Catching up on email.... Harold Bakker writes:
>At 15:49 -0500 02-03-2003, Dan Knight wrote: >>I'm working on a system that will address the biggest complaint about the >>Low End Mac site -- some people find our fonts "too big." (We use their >>default font size -- hey, we're not the ones with the power to change it!) >> >>It looks gorgeous, and I can implement it with PHP and a cookie -- no >>need for Javascript on the user's computer. It's nearly perfect. > >If you are concerned about users turning off javascript aren't you >concerned about them turning off cookies? No, I'm not concerned about users turning of javascript. However, javascript can be very slow and sometimes buggy on older browsers on old low-end Macs. By using cookies, which are fast, I avoid the potential problems with javascript. And I don't have to learn how to program in javascript. >>On my sample pages, all linked from <http://lowendmac.com/css/>, I show >>the 6 header sizes, display sample lines of text in the 6 optional sizes, >>and also include one paragraph where size="-1" and another where >>size="-2" -- and with the smaller 2 or 3 style sheets, one or both of >>these may actually be *larger* than the base font. This is true in both >>Safari and IE 5.2; after seeing that, I don't even want to test any >>further. > >Well of course this will happen. You are mixing different kinds of styles, >the old way with the new way. >Why not do stuff in percentages: >body {font-size: 16px;} >.small {font-size: 90%; } >.copyright {font-size: 80%; } >or: >body {font-size: 14px;} >.small {font-size: 90%; } >.copyright {font-size: 80%; } Percentages are also handled inconsistently between browsers. My final solution is to create .small and .smaller, and then I'll use PHP to parse the text and replace SIZE=-1 with small and SIZE=-2 with smaller. My sons, the PHP wizards, say it will be really easy. Hope to try it soon. >I'm a big fan of stylesheets and the fact that they gracefully degrade, >that is if they are not supported things shouldn't matter (much). The most >important thing is that text remains readable.... Yes, and that's why I've only used a very limited amount of CSS on the site until now. Once we give people the ability to choose a stylesheet, we'll have an easy way to identify users with CSS. Eventually we'll be able to use more of it on the site for those who aren't using ancient browsers. BTW, here's our current breakdown for the home page: 41% "Netscape 5" (well, browsers pretending to be Netscape 5) 29% IE 5.x 18% IE 6.x -- Windows only 5% Netscape 4.x 1% iCab 2.x 3% other CSS support in Netscape 4 is problematic, so maybe 6-9% of our visitors don't have decent CSS support on their browsers. Factor in that some are using WebTV, Palms, and so on, and we're bending over backwards to accomodate a small group that's really a core consituency for Low End Mac -- people who aren't using leading edge technology. Learning a lot as we go along. -- Dan Knight, president, Cobweb Publishing, Inc. <http://cobwebpublishing.com> <http://lowendmac.com> <http://digital-views.com> <http://digigraphica.com> <http://lowendpc.com> <http://reformed.net> Computers are like air conditioners; they don't work when you open windows. -- Mac Webmasters is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics has Lasso, Filemaker, and FileMaker Server on Sale! High Technology for low prices. http://www.smalldog.com Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> Mac Webmasters info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/macweb.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> List archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/mac.webmasters%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
