Here at Synotac Web Design, we have a fairly in-depth web design process. That’s why, as website designers, we try to be as efficient as possible through using the right tools. Here’s a set of nifty productivity tools for you to explore:

Dropbox

Have you ever emailed yourself a file so you can view it later at work or at home? Dropbox is a free tool that syncs up folders and files in multiple locations. In addition, Dropbox folders are sharable with co-workers or friends and are accessible through Dropbox’s website. This is a great collaboration tool available for Windows, Mac, Linux and Mobile.

Launchy, Quicksilver, and GNOME Do

Launchy, Quicksilver, and GNOME Do are all keystroke launchers for Windows, Mac, and Linux respectively. Launching programs, opening files, opening folders, searching the web, and accessing a calculator barely scratches the surface of what these keystroke launchers can do. After setting up the launcher, a keystroke combo can perform a huge number of tasks in a blink of an eye.

Pidgin and Adium

Keeping in touch by instant messaging with co-workers, family, and friends can occupy a lot of time. Pidgin and Adium are universal chat clients for Windows and Mac that support a wide range of chat networks. With this one application, it is possible to chat with those on Facebook, Google Chat, Twitter, MSN, Yahoo!, AIM, and more. This can be incredibly helpful (especially if you’re nearing a web design deadline) as a way to get answers quickly and keep projects moving forward.

Evernote

Evernote is a handy application for computers, tablets, phones, or the web that captures and saves pieces of the web in one location. Evernote can sync notes, videos, images, bookmarks, which can be accessed from a wide array of devices. Also, Evernote makes it easy to collaborate with others on projects and is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Mobile. Our staff has been able to capture interesting web design ideas around Portland and save them for future discussions using Evernote.

Let us know what you think of these tools or if you have other suggestions. As an interactive agency, we have found a selection of these tools to be very helpful in increasing team productivity.

Sometimes a business has a reason to offer a quick file uploader tool on their website to collect files from its clients and prospects. Maybe a Word document has to be e-mailed to you before you can return an estimate for custom work. Or maybe you expect your clients to upload a spreadsheet or image file to go with their project. It’s a nice idea to offer the file upload feature right on your website and save the visitor the step of leaving the site to email you an attachment.

Here is some of the advice we give our clients when they are offering this feature on their website:

File upload limit

Larger files are going to cause more issues for you and your visitors; there’s a greater chance of the upload getting interrupted mid-way or otherwise failing, not to mention the load on the server. If you do not have an idea in mind for reasonable file sizes, set the upload limit at 20MB for starters and see what happens.

Virus prevention

Since you don’t know who uploaded the file, be safe and follow the usual advice:  run a virus scan before opening any of the files sent to you and frequently scan your computer for viruses and malware.

File extensions can be fake

While we can lock down what types of files can be uploaded, it does not actually offer protection from malicious files. Just because a file appears to end in “.doc” or “.xls” does not mean it’s safe. The extension has no bearing on what the file really is. Case in point, I often circumvent virus checkers by renaming an innocent zip file to “.jpg” when I send it somewhere so McAfee doesn’t have a hissy-fit and refuse to pass it through. And for goodness sake, *never* run one of these files. You should not be expecting executable programs.

Extreme measures (for the paranoid only)

If you are paranoid, you probably would open the file in some sandboxed computer–there are many links on the web to methods of doing it. I’d probably set up a virtual machine with the operating system and document programs on it so if that system got infected, you could blow it away easily. But the setting up of this and training is costly and time consuming. Googling for “virtual machines” would be a starting point.

When Synotac programs a file uploader, we make sure the web server is not in danger. The document won’t ever be opened on the server–it is just bits as far as the server is concerned and to the chagrin of hackers everywhere, “just bits” don’t infect anything. The safety of your own computer is dependent on the use of the good safety habits above.