Fonts Appear Larger in IE7

Jim Moe wrote:

If you have a target market that is known to use IE7 on high resolution
monitors (what determines high resolution?) and most users have modified
the desktop text size, your solution is a good one.

I don't see the logic here.

I would think that these people have already encountered "too large
type" on plenty of other sites before they got to yours, and would have
adjusted their browser default accordingly if it really bothered them.

If they're savvy enough to modify their desktop text size, why wouldn't
they be savvy enough to modify their browser defaults?

--
Berg

On 17 Oct, 05:34, Jim Moe <jmm-list.AXSPA... (AT) sohnen-moe (DOT) com> wrote:

There is the one these groups always promote: font-size: 100%.

That (in its simple form) isn't the best advice - because of this IE
bug. Obviously it's still better advice than points or pixels though.

However we have to live with IE, warts and all. As the OP posted, "
Fonts Appear Larger in IE7" - they already have a problem with this.

If the visitor finds the text size too large, she can reduce it.

In that case, why not just use pixels?

The whole point of font-size: 100%; is that the user has _already_
chosen an appropriate default font size, and that's how they want to
see things. If users have to adjust, then we've blown it.

Maybe, one day, the majority of sites will already offer 100% to all
users, rather than <font size=3.141> as at present. IE users will by
then have learned to compensate by already setting their browsers to
be smaller than "Text Size: Normal", to compensate.

No doubt the day afterwards, IE8 will come out and simply fix the bug.
Then our compensations will have an overall negative effect.

If you have a target market that is known to use IE7 on high resolution
monitors (what determines high resolution?) and most users have modified
the desktop text size, your solution is a good one.

You have a point in terms of "not pandering to IE's bugs". font-size:
80%; _is_ wrong, even if it's wrapped up in a conditional comment. I'm
not claiming it's right, just that it's not as bad for "typical" users
today.

The worst thing about it is that it's inconsistent with the ideal
practice of 100%. As things are (when sites are poor at setting good
defaults) then 80% gives "a best average" result. If sites improved
though, such that 100% became "typical", then being different to this
would have a worse result than offering the best approximation of the
intention - because by that time, "average" IE users would also have
learned to adjust their browser settings.

However for the current state of affairs, 80% delivers a better size
for more people, more of the time, than 100%. And as you say, there's
always their own adjustments.


Then there's eBay. Why do so many auction sellers think that <font
size=6 align=center color=pink > is ever a good idea?

However we have to live with IE, warts and all. As the OP posted, "
Fonts Appear Larger in IE7" - they already have a problem with this.

I've noticed a growing number of sites that offer explicit font size
choices. I sure wish that Google Mail would.

Combined with a simple cookie to store the choices (so IE7 choices will
affect only IE7, even if I also have IE6/Opera/Firefox/Netscape/Safari)
this seems nigh perfect to me.

--
Steve Swift
http://www.swiftys.org.uk/swifty.html
http://www.ringers.org.uk

Steve Swift wrote:

I've noticed a growing number of sites that offer explicit font size
choices. I sure wish that Google Mail would.

Simple solution - use a browser or email client that gives you more
control over your own font choices. That's pretty much anything other
than IE.

--
Berg

On 17 Oct, 14:56, "Beauregard T. Shagnasty"
<a.nony.m... (AT) example (DOT) invalid> wrote:

Andy, were you referring to the IE (5/6?, 7?) bug where if the body font
size was expressed as "1em", then user picking from Normal to Larger,
etc would *double* the displayed size?

Cured by: body { font-size: 100%; }

No, I wasn't. Different bug.

Beauregard T. Shagnasty wrote:

Using a competent browser, you should be able to increase/decrease the
size yourself. It works for me; a simple Control+Plus in Firefox or 120%
in Opera, for example.

Or set the browser's minimum font size, a preference setting available
in both gecko and Opera, to whatever works best for you. Constantly
bumping text up and down is a PITA. Set the minimum size and you rarely
have to adjust it. Makes browsing a more pleasant experience.

On those very few occasions when I really need to see the original type
size, I reset the minimum but always set it back afterwards.

--
Berg

In message <9npRi.229103$ax1.16852 (AT) bgtnsc05-news (DOT) ops.worldnet.att.net>,
Beauregard T. Shagnasty <a.nony.mous (AT) example (DOT) invalid> writes

Steve Swift wrote:

I've noticed a growing number of sites that offer explicit font size
choices.

Most (all?) of those sites do it because their developers do not know
how to design a site that "uses the visitors default size."

One of my ISPs does it: http://www.att.net/
Three A's to click on. If you examine the three different CSS files, you
will find:

http://www.att.net/css/font_small.css
body, td, th {
font-size: 65%;

http://www.att.net/css/font_med.css
body, td, th {
font-size: 75%;

http://www.att.net/css/font_large.css
body, td, th {
/*font-size: 95%;*/
font-size: 92%;

Harrumph. 92% of my default is *large*? (Which they lowered from 95%)

And yes, I have had many discussions with them in their internal help
newsgroups as to why this is not good. They won't listen.

I sure wish that Google Mail would.

Using a competent browser, you should be able to increase/decrease the
size yourself. It works for me; a simple Control+Plus in Firefox or 120%
in Opera, for example.

Or just a numeric pad '+' in Opera...

--
Chris Hughes
"There are two kinds of people, those who finish what they start and so on."
http://www.epicure.demon.co.uk

Steve Swift <Steve.J.Swift (AT) gmail (DOT) com> writes:

I've noticed a growing number of sites that offer explicit font size
choices.

So have I - I take my business elsewhere, to someone who doesn't insult
me by telling me that I'm too stupid to operate my browser. I also will
not eat at Hardee's, because of their "men are too stupid to feed them-
selves" commercials.

sherm--

--
Web Hosting by West Virginians, for West Virginians: http://wv-www.net
Cocoa programming in Perl: http://camelbones.sourceforge.net

So have I - I take my business elsewhere, to someone who doesn't insult
me by telling me that I'm too stupid to operate my browser.

Ah, but I am too stupid to operate my browser, it would seem. Thank you
for pointing out my inadequacy. I used to suffer from an inferiority
complex, but you've cured me! I now know that I'm inferior.

Perhaps you'd deign to tell me how I can alter the font size presented
by Google mail in my Opera 9.23 browser? Every other page I visit is
perfect, but for some reason, Google mail is presented in a font smaller
than that I can comfortably read, and smaller than the minimum size
preference that I have set in Opera.

--
Steve Swift
http://www.swiftys.org.uk/swifty.html
http://www.ringers.org.uk

In article <471843c6 (AT) news (DOT) greennet.net>,
Steve Swift <Steve.J.Swift (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:

Perhaps you'd deign to tell me how

Hey buddy! You talking to me? Do I know you?

I can alter the font size presented
by Google mail in my Opera 9.23 browser? Every other page I visit is
perfect, but for some reason, Google mail is presented in a font smaller
than that I can comfortably read, and smaller than the minimum size
preference that I have set in Opera.

Are you saying there is a web page in your browser that you
cannot read comfortably? In most browsers you can change the font
size on a tactical basis by simple keyboard commands. (There is a
true blue here who does it via his mouse). If you have
strategically set a minimum font, then it seems it is not working
for you.

URL?

--
dorayme