> It alleviates the problem, but realistically I still think designers are
> better off using relative units
Just as a matter of clarification: pixels *are* a relative unit
http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-CSS2/syndata.html#length-units
However, they're relative to the screen resolution, rather than being
relative to the viewport dimensions or the user's preferred font size.
I didn't actually know pixels were defined as "relative"... but you're right, there it is :)
So it's technically true, yes; although in a *practical* sense they are fixed. People don't tend to change their resolution per web page, the way they might change text size :) Also, with current technology (I'm looking at IE) pixel-based designs won't resize like other relative units.
So I certainly wouldn't want people using pixels thinking they are relative in the same way as EMs or % are in the current real-world situation.
All that said, I'm sure someone will now speak up and flame me since they *do* change their rez several times per viewing session. Or argue that zoom readers constitute changing rez, although that form of usage is not what I'm driving at.
h
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