I was recently working on a website project and had to create a div with a float:right; attribute. Only problem was, the div needs to be 100% of the height of the parent element. As we all know, floated elements automatically adjust their height to fit their contents.

I did some googling and found a good link to a demonstration of exactly what I needed to do. Their article describing how to implement this, however, was a little hard for me to understand.

So I examined the source directly and found what I needed. Assign the position: relative; attribute to the parent (container) div, and position: absolute; to the floated element (the div you want to be 100% in height).

I then implemented it as such:

/* Hold the floated column */
#container {
	position: relative;
	padding-right: 275px; 	/* Column width + 15 (Use padding-left if the column is on the left) */
	}

#info_pane {
	position: absolute;
	right: 0;  		/* Use left: 0; if your column is on the left */
	padding-left: 15px; 	/* Adds whitespace for the info pane content */
	height: 100%; 		/* Woohoo! */
	width: 250px; 		/* How wide the column is */
	}

Hope this helps out someone else with their own project!

The lingo.

• “Virgin WordPress” – WordPress 2.6.2 downloaded from WordPress.org
• “Server” – Wherever you’re hosting your WordPress installation
• “Current WordPress installation” – Your old, outdated version of WordPress (anything before 2.6.2)

First, make sure you have a complete backup of whatever you deem important enough. I backed up my wp-content folder, as it has this theme plus other themes that I’ve done some custom stuff to. If you’re not sure what’s “custom” or not for your installation, back up the whole WordPress directory on your server. Depending on your connection speed and how big your site is, this can take anywhere from five minutes to an hour.

Next, download the latest version of WordPress (as of this post, it’s 2.6.2). Extract this virgin copy of WordPress to your desktop, then make sure to delete the wp-content directory. The wp-content directory, as I mentioned before, holds the various themes and plugins that you download. If you upload this directory and overwrite the one on your server you’ll lose anything other than the default WordPress themes and plugins!

Remove the wp-content directory from the new version of WordPress!

Get ready to upload. Now that your virgin WordPress folder is “prepped”, you can upload it to your website into a folder separate from the current WordPress installation. The goal here is to make sure that you’re uploading the new version somewhere on the server without overwriting any current files. Most users will upload the new wordpress files on “top” of their old ones, replacing as they go. This is bad. We’re uploading all the files before overwriting anything.

Now comes the “replace all”. Now that all the new WordPress files are on the server, your upload speed is out of the downtime equation. Drag all the files from your “separated” folder to overwrite your current WordPress files. Your “downtime” is only as long as it takes to copy and paste on the server’s local hard drive.

You’re good to go! Hopefully. If all went according to plan you dragged your virgin WordPress files from its separated folder into your current WordPress install, overwriting and replacing all. Log in to your admin section (/wp-admin) and see what version you’re running (at the bottom of the page). Great success!

Hope you enjoyed this little tutorial! I’ll be posting an entry on an entirely different topic within the next few days, so stay tuned…

OpenDNS is the world’s most intelligent DNS service. Our global network and our software work together symbiotically to offer a set of features custom-tailored to you, without requiring you to buy any hardware or install any software.

Since most of that went over MY head the first time I read it, let’s get some background information on exactly what a DNS Server is / does.

Here’s how most users view the process of getting to google.com:

• Step one: Go to google.com in your browser.

While this might seem like a fairly straightforward process, there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes than you’d think! Google.com is a domain name: an alphanumeric placeholder for an actual IP address on the internet. Every destination on the Internet is assigned a unique IP address, much like everyone is assigned a unique cell phone number. When calling someone, you’re typically not typing in their phone number, but the name you’ve assigned them in your address book. Domain names work in much the same way. Behind the scenes you’re still dialing the IP address; the domain name just makes it easier to get where you’re going.

A DNS (Domain Name System) Server, is an address book not just for you, but the entire internet. These servers manage the various .com’s, .net’s, .org’s among others. There’s a great article from wikipedia on DNS servers if you want to read more in depth on the subject. With the billions of internet users, no single server would be able to handle the number of requests for lookups. You, an end user, typically use your ISP’s (Internet Service Provider) DNS servers, which communicate with the “higher up” DNS servers. Charter, Comcast, RoadRunner and Time Warner are all service providers that run their own DNS servers that end users interface with. Because these ISP’s own these DNS Servers, they can control what you see and don’t see on the internet. If they choose, they can block you from reaching certain websites, and even redirect you to sites you’re not intending to reach! Here’s where OpenDNS comes in.

OpenDNS is a free DNS server that operates without limitations on what you can and can’t see on the internet. Untouched by your ISP, they’re not tainted by anyone’s policies or user agreements. OpenDNS allows you to browse the Internet how it was meant to be browsed: Openly. They also offer you customizable options to block certain materials (at your discretion, not someone else’s) and phishing attacks. In addition, they’re typically faster than the ISP’s DNS Servers at looking up IP addresses…meaning your internet browsing seems snappier.

While in Redding, I was unfortunate enough to experience the wonders of Charter “high speed” internet. I’m currently running OS 10.5 (Leopard) on my MacBook Pro. Charter was unable to diagnose my issue with extremely slow load times for web browsing. I guessed it was an issue with their DNS Servers. After switching to OpenDNS, pages loaded instantly.

The bottom line is that OpenDNS is more benefit than detriment, and I think everyone should enjoy it as much as I do! OpenDNS has some fairly straightforward instructions, but feel free to comment if you’re running into issues getting it implemented.