MEGA PATTERN AUDIT AND TECHNICAL ISSUES!

Greetings fellow crafters, I hope you are all well!

Things, as always in my life, are a little bit manic.  Trying to get myself back on track with my health and other issues is a constant uphill struggle and the crafting keeps me as sane as it can do, when it isn't  the cause of the stress!!!

I've decided my pattern folders need a spring clean and upgrade.  A bit of an arduous task in itself as I've got about 228 pattern files uploaded to BOX.net, not to mention the resource files in the download folder!  I spent all last week making a list of these files and putting them in a spreadsheet.

I've been back to school lately to improve my IT skills and earn my ECDL qualification.  It's not costing me anything as I'm not working at the moment, so I thought I may as well.  I've already passed the Word Processing and Spreadsheet elements and I've just finished the Presentations module and hoping to do my exam next week!

My use of Excel has definitely improved since doing this course, and it will certainly help with future pattern designing and stuff!

So back to the patterns, as I said, I have a lot!  They need editing and revising and bringing up to date.  Not to mention the fact that my computer hard drivers are in a mess and there are folders and files all over the place (and duplications), and files I have inadvertently deleted that need re-charting (sigh).

I tell you, if I wasn't stressed enough already ... ARGH!

I want all my patterns to look the same whether they're freebies or being sold through Etsy so I have a mammoth task ahead of me to bring 228 patterns up to date, plus the extras I've charted and have somehow forgot to upload!  It'll probably take ages.

I probably won't notify you guys when new versions have been uploaded, unless it's a new pattern.  However, whilst the patterns are being updated, files/folders may disappear from BOX.net. 

"DON'T PANIC FOLKS!"

It'll only be a short term thing, although if a file has be missing for a long time, give me a gently prod (I may have forgotten about it -- it has happened in the past)!

And this brings me to the other problem I'm having at the moment ... BOX.net itself.

Actually, I don't think it is BOX.net that is the problem, but last week I was trying to access the site to upload some new files and I got an error message saying my connection was not private!  Well, I've never had that come up before.  I hoped it may just be my browser throwing a wobbly (it's done that before now), so left it for a few days, but when I went back to it, I was still getting this message!

W T F ???

It was time to get Sherlock Holmes!

As I said, I thought it might be my browser (I use Google Chrome), so I tried to access via Internet Explorer.  After a sluggish load up, it also brought up an error message, not the browser then?

I tried to access through my phone, first using the wifi (again, my access was blocked), so I turned on my mobile-data.  My mobile network is with EE and, huzzah, I had no problems accesses BOX.net.

Just to check that that wasn't a fluke, I tried to log into BOX at other locations such as the local Learning Centre and my Mum's house.  I had no issues.  I don't know who the Learning Centre's broadband provider is, but my Mum is with BT.

It was definitely looking like the internet provider were blocking the site!

My internet provider is Vodaphone!

I did some more digging and went on their forums, and it appears that the error messages I am getting are quite a common thing with Vodaphone, and it doesn't look like they know how to fix it!  As the account with Vodaphone is in my partner's name, I cannot chase them up directly about it.

I am at a loss as to how to by-pass this error.

Until it's sorted, my pattern audit will probably take a lot longer than I was planning.  The short-term solution is that at least, if I need to, I can access the site on my mobile phone.  I have downloaded the BOX app and that seems to work fine with the wifi on *fingers crossed*, it's just figuring a way of uploading the PDF files to BOX via the app.

I'm open to any suggestions if anyone knows how I can by pass this issue.

So that's all I have for now, further updates will follow in due course!

Till next time ... keep Kalm and cross-stitch! :) x