beth
12-02-2007, 02:16 AM
Now that older auctions are archived past 45 days, it's great to be able to look back if you forget the exact species or strain of fish. But not everyone leaves the pictures on whatever server they used to host the images. You get text but are not guaranteed to be able to see the pictures. Often the fish for sale are quite young and the auction shows the parents. I was saving web pages, not ideal, the page needs a subfolder for all the images, in that are a couple more subfolders. Just gets cumbersome. Just one example had a total size of around 485 KB. Lots of pictures and it gets much bigger.
Get a PDF writer. Don't waste your money on bloated overpriced Adobe products. There are free PDF writers which act as pseudo printers. *Print* the page to a PDF file. One document, no subfolders. That same auction which had a file size of 485 KB is a measly 197 KB in a high quality PDF file. It also lacks the sometimes funky arrangements that I seemed to get occasionally. The PDF shows exactly what was on the screen without the browser frame.
This isn't the same as doing Print Screen. You get the full auction, maybe a couple of pages, some would be more. But it's still likely to have a much smaller file size and no annoying subfolders. If you are inclined just print the PDF file to a normal printer and make a notebook, it will probably come out better than if you tried to directly print the page.
Maybe a year or so ago there was controversy over the size and/or quality of the fish being sold. The auction was accessible but the pictures had been deleted. If you want to be a pessimist, think of it as a convenient way to have an accurate record of what you purchased.
The intent is to not be able to change the original auction text, only add to it. But there is a way around that too. It can be a little buggy but it can be done. Again, having an accurate record of what it said when you bid may come in handy. Now that sellers are putting their auction terms in their *Just Me* page which CAN be changed VERY EASILY at any time, it's just another thing you can save as a single convenient file. Overly cautious? Maybe. Unless you happen to be the one who is unfortunate enough to catch one of those few sellers which has your money but no ethics.
An optimist? Then just save the final auctions when it closes to guarantee you capture the text and pictures for when your memory isn't perfect.
Get a PDF writer. Don't waste your money on bloated overpriced Adobe products. There are free PDF writers which act as pseudo printers. *Print* the page to a PDF file. One document, no subfolders. That same auction which had a file size of 485 KB is a measly 197 KB in a high quality PDF file. It also lacks the sometimes funky arrangements that I seemed to get occasionally. The PDF shows exactly what was on the screen without the browser frame.
This isn't the same as doing Print Screen. You get the full auction, maybe a couple of pages, some would be more. But it's still likely to have a much smaller file size and no annoying subfolders. If you are inclined just print the PDF file to a normal printer and make a notebook, it will probably come out better than if you tried to directly print the page.
Maybe a year or so ago there was controversy over the size and/or quality of the fish being sold. The auction was accessible but the pictures had been deleted. If you want to be a pessimist, think of it as a convenient way to have an accurate record of what you purchased.
The intent is to not be able to change the original auction text, only add to it. But there is a way around that too. It can be a little buggy but it can be done. Again, having an accurate record of what it said when you bid may come in handy. Now that sellers are putting their auction terms in their *Just Me* page which CAN be changed VERY EASILY at any time, it's just another thing you can save as a single convenient file. Overly cautious? Maybe. Unless you happen to be the one who is unfortunate enough to catch one of those few sellers which has your money but no ethics.
An optimist? Then just save the final auctions when it closes to guarantee you capture the text and pictures for when your memory isn't perfect.