Adrian, Thanks for these explanations. I created a Jira issue for this https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/OFBIZ-1119
Jacques De : "Adrian Crum" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Jacques Le Roux wrote: > > A quick question (mostly intended to Adrian I guess). Why don't we use the > backend colourful CSS > theme in eCommerce ? > > Jacques, > > The back office apps were styled based on the general agreement that the new > styles can target newer > browsers - older (non-compliant) browsers were not a concern. > > The eCommerce component needs to work with the majority of browsers - even > the broken ones. A lot of > the backend styling doesn't work in certain browsers, so we can't just copy > the back office styles > over to eCommerce. > > The approach taken in the back office apps could be repeated in eCommerce - > taking care to introduce > styles that will work in most browsers. > > One difference is you would want to specify sizes in pixels - so there will > be greater control over > the layout. The back office apps were made scalable (using ems) and > accessible - a good feature. As > a result, the layout is "fluid" - things move around when default font sizes > are changed or the > window size is changed. That behavior might be undesirable in eCommerce. > > Here are the steps taken during the back office UI refactoring: > > 1. Eliminate redundant properties settings (fonts and font size for example) > in the main style > sheet. The "Resets" and "Basic Element" sections of maincss.css could be > copied over to facilitate > that (converting em to px in the process). > > 2. Reduce the number of CSS styles by using descendent selectors. In other > words, style HTML element > compounds - not individual HTML elements. > > 3. Convert table-based layout to CSS-based layout. Use the screenlet classes, > etc. > > The eCommerce style sheet will probably require browser-specific hacks. That > is an area I am not > proficient with. Maybe some CSS gurus in the developer community can help > with that. > > So, the bottom line is - the process used in the back office apps can be used > as a model, but the > steps need to be carried out differently to maintain browser compatibility. > > -Adrian
