Thomas Mueller wrote:
> I have been able to read long-line e-newsletters from various about.com
> departments, and some of them go far past 256 characters. I use
> Ctrl-RightArrow to move the cursor one word at a time rather than one
> character at a time.
-- I'd soon get frustrated with that for the 250kB digests I plough
through. ViewHTML line-wraps the document... and also views HTML
pages (doh!). A 71kB freeware download from:
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~kevsol/sware.html#viewhtml
> Advantage of long lines is that they wrap according to the reader.
> Otherwise if the lines are longer than the reader's width, the lines may
> be broken into alternating long and short lines. Some messages I receive
> have line lengths of 90 to 130 characters; difficult to see the rationale
> of that. Some email readers use variable-width fonts, which confuses
> things. Eric S. Emerson's truck or van, among other things, wouldn't line
> up right.
-- Your original line length requires the Constable's attention for my
640 pixel width screen. I've edited it for this reply. In long mails
I usually find my self-imposed line length elongating, but if you
start off well within limits the problem shouldn't get out of hand.
I don't usually use short lines for this List.
-- With webpages you can set the line length by using a table with cells
of a specified pixel or percentage width. Choosing pixels gives greater
control as long as the user doesn't use an extreme font size, or use a
window narrower than 640 pix (with allowance for scrollbars). There's
more I won't bore you with, but it boils down to making the page usable
without any hassle for the user and making any tweaking that may be
necessary simply achievable: no "Download Explorer5.5 for free HERE"!
For ASCII art you could include a note: "You'll need to use a fixed
width font e.g. Courier to appreciate this ASCII art." Have to
realize that most users "outside" are new to the Net and need a bit
of spoon-feeding. People will solve puzzles only if want to or have to.
These lines are of a self-imposed length that
many people automatically limit themselves to.
Regards,
Jake
-- the World on a floppy --
-- Arachne V1.64, NON-COMMERCIAL copy, http://arachne.cz/
