WF Change Their Certs from PDF to JPG Format?

[sledge]

Anyone else notice this? It appears the WF site changed the AGS/GIA certs from PDF format to JPG format. While they seem to load faster (probably the reason for the change) the image quality seems to be suffering and I can't zoom up on the inclusions like before.

On mobile format, it's nice to not download (and clear) multiple PDF's; however, I don't like the loss of zoom/clarity.

Example:
https://www.whiteflash.com/jewelry/thumbnail.ashx?itemcode=ci_ags-104055219008.jpg&type=certhouse

Is this still being tweaked @Texas Leaguer?

 

[marymm]

Using the WF link you posted to a JPEG report, if I click in the image, it still zooms in for me ... I am using a laptop & Mozilla in case that makes a difference (?)

 

[sledge]

It will zoom 1x for me. The problem is the inclusions are lighter red/pinkish against white background and pixelated or distorted so it's not a clean zoom IMO and limited.

 

[marymm]

gotcha, and agree.

 

[sledge]

When I get home I will test with multiple browsers.

There was also a weird problem using Firefox whenever they used the PDF attachments. The originating tabs would say javascript error, and you would have to use the back button to get back to the original page.

I am wondering if this new fix using JPG was an effort to fix the Firefox glitch.

 

[Dancing Fire]

I can only see WF videos by using MS Edge browser but not on Google Chrome.

 

[sledge]

Yuck. I'm sorry @Dancing Fire. Not a fan of MS browsers myself. I use Chrome mostly but also like Firefox. No issues with videos on either of mine.

Problem with Chrome is the more tabs you have open the bigger resource hog it becomes. Not that this is WF's fault. It's been a glitch for years.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Maybe you need to update your Chrome, @Dancing Fire? I mostly use Chrome and I can see the videos.

 

[sledge]

Okay -- I have tested the initial JPG issue on Chrome, Firefox, Edge & IE. All have the same result. You get a full screen view of the cert, and then a 1x zoom function. In all cases, the inclusions are hard to read.

Initial view:


1x Zoom:

 

[sledge]

And here is some screen shots of the FireFox issue I was talking about. Even after switching to the new JPG cert format, it's still getting a funky error.

Initial view:


After Clicking "View Certificate":


View of the Initial Window (w/ java script message):


Comparison to How Chrome, Edge & IE Behaves/Looks:

 

[sledge]

One more thing I noticed that doesn't work in Chrome or Firefox -- the "image maps" for the different diamond types on the main page doesn't work. I have to go to the Diamonds menu at the top and navigate from there.

 

[sledge]

Hey @Dancing Fire, what version of Chrome are you running? Here is my latest version.



Looking at the web code for that page, it appears the video is working off java scripts.



Maybe something really simple like this will fix the issue:

1. Type in the following in the Chrome address bar: chrome/settings/content
2. Click on Javascript.
3. Make sure JS is enabled. Alternatively, if you have turned off for a reason, add the WF site to the list of allowed sites.

Also, make sure your Java is updated:
https://www.java.com/en/download/help/java_update.xml

I currently have pop ups blocked, but maybe yours is doing something weird. You can check by doing the following:

1. Go to: chrome/settings/popups
2. See if any sites are blocked.
3. Add the WF site to list of allowed sites.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Thanks Sledge. I'm not tech savvy but will give it a try later or I can just view the WF videos by using MS Edge

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Sledge,
Thank you for bringing to light the issue with the low res certificates displaying on our site. I spent a few minutes with members of our tech team and this issue apparently has to do with some changes AGS made to their site. Let me try to explain:
By default we have our diamond detail page displaying the pdf directly from the AGS site. But we keep a jpg version on our local server in case the AGS site is down or some link is broken. The jpg that we keep as backup is a low resolution file.

That is what you are seeing presently and we are in the process of exploring the cause of the loss of connectivity with the AGS server. As for the other issues with the different browsers, I am not sure they are directly related. But I have pointed our tech folks to this thread so that they can see the various functionality issues being reported.

 

[sledge]

You're awesome @Texas Leaguer!

Thank you for the prompt reply. More so, thank you and your tech team for trying to look out for your customers shopping experience. Storing the low-res JPG files on your servers in case of issues with the AGS server was smart and didn't bring your site to a grind. I've looked at diamonds on other sites and had cert links not work because AGS/GIA was down for one reason or another.

If it helps further, I didn't notice the difference until the last few days.

As far as the other issues, I'm not a web programmer but I know certain functionalities seem to work with some browsers but not all browsers. The challenge is that one code may offer certain functionality that another browser doesn't support, so by using a more universal approach you lose some desired functionality. I am speaking at a 10,000 mile view right now, so I have nothing of detail to offer in this particular situation but that is my best guess based on what little I do know.

Again, thank you for the prompt response.