Expression Web UI language settings

After installing Expression Web (version 1) and the German language pack on my new PC running the German version of Windows Vista (Home Premium x64), my previously English Expression Web suddenly displayed the user interface (UI) in – you guessed it – German. I’m not sure if the language pack or the operating system is to blame.

Unfortunately it was not possible to fix this using the “Microsoft Office Language Settings 2007” program which I assume came with the language pack. All it did was changing the help files back to English, which was most unhelpful.

Here’s how I fixed it (after reading this knowledge base article):

1. I located the following registry subkey: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Expression\Web Designer\12.0.

2. I created a new string value called FollowSystemUI and set it to Off (this step is required).

3. I set the UILanguage DWORD value to 1033 (decimal!) which stands for en-US (some other decimal values are de-DE => 1031, fr-FR => 1036, ja-JP => 1041, zh-TW => 1028, you can find some more here).

There’s also a HelpLanguage value but as I mentioned my help files were already being diplayed in English again, so I left it alone.

Please note: It’s entirely possible that there’s an easier way to change the UI language (which I don’t know about). This post only describes what worked for me.

Sharing session data across domains with PHP

The problem: Multiple domains hosted on one server needed access to the user’s session data. In my case, various shopping domains were sharing one (SSL-enabled) domain where the users could place their orders.

The solution I found was surprisingly simple: Since these domains were hosted on the same server and used the same session save path, I was wondering if I could simply pass the existing session ID along to the new domain in order to give it access to the corresponding session file. Indeed all it took was a hidden form field containing the session ID and something like “session_id($_POST[‘SID’])” on top of the first page of the ssl-domain (before session_start()). Voilà, the old session ID was also the new one and the ssl-domain could continue working with the session data. Continue reading Sharing session data across domains with PHP

Server move – Domains for sale / Domains zu verkaufen

While preparing to move this blog (and several websites) to a new server, I went through the list of domains registered with our current provider and realized that – realistically – I won’t have the time to develop most of them before reaching retirement.

So, if you’re interested in one of the domains below, please contact my company or make an offer on Sedo’s domain marketplace [affiliate link]:

  • luck.lu: Short and easy to remember, perfect for gambling sites/portals.
  • mustdo.in and mustsee.in: Could be used as mustsee.in/rome. 🙂
  • trustmarks.eu
  • consumercomplaint.eu and consumercomplaints.eu
  • badname.eu and badnames.eu: You could set up a service checking potential brand names, domain names, kid’s names, etc. for unwanted meanings in several European languages (think along the lines of the Toyota MR2 in France) .
  • stockcontent.eu and stockcontent.net: A stock photography, video, text,… directory?
  • betteridea.eu and betterideas.eu
  • feelbetternews.com: For news that make you feel better (like in “glad that didn’t happen to me”).
  • pocketscales.info
  • taschenwaagen.info: That’s “pocket scales” in German
  • digitwalwaagen.biz: “Digital scales” in German

Some more German ones / noch ein paar deutsche Domains:

  • klausurloesungen.com (lange ist es her)
  • smarter-bewerben.de
  • mein-erster-job.de 😉 (nicht wirklich)
  • taiwanportal.de

Miscellaneous Expression web tips

Sorry for the lack of updates, but I’ve been busy learning how to use Microsoft Expression Web and updating my knowledge of CSS.

Here’s some useful stuff I found “along the way”:

Expression Web Training Videos

front-tracing.jpgRepeating what someone is doing in a video instead of just sitting there and watching it is a very effective way of learning. When I’m in the office, I like to use my laptop to play the video while immediately repeating the actions on my desktop PC. That’s why I was disappointed when I found out that Total Training‘s free videos which came with my copy of Expression Web didn’t include the project files.

Should you find yourself in the same situation, you can download my alternative files for lesson 2 here (published under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License).

More free training videos (by Todd Miranda as well as Total Training) and other learning resources (like a quick start video plus project files) can be found on Microsoft’s Expression site.

Update 2007 07 24: Looking for promotional discount codes (coupon codes) for Total Training’s Expression Web video training? You can find a 50% discount code at by-expression.com (read the comments for the correct code), which is valid only for the first Expression Web course. If you’re about to buy both the Expression Web and Advanced Expression Web course, you can save even more by using the “Get 1 Free Product When You Buy 1”-coupon found at fabuloussavings.com (valid from July 18, 2007 through July 31, 2007).