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Sunday, 04 May 2025 06:56

My GitHub Notes

This will be a collection of GitHub specific and Git notes

TL;DR

I have put my real quick overview of accounts plans and who should use what here.

  • Public repositories
    • Host open source projects in public GitHub repositories, accessible via web or command line.
    • Public repositories are accessible to anyone at GitHub.com.
    • Collaborators and members for public repositories are always unlimited irrespective of your personal plan (e.g. free, Pro) or your organization's plan (e.g. Free, teams, Enterprise)
  • Private repositories
    • Host code in private GitHub repositories, accessible via appliance, web, and command line.
    • Private repositories are only accessible to you and people you share them with.
    • Collaborators and members for private repositories:
      • On a GitHub personal account (Free, Pro), collaborators and members are unlimited.
      • On a GitHub Free Organization, collaborators and members are unlimited.
      • Although collaborators and organization members serve different purposes within GitHub, for organizations subscribed to GitHub Team collaborators must occupy a paid seat in order to access private repositories. Organization members always require a paid seat.
      • If you decide to upgrade your organization from GitHub Free to GitHub Team, you must add a paid seat for each organization member as well as each collaborator for them to keep access.
        • No data will be lost, just access for those who do not have a seat.
        • You only need to buy seats for those users that you want to have access to the organizations repositories going forward, not for everybody who has every made a change or contribution to any of the organization's repositories.
      • Upgrading your account's plan - GitHub Docs - If you'd like additional users to have access to your GitHub Team organization's private repositories, you can purchase more seats anytime.
  • Pricing Plans
    • All pricing @ GitHub is done on a per-user basis.
    • Personal accounts and organization seats are classed as separate Billing entities.
    • If you upgrade your personal account from GitHub Free to the GitHub Pro plan then you can:
      • get additional features for your personal Private repositories such as Pages and Wikis
      • you will also get more Git features and various Code workflow enhancements for both your Public and Private repositories.
    • If you use GitHub Team for your organization you will also get enhancements for your Public and Private repositories as-well as improved organization management better granular user role control.
  • User Accounts
    • A user account is for one person and some times is referred to as a `Personal Account`.
    • A person only needs one user account. You only need one Facebook account right!
    • This account can be used to host all of a user's project and also be used to login in to organizations.
    • There are currently 2 pricing plans for an `personal` account, Free and Pro.
    • If you are an individual developers with no commercial angle, then you should just use a personal/single account for all of your repositories.
    • If you need more actions, features and that other stuff then you can upgrade your account to Pro.
    • I would use my personal account where I need to fork a repo to push some fixes to someone else's code.
    • A user can own more than one organization.
  • Organizations
    • Organizations are shared accounts where businesses and open-source projects can collaborate across many projects at once, with sophisticated security and administrative features.
    • GitHub Free allows you to add as many members and collaborators to your organization as you’d like at no charge.
    • There are currently 3 pricing plans for an account, Free, Team and Enterprise.
    • Having an organization for your company ensures that the assets are not controlled by single member of staff under their personal account.
    • You should use an organization for your code if:
      • If you are a company and you are making software.
      • If you are a individual developer or a company that is going to sell software.
      • You will need to collaborate with team members or other entities.
      • Your software project(s) will be large.
    • Features:
      • Allow for collaboration between team members and other entities.
      • Allows more granular permissions for repositories that belong to the organization.
      • An organisation can have public and private members. Public members do not count towards your organizations seats.
      • Allow for for organising repositories by groups such as; Company, Code Language, Software Type, etc.....
    • You can convert your personal account into an organization (but this is not best practice).
    • You can identify an organization easily because thy have a people tab.
    • Organizations can have more than one organization owner to avoid lapses in ownership.
  • Teams
    • The concept of Teams in GitHub allows for greater flexibility for collaboration and integration, as well as separation of repositories and permissions.
  • Enterprise accounts
    • Are for very large companies, or those teams that need to manage multiple organisations but all under the same company banner.
    • Pricing is done per member, each member requires a seat/license, I am assuming there will always be at leats one member.
  • Discounts

GitHub Official Sites

Misc Sites

GitHub Tutorials

  • Filtering and searching issues and pull requests - GitHub Docs - To find detailed information about a repository on GitHub, you can filter, sort, and search issues and pull requests that are relevant to the repository.
  • Searching issues and pull requests - GitHub Docs - You can search for issues and pull requests on GitHub and narrow the results using these search qualifiers in any combination.
  • How to maintain two repositories internal/private and one open-source · GitHub | igorcosta - Managing multiple repositories that serve distinct but interconnected purposes can be a challenging task. This scenario is common when an organization wishes to contribute to an open-source project while also maintaining an internal space for private collaboration.
  • Showing an overview of your activity on your profile - GitHub Docs - You can enable the activity overview section on your profile to give viewers more context about the types of contributions you make.
  • Viewing contributions on your profile - GitHub Docs - Your profile shows off your pinned repositories, Achievements, and a graph of your repository contributions over the past year.
  • View Forks 
    Repository --> Insights --> Forks
    • Filters:
      • By default the list will only show forks with activity within the last 2 years, so make sure you set the filters accordingly.
      • There are many filters.
      • The filter Repository Type = Network (Forks of other forks) can be quite useful.
    • Switch to tree view: This is useful as it lets you see more repositories on the page at the same time. I think this is how it use to look on GitHub.
  • Compare different Branches / Versions 
    https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu/compare/v4.4.190...v4.4.191

GitHub Structure

Account Plans / Pricing

  • Pricing
  • Upgrading / Downgrading Account Plan
    • Downgrading your account's plan - GitHub Docs
      • You can downgrade the plan for any type of account on GitHub at any time.
      • After an organization's plan is downgraded, the organization will lose access to any functionality that is not included in the new plan. If an advanced feature, such as GitHub Pages, is not available for private repositories in your new plan, consider whether you'd like to retain access to the feature by making affected repositories public.
      • Removing paid seats from your organization: To reduce the number of paid seats your organization uses, you can remove members from your organization or convert members to outside collaborators and give them access to only public repositories.
    • Upgrading your account's plan - GitHub Docs
      • You can upgrade the plan for any type of account on GitHub at any time.
      • About upgrades
        • Each account on GitHub is billed separately.
        • Upgrading an organization account enables paid features for the organization's repositories only and does not affect the features available in repositories owned by any associated personal accounts.
        • Similarly, upgrading a personal account enables paid features for the personal account's repositories only and does not affect the repositories of any organization accounts.
      • Upgrading your personal account's plan
        • You can upgrade your personal account from GitHub Free to GitHub Pro to get advanced code review tools on private repositories owned by your personal account.
        • Upgrading your personal account does not affect any organizations you may manage or repositories owned by those organizations.
      • Managing your organization's plan
        • You can upgrade your organization's plan, add seats to your existing plan, or switch from per-repository to per-user pricing.
        • Upgrading an organization does not affect your personal account or repositories owned by your personal account.
        • If your organization is using a legacy per-repository billing plan, you can switch to per-user pricing at any time. You will not be able to switch back to repository pricing once you've upgraded to per-user pricing.
        • If you'd like additional users to have access to your GitHub Team organization's private repositories, you can purchase more seats anytime.
  • Organizations
    • Github team users vs collaborators pricing. · community · Discussion #22012 · GitHub
      • GitHub Free allows you to add as many members and collaborators to your organization as you’d like at no charge.
      • If you decide to upgrade to GitHub Team, however, you must add a paid seat for each organization member as well as each collaborator. In your example, upgrading an 10-user organization from GitHub Free to GitHub Team would require 10 paid seats at $4 per month each, for a total charge of $40 per month.
      • Although collaborators and organization members serve different purposes within GitHub, for organizations subscribed to GitHub Team collaborators must occupy a paid seat in order to access private repositories. Organization members always require a paid seat.
      • If you have an existing subscription to GitHub Team with 10 users, then add another seat during the billing cycle, you’ll be charged a prorated amount of $4 to cover the period between when you added the seat and when the subscription typically renews.
    • About per-user pricing - GitHub Docs - Learn about per-user pricing for organizations.
      • People that consume a license:
        • Organization members, including owners
        • Outside collaborators on private repositories owned by your organization, excluding forks
        • Anyone with a pending invitation to become an outside collaborator on private or internal repositories owned by your organization, excluding forks
        • Dormant users
  • GitHub Pro
    • GitHub Pro feature comparison is hidden
      • You would expect these details to be available on the pricing page , but they are not. To find out the difference between GitHub Free and GitHub Pro follow the instructions below:
        • Login --> Profile --> Settings --> Billings and plans --> Plans and usage --> Upgrade
        • You can now see a side by side comparison on the 2 account plans.
      • Upgrading your account's plan - GitHub Docs
        • You can upgrade your personal account from GitHub Free to GitHub Pro to get advanced code review tools on private repositories owned by your personal account.
        • Upgrading your personal account does not affect any organizations you may manage or repositories owned by those organizations.
        • This has detailed instructions on upgrading to Pro
      • Pricing on the home page is for organizations.
      • Pro and a single Team user is $4 (which cannot be a coincidence)
    • Is Github Pro free for students? · community · Discussion #158175 · GitHub - Yes, eligible students can get GitHub Pro for free through the GitHub Student Developer Pack.
    • What happens to my repositories once the Pro membership expires? · community · Discussion #129354 · GitHub
      • When a GitHub Pro subscription expires, the account transitions back to the free tier.
      • This change primarily impacts features and limits but does not affect the availability or integrity of the repositories.
      • Public repositories remain public and fully accessible, ensuring continued visibility and collaboration.
      • Private repositories created during the Pro period retain their privacy, but the number of collaborators may be restricted to the limits of the free plan, typically capped at three.
      • Advanced features exclusive to GitHub Pro, such as enhanced code review tools, repository insights, and additional CI/CD minutes and storage, become unavailable.
      • Users may experience limitations if their usage exceeds the free plan’s data transfer and storage limits, potentially leading to restricted repository actions until usage is reduced or additional resources are purchased.
      • Pro-specific support and advanced security features, like code scanning and secret scanning, are also discontinued.
      • Despite these changes, all existing repositories remain intact and functional, ensuring no loss of data or accessibility.
    • GitHub pro · community · Discussion #67993 · GitHub - Can someone please explain how the GitHub pro version works. I thought it works like having a Team organization account?
      • GitHub Pro is a subscription plan for individual users on GitHub and is distinct from GitHub Team, which is designed for organizations. Here's how GitHub Pro works:
        • Individual Subscription: GitHub Pro is meant for individual developers who want enhanced features and capabilities beyond what's available in the free GitHub plan. It's not associated with an organization or team account.
        • Enhanced Features: GitHub Pro provides several benefits over the free GitHub account.
        • In summary, GitHub Pro is a paid subscription plan for individual developers who want enhanced features and unlimited private repositories. It is not the same as a GitHub Team organization account, which is designed for collaborative work within teams or organizations and includes more extensive management and collaboration features.

GitHub Account Types

Organizations

  • Overview
    • About organizations - GitHub Docs
      • Organizations are shared accounts where businesses and open-source projects can collaborate across many projects at once, with sophisticated security and administrative features.
      • Your team can collaborate on GitHub by using an organization account, which serves as a container for your shared work and gives the work a unique name and brand.
      • Each person that uses GitHub always signs into a personal account, and multiple personal accounts can collaborate on shared projects by joining the same organization account.
      • You can use organizations for free, with GitHub Free, which includes limited features on private repositories. To get the full feature set on private repositories and additional features at the organization level, including SAML single sign-on and improved support coverage, you can upgrade to GitHub Team or GitHub Enterprise Cloud. For more information, see GitHub’s plans.
      • Enterprise accounts are a feature of GitHub Enterprise Cloud that allow owners to centrally manage policy and billing for multiple organizations.
    • github organization plans | Bing Search
      • GitHub organization plans are options for teams and businesses to use GitHub features and services. Organizations can use GitHub for free, with limited features on private repositories, or upgrade to GitHub Team or GitHub Enterprise Cloud for more features and support. GitHub Free for organizations includes private repositories for unlimited users, and GitHub Free for individual developers includes unlimited collaborators. To create an organization, you need to follow the prompts on the GitHub website.
    • What Are GitHub Organizations, and Should You Use One? | How-To Geek
      • GitHub Organizations is a feature of GitHub that allows you to create a central place where team members can access and manage repositories and other resources.
      • Grouping them all under one name on a non-personal account is a great organizational tool. Repositories made under organizations will use the organization name instead of your personal account as the prefix, which can look more professional.
      • Beyond that, Organizations also provide many features for teams, such as centralized user and permission management.
    • Maintaining ownership continuity for your organization - GitHub Docs - Organizations can have more than one organization owner to avoid lapses in ownership.
    • Limit on Write Collaborators | Github Organization (Free) · community · Discussion #140992 · GitHub
      • Q:
        • I want to create a Free Github Organization account, where I would have several private repositories.
        • Are there any limits on the number of (free) members that can join the private repositories with write permissions? (I am mostly concerned about organization members; not external collaborators).
        • I am being told that there is , but I can't seem to find anything in Github's documentation that says so...
      • A:
        • Great question! For a free GitHub Organization account, you can have unlimited private repositories, and there's no limit on the number of members within the organization. However, the distinction comes with permissions—free organization accounts can add as many members as they want, but those members all receive the same default permissions.
        • If you're adding members to your organization, they will all get read or write permissions for private repositories depending on how you set up access. GitHub doesn’t explicitly limit the number of these organization members, but you might run into practical management issues if the group gets too large without paid features for more granular control.
  • Setup / Configure
    • nothing here yet
  • Creating a new Organization
  • Converting an Account to an Organization
  • Transfer a repository to an Organization
  • Personal Account or Organization
  • Roles
    • About organization membership - GitHub Docs - You can become a member of an organization to collaborate with coworkers or open-source contributors across many repositories at once.
    • Roles in an organization - GitHub Docs
      • Organization owners can assign roles to individuals and teams giving them different sets of permissions in the organization.
      • Outside collaborator, To keep your organization's data secure while allowing access to repositories, you can add outside collaborators. An outside collaborator is a person who has access to one or more organization repositories but is not explicitly a member of the organization, such as a consultant or temporary employee.
    • Repository roles for an organization - GitHub Docs - You can customize access to each repository in your organization by assigning granular roles, giving people access to the features and tasks they need.
    • Converting an organization member to an outside collaborator - GitHub Docs - If a current member of your organization only needs access to certain repositories, such as consultants or temporary employees, you can convert them to an outside collaborator.
  • Benefits of an Organization
    • Can put all of a companies repos in one place
    • Can be a separate assets that can be attached to the company rather than a personal account.
    • It is not a personal account. a personal account should belong to a single person and not a company.
    • Permissions can be more fine grained
    • Organizations can be part of an enterprise account
  • How can I tell if a repository belongs to an organization?
  • Contributors / Collaborators / Members
    • What is the difference between contributor, member and collaborator? - Open Source Stack Exchange
      • Contributors - When a user's set of email addresses is found in the commit history of a github repo, github marks that user as a contributor.
      • Collaborators - A user that has defined permissions in a github repo is marked as a collaborator. These permissions can vary and do not need to be the commit bit.
      • Members - When a github repo belongs to an organization, users that have membership in that organization are marked "Member" in the same space used for "Contributor" and "Collaborator". 
    • Adding outside collaborators to repositories in your organization - GitHub Docs
      • You can allow people who aren't members of your organization to access repositories that your organization owns.
      • An outside collaborator is a person who is not a member of your organization, but has access to one or more of your organization's repositories.
      • You can choose the level of access to grant for each outside collaborator.
      • Unless you are on a free plan, adding an outside collaborator to a private repository will use one of your paid licenses. For more information, see "About per-user pricing."

Public vs Private

How to structure your Github Organization, Repositories and Users

This section will deal with configuring GitHub for your developing and company needs.

  • The hierarchy of GitHub is as follows:
    • Enterprise Account --> Organization --> Repository --> Users
  • Orgs and Teams Best Practices · GitHub | joshjohanning - Orgs and Teams Best Practices. GitHub Gist: instantly share code, notes, and snippets.
    • The intention of this document is to provide some guidance and suggestions to customers who are wondering how they should structure organizations and teams in their GitHub Enterprise environment. The idea isn't to give hard and fast rules on which approach is better than the other, but to give examples of when one approach might be preferable to another depending on the use case.
    • The concept of Teams in GitHub allows for greater flexibility for collaboration and integration, as well as separation of repositories and permissions.
    • Excellent article
  • How should you structure your GitHub Organizations? - YouTube
    • There are a lot of different ways to structure your GitHub Organizations. One organization to rule them all, multiple organizations, even LOTS of organizations. There are some pros and cons you need to consider with any method that you choose.
    • Very chilled out video
    • Enterprise account --> Organizations --> Repositories
    • How many Organizations do we need?
    • Strategies for using organizations in GitHub Enterprise Cloud - GitHub Resources
      • Within GitHub Enterprise Cloud (GHEC), organizations are shared accounts where your users collaborate across many projects at once, with sophisticated security and administrative features. It’s important to plan your structure in advance to avoid creating unnecessary silos and increase administrative overhead. A good structure will facilitate collaboration and discovery while reducing administrative overhead.
      • In general, we recommend creating the fewest possible organizations within your enterprise to accommodate your business needs.
      • Model 1: Single Organization
        • In this model, a single organization is used for all or the vast majority of repositories. Many small- to medium-sized organizations (less than 5,000 developers) use this approach to manage their GitHub environment.
      • Model 2: Red-green-sandbox-archive
      • Model 3: Portfolio company
  • GitHub Organization Best Practices - A concise guide on best practices for managing single vs multiple GitHub Enterprise Organizations
    • Note: Distinct organizations are NOT needed to limit repository access. Repository access can be limited via base user permissions and Teams.
    • Individual organizations are intended for users who work together, i.e., whole engineering teams and their cross-functional counterparts.
    • When does it make sense to create more than one organization?
  • Expert guide: Transfer Github to Organization step-by-step - YouTube | TechTimeFly
    • This guy uses repositories to separate his code by language.
    • The video is just for context

GitHub Account Management

Does setting up a SSH key and PAT allow me to use them to recover my account with my email address when locked out of my account???

Account Setup

  • Password
    • Use a strong password
    • Store the password in a secure password manager.
  • Recovery codes
    • Download them
    • print them out
    • install them into a secure password manager
  • Enable 2FA
    • with as many methods as possible except maybe SMS as this not classed as secure
  • Use passeys?
  • Create an SSH key
    • Can this be used for account recovery
  • Create a Personal Access Token
    • Can this be used for account recovery
  • Setup your profile
    • Fill in your information and make sure only what you want is shown publicaly.

Account Recovery

Read this article, it is very clear and calming.

  • How to Recover Your GitHub Account
    • Regain access to your GitHub account with a step-by-step guide on using 2FA codes, email verification, and support requests for account recovery.
    • Best Practices to Prevent Account Lockout
      1. Setting Up Multiple 2FA Methods for Backup
      2. Downloading and Securely Storing Recovery Codes
      3. Ensuring Access to Verified Devices and Email Addresses
  • Recovery options are as follows (not all might be available to you):
    1. Recovery codes.
    2. Previously verified device
    3. SSH key
    4. Personal access token
    5. Additional Emails for recovery
      • This is only useful if you do not have 2FA enabled on your account.
      • Profile --> Settings --> Emails --> Add email address
      • https://github.com/settings/emails --> Add email address
  • Recovering your account if you lose your 2FA credentials - GitHub Docs
    • If you lose access to your two-factor authentication credentials, you can use your recovery codes, or another recovery option, to regain access to your account.
    • For security reasons, GitHub Support will not be able to restore access to accounts with two-factor authentication enabled if you lose your two-factor authentication credentials or lose access to your account recovery methods.
    • If you cannot use any recovery methods, you have permanently lost access to your account. However, you can unlink an email address tied to the locked account. The unlinked email address can then be linked to a new or existing account. For more information, see Unlinking your email address from a locked account.
  • Recovering your account if you lose your 2FA credentials - GitHub Docs
    • If you lose access to your two-factor authentication credentials, you can use your recovery codes, or another recovery option, to regain access to your account.
    • Follow Instructions here and will need at least one of the following alternative authentication factors:
      • Previously verified device
      • SSH key
      • Personal access token
    • A member of GitHub Support will review your request and email you within three business days. If your request is approved, you'll receive a link to complete your account recovery process. If your request is denied, the email will include a way to contact support with any additional questions.
  • GitHub Account Recovery Policy - GitHub Docs
    • Get started, troubleshoot, and make the most of GitHub. Documentation for new users, developers, administrators, and all of GitHub's products.
    • GitHub provides a number of account recovery methods including an automated recovery process if you have lost access to your GitHub.com account. If you cannot use any of the provided recovery methods, you have permanently lost access to your account.
    • For security reasons, GitHub Support will not restore access to accounts with two-factor authentication enabled if you lose your two-factor authentication credentials or lose access to your account recovery methods. You must use existing account recovery methods.
    • GitHub does not support any other means of account recovery, including social or ID verification, by members of GitHub’s staff. This policy is in place to protect your account from unauthorized access through social engineering.
  • How to Recover Your GitHub Account - Regain access to your GitHub account with a step-by-step guide on using 2FA codes, email verification, and support requests for account recovery.
  • GitHub Account Recovery Policy - GitHub Docs - Get started, troubleshoot, and make the most of GitHub. Documentation for new users, developers, administrators, and all of GitHub's products.
  • New 2FA account recovery options via password reset flow - GitHub Changelog
    • Users with two-factor authentication enabled can now begin the account recovery process from the password reset flow.
    • With this change, a user can recover their account as long as they can perform email verification and provide a recovery factor, such as an SSH key, PAT (Personal Access Token), or previously signed in device.
  • Unlinking your email address from a locked account - GitHub Docs - If you have lost your two-factor authentication (2FA) credentials and are unable to recover access, you can remove the connection between your email address and a 2FA locked account. The email address is then available for you to link it to a new or existing account, maintaining your commit history.

Authentication

  • General
  • Passkeys
    • Passkeys are a password replacement that validates your identity using touch, facial recognition, a device password, or a PIN.
    • Passkeys can be used for sign-in as a simple and secure alternative to your password and two-factor credentials.
    • About passkeys - GitHub Docs
      • Passkeys allow you to sign in safely and easily, without requiring a password and two-factor authentication.
      • Passkeys are webauthn credentials that validate your identity using touch, facial recognition, a device password, or a PIN. They can be used as a password replacement or as a 2FA method. Passkeys can be used for sign-in as a simple and secure alternative to your password and two-factor credentials.
    • Managing your passkeys - GitHub Docs - You may be prompted to register a passkey during sign-in, or you can choose to register a new passkey in your account settings. For 2FA users, you can upgrade existing eligible security keys into passkeys.
  • Personal Access Token (PAT)
    • Personal access tokens were initially introduced to replace passwords for authentication to GitHub's API and command-line interface. Over time, their functionality has expanded, including their use in account recovery scenarios.
    • Managing your personal access tokens - GitHub Docs - You can use a personal access token in place of a password when authenticating to GitHub in the command line or with the API.

2FA

This is covering the use of 2FA on GitHub.

  • If you loose your 2FA methods and your Recovery codes then you will be locked out of your account permanently, this is to protect GitHub and users from social engineering.
  • You can use any 2FA method you have configured to login which is useful if you loose access to one.
  • Make sure you set up as many recovery methods as possible.
    • Having multiple 2FA methods reduces the risk of users getting locked out of their accounts
  • 2FA does not just mean TOTP, you can also add SMS, Github Mobile.
    • SMS is not really secure, but easy to setup and can prevent lockout.
  • Download and print out your Recovery codes
    • When you change your password your Recovery Codes will be revoked and new ones issued which you should download immediately.
    • Download 2FA Recovery codes here: 
      Profile --> Settings --> Access --> Password and authentication --> Recovery options --> Recovery codes --> View
  • General
    • 2FA methods available
      • Authenticator app
        • Uses TOTP
        • Use 2FAS as your OTP manager.
      • SMS/Text message
        • This is a code sent your mobile phone.
        • It is better than nothing.
      • Security keys
      • GitHub Mobile
        • Install the GitHub app and use this as an authenticator.
        • Easy to use and I recommend using this.
  • Official Docs
    • Securing your account with two-factor authentication (2FA) - GitHub Docs - You can set up your account on GitHub to require an authentication code in addition to your password when you sign in.
    • Configuring two-factor authentication recovery methods - GitHub Docs
      • You can set up a variety of recovery methods to access your account if you lose your two-factor authentication credentials.
      • Print your codes on paper and store securely in a password manager.
      • If you enable/disable 2FA then your current codes will become invalid.
    • Configuring two-factor authentication - GitHub Docs
      • You can choose among multiple options to add a second source of authentication to your account.
      • We strongly recommend using a time-based one-time password (TOTP) application to configure 2FA, and security keys as backup methods instead of SMS. TOTP applications are more reliable than SMS, especially for locations outside the United States. Many TOTP apps support the secure backup of your authentication codes in the cloud and can be restored if you lose access to your device.
      • After you configure 2FA, your account will enter a 28-day check up period. You can leave the check up period by successfully performing 2FA in those 28 days. Otherwise, you will be prompted to perform 2FA in an existing GitHub.com session on the 28th day. If you cannot perform 2FA to pass the checkup, you must use the provided shortcut to reconfigure your 2FA settings and retain access to GitHub.com.
    • Git Good at Securing your Code - How to enable 2FA on GitHub - YouTube | GitHub
      • If you don't already have two-factor authentication setup, check out how to enable this feature now.
      • This is an easy to follow video
    • What was discovered when we enforced 2FA for millions of users - YouTube | GitHub
      • GitHub product designer Hemant Kumar discusses implementing two-factor authentication (2FA) at scale, driven by empathy for our users and a commitment to software security.
      • The project showcases cross-functional collaboration, user-centered design, and strategic communication, resulting in improved user experience while reducing support requests and account lockouts.
      • This explains the process and what this means to a user.
  • What I did
    • Added 2x recovery emails
    • Added a mobile phone for SMS recovery
    • Added GitHub Mobile as a 2FA (installed and logged in on my phone)
    • * (not done yet) Added TOTP using 2FAS (Android)
    • Saved my recovery codes to my password manager (Bitwarden)
    • Printed my recovery codes on paper

GitHub Services

GitHub Search

The search feature on GitHub is very powerful and is underused by a lot of people.

GitHub Pages

This free feature allows you to run websites directly from GitHub, even with your own custom domain name. Useful for small developers who are bandwidth constrained.

Gists

What are they and how to do you create, edit and share them.

Apps

in the marketplace, how do i use them + put examples here.

GitHub Repositories

General

  • About repositories - GitHub Docs
    • A repository contains all of your code, your files, and each file's revision history. You can discuss and manage your work within the repository.
    • When you create a repository, you can choose to make the repository public or private. Repositories in organizations that use GitHub Enterprise Cloud and are owned by an enterprise account can also be created with internal visibility.
    • Public repositories are accessible to everyone on the internet.
    • Private repositories are only accessible to you, people you explicitly share access with, and, for organization repositories, certain organization members.
  • Branch Default Name
    • Why GitHub renamed its master branch to main | TheServerSide - GitHub renamed the master branch to main for any Git repository, as it addresses cultural change like so many organizations that have nixed master-slave terminology in a time of social unrest.
    • You can set the default branch name in your profile 
      Settings --> Code, planning and automation --> Repositories --> Repository default branch: master/main

Setup

Once your organizational structure (or not) is configured you then actually need to create your repos. In this section we will deal with how to setup a nice looking repository to ge the best out of it.

  • GitHub - KatherineMichel/setting-up-an-open-source-project - Setting Up An Open Source Project.
    • Organization accounts are for code owned by groups (companies, OSS projects).
    • Teams make permission management easier. A developer added to a team now has access to repos based on team access.
    • Repository Access
      • Public repo - anyone can access
      • Private repo - only designated members can access
  • Setting up your project for healthy contributions - GitHub Docs - Repository maintainers can set contributing guidelines to help collaborators make meaningful, useful contributions to a project.
  • Always add tags ? 
    joomla
joomla-component
joomla-extensions
app-server
app-site

GitHub Errors, Issues and their solutions

  • Permalinks are not rendered into code blocks
    • Issue
      • When i am copying permalinks and then pasting them into a GitHub editor they are not getting parsed into code blocks.
    • Cause
      • If you look at the end of the faulty links you can see there is a alphanumeric code after the line definition eg: C1,C6 in the example below. 
        Bad: https://github.com/webmin/authentic-theme/blob/0ca0f9e215fdad49e028158f1f0d5096295a8595/tconfig-lib.pl#L201C1-L204C6
      • If I remove C1 and C6 respectively at the end of the permalink, the permalink is rendered into a code block. 
        Good: https://github.com/webmin/authentic-theme/blob/0ca0f9e215fdad49e028158f1f0d5096295a8595/tconfig-lib.pl#L201-L204
      • When you select by the code, the characters where you started and finished your selection from are added on the end in the form of C1,C2 and it is this new format blocking the rendering of this into a code block.
    • Solution
      • Select directly on the line numbers rather than selecting the code.
    • Links
    • Notes
      • This should work cross repository but some people say it does not. I have not verified this either way.
  • "git-receive-pack not permitted"
    • Might be because the git repootpry is archived.
    • git-receive-pack not permitted - Bing Search
      • The "git-receive-pack not permitted" error typically indicates a permissions issue when trying to push changes to a remote Git repository.
  • ^M characters being shown in a GitHub Diff
    • Issue
      • As you can see there are these red ^M control characters and the text file does not have correct formatting because the line endings are not working as they should.
    • Cause
      • The line endings are not being handled correctly between Windows and GitHub
    • Solutions
      1. Set your editor to work with LF(Unix/Linux) locally
      2. Set Git to automatically alter line from CRLF(Windows) to LF(Linux/Unix) endings before submission and vice-versa upon checkout.
    • Links
      • What is the meaning of ^M in 'git diff'? - Stack Overflow
        • ^M represents carriage return (CR). This diff means something removed a Unicode BOM from the beginning of the line and added a CR at the end.
        • If ^M is in the new-changes side (right/green side), then that means the file's line-endings were changed from LF to CRLF, otherwise, file was CRLF and is now changed to LF.
        • The ^ symbol stands for Control, so ^M means Ctrl+M.
        • To get from that to the actual ASCII character code, you take the base character and flip bit 6 (i.e. XOR with 64). For letters, that just means subtract 64. So e.g. ^A is character code 1 (because A is 65). ^M is 77 - 64 = 13 (because M is 77), which corresponds to carriage return in ASCII.
        • ^L represents the form-feed character (FF is the abbreviation, not hexadecimal), and has ASCII value 12 or 0x0C.
        • Try
          • git config core.whitespace cr-at-eol to hide it from the diff
          • git config --global core.autocrlf true
      • Difference Between Carriage Return (CR) and Line Feed (LF) ? How it is used in Different Operating System? | GeeksforGeeks - This article will explain their History, Usage in Different Operating Systems, Related Issues, what they are, when they were introduced, and how one can use them to address various issues arising from the e of CR, and LF.
      • Why does Windows use CR LF? - Stack Overflow
        • Historically when using teletypes CR would return the carriage to the first position of the line while LF would feed to the next line.
        • Using CR+LF in the file themselves made it possible to send a file directly to the printer, without any kind of printer driver.
      • Why is the line terminator CR+LF? - The Old New Thing - This shows the practical difference between the CR and LF when they were first used.

Repository Content

This content is not all specific to GitHub but deserves to be separate section.

Donation Services

  • GitHub Sponsors · GitHub - Invest in the open source projects you depend on with GitHub Sponsors.
  • Patreon
    • Patreon is the best place to build community with your biggest fans, share exclusive work, and turn your passion into a lasting creative business.
    • This has button inside my personal GitHub account to link to a Patreon account.
  • Ko-fi | Make money doing what you love - Join 1,000,000+ creators! Set up your free page to get tips, sell products, offer memberships, and grow your community.
  • Open Collective
    • Raise, manage and disburse money with full transparency.
    • We make it easy to raise, manage, and disburse money with full transparency. Start your open collective, apply to a Fiscal Host, and unlock funding for your community—free from red tape. The future is collective.
    • Open Collective is a legal and financial toolbox for groups. It’s a fundraising + legal status + money management platform for your community. What do you want to do?
  • Buy Me a Coffee - Buy Me a Coffee is the best way for creators and artists to accept support and membership from their fans.

README.md - Extras

Things like flags and badges, add the code and tutorials for them here.

Markdown Examples, Snippets and Templates

Repository Layouts

File and Templates

Git

General

I will include how to use Git in VSCode tips and tricks.

  • Commands
    • Git Cheat Sheet | GeeksforGeeks
      • Git Cheat Sheet is a comprehensive quick guide for learning Git concepts, from very basic to advanced levels. By this Git Cheat Sheet, our aim is to provide a handy reference tool for both beginners and experienced developers/DevOps engineers.
      • This Git Cheat Sheet not only makes it easier for newcomers to get started but also serves as a refresher for experienced professionals.
    • Git commands: A comprehensive cheat sheet (with examples) - Sling Academy - This comprehensive cheat sheet will take you through the basic to advanced Git commands with examples and expected outputs, helping you navigate and use Git more effectively.
    • Patch software on Linux, using GitHub (from virtualmin)
      • With inux you can get coed straight from GitHub and apply it to your Linux files as shown in this example below: 
        ## CentOS / Alma / Rocky / RHEL
cd /usr/libexec/webmin/virtual-server

## Ubuntu
cd /usr/share/webmin/virtual-server

## Common (the actual patch command)
curl https://github.com/virtualmin/virtualmin-gpl/commit/7037f778b30eda80bb9a8a3a1bd4065377763b1c.patch | git apply --reject --whitespace=fix
curl https://github.com/virtualmin/virtualmin-gpl/commit/85f803eb05e1fe8db0b59bd5a44fec8590034e88.patch | git apply --reject --whitespace=fix
        This is from https://github.com/virtualmin/virtualmin-gpl/issues/747
  • Working Tree
  • History
  • Commiting
  • Git Configuration (.gitconfig)

What Git stores

  • Git tracks:
    • Source code and project files
    • Commits
    • Branches
    • Tags
    • References
    • Git objects (blobs, trees, etc.)
  • Git does not track:
    • Issues
    • Pull Requests
    • Wikis
    • Project boards
    • Discussions

Issues

  • Issues in GitHub - GeeksforGeeks
    • GitHub is more than just a platform for hosting code; it’s a powerful tool for managing projects and collaborating with teams. One of the key features that provides this is the Issues system. GitHub Issues helps developers track bugs, enhancements, and tasks, ensuring that projects stay organized and on track. In this article, we'll see what GitHub Issues are, how to use them effectively, and best practices for managing them.
    • Issues are Bolt Ons and are not transferred with forks.

Working with Forks

  • Fork a repository - GitHub Docs - A fork is a new repository that shares code and visibility settings with the original “upstream” repository.
  • You can now fork a repo and copy only the default branch - GitHub Changelog
    • Previously, when creating a fork all branches from the parent repository were copied to the new fork repository. There are several scenarios where this is unneeded, such as contributing to open-source projects. When all branches are copied, it could result in slow repo cloning and unnecessary disk usage. With this new feature, only the default branch is copied; no other branches or tags. This may result in faster clones because only reachable objects will be pulled down.
  • Forking a repository versus duplicating a repository - About forks - GitHub Docs - If you want to create a new repository from the contents of an existing repository but don't want to merge your changes to the upstream in the future, you can duplicate the repository or, if the repository is a template, you can use the repository as a template.
  • When forking a repository on GitHub, you have the option to select "Copy the default branch only."
    • If you leave this option unchecked, GitHub will copy all branches from the source repository into your fork.
    • This means your fork will include every branch present in the original repository, not just the default branch (commonly named main or master). This can be beneficial if you need access to multiple branches for development or reference purposes.
    • For more details, you can refer to GitHub's official documentation on forking repositories here.
  • When I fork a repository are the issues copied as well?
    • No, when you fork a repository on GitHub, the issues from the original repository are not copied to your fork.
    • Forking creates a new repository that includes the code, commit history, branches, and tags, but it does not include issues, pull requests, or other metadata.
    • This design ensures that discussions and issue tracking remain centralized in the original repository, preventing fragmentation across multiple forks.
    • If you need to reference or track issues in your forked repository, GitHub provides the ability to transfer individual issues between repositories. This process must be done manually for each issue. For detailed steps, see Transferring an issue to another repository.
    • Alternatively, if you're looking to duplicate a repository along with its issues, you might consider using third-party tools or scripts that utilize GitHub's API to export and import issues. However, these methods require additional setup and permissions.
    • Issues are not part of Git — they are a feature provided by GitHub (and other Git hosting platforms like GitLab or Bitbucket).
    • Issues are not stored in the Git repository itself. They live on the GitHub platform, as part of its web-based features for project management, collaboration, and discussion.

Git GUIs and Apps

These are just here for reference, you should only use VSCode with the relevant extensions. It should be noted most IDE also have visual GUIs for handling Git.

Repository Files and Folders

There are all of these files and folders that everyone seems to use so I am going to try and get a full list.

  • .github/
    • GitHub settings folder which holds things like issue templates.
  • .vscode/
    • VSCode workspace settings folder
    • Workspace settings are specific to a project and can be shared with other developers on your team.
  • .vscode/extensions.json
    • Recommended extension settings that should be followed by the entire team.
  • .vscode/launch.json
    • Debug configurations, usually shared between a team.
  • .vscode/tasks.json
  • .vscode/settings.json
    • Used to enforce project-specific settings and overrides global user settings, e.g. specific formatting rules.
  • .phan/...
  • .editorconfig
  • .env
  • .gitattributes
  • .gitignore
  • .git-blame-ignore-revs
  • .gitmodules
  • .prettierrc
    • prettier config file
  • .prettierignore
    • file to say which files/folders should be ignored by prettier
  • .php_cs.cache
  • .vscodeignore
  • .travis.yml
  • .php-cs-fixer.dist.php
  • .drone.yml
  • .appveyor.yml
  • .eslintrc
    • ESLint config file.
    • As off ESLint v9.0.0 it is deprecated.
  • .eslintrc.js
    • ESLint config file.
    • As off ESLint v9.0.0 it is deprecated.
  • .eslintrc.json
    • ESLint config file
    • As off ESLint v9.0.0 it is deprecated.
  • .eslintignore
    • Files to be ignored by the ESLint processor
  • eslint.config.js
    • ESlint V9.0.0+ config file
  • .tsconfig.json
  • webpack.config.js
  • yarn.lock
  • package.json
  • package.yaml
  • package-json-schema.json
  • package-lock.json
  • package.nls.json
  • checkstyle.json
  • composer.json
  • composer.lock
  • web.configruleset.xml
  • renovate.json
  • phpunit.xml.dist
  • phpunit-pgsql.xml.dist
  • phpstan.neon
  • cypress.config.dist.mjs
  • build.xml
  • CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
  • LICENSE
  • LICENSE-CODE
  • README.md
  • SECURITY.md
  • SUPPORT.md

 

Published in Programming
Read more...
Wednesday, 16 April 2025 14:34

My Lenovo ThinkPad Laptop Notes

these are my notes

Windows Power Configuration Commands

This is a collection of Windows power commands to help diagnose and change power and sleep settings.

  • Reports the sleep states available on the system.
    powercfg /a
    • Your firmware might not support the S3 mode. Support for the various sleep modes will be shown when you run the command above.
  • Reports information about what woke the system from the last sleep transition.
    powercfg /lastwake
  • List devices that are currently configured to wake the system from any sleep state.
    powercfg /DEVICEQUERY wake_armed
  • ......

Lenovo keeps waking up from sleep

The solution might be one or a combination of the following solutions, but I have put them in the order I think you should try them in.

  • Potential Solutions
    • Disable "wake up computer" on devices
    • Disable S0 Modern Standby
    • Disable always on USB power in the BIOS.
    • ?? is it becasue I am sing a keybaord and mouse on a powered hub? where as on my dell I was not they were directly into the docking station.
    • My USB keyboard and mouse are on my power USB hub, this allows power to be supplied to these devices even when USB always on is disabled. It might mean the USB bus is still accepting data packets.
    • Disable Windows Fastboot  ???
    • Hibernate your system rather than sleep

NB: The laptops trackpad, nipple/Pointers and keyboard will not wake the system up.

 

 

 

 

Links

  • What is USB Selective Suspend Setting? Should You Turn It On or Off - Tech News Today
    • You might have come across the USB Selective Suspend setting while looking through the advanced power plan settings. In this article, we have explained this feature in detail to help you decide if you should turn it on or off by yourself.
    • This is in the Windows power plan. You should just leave this alone.
    • This feature just allow Windows to turn of individual devices on a USB hub rather than the whole hub.

 

 

Disable S0 Modern Standby / Change from S0 to S3 sleep mode

Options

  • Change sleep state in the BIOS
    • Not all laptops will have this option.
    • Check your BIOS as some have an option to switch between S0 and S3
    • In My Lenovo you can change the sleep state in the BIOS
      • They have called them different names with a warning to try and encourage you to use S0.
      • You should just ignore the warning set as required. However (once), I did have S3 enabled and Windows 11 would not wake up, would not even respond to my keyboard or power button.
      • The settings are as follows:
        • "Windows and Linux" = S0
        • "Linux Only" = S3
  • Disable S0 Modern Standby via Windows
    • If you have the ability to change the sleep state in the BIOS (as shown above) then this hack is not going to change anything.
    • If you PC/laptop presents both S0 and S3 methods at the same time,  Window will always pick S0 and so to prevent and use S3 we can use a registry hack to override this behaviour.

Notes

  • Changing from S0 to S3 only changes what is shut down for the sleep.
  • S0 allows a lot of background tasks to run, I assume they have a specific flag to allow this and that the OS controls this.
  • In S3 everything is shutdown except for RAM maintenance and wake up calls (i think). S3 will get better power savings and less risk of data corruptions.
  • standby - What is the difference between (these four) sleep states? - Super User
    • S0 - On / Working
      • The computer is powered up. If supported, power conservation is handled by each device.
    • S1 - Sleep
      • CPU is stopped. RAM maintains power. Everything else is off, or in low power mode.
    • S2 - Sleep
      • CPU has no power. RAM maintains power. Everything else is off, or in low power mode.
    • S3 - Standby
      • CPU has no power. RAM maintains power, refreshes slowly. Power supply reduces power. This level might be referred to as “Save to RAM.” Windows enters this level when in standby.
    • S4 - Hibernate
      • Power to most hardware is shut off. Any files in memory are saved to the hard disk in a temporary file. If configured, the NIC will remain on for WOL or AoL. This level is also known as “Save to disk.”
    • S5 - Off
      • Everything is off. No files are saved. If configured, the NIC will maintain power to listen for WOL (magic) packets. This is known as a shutdown.
  • System Sleep States: S0, S1, S2, S3, S4 & S5 | CrazyEngineers - Fellow engineers, in this article I am going to discuss the system sleep states: S0, S1, S2, S3, S4 and S5 in detail.
  • Modern Standby vs S3 | Microsoft Learn
    • Outlines the primary differences between S3 and Modern Standby system power models.
    • On any Modern Standby system, the system remains in S0 while in standby, allowing the following scenarios to work: Background activity, Faster resume from a low power state.
    • Modern Standby comprises Screen Off and Sleep states, where the Screen Off state encompasses active behaviours to quiesce the system to sleep, and the Sleep state is equivalent to S3 sleep with the added benefit that explicitly-allowed, value-adding software activity can run.

 

Disable USB always on

  • Yoga 310 - how to turn off Always-on USB ? | English Community-Lenovo Community
    • Old Codger
      • I know of only 3 factors that may affect whether the USB is powered or not:
        1. Always-on option in the BIOS
        2. Always-on option from within the Lenovo Vantage app
        3. Whether attached to mains or running on battery
      • I have tested all combinations of the above, and there is no change - this appears to be almost 'hard wired' into the hardware.
      • I have also disabled fast start-up and wake-on-LAN, as someone indicated that these would allow some parts of the machine to be 'active', consuming power and cause USB's to be on as well.
    • Old Codger
      • After spending months trying to find the problem (including 4 hours re-searching and re-booting today) I have managed to find a solution that works for me - this involves making sure that anything within the PC that might require the USB port(s) or other sections of hardware to be powered up when the machine is shut down is disabled. So far as I know, this covers: 
        1. Disabling Always-on USB in the BIOS (if applicable on your machine)
        2. Disabling Always-On USB in Lenovo Vantage
        3. Disabling 'Fast start-up' in the power options
        4. Disable 'Wake On LAN' in the settings for the Ethernet Card
          • NOTE: the Wake On LAN change may not be required, I figured I'd post the solution before wasting anyone else's time !.  
        5. Disable 'Boot from USB' in the BIOS
          • It is this one that finally did the trick for me. Why the USB has to be powered to allow booting from USB is a mystery ..... 
      • Also, please note: This works only if the machine is 'shut down', not in the sleep modes. It may also be necessary to change the 'what the power button does' and 'what closing the lid does'  options in Windows  to make sure that they are acting appropriately. If they send the machine to sleep, then the USB may still remain on. 

Overview

Below are the actions I did to prevent my system waking up on it sown, but it was being caused for me by the Mouse.

 

 

 

 

 

Published in Laptops
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Sunday, 13 April 2025 13:29

Restore Windows 10 GUI functionality

Open-Shell + RetroBar (with Dark themes from Tek Syndicate) + EarTrumpet + Winaero (context menu and Ribbon fixes) + WindHawk (Taskbar tray system icon tweaks - to hode unwanted system icons)

--------------

I finally upgraded to Windows 11 and discovered a lot of functionality had been removed and Microsoft was making restoring it difficult. In Windows 11 24H2 it is even worse.

I will be outlining my solutions I have found on the internet to restore my desktop to how it was. I will be using 3rd party tools as I did on Windows 10. Not all changes might be required or wanted by you so just do the ones you need.

As I find more solutions I will add them here.

Start Menu

Taskbar Replacement

This is optional at the minute as I have not test it, however the Quick Launch step would not be needed if this works.

  • Install GitHub - dremin/RetroBar (use the installer, not the portable version)
    • Set the quick launch folder to: %SystemDrive%\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

Quick Launch

You can employ more than one of the solutions below to get the work enviroment you need.

The Quick Launch folder

This is just for reference.

%SystemDrive%\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

Methods / Workarounds

  • Pinning Applications to the Taskbar
  • Creating Folders for Quick Access
  • Using the Start Menu for Quick Access
    • Open-Shell --> Settings --> Customize Start Menu
    • From thw `Available Commands`, add a `Custom` item at the top of the menu below the `COLUMN PADDING` item with the following values:
      • Link: %SystemDrive%\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
      • Label: Quick Launch
      • Icon: shell32.dll, 290 (or whatever icon you wnat)
  • ExplorerPatcher - Add a real Quick Launch
    • settings to be added when I have used this, i am waiting for a stable version to be released for Windows 24H2
    • 1-Click Quick Launch Toolbar #3774
      • Right-Click Taskbar--> Toolbars --> New Toolbar 
        %SystemDrive%\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
      • Right-Click Taskbar
        • Lock all toolbars
        • Show Text
        • Show title
      • Drag to left
      • Drag divider
    • The latest pre-release (22621.3880.66.7) works fine for me on 24H2. You just need to choose "Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher)" instead of "Windows 10" as the taskbar style.
    • To move a toolbar to the area between the Start button and the Pinned area, you have to "snap" it there, i.e., drag it with your mouse by moving your mouse much faster than normal. (Snap is a UI feature that was introduced by Microsoft with the release of Windows 7.)
    • How to Add Quick Launch Toolbar to Taskbar in Windows 11 | The Geek Page - In this article, we have discussed in the detail the steps to add a quick launch custom toolbar to the taskbar by installing ExplorerPatcher in Windows 11.
  • Old Method (Pre Windows 11 24H2)
    • Turn off unwanted icons in the taskbar
    • Right click on taskbar: Toolbars --> New toolbar
    • Paste this into the address bar: %SystemDrive%\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
    • Select folder
    • Hide title + Hide text
    • Drag into the correct place.

Links

System Tray

Links

Taskbar ????

Links

  • Fully Customize Your Windows 11 Taskbar - Complete Guide | GeekFlare
    • If you are having trouble customizing the new Windows 11 taskbar, then we’ve got you covered. We will show you how to adjust the Window 11 taskbar to your liking and also share some hacks to access features that are no longer officially available in Windows 11.
    • Great article
    • Pin to Taskbar
    • Make the taskbar bigger/smaller via the registry

File Explorer

  • Restore the ribbon in File Explorer
    • Use Winaero
  • Restore straight edge Windows
  • Get rid of the weird 3D font on icons

Context Menu  (might move this above and rename to explorer again)

  • Restore full right click menu (context menu)
    • Winaero --> Windows 11 --> Classic Full Context Menus --> Enable classic full context menus: ticked

Links

Notepad

  • Each file I open gets its own instance
    • Settings --> Opening Notepad --> Opening files: Open in a new window
  • When I close a file, I want to be prompted to save rather than silently storing the session
    • Settings --> Opening Notepad --> When Notepad starts: Start new session and discard unsaved changed
      • This setting's options are not the best description of their function.

Other Useful Settings (Non-Win 10 --> Win 11)

  • Personalisation --> Taskbar --> Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels: Never
  • Personalisation --> Taskbar --> Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels on other taskbars: Never
  • Make Taskbar icons smaller
    • There is no longer an inbuilt option for this.
  • Enable long file paths
  • Missing ‘Open with’ option in right-click context menu on Windows 11 / 10 | The Geek Page
    • NB: for me it only seems to be on zip files on the desktop
    • The right-click context menu in the File Explorer contains the ‘Open with’ which optimizes the right-click context menu in Windows 11. But, some users are complaining about a peculiar bug where the entire ‘Open with’ section is missing from the right-click context menu. If you are also witnessing this bug, you can easily solve the issue with a registry tweak.
  • Enable S3 Sleep.... see other notes
  • Make sure system restore is on. It might not be on by default.

Software

  • Start Menus
    • Open-Shell | Classic Shell Reborn
      • A collection of utilities bringing back classic features to Windows.
    • StartIsBack
      • Returns Windows 10 and Windows 8 a real fully featured start menu and start button, behaving exactly like the ones in Windows 7. It's totally awesome and easy solution for your new Windows woes.
      • Paid for but cheap.
    • StartAllBack
      • Restores taskbar, start menu, context menus, explorer, sanity, style and order!
      • Windows 11 only
      • Paid for, but cheap.
  • Tweakers
    • GitHub - valinet/ExplorerPatcher
      • This project aims to enhance the working environment on Windows.
      • With changes to Windows 11 24H2 it is important that you do not install it on a work or mission critical machine as the new framework has bugs. This will change in time.
      • This program currently gets flagged as being a virus because Microsoft does not want you to use it. it is important that you setup the antivirus exceptions as noted here
      • You must uninstall ExplorerPatcher when upgrading windows to prevent issues and file corruption. You settings will be maintained. The same applies when downgrading.
      • Open up EP Properties application, go to taskbar, and set taskbar style to Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher), not Windows 10. We no longer offer more support on the stock Windows 10 taskbar.
      • Support for Windows 11 24H2 · Issue #3398 · valinet/ExplorerPatcher · GitHub
        • The following methods work for uninstalling it:
          • Run ep_setup.exe /uninstall.
          • Rename ep_setup.exe to ep_uninstall.exe and execute that.
          • also, try to delete dxgi.dll in C:\Windows after you uninstall EP and reboot.
      • Quick Launch with 24H2? | Page 2 | Windows 11 Forum
        • There's just one registry setting that I use to eliminate the potential risk of an endless loop in which the explorer process keeps crashing and automatically being restarted (and that could potentially happen regardless of whether you have installed EP). This will prevent the explorer process from automatically being restarted after it crashes: 
           reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /v AutoRestartShell /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
      • How to Restore Classic Start Menu in Windows 11 with Classic Taskbar - If you have just updated Windows 10 to Windows 11 and are not impressed by all the new changes to the taskbar, here is how to restore the old classic Start menu in Windows 11.
      • How to Use Explorer Patcher to Bring Back Many Windows 10 Styles on Windows 11 - While Windows 11 introduces a fresh design, some users prefer the familiarity of the Windows 10 interface. If you're one of them, Explorer Patcher is a lightweight tool developed by Valentin-Gabriel Radu that lets you restore many Windows 10 styles without downgrading your operating system. This software is safe, straightforward to use, and immediately transforms your Taskbar to the Windows 10 style upon installation.
      Winaero
      • A free app for all versions of Windows that lets you adjust (i.e. tweak) hidden secret settings that Microsoft does not let you adjust from the user interface. In addition, it allows you to add extra value to existing Windows apps and tools with advanced context menus, options, and handy commands.
    • Windhawk
    • 7+ Taskbar Tweaker
      • Customize the Windows taskbar with dozens of exclusive options. Adapt the taskbar to your workflow, not the other way around.
  • Taskbar Replacements
    • GitHub - dremin/RetroBar
      • Classic Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, XP, Vista taskbar for modern versions of Windows
      • RetroBar: Retro Taskbar Replacemet Tutorial (Windows 7-11) - YouTube | Tek Syndicate
        • Excellent video, watch all of it for some inspiration and solutions
        • RetroBar is a Windows taskbar replacement that works on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows 11. It works like the old taskbars on Vista (it was optional on 7) going all the way back to Windows 98 (or maybe 95).
        • The key difference here is the placement of the QuickLaunch area. It's on the left, then the tabs are on the taskbar to the right. See the video for a full demonstration.
        • I didn't realize how much I missed this layout. I currently use RetroBar on Windows and I use Plasma 6 on Fedora with a layout that is basically the same. It's awesome. Let me know what you think.
        • This guy made a load of dark themes
        • Uses EarTrumpet to give a better audio flyout.
        • This does not replace the start menu and works with Open-Shell
        • If you like Launchy, you should install microsoft PowerToys
      • Themes
  • Quick Launch
    • True Launch Bar
      • True Launch Bar is the superior replacement for standard Quick Launch
      • On Windows prior to 24H2 Windows 11 their was Taskbar integration but now only the floating dock works.
      • Installer and portable version are available.
      • It has a plugin feature with many available.
      • There is a `Standard Quick Launch Mode` which uses the `Quick Launch` folder for its root and straight out of the box they look like the classic quick launch icons but with the extra features you get with pinned icons.
      • You can enjoy all the advantages of True Launch Bar not only on the taskbar, but also as a side panel. The side panel can be snapped to any edge of the screen on any monitor.
      • The floating docking (or side panel)can be put on any monitor at the specified edge (Top, Bottom, Right, Left) except if the taskbar is present it will sit on top of it.
    • GitHub - brondavies/TrayToolbar
      • Provides a replacement for the custom toolbar functionality that was removed in Windows 11 by creating a System Tray item which then pops up a single column vertical menu when clicked.
      • Currently the options are basic but it is responsive.
      • You cannot re-order the icons.
    • GitHub - Hofknecht/SystemTrayMenu
      • Browse and open your files easily
      • A completely free flowing dock that ruins as a normal windows application.
      • The dock is a vertical list (icons and text) of the folder you have selected and I don't think this can be changed to icons only in a vertical mode.
      • You can pick a hot key to open and close the program.
      • It is portable and is available in the Microsoft store.
    • GitHub - Bastians-Bits/TrayTool
      • This programme makes it possible to create shortcuts within the System Tray (the little icon area in the bottom right).
      • This is old and not developed currently.
    • GitHub - rojarsmith/TrayToolbar
      • Provide the replacement of add new toolbar function that was cancelled in windows 11
      • Provides a replacement for the custom toolbar functionality that was removed in Windows 11 by creating a System Tray item which then pops up a single column vertical menu when clicked.
      • Currently the options are basic but it is responsive.
      • You cannot re-order the icons.
      • Will not parse system variables in the folder path.
  • Floating Docks
    • RocketDock
      • RocketDock is our classic app launcher loved by millions of people for almost 20 years. It lets you zoom through your shortcuts like a rocket with its buttery smooth interface. You can drag your favourite apps, files, and folders onto the dock to have quick access to them, then personalize with different skins, icons, and effects to match your desktop.
      • Puts icons at the top of your screen like MACs.
    • XWindows Dock - Wikipedia
      • XWindows Dock was a clone of the dock in Mac OS X Leopard for Windows. It is freely available under Creative Commons license.
      • Not developed since 2011
    • Stardock
      • Stardock is a cutting-edge innovator specializing in desktop utility software and PC entertainment.
    • Stardock Start11
      • The ultimate Start menu replacement for Windows 10 and 11. Restore the classic look and add new functionality.
      • Paid for, but cheap.
  • Launchers
    • GitHub - Wox-launcher/Wox A cross-platform launcher that simply works. It's an alternative to Alfred and Launchy
    • Alfred - Productivity App for macOS
      • MacOS only
      • Alfred is a productivity application for macOS, which boosts your efficiency with hotkeys, keywords and text expansion. Search your Mac and the web, and control your Mac using custom actions with the Powerpack.
    • Launchy: The Open Source Keystroke Launcher
      • A free cross-platform utility designed to help you forget about your start menu, the icons on your desktop, and even your file manager.
      • Launchy indexes the programs in your start menu and can launch your documents, project files, folders, and bookmarks with just a few keystrokes!
      • Not actively developed.
  • System Tray
    • GitHub - Aemony/NotifyIconPromote
      • Notification Icon Promoter for Windows 11.
      • This is a background application that auto-promotes all newly registered and unconfigured notification icons to be visible by default in the Windows 11 notification area.
      • This somewhat emulates the behavior of Always show all icons and notifications on the taskbar from prior Windows versions, but also allows for individual apps to be toggled if so desired.
    • GitHub - File-New-Project/EarTrumpet
  • Shell Replacement
    • Cairo Desktop Environment - Enjoy a brand new Windows desktop experience with Cairo. With a dynamic desktop, folder stacks, and new ways to interact with your apps, Cairo is fast, productive, and easy to use.

 

Published in Windows 11
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Wednesday, 02 April 2025 09:21

Lenovo Desktop, Laptop and Charger model numbers explained

ThinkPad

Lenovo ThinkPad series laptops are categorised by their target audience and features, with the E series being entry-level, the L series a step up, and the T series the flagship for professionals, while the X and P series focus on portability and high-performance respectively.

Here's a breakdown of the ThinkPad series (some from Google Search AI):

  • E Series
    • The most budget-friendly option, aimed at small businesses and consumers, offering basic performance and features.
  • L Series
    • A step up from the E series, targeting small to medium businesses and enterprises, with improved durability and security features.
  • T Series
    • The flagship ThinkPad series, designed for professionals and enterprise users, featuring premium materials, higher performance, and advanced security features.
  • X Series
    • The ultraportable line, known for its thin and light design, with a focus on portability and premium build quality.
  • X1 Carbon
    • The flagship ultraportable line, offering a balance of portability and performance, with excellent build quality in a 14-inch form factor.
  • P Series
    • Workstation/desktop replacement line, featuring powerful CPUs and GPUs for demanding tasks, often larger and heavier than other ThinkPad models.
  • Z Series
    • An AMD-powered version of the X1 Carbon line, discontinued and merged with the standard P1, focused towards creators and media consumption.
  • Yoga
    • A 2-in-1 series that combines the renowned power and reliability of ThinkPad laptops with the amazing versatility our Lenovo Yoga line with it's unique 360-degree hinge. A ThinkPad Yoga system works as a traditional laptop at home and in business meetings, or you can flip the screen around to use it as a tablet for casual web surfing, on-the-go note-taking, and more.

Explained

  • Lenovo ThinkPad T15 Gen 2 Laptop I5-1135G7
    • T15
      • T Series with a 15" screen
    • Gen 2/G2
      • Generation 2
      • G2/G7: If you see these on their own, it probably is the generation, but make sure it is not part of the CPU number
        • check with other links just to see if this was one mistake.
    • I5-1135G7
      • Intel 11th Gen CPU

Docking Stations

 

 

 

Other Lenovo Laptop Models

  • ThinkPad
    • Flagship, made for business and capable of heavy processing.
  • Lenovo ThinkBook
    • Budget
      Home and Office
      ThinkBook is built with the casual user in mind and is historically more affordable, it doesn’t feature the same hardware we see in the ThinkPad.
  • Lenovo IdeaPad
    • Everyday laptops for first-time users.
    • High-performance laptops for serious gamers.
    • Convertible PCs for those who like their entertainment on the go.
    • The IdeaPad line includes various models, including clamshell laptops and convertible 2-in-1s, while the Yoga series focuses on hybrid designs. They also do `Slim` models
    • The IdeaPad is better for those looking for a traditional laptop at a more affordable price.
  • Lenovo Yoga
    • A line of 2-in-1 laptops that can be used as both a laptop and a tablet, featuring a hinge that allows the screen to rotate 360 degrees.
    • For the home user
    • Focuses on hybrid designs
    • Yoga is more expensive than IdeaPad but offers more versatility and flexibility in terms of usage.
  • Lenovo Legion
    • Gaming laptops and other devices.
    • Designed for gamers who demand high performance and stunning graphics.

Misc Links

  • General
    • Why is Lenovo moving to soldered RAM? This just makes me both mad and dissapointed... | Reddit
      • It’s fairly common on AMD laptops because the Ryzen APUs require a lot of memory bandwidth to perform well on graphics stuff. Many laptops just solder it to the board so that they can take advantage of LPDDR (stands for low-power DDR, and must be soldered as per spec) and also guarantees that they can run it in dual channel without having to worry about space for RAM slots.
      • The Lenovo T14 Gen 5 will have Sodimm ram, user replaceable.
      • Lenovo worked with Ifixit to improve the repairability of the laptop.
      • People siding with Lenovo are ridiculous. For example LPDDR5 are in abundance because of smartphones so basically Lenovo's using them to lessen manufacturing costs for more profit. LPDDR has higher speed than SoDIMM but in OP's post, they use the base LPDDR5 which is 4800, so no advantage in this case.
      • Lenovo's opting for soldered RAM is not about making the laptop price lower, it is to maintain or increase their profit margin. There is 0 benefit for the user in OP's case by going to soldered LPDDR5-4800.
  • Hardware Compatibility
Published in Other Devices
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Friday, 28 March 2025 13:39

Divi Slider Module

 

Convert to a Image Carousel / Full Width Image Slider

When trying to do an edge to edge fullwidth image slider in Divi so you can use it as an Image carousel, you might run across some simple problems and below are some solutions to this issue.

The Fullwidth slider and normal slider module behave in the same way and the following methods will work on both of them.

Styling and settings common to all methods

This styles the slider how I want it, which is quite standard.

  • Put an instance of the Divi `Slider`module where you want it
  • Configure these settings as follows:
    • Content --> Elements --> Show Arrows: No
    • Content --> Elements --> Show Controls: No
    • Design --> Spacing --> Padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
    • Design --> Animation --> Automatic Animation: On
    • Design --> Animation --> Automatic Animation speed: 7000 (default 7000)
    • Design --> Animation --> Continue Automatic Slide on Hover: Yes
    • Slide --> Content --> Text --> Title: rename to `Slide 1`
      • You can also use a name like `Slide 1 - White House` if you need descriptions for your many slides.
      • We will use CSS to disable this so we can keep the slides title for easier management
    • Slide --> Content --> Text --> Button: remove text
      • can use CSS to disable
    • Slide --> Content --> Text --> Body: remove text
      • can use CSS to disable
    • Slide --> Content --> Background --> Colour: none
  • Save the module
  • Delete all slides but one

Using the Background (Lenoi's Method)

This is the simplest method and easy to do. This whole module is designed for this.

  • Follow the section above called `Styling and settings common to all methods`.
  • Remove the custom gutters, width + max width to 100%  - and this might on be needed on the normal slider module
  • Slide 1
    • Put the image as the background: Slide --> Content --> Background --> Background Image
  • Edit `Slide 1` as follows:
    • Slide --> Content --> Background --> Background Image
  • Add and additional Slide (repeat as required)
    • Duplicate `Slide 1`
    • Change the Title
      • Slide --> Content --> Text --> Title
      • Give the slide a proper name (i.e. `Slide 2` or `Slide 2 - Buckingham Palace`).
    • Change the slider image
      • Slide --> Content --> Background --> Background Image
  • Disable Title and Content with CSS
    • Only the Title needs to be disabled here as the other fields should be empty, but if not this code will hide them.
    • Advanced --> Custom CSS --> Free-Form CSS --> CSS: 
      /* Disable Title and Content */
selector .et_pb_slide_description .et_pb_slide_title,
selector .et_pb_slide_description .et_pb_slide_content {
    display: none;
}
  • Save the module

Using `Image & Video` (Divi Sensei method)

This allows you to use the slider's `Image and Video`in a full width mode using CSS code to do the magic and works for both fullwidth and the normal slider module and is based on Create a Fullwidth Image Slider using the Divi Slider Module | Divi Sensei

  • Follow the section above called `Styling and settings common to all methods`.
  • Edit `Slide 1`
    • Set the slide image: Slide --> Content --> Image & Video --> Image
  • Add an additional Slide (repeat as required)
    • Duplicate `Slide 1`
    • Change the Title
      • Slide --> Content --> Text --> Title
      • Give the slide a proper name (i.e. `Slide 2` or `Slide 2 - Buckingham Palace`).
    • Change the slider image
      • Slide --> Content --> Image & Video --> Image
  • Apply the required CSS
    • Method 1 - Global CSS
      • Add this CSS to: Divi --> Theme Options --> General --> Custom CSS 
        /* Convert Slider module into an Image Carousel (Divi Sensei, Cleaned) - Just add .full-image-slider to your slider - Original */

.full-image-slider .et_pb_slide {
    padding-left: 0 !important;
    padding-right: 0 !important;
}

.full-image-slider .et_pb_slide:first-child .et_pb_slide_image img.active {
    animation: unset !important;
}

.full-image-slider .et_pb_container {
    max-width: 100% !important;
    width: 100% !important;
    height: auto !important;
    min-height: 0 !important;
}

.full-image-slider .et_pb_slide_image img {
    max-height: none !important;
    width: 100% !important;
}

.full-image-slider .et_pb_slide_image {
    margin: 0 !important;
    padding: 0 !important;
    top: 0 !important;
    position: relative !important;
    width: 100% !important;
    display: block !important;
    -webkit-animation-name: fade !important;
    -moz-animation-name: fade !important;
    -ms-animation-name: fade !important;
    -o-animation-name: fade !important;
    animation-name: fade !important;
}

.full-image-slider .et_pb_slider_container_inner {
    position: relative;
}

.full-image-slider .et_pb_slide_description {
    position: absolute !important;
    top: 0 !important;
    bottom: 0 !important;
    left: 0 !important;
    right:  0 !important;
    padding: 0 !important;
    margin: 0 !important;
    width: auto !important;
    height: auto !important;
}

.full-image-slider .et_pb_slide_description .et_pb_button_wrapper,
.full-image-slider .et_pb_slide_description .et_pb_button_wrapper a,
.full-image-slider .et_pb_slide_description .et_pb_button_wrapper a:hover {
    width: 100% !important;
    height: 100% !important;
    padding: 0 !important;
    margin: 0 !important;
    color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) !important;  
    border: none !important;
    background: none !important;
}

.et_pb_column.et_pb_slider_fullwidth_off.full-image-slider .et_pb_slide_description .et_pb_slide_title,
.et_pb_column.et_pb_slider_fullwidth_off.full-image-slider .et_pb_slide_description .et_pb_slide_content,
.full-image-slider .et_pb_slide_description .et_pb_slide_title,
.full-image-slider .et_pb_slide_description .et_pb_slide_content {
    display: none;
}
      • Add the following CSS class to each slider you want to transform 
        full-image-slider
    • Method 2 - Selector
      • Add the following CSS to each slider module you want to transform to: Advanced --> Custom CSS --> Free-Form CSS --> CSS 
        /* Convert Slider module into an Image Carousel (Divi Sensei) - Adapted to use Free-Form CSS */

selector .et_pb_slide {
    padding-left: 0 !important;
    padding-right: 0 !important;
}

selector .et_pb_slide:first-child .et_pb_slide_image img.active {
    animation: unset !important;
}

selector .et_pb_container {
    max-width: 100% !important;
    width: 100% !important;
    height: auto !important;
    min-height: 0 !important;
}

selector .et_pb_slide_image img {
    max-height: none !important;
    width: 100% !important;
}

selector .et_pb_slide_image {
    margin: 0 !important;
    padding: 0 !important;
    top: 0 !important;
    position: relative !important;
    width: 100% !important;
    display: block !important;
    -webkit-animation-name: fade !important;
    -moz-animation-name: fade !important;
    -ms-animation-name: fade !important;
    -o-animation-name: fade !important;
    animation-name: fade !important;
}

selector .et_pb_slider_container_inner {
    position: relative;
}

selector .et_pb_slide_description {
    position: absolute !important;
    top: 0 !important;
    bottom: 0 !important;
    left: 0 !important;
    right:  0 !important;
    padding: 0 !important;
    margin: 0 !important;
    width: auto !important;
    height: auto !important;
}

selector .et_pb_slide_description .et_pb_button_wrapper,
selector .et_pb_slide_description .et_pb_button_wrapper a,
selector .et_pb_slide_description .et_pb_button_wrapper a:hover {
    width: 100% !important;
    height: 100% !important;
    padding: 0 !important;
    margin: 0 !important;
    color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) !important;  
    border: none !important;
    background: none !important;
}

selector .et_pb_slide_description .et_pb_slide_title,
selector .et_pb_slide_description .et_pb_slide_content {
    display: none;
}
  • Disable Title and Content with CSS
    • This is done with the CSS code above. Edit as required
  • Save the module

Notes

  • Make sure you remove the background colour on each slide to stop it flashing up between images and page load. I choose transparent (i.e. none) when getting the blue background.
  • My fullwidth image slider is only a thin line instead of a proper image.
    • This is caused by unwanted or incorrect padding
    • Fullwidth Slider --> Design --> Spacing --> padding
      • Below is the default CSS for the description which is also the padding parameter of the Fullwidth slide module.
        .et_pb_slide_description, .et_pb_slider_fullwidth_off .et_pb_slide_description {
  padding: 16% 8%;
  width: auto;
  margin: auto;
}
      • It is the description defaults that give the image slider its height and therefore the background and the corresponding image.
      • Don't use `Padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px` as this will give you the thin line issue.
      • I think this code is controlled with the slide DIV
    • Fullwidth Slider --> Design --> Spacing --> Margin
      • The is no margins by default and therefore no corresponding CSS code by default.
      • When you add a margin to the slider moduel you get the following CSS code added. 
        .et_pb_fullwidth_slider_0_tb_header {
  margin-top: 471px !important;
}
      • This CSS code is added to the modules boubdry DIV

 

Code

Constant Image Size

It is best to use images of the same dimensions when making a slider but if you cannot for some reason then use the following code to make images with different sizes all display with a constant dimensions:

Advanced --> Free-Form CSS --> CSS

/* set the height of the slide image*/
selector .et_pb_slide_image img {
    width: auto;
    height: 600px; 
    object-fit: cover;
}

 

Custom Gallery Arrows

/* Custom Gallery Arrows */
.et-pb-arrow-prev::before {
    content: "4";
    background-color: #24bca4;
    border: 1px solid #fff;
    border-radius: 50%;
    color: #fff;
}

.et-pb-arrow-next::before {
    content: "5";
    background-color: #24bca4;
    border: 1px solid #fff;
    border-radius: 50%;
    color: #fff;
} 

 

Links

 

Published in Wordpress
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Friday, 21 March 2025 10:50

Setting up a WordPress Blog for a Client using Divi

Below are the basic instructions pon setting up a blog for you client (or yourself). Once you have set up your blog you can always change the look and feel afterwards.

Create a page, and call it Blog

  • make sure you have not defined the 'blog' page for displaying [posts as this will prevent you from editing it with Divi, unless you use the blog template in theme builder)
  • Settings --> Reading --> Your homepage displays --> Posts page: `– Select –`
  • if you have I think you need to add another template in theme builder?? or it just uses the default global, see what it foes `blog template`
  • or design a template and do your styling there, but i prefer the blog page, but does this cause issues?

Design your Blog page

There are 2 places you can design your `Blog` page:

  1. A standard page
  2. Using the `Blog` template in `Theme Builder`

I prefer creating a `Blog` page as it is easy and more logical for me to manage, especially for small sites.

Using the `Blog` template to override the posts page as defined in static pages is a not really needed unless you have a specific reason such as overriding the `Global` Header and Footer or even just adding a featured image.

You can mix and max the styles below by having blocks with a Sidebar but you might find you run out of real estate on your page quickly.

Layout 1 - Blocks (Divi Default)

Follow the instructions below, styling as required, and you will get a layout similar to the Divi Blog that utilises blocks.

  • Top Section (Regular) = n/a
  • Middle Section (Regular)
    • 1st Row (3 Column: 1/5, 3/5, 1/5)
      • 1st Column
        • Empty
      • 2nd Column
        • Module(s):
          • Text
            • Use the text
              • <h1>: QuantumWarp Blog
              • <p>: Stay up to date with our most recent news and updates
            • I use a custom header with the title and other text in it instead of this module as this fits with my site. So this section is not needed for my page.
          • Search
            • Input Placeholder: Search Our Blog
            • Show Button: No
            • Exclude Pages: Yes
            • Save as a Global module calling it `Blog - Search`.
      • 3rd Column
        • Empty
    • 2nd Row (1 Column)
      • 1st Column
        • Module(s)
          • Blog
            • Post Type: Posts
            • Post Count: 9
            • Content Length: Show Excerpt
            • Use Post Excerpts: Yes
            • Show Featured Image: Yes
            • Show read More Button: Yes
            • Show Author: No
            • Show Date: Yes
            • Show Categories: Yes
            • Show Comment Count: Yes
            • Show Pagination Yes
            • Save as a Global module calling it `Blog - Posts`.
  • Bottom Section = n/a

Layout - Standard Article List (with Sidebar)

Follow the instructions below, style as required and you will get a standard post list layout with a sidebar.

  • Top Section (Regular)
    • 1st Row (1 column)
      • 1st Column
        •  Module(s):
          • `Post Title`
            • I use a custom header with the title and other text in it instead of this module as this fits with my site. So this section is not needed for my page.
  • Middle Section (Regular)
    • 1st Row (2 columns: 2/3, 1/3)
      • 1st Column
        • Module(s):
          • `Post Content`
            • .....add setting notes here.............
      • 2nd Column
        • Module(s):
          • Sidebar
            •  Add relevant widgets to the sidebar such as `search`
            • `Widget Area` set to `Sidebar`
            • (Optional) Remove the grey separator bar
            • Save as a Global module calling it `Blog - Sidebar`.
  • Bottom Section = n/a

Design your Post Page

Follow the instructions below, style as required and you will get a standard post list layout with a sidebar.

If you don't want a sidebar, set the middle section row to have only 1 column and remove the `Sidebar` module and configuration from the following instructions, the rest will be the same.

If you don't want comments, just don't add the bottom section.

Create the Template

  • Divi --> Theme Builder --> Add New Template --> Build New Template --> Use On: `All Posts` --> Create Template
  • Divi --> Theme Builder --> `All Posts` --> Add Global Body --> Build Custom Body

Build your Layout

Create the layout as shown below:

  • Top Section (Regular)
    • 1st Row (1 column)
      • 1st Column
        •  Module(s):
          • `Post Title`
            • Show Title: Yes
            • Show Meta: No
            • Show Author: Yes
            • Show Date: Yes
            • Show Posts Categories: Yes
            • Show Comments Count: No
            • Show Featured Image: No
            • I use a custom header with the title and other text in it instead of this module as this fits with my site. I would therefore insert the dynamic `Post title` in there. So this section is not needed for my page.
  • Middle Section (Regular)
    • 1st Row (2 columns: 2/3, 1/3)
      • 1st Column
        • Module(s):
          • `Post Content`
            • .....add setting notes here.............
      • 2nd Column
        • Module(s):
          • Sidebar
            • Use the Global module `Blog Sidebar`.
            • `Widget Area` set to `Sidebar`
            • (Optional) Remove the grey separator bar
            • Add relevant widgets to the sidebar such as `search`
  • Bottom Section
    • 1st Row (1 Column)
      • 1st Column
        • Module(s):
          • `Comments`
            • .....add setting notes here.............

Design your Search Results page

After someone has used the blog search feature you need to make sure the search results they are offered are styled correctly.

You can use either either of the `Blog` page layouts, but it you want to use your `Blog` page design you used above then this is very simple,

Instructions

  • Make sure any modules you want to be in sync between this page and the `Blog` page are made global.
  • Divi --> Theme Builder --> Add New Template --> Build New Template --> Use On: `Search Results` --> Create Template
  • Divi --> Theme Builder --> `Search Results` --> Add Global Body --> Build Custom Body
  • Copy your `Blog` page layout and paste into
    • Divi --> Theme Builder --> `Search Results`--> Custom Body
  • Make the following changes:
    • Change the Page Title to be `Search Results`.

 

 

Published in Wordpress
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Thursday, 13 March 2025 13:40

Allow the `ms-windows-store` protocol to be used in a `Custom Links` menu item URL

I want to use a `ms-windows-store://`link which will open the `Quick Assist` app in the `Microsoft Windows Store`on the local PC and not the website. This link will make it easier for allowing me to remotely access a client's PC when required rather that telling them on how to install software or press certain keys on the keyboard.

By using the local `Windows Store`, the product page for the app benefits from:

  • Being able to recognise if the app is installed on the PC
    • The blue action button changes accordingly, so instead of seeing always seeing a `Download` button (as you would on the Microsoft Windows Store website) you will see an `Open` button if the app is installed or a `Get` button if not.
    • With either option you click the big blue action button and follow the steps.
    • Some browsers will ask if you are allowed to open `ms-windows-store` links, but this is a very easy message for the user to click and thwe finish the procedure.
  • The user is more likely logged in locally
    • This might be advantages for many apps not discussed here.

`Quick Assist` Store links

Issue

You can easily add links to the Microsoft Store website as these are normal URLs, however, when I use a `ms-windows-store` URLs in a custom link menu item, it is always removed.

Cause

  • WordPress is filtering all URLs and if the protocol is not allowed it is wiping them so the new custom link will save with an empty URL field.
  • WordPress has a list of allowed protocols it uses for filtering URLs and `ms-windows-store` is not in it.

Solution

Add `ms-windows-store` as an allowed protocol, steps of which are now outlined below.

I found how to add a protocol to the `Allowed Protocols` list with information in this article, Using WordPress ‘kses_allowed_protocols’ PHP filter | IT Support Guides and is in 2 parts, the code, and then where to put it.

You can also craft a custom menu item type using the plugin Menu Item Types – WordPress plugin | WordPress.org but this requires sometime to extract the code from WordPress and build a custom menu item type which can be used by this plugin. Most of the relevant code links are in the research section at the end.

The Code

I modified the code from the article to add/allow the `ms-windows-store` protocol.

// Add a Custom Protocol (ms-windows-store)
add_filter('kses_allowed_protocols', 'add_myprotocol');
function add_myprotocol($protocols)
{
	$protocols[] = 'ms-windows-store';
	return $protocols;
}

Where to put the code?

TL;DR - Use Code Snippets and have the code snippet run everywhere. The URL is filtered when submitted and then when displayed.

Now you have the relevant code, where do you put it? There are several ways to add these filters in to WordPress, pick which one is best for you. Your different options are below:

  • Code Snippets plugin
    • Code Snippets – WordPress plugin | WordPress.org - An easy, clean and simple way to enhance your site with code snippets. 
    • This plugin allows for code to be added from within the WordPress admin area.
    • It is a very completed plugin with such features as apply the code only to the admin area.
    • There is an option to allow code to stay present even if the plugin is removed.
  • Custom plugin
    • Create a blank plugin and add your code in the main file of the plugin
    • You can use the WordPress file editor to add/remove code.
    • If you update your plugin, the code might change, but this will be human error.
    • you can use `is_admin()` to define the code to run just for the admin area.
  • Theme functions.php
    • this will get overridden on a theme update.
  • Child Theme functions.php
    • This file will not get overridden when the theme is updated

Research

These are some of the relevant code locations I found.

Functions (in order of how I found the solution)

  • print_post_type_container()
    • wp-includes/class-wp-customize-nav-menus.php : ~1221
    • This has the HTML for the `Custom Links` blade in the `Add menu items` accordion on the left hand side of the `Menus` page.
  • content_template()
    • wp-includes/customize/class-wp-customize-nav-menu-item-control.php : 64
    • This has the HTML for the `Custom Link` menu item in the current menu shown under `Menu Structure` on the right hand side of the `Menus` page.
    • Javascript/Ajax is heavily used to fill in the variables.
    • This might be for the frontend???
  • wp_update_nav_menu_item()
    • wp-includes/nav-menu.php : ~315
    • Saves the properties of a menu item or create a new one.
    • Includes the use of esc_html()
  • esc_html()
    • wp-includes/formatting.php : ~4654
    • Escaping for HTML blocks.
  • esc_url_raw()
    • wp-includes/formatting.php : ~4574
    • Sanitizes a URL for database or redirect usage.
  • wp_allowed_protocols()
    • wp-includes\functions.php : ~7158
    • Retrieves a list of protocols to allow in HTML attributes.
    • The default protocols are hardcoded in this function but can be overridden/appended/deleted with kses_allowed_protocols()

Links

 

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Friday, 07 March 2025 16:55

Dell Desktop, Laptop and Charger model numbers explained

The Dell model number system is hard to understand so I have put together some notes to explain these numbers.

Names

Latitude, Inspiron, Vostro (discontinued), OptiPlex, Precision

Type

 

Desktops

These naming convention is based on OptiPlex but some of it is valid for other desktops.

  • Example: OptiPlex 3070 Micro
  • Explanation:
    • A business class desktop PC
    • in the 3000 series
    • first manufactured in June 2019
    • Micro format
  • OptiPlex = Target Market
    • OptiPlex = Corporate enterprises, healthcare, government, and education markets.
    • Inspiron = Consumer oriented / Home user.
  • 3 = Line
    • 3xxx = Entry
    • 5xxx = Mainstream
    • 7xxx = High-tier
  • 0 = ???
  • 7 = ???
  • 0 = ???
  • Micro = Form Factor

Links

  • Dell OptiPlex - Wikipedia
    • A line of business-oriented desktop and all-in-one computers made for corporate enterprises, healthcare, the government, and education markets.
    • This article gives a timeline of these desktop PCs.
  • Dell Inspiron - Wikipedia - No meta description

Laptops

I have used information found for the Latitude range of Dell laptops but the rules should be the same for the other laptop ranges such as XPS and Inspiron.

  • Example: Latitude 7390 2-in-1
  • Explanation:
    • A business class laptop
    • in the 7000 series
    • with a 13" screen
    • first manufactured in 2018
    • which can be folded and used as a tablet by using it's touchscreen
  • Latitude = Target Market
    • Latitude = Corporate enterprises, healthcare, government, and education markets.
    • Vostro = Small Business (Discontinued)
    • Inspiron = Consumer oriented / Home user
    • XPS =  Gaming / Consumer oriented / Home user
  • 7 = Series
    • 3xxx series = Budget models intended for education and small businesses
    • 5xxx series = Mainstream line.
    • 7xxx series = Premium Ultrabooks.
    • 9xxx series = Ultra-premium laptops and 2-in-1s.
  • 3 = Screen Size
    • x1xx = 11.6"
    • x2xx = 12.3"
    • x3xx = 13" / 13.3"
    • x4xx = 14.0"
    • x5xx = 15.6
  • 9 = Year of 1st Manufacture
    • xx5x Models (2024)
    • xx4x Models (2023)
    • xx3x Models (2022)
    • xx2x Models (2021)
    • xx1x Models (2020)
    • xx0x Models (2019)
    • xx9x Models (2018)
    • xx8x Models (2017)
    • Dell used the "E-series" name up through the 2016 models, and new 2017 models drop the "E."
  • 0 = Model Revisions
    • This gives an additional parameter when two models have the same grade, screen size and generation of processor.
    • By default 0 is taken as the standard configuration and 1 if there is a later variant.
    • Some product ranges like the XPS like to use 0 as the standard laptop configuration and 5 as the `2 in 1` device while 4 is used in the Latitude range of products for rugged devices.
  • 2-in-1 = Additional feature
    • 2-in-1
    • Ultralight
    • Detachable
  • A laptop with the same model number can have a better CPU, Motherboard RAM and other features as the laptops are redeveloped over time but not necessary reflected with a new model number, perhaps because it uses the same chassis.
  • These different laptops will have a different Dell Part number.

Classification

I am not sure they are classified like this any more.

The laptops can be targeted at different markets so have an arbitrary description assigned to them which is not reflected in the model number.

  • Convertible
  • Education
  • Essential
  • High-Performance
  • Mainstream
  • Ultraportable

Links

 

  • Dell Latitude - Wikipedia
    • Dell Latitude was a line of laptop computers manufactured and sold by American company Dell Technologies. It was a business-oriented line, aimed at corporate enterprises, healthcare, government, and education markets; unlike the Inspiron and XPS series, which are aimed at individual customers, and the Vostro series, which is aimed at smaller businesses.
    • Gives the MFG Date by model number

 

Laptop Chargers

  • Example:
    • Model: LA45NM150
    • DP / N: 0HDCY5
  • Explanation:
    • Manufactured by LiteOn
    • with a 45w power rating
    • .......
  • LA = Manufacturer
    • DA = Delta Electronics
    • HA = Chicony Power Technology
    • LA = LiteOn
  • 45 = Power Rating
    • 45 = 45w
    • 65 = 65w
    • 100 = 100w
    • etc...
  • NM1 = ???
    • NM1
    • PM1
    • PM2
  • 50 = ???

Chargers can be made by different manufacturers but they will share the same Dell Part Number.

Links

 

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Monday, 10 February 2025 15:04

My Fujitsu fi-6130Z Scanner Notes

Official Sites

NB: Newer models of the scanner might have newer versions of software on their download pages. But you will need a serial and part number for the relevant scanner.

Installing

  • Power the scanner on but do not connect the USB to your PC
    • If you have already plugged the scanner in your will find it listed as an "Unknown Device"
  • Download the drivers FUJITSU TWAIN32 Version 10.21.700 (or the latest available)
    • Unless you are doing network scanning you can use the one with the "Scanner Central Admin Agent"
    • The version number for this file is for the Scanner Utility rather than using the driver version.
  • Run the FtaljgX1.exe driver file you have just downloaded
    • it will extract files to a folder called Disk1
    • I ran this EXE as administrator just to make sure it installs correctly.
  • Navigate the the Disk1 folder and run setup.exe
  • Follow the wizard through leaving both these options on:
    • Scanner Utility for Microsoft Windows (10.21.700) = This installs the TWAIN apps and Windows drivers.
      Software Operations Panel (3.7.16.0) = The Scanners control panel and installs as an APP.
  • Restart the PC when requested
  • Uninstall "FUJITSU Scanner USB Hotfix" (optional)
    • I am not sure what this does but might not be needed any more.
  • Connect the scanner to you PC with the USB cable and check it is recognised as follows:
  • Once installed, the driver is as follows:
    • The driver name is: fi-6130Zdj
    • Driver Provider: FUJITSU
    • Driver Date: 04/02/2025
    • Driver version: 9.25.17.0
    • Driver Signer: Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher

Notes

  • Alternatively once you have installed the drivers onto your Windows PC, you can use a driver extraction tool to grab just the required drivers files for your scanner because the installer install a lot of useless junk that is only used for TWAIN.
  • I think you can uninstall the "FUJITSU USB Hot fix" as this will of been for an old operating system, but I do not know what this does.

Misc

Troubleshooting

  • General
    • Apps will not see the scanner but it is shown in my device manager
      • This is probably because the APPs will only talk via TWAIN and there is some incompatibility.
      • This is my guess.
  • Installing on Windows
    • Fujitsu Scanner not recognizing - Hardware - Spiceworks Community
      • A couple of potential solutions mentioned here.
      • You will need to download the software (full suite) or use the disk that came with the scanner. Once you have that (leave the scanner disconnected), install the twain and isis drivers. Also go ahead and install the scandall pro software (it’s pretty good). Once all of that is installed, reboot and connect the scanner. It will then show up under devices and printers.
      • Install Paper Stream IP Driver for Windows 10 for fi-6130Z. TWAIN driver is not compatible any more for this scanner with Windows 10.
    • New to Fujitsu fi-6130 : r/Fujitsu | Reddit
      • Downloaded the fi-6130 setup CD from here.
      • I'm not certain if the TWAIN driver works in Windows 10/11, so in ScandALL you may need to go into Tool -> Preferences -> Scan and change it from TWAIN to ISIS.
      • Use NAPS2
  • Installing on Windows 11
    • Important Notice - the Use of Scanners in in Windows 11, version 24H2 | Global | Ricoh
    • Scanner Twain driver for Windows 11 - or how to make Windows 11 allow - Microsoft Community
      • Pete Schliebner
        • It's not just Fujitsu scanners that are affected. I am pretty sure that it is all scanners, and twain drivers, in general. None of the OEM's have a clue how to fix it. This seems like a typical Microcrap decision to force everyone to use the very limited Microsoft WSD drivers for scanners and printers and then only use the apps that MS "approves". Doesn't cause as many problems with printers, but it severely limits the scanner functions.
      • M.O.118
        • In Dec 2024, we transitioned from Windows 10 to Windows 11 (24H2) on a new PC at work. Connection problem with Fujitsu fi-6130dj scanner which worked in Windows 10. Installation of Windows 11 TWAIN driver from manufacturer was successful. The scanner was listed working in Device Manager but the scanner either did not show or showed as "WIA No Friendly Name" in any application. After some searching, I found the following instruction:
        • At the step: "{Select the device driver you want to install for this hardware] window and click [Next]", 2 entries of fi-6130dj showed. I chose the 2nd one and voila, the TWAIN driver AND WIA driver for the Fujitsu scanner were restored. Now both TWAIN and WIA show in all applications. Hopefully, the same process will fix scanners/multifunction machines of other brands. If you have only one driver listed in the last step, it's an easy choice. If you have 2 listings like mine, try one or the other to see which works. Good luck.
    • Use NAPS2 if you are having connetion problems.

 

 

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Thursday, 26 December 2024 11:15

My Amazon Fire TV Stick Notes

These are a collection of useful tips and tricks for using the Amazon Fire TV Stick (aka Firestick)

Casting Issue with AirScreen

Issue

I connected once to my Firestick all good with airscreen, I then could not reconnect whatever i did. This was after i changed the name of the airscreen.

Cause

The reason for this fault is most likely some sort of cache that is not getting cleared with the name and device id etc..

Solution

  • Turn the screen sharing app off on the Firestick
  • Scan for casting devices with your phone and it should find one.
  • Whilst the scanning is continuing on the phone turn airscreen on
  • The new device will show up and you can connect to it.

USB Pendrive will not work with a OTG cable

TL;DR

  • The pendrive (or another USB device) needs to be inserted into the USB socket on the OTG cable when you power on the Firestick to enable OTG, after this it will work as expected, inserting and removing the pendrive and other devices, because OTG is enabled.
  • The pendrive must be formatted to FAT32.
  • You could use a OTG cable with a USB hub buily-in which would keep the OTG live at all times and not required a USB device to be plugged in to activate it leaving you free to insert pendrives when you want rather than having to remember to have a USB device plugged in at boot time. This might get fixed in later software updates and might not be present on all Firestick versions.

This can be very frustrating but here is a simple procedure that will getyour pendrive to work in most cases.

Instructions

  • Install the OTG cable into the Firestick and power up the Firestick to make sure the cable works.
  • Unplug OTG cable from the Firestick, which turns it off.
  • Plug your USB Pendrive into the USB socket on the OTG cable.
    • The Pendrive must be formatted to FAT32 (and preferably blank)
    • FAT32 has a filesize limit of 4GB
  • Plug the power end of the OTG cable into the Firestick which will power it up.
  • The Firestick will transfer over relevant folders (i.e. DCIM, Documents, etc...) to the pendrive
    • The drive is treated like External Storage?
    • It will not delete any files that are already present on the drive.
    • I would like to know what file/folder is used as a Boolean check for whether or not to copy over files and folders to the USB drive.
    • If the pendrive is not formatted to FAT32: You will get a "Unable to Read USB Device" error message and the options to Format to External Storage, Format to Device Storage or Do Nothing.
  • The USB drive will now appear as an available storage on your Firestick and in your Apps.

Notes

  • Everything you need to know about USB Storage with the Amazon Fire TV | AFTVnews
  • Any OTG cable will work
  • When booted you can remove the pendrive, put into your PC to copy files and then put back into the Firestick and it will reflect with the new files. When re-inserted the Firestick recognises the pendrive has just been inserted rather than the system thinking it never has been removed.
  • You do not have to use a pendrive to enable OTG, you could use a wireless keyboard dongle just the same (having it installed before powering on) allowing you to use a pendrive after boot preventing it getting populated with unwanted files and folders.
  • When OTG is enabled and there is a pendrive installed you have the extra menu options:
    • Settings --> My Fire TV --> USB Drive --> Eject USB Drive
    • Settings --> My Fire TV --> USB Drive --> Format to Internal Storage
  • When removing a pendrive you should eject it to prevent getting warning messages although these will not break anything and are just annoying.
  • If your pendrive is not recognised even when using this method
    • Just rename the volume of the pendrive in Windows to something else and then plug it back into your Firestick following the insertion instructions above
    • ES Explorer might be intercepting the drive blocking it from other apps so you could also try removing ES Explorer App if you are having issues.
  • Not all phones and devices support more than 2x devices being plugged in at the same time so this limitation might apply to Firesticks, but this explains why the OTG adapters from AliExpress do not come with more than 2 USB A sockets.
  • Do not buy the OTG adapters with a switch for OTG and Charge as you will only be able to do either or with these adapters. They are the old generation where you could not charge and use USB devices at the same time.

Play movies from a NTFS formatted Pendrive

Access NTFS Drives On Firestick (No Root!) | TechDoctorUK

This tutorial has a really easy video to follow to setup your Firestick to use NTFS formatted drives using ES File explorer.

ES File explorer allows you to mount NTFS drives and then open files on them with your chosen media player. I am not sure if the mounted drives are available outside of the ES File explorer.

Quick Instructions

  • Ensure you have a suitable media player such as VLC Player or Kodi installed.
  • Install "ES File Explorer" (You can do this from the normal Amazon App store).
  • Make sure OTG is enabled and insert your NTFS pendrive.
  • Open "ES File Explorer" and you will see you internal storage and the USB drive but it will not be recognised.
  • On the left hand side scroll down to "Local" and find the USB drive.
  • Click on the USB drive and allow any permissions it asks for.
  • Select Open
  • Browse to your movie file and select "Open As Video"
  • Select your media player and your movie will start to play.

Putting an movie file which is larger than 4GB onto a USB Pendrive formatted with FAT32

Firesticks will only read USB pendrives that are formatted in FAT32 and this filesystem has a file size limit of 4GB. Normally this would not be an issue but if you have a movie that is larger than 4GB you cannot put it on your pendrive but I hear people say just put it on a network drive which is great if your network is capable of the required speed.

The instructions below will show you how to work around this limit by creating an archive of your movie file that is split up into files that are smaller than the 4GB filesize limit of FAT32 and then playing them in a capable player.

Install and Configure KODI to Play Archives

Kodi is capable of playing movies that are encapsulated in archive files (using addons) as if they were one file. Currently VLC player cannot play archive files on the Firestick.

  • Install Kodi following this tutorial
  • Install these virtual-filesystems Addons
    • Config --> Addons --> Virtual filesystems --> Archive support
      • I could not get this Addon to recognise my movie archive, maybe because it is a multi-part zip.
    • Config --> Addons --> Virtual filesystems --> RAR archive support
      • The RAR addon only allows direct reading of uncompressed RAR files. Other types of rar (i.e. compressed) will be temporarily extracted
  • RAR and ZIP files are not media files so you need to make sure Kodi can see these archive types.
    • Settings --> Applications --> Manage Installed Applications --> Kodi --> Permissions --> Files and media: All Files
    • This setting would also apply to VLC player if this ever starts playing archive files.

Prepare the Movie Archive

In this section we will break the movie into smaller files so these can be put onto the FAT32 pendrive.

  • On a PC, using WinRAR, compress the movie file using the following settings:
    • Archive format: RAR
    • Compression method: Store
      • No actual compression is done. You cannot really compress a movie file anyway.
    • Split into volumes, size: (4,095 MB (FAT32)
      • This makes makes sure the segments are smaller than 4GB and can fit on FAT32.
      • You can select your own filesizes as long as they are smaller than this.
  • Put the RAR archive files onto the pendrive and insert into the Firestick.

Open Kodi and Play the Movie

Insert your pendrive so it is visible in the Firestick and Kodi will now show the movie as normal with thumbnails, and can be played as such.

As mentioned above I could not get multi-part zip files to work but this might change with updates to the software, however the RAR option works well so you should just use that file type.

Other

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