115678 - tes.co.uk - Various JavaScript errors

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Tech Evangelism Graveyard :: English Other, defect, P2)

Description

[Ian Tommins ('thelem')]

The Times Educational Supplement website (tes.co.uk) has a number of javascript
errors. Checking the javascript console shows errors including:

Error: document.getElementByID has no properties
Source File: http://www.tes.co.uk/admin/includes/clientscripts_js.asp
Line: 205

Error: event is not defined
Source File: http://www.tes.co.uk/admin/includes/clientscripts_js.asp
Line: 153

Possibly related, the quick site search form will not submit.

Comment 1

[Tristan Nitot]

reporter, can you elaborate on how this impacts user experience ?

Comment 2

[Ian Tommins ('thelem')]

The site uses drop down menus which do not work in Mozilla. From the menu bar
the following sections should produce drop down menus:
This week's TES, Site Information, New Teachers, Your Career, Governors.

Clicking the section heads provides alternative navigation.

Comment 3

[Mat]

in http://www.tes.co.uk/admin/includes/clientscripts_js.asp:
if (dom) {
document.getElementByID['menulayer1Div'].onmouseover=new
Function("show('menulayer1Div','this_week',1,0)")
[...]
}

I think the correct syntax is document.getElementById('menulayer1Div') .

Comment 4

[Tristan Nitot]

Mat: can you make sure that this syntax fixes the issue ? (you may want to save
the page locally to modify it and see what happens).

If the site could be fixed using this syntax, please let me knwo so I can send a
letter to the webmaster.
Contact info found on feedback form
(http://www.tes.co.uk/site_information/contact_us.asp) source code:
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Setting P3.
Adding [Eurocontest] in the status WB. (Mat, you should do that yourself,
following the contest guidelines:
http://mozilla-evangelism.bclary.com/europe/ )

Comment 5

[Mat]

Actually, that wont be enough, because their hide/show functions are not using
the DOM at all (which is rather ... strange... they do use the DOM in the init()
function, but not in the others...). 
I'm currently rewriting the functions :)

btw: had forgotten for the [eurocontest] tag, but I didn't have the permissions
anyway... :)

Comment 6

[Mat]

Sorry, forgot to add :
the form submitting problem is not really related, but it should be an easy fix.
will work on it as soon as I'm finished with the menus.

Comment 7

[Mat]

Attachment: Proposed replacement for their clientscript.js.asp

This javacript code should be enough to make the menus work in mozilla.
Please not that this is not optimized at all, I just added mozilla support via
the DOM. :)

Comment 8

[Tristan Nitot]

Mat: thanks a lot for the patch. Please make sure it also runs with N6.2.1. (for
obvious reasons, the webmaster is more likely to apply it if it fixes issues for
a larger user base.

Comment 9

[Mat]

I didn't check with netscape 6.2.1, but the code doest not uses user agent
detection so it should work. I will test later, cause I'm working on their form
problem right now.

Comment 10

[Mat]

All form related stuff seems to be working...
Reporter, could you be more precise about what's wrong with them ?

Comment 11

[Ian Tommins ('thelem')]

The form seems to work fine in 2002032708
Maybe they changed something or mozilla is now more flexable.

Comment 12

[Frederic Bezies]

Contact page : http://www.tes.co.uk/site_information/contact_us.asp

Comment 13

[Mathieu Pillard [:mat]]

also they need to send the correct mime type for javascript.
x-application/javascript or at least text/javascript .

contacting them.

Comment 14

[Mathieu Pillard [:mat]]

contacted.

Comment 15

[Bob Clary [:bc] (inactive)]

tech evang june 2003 reorg

Comment 16

[Ben Basson]

Contacted regarding javascript fix. Will contact regarding MIME if they respond.

Comment 17

[Ian Tommins ('thelem')]

fixed - the site has been redesigned