Yeah, it's sure weird. Soon it will be second nature (I hope!)

Fun

Can anybody tell if there is still a separate page for the gallery and exchanges? Oh sorry, I see now where Pam commented that there is not..

on the plus side, we now have a 'Like' button :-)

I guess 'Like' connects Howzz to our facebook page, eh? (Edit: apparently it does not. It did not pick up my Facebook photo. Incidentally, don't bother looking for me on Facebook. I am not active there ...:-) Plus it allows our Facebook photo to be shown by our name. Clicking on your picture Pam, takes me to a page showing where you have recently commented. (Edit: clicking on anyones photo or shadow takes you to what was formerly called 'My Page'. Sending them an email from there is another matter that I haven't researced yet.)

Is there an instructions page to clue us in on what is going on now? ( Edit: Yes, scrolling down takes you to "Explore Howzz". Let's just do it ... :-)

Bottom line is if we use it we'll eventually learn it. I would hate to lose touch with the many friends I've made here.

I just came back on and poked around a little. I looked at the comments on the Rose Forum and found out you can list your zone, location or whatever you wish to be seen by going to 'Your Houzz', (upper right on this page) clicking 'Edit Profile' and putting in the name and zone information that you want displayed in the 'Edit Profile' box; NOT the 'Account Information' box, which I tried to do the first time. Then click 'Update' at the bottom.

Also saw it demonstrated that you can post up to four photos directly from your computer and without having to use a photo storing facility like Photobucket.

And we can still edit by clicking the pencil at the top right of our last post. Recent posts that have photos have a little icon at the far right. Edit: The icon is now on the left.

Soooo ... this may not be so bad after all. Just keep looking around, read some posts on more active forums and we'll get it all figured out.

When anyone else finds something that would be helpful to those of us not particularly computer literate (like me!) please post it here.

There are lots of tips and tricks (and complaints) at the Kitchen Table Forum. http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/kitchentable/

Layout changes are always hard to accept, but what I'm looking for are real increases in capability. That is, if layout changes are the price for new capability, let's move forward. I'm seeing some things I Iike. For one, being able to easily link to photos and video is a plus. For another, being able to put links in the text (and more than one per comment) is really handy. I was going to say that I regretted not being able to opt in or opt out of getting e-mail updates for a particular thread, but now I see that capability in small green font at the bottom of the thread (though the default is to get those e-mails -- the default should be, as before NOT to get them). I like being able to flag posts, assuming there is a moderator who looks at those flagged posts.

There have been posts bewailing lost or truncated archived comments, but I just don't see that. I can pull up all my old posts/comments with ease.

I have an open mind, and will keep looking at the new GW until I see something really inconvenient. So far, it looks different, but doesn't look bad, and in many respects looks pretty good. To those who can't focus on a new layout, and jump overboard as a result, happy sailing!

The kitchen table forum link that Pam gave above does have some helpful discoveries on it. I also appreciate Dan's comments.

I'm still looking around and clicking buttons. I just discovered what the blocks of lines were for in the 'Recent Activity' box that's visible on the opening page before you click on a post to read. If I remember correctly three lines shows you just the post subject line, two shows the first words of the original post and those of the last respondent, the one block displays the post and all the responses.

This can be learned and learned quickly! It's already looking friendly and familiar to me and I don't ordinarily welcome change. It only SEEMS unfriendly if you haven't looked around a bit. It's like perhaps not liking 'the look' of someone you haven't met, but then when introduced finding them to be like a long lost friend.

Like in the garden, hang around and keep digging!

Hmmm, a green title on the opening page shows there is a separate forum for Texas Exchanges, but when I click on it and go there I don't find ALL the posts made there to be present. Mainly I'm looking for "Wanted: San Antonio Swap"; however, it IS on the regular Texas Forum.

Also the posts on the Texas Exchanges are in NOT in a 'most recent post' order, as I remember them. There are some posts near the top on which the last response was posted months ago. Plus usually the posts that have not yet had a response are at the top. Is that no longer going to be the case?

I sent these comments to gardenweb @ houzz.com as suggested by Emily Hurley above.

Keep on keeping on .... :-)

Thank goodness I am new to forum so I wasn't embedded as most of you are. But I thought the opening page of the other was pretty, colorful, drew you in. But the content will brighten up the look, I'm sure.

It's weird because it's different. Tomorrow it won't be different.

As to posts being at the top simply because there are no responses. I'm with that. If a post has no responses, it means that people aren't interested in responding. I've been guilty of adding a half-serious response to an old top-posted post just to get it pushed down. I'd have to say that there are some posts that simply don't deserve responses. If a poster wants to be insistent, they can try again.

I'm not in love with the new GW, but a lot of the reasons why people are repelled frankly don't make a lot of sense to me. It doesn't look like it used to!! Oh gawd.

texans are tuf-you seem to be the only ones who haven't been driven to the edge of dementia by the changes. exploration and discovery are what make new sites fun.

I don't like the WHITE hard to look for the cool new stuff without shades.....c Let's see if I can pot a photo with more than 1 flower. That would be swell. BTW

I live in gratitude for this forum and have been here sin 2002! Had no idea it was that long....warm smiles c

Cynthia, I love your photo!

Funny thing is -- some photos first appear smaller than yours and then when you hover over them with the mouse they enlarge quite a bit. Check out the Cedar Waxwing thread to see what I mean.

Wonder what drives that enlarging? Perhaps it depends on whether the photo has been reduced? If anybody figures it out let us know.

I haven't tried the multiple picture posting yet. Did you not get it to work for you, Cynthia?

It's been kinda' fun checking it all out. I NEVER thought I'D EVER say that ... LOL

Incidentally, some of the comments on the subject of the new look on other forums may contain erroneous information -- just like me at first when I hadn't yet figured it out. Often it's later corrected when you read on down.

I had fun with the photos in my profile page... But I really am so tired of helvetica (font name) . It is taking over the world. and the whole world getting greyer everywhere. It kinda hurts my eyes. But the photos will jump off the page. It is not as homey as the other site. I keep wanting to throw around my tools and dirty up this site. The guys over on the Perennial forum really can't stand it . They have gotten very vocal.

If it weren't for the old Garden Web, I certainly would not have such a large Photobucket collection. One thing about having exchanges and gallery on this page, it's easier to see everything new.

Same here Pam. Ninety percent of my Photobucket consists of garden photos.

There is a link at the top of the page for Texas Exchanges so there is a separate forum for that, albeit there are a few issues. One is that when you are there you don't find a link to get back to the main forum. The link to Texas Exchanges Forum remains even if you are on the Exchanges Forum.

I don't have a problem with there not being a separate gallery. Lots of people had stopped using the gallery on their favorite forums, such as the Butterfly and Rose Forums, because people didn't often go there and photos remained unseen. Even with our new look seemingly causing difficulty in skimming the posts since our brains are not yet entrained there have been more comments than before on recent picture posts.

Dan, one reason some some posts go unanswered is that nobody knows the answer, but I like it left at the top so when someone logs on that does have familiarity with a certain plant, for instance, they will see it and respond.

Also sometimes we ask that a post be left unanswered is so it will stay and the top for more people to see, such as an announcement of a plant swap. I do agree that there are a few posts that need to be bumped down after they've been at the top for a couple of weeks.

I'm going to write Houzz at gardenweb @ houzz.com on the above issues. You can do the same with any problems you detect. They ARE responsive. For instance, the posts that have been read are now faded. That was a common complaint.

Plus I like the bars within the 'Recent Activity' box that lets you see first and last comments if you wish.

Gardenweb and another forums were the reason's that I got a Flicker account. I have not tried to enter a photo yet. Can you still embed a photo or do you have to upload from the computer. Is it still the HTML code? I guess I will try it the old fashion way just for kicks.

My text is black today :-)

Yes That is better. Lots of people complained about grey on grey being hard on old eyes.stuck in a aesthetic swipe at how everything is going grey. I could not help myself. As a designer and ex sign painter (Years ago) I have noticed this trend towards colorlessness both in Apple yosemite OS. Maybe they do this grey so it matches on all those iPhones.. The bookmarks off to the side of my safari page looks like an intended analogous color match. This means that they are responsive up there in the front office. I don't think it is a true black but it is definitely more on the contrast scale and that is what we old guys need. If you are listening up there, Thank you. I have beginning cataracts and it made my eyes always feel like they were in strain..

How did you get the home page to display darker? The Texas Gardening page is still grey and light green, which is really hard for me to see.

I'll bet Houzz sells sunglasses. That would make everything look darker.

Oh, the home page does not look darker. but the entries are.

I guess that it is the actual thread that's darker. Over on the Computer Help forum and the Kitchen table, there are some folks using Chrome and Firefox plugins to customize their text. Sorry to have mispoken.

The 'Search in GardenWeb...' works nicely. I questioned Howzz about it and received this reply:

"When you use the search bar, the default is set to search the forum you are on first. If you start typing your query, you'll see several choices show up in a pull down menu. If you choose the first one, that will pull up all the results in your forum. I've included a screenshot of how it will look when you are searching. If you have any further questions, please let us know."

I received a reply very quickly from Houzz about using Photobucket codes to post photos:

"Because you can upload 4 photos at a time directly to your post, embedding
photos from other sites is not supported. You can always add a link to your
photos on photobucket, however they will not be displayed as images
in the forums."

I haven't asked them why sometimes the photos appear small, but when hovered over they enlarge very nicely. At other times the same photos will appear medium size with no hover feature. Anybody know?

Latest updates from Houzz

Among other changes listed on the link above we can now post up to 10 photos. It's a bit more of a hassel (maybe -- haven't tried it yet) than with Photobucket, but oh well -- change is inevitable.

Happy gardening/posting on the new GW.

Deja vu! I couldn't sign in under my old incarnation of linda_tx8. Reminds me of when old Spike sold out and everything was so screwed up afterward. I still remember that. Even after I re-registered, I still couldn't post, until tonight.

I guess there is more than one Linda from Texas. Good to hear from you. I had a long wait for my confirming email..... like 2 days. I still haven't tried to post a picture.

Mara, I just saw that someone on the cactus forum posted a picture from Photobucket. I tried the direct link and it didn't work for me. Gonna' try it again.

Has anyone figured out the 'Follow' deal. It seems you cannot email a person through their profile unless you 'follow' them. So if anyone wanted to email me for seeds or something they would have to post that desire on here and then I would have go to their profile and click 'follow'. Is that how you understand it?

We'll be seeing these soon. You'll see it IF it works ... lol

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/RoseLee/b3ea57d8-4ffc-4874-ad94-27dacbab7092_zpsc800fbdc.jpg

Well, it's a clickable link, but not the photo like here: How to post PB pix on Cacti forum Where is the 'Open' that they clicked? Maybe it's on a smart phone and not my computer.

Okay, I went back and looked at the method used on the Cacti forum and they clicked the photo icon and pasted the link into the file name, but I can't find a way to paste it. Control C doesn't work, nor does organize. Any ideas?

Cacti post link again ... Sorry ...

I can post a link to my photobucket pictures but can't figure out how to insert them in the post.

Roselee, the person that you want to message has to be your follower, or that's my understanding.

Has anyone discovered where our messages are on the forum? I had an email that I received a message and I replied from email. Is there a notification on Houzz/Gardenweb that lets us know we have a message?

I'm cross posting this question on a couple of forums.

I found the answer, if anyone else wonders. It's in our profile, on the Message tab.

Small Smileys · More Info

Okay, I tried posting pictures from my Photobucket again using the instructions by TJ on the Cacti and Succulents forum:

"I clicked on the photo box and instead of picking one of my pics I put the url of the PhotoBucket Direct Link and hit 'Open'"

Voila -- it worked. I used 'Control V' to paste the PB directlink into the box for 'file name' and here it is.

Haven't tried posting multiple photos from my files yet. I will when I have some new pictures to post.

This new format is frustrating to me. I liked the easily accessible "exchanges" side to the forums, we had before... It took me quite awhile to find the exchanges area for the Texas forum. I have been a member since 2001 and weathered other changes to GW, but this doesn't seem user friendly at all to me.

I liked the separate exchanges forum too. And the confusing thing is that there's still a link at the top of the Texas forum that will take you there. I just looked and people are still using it, but there is no link to bring you back to the main forum.

When I inquired, way back at the beginning of the change over, Houzz said there would be no separate exchanges page so I dunno' what's going on with that. It seems they forgot to remove it.

Otherwise I've gotten used to the look, learned the new features and like it much better than the old forum.

I like this forum better, it did take some experimentation though!