possible and screening improved to 85 dpi. Because magazines were printed on fine-grain smooth-surface paper, photos could start at 133 dpi and might climb to 330 dpi. The paper surface and press capabilities were have always been the determining dpi factors.
Photographs Welcome
When computers first came out, cathode ray monitors had the same poor quality standard as newspapers. Pictures were coarse and small-font text was almost impossible to read. Most computer print-outs were done on dot matrix printers that showed the dots used to form each character. But improvements in monitors and printers now allow better computerized details. Today's plasma screens are offering magazine-quality resolutions with very fine detail.
In a Nutshell:
- Save word processed files as *.txt (check your manual)
- Use a scanner to digitalize text from printed paper copies
- Save photos as *.jpg, and clipart and b&w photos as *.gif or *.png files
- Keep picture widths to 3½-inches for most photos and 7-inches maximum
- Get printed photos digitalized at your friendly photo shop or drug store
- When its all in your computer, attach text and photo files to an email and send
- Contact the webmaster to send anything by snail mail (don't send originals!)
Email Webmaster with Communications
Form on 'About Us' Page for Help
Modern monitor technology has can now reproduce several million colors. This allows very fine picture color. But high quality photos also come in large file sizes which can slow downloading to a crawl, particularly with older systems.
We Like Illustrations
Generally, webmasters use only three picture formats — *.jpg, *.gif, and *.png. The *.jpg files offer the best color for the smallest file size. Both *.gif and *.png tend to be smaller files, but they allow only 256 colors. For this reason, these two formats are mostly used for clipart, line drawings, and black-and-white photos. However, both formats offer one other advantage over *.jpg files — both have the ability to make one color transparent. Thus, an illustration with a transparent background can be used against any page's background color. And *.gif files can also be animated to produce moving characters or drawings on the screen. Fortunately, several drawing programs have the ability to change picture files from one format to another. So changing illustrations from a undesirable format to one of the three preferred formats is simple.
Size is about the only other issue with illustrations. Computer screens offer unlimited depth, which can be scrolled on the screen by the user. But width is different. It's hard to read text lines that run off the screen, or pictures that can't be seen in entirety on a monitor. For this reason, the Naval-Aviator Network uses a page width of about 8 inches (800 pixels). This width fits the smallest screens, makes text lines easy to read, and keeps pictures within bounds.
In most cases, a 3½-inch wide picture gives adequate detail on a website. It fits nicely on half an 8-inch wide screen page. If details don't show because a picture is too small, there are two solutions — crop the image to focus on the most important part and blow the photo up to regular size; or double the photo size to a maximum width of seven inches, which fills the page width. Those are the two standard sizes we use on the Naval-Aviator Network website. This keeps both text and pictures within the width of even the smallest monitors
So, when sending illustrations, use the *.jpg format for color pictures. Use *.gif and *.png formats for other illustrations. Keep picture width to 3½-inches, or to seven inches maximum. And don't worry about the picture depth, which can be scrolled.
Transferring Files
When you have your files ready to submit to The Naval-Aviator Network, there are several ways to do it. We use only two.
Email and Attachments — The best way to send us anything is via email. If you have a computer with internet access, you can send us digitized text and pictures almost instantly. Just write your email as you would a covering letter. Tell us what you're sending and the file formats you're using. When you have the cover letter written, look along the bottom of the screen for "Attachments." Click on the word, and your Explorer program will give you a list of directories and files on your computer. Find the file(s) you want to send. Click on the file names to add the document or picture to your list of attachments. You may add items separately, or sometimes as a group. Then send the email to webmaster@naval-aviator.net.
Postal Mail Is Slow
Snail Mail — If you don't have a computer, or don't feel competent to use one, your best bet may be snail mail. If you choose this method of transmission, please avoid sending originals. They are precious because they usually are not easily replaced. Make photocopies of your documents and send those. With pictures, you'll have to send the originals, which we'll scan and return to you within a day or two. We can also work with slides and transparencies. A solution to sending original photos for non-computer users is to visit your favorite corner drugstore and have your photos digitized on a CD-Rom. Then send the CD with your photocopies. Of course, you can always have a friend attach the digital files to an email, too.
Our Responsibility
Our Responsibility
Our Responsibility
We try to be as helpful to contributors as possible. If you write something, we'll try our best to make it look and read as you want it. We'll format it for our pages, check spelling and sometimes grammar, size and place the photos, and generally make you proud of your contribution. We'll put it in the appropriate section of our website.
When we have your piece on the net, we'll email you and ask you to check for changes or corrections. Depending on how well we understand your wishes, the exchanges of emails may go on for a while. Don't be discouraged. we'll eventually get it right. And later, if you still want to change something or add a new thought to your piece, we'll be glad to work with you on that, too.
Finally, there's no financial charge for submitting items to our website. Our only requirements are that you must be a registered Naval or Marine aviator or a close surviving relative. The purpose of registration is to insure that everyone who submits items is known to us. A password discourages someone else from using your name to submit information or gain contact with another participant.
If you have a question that's not answered on this page, please email us at webmaster@naval-aviator.net. We'll get right back to you.
— Prepared by the Webmaster