Resolution

West wrote:

"PhilG" <phil (AT) aplusdesign (DOT) co.uk> wrote in message
news:3fc47e8a$0$12666$fa0fcedb (AT) lovejoy (DOT) zen.co.uk...

What is the best/safest screen resolution to design for?

...by the way, screen resolution *is* the term to use

No, it is not. Screen resolution and browser window size are two
different and mostly unrelated things.

Screen size (in pixels) is only one factor of resolution, others are
physical (monitor) size and dpi. Browser window size can be anything
less than or equal to screen size.

In a desktop environment, subtract GUI elements like the browser
toolbar(s) and any sidebars, then you have the canvas size. It will be
rather smaller than window size, which may already be rather smaller
than screen size.

You cannot predict what the canvas size will be, so trying to design for
any one specific size is really a wasted effort.

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"rf" <making.it.up (AT) the (DOT) time> wrote

"West" <not (AT) this (DOT) one> wrote in message
news:w%%wb.2061$nm6.16384 (AT) news (DOT) indigo.ie...

"PhilG" <phil (AT) aplusdesign (DOT) co.uk> wrote in message
news:3fc47e8a$0$12666$fa0fcedb (AT) lovejoy (DOT) zen.co.uk...

...by the way, screen resolution *is* the term to use -- go to display
properties/settings and you will see for yourself!!

This is only because microsoft, as usual got it wrong. What they really
meant to say on that dialog was "screen dimensions in pixels". This is
reinforced by the annotation below the slider bar which reads, in my case
"1600 by 1200 pixels". Note the term 'pixels'. It does not say 'pixels per
inch' or 'pixels per parsec', it says "pixels", which I interpret to mean
"pixels per screen"

It is sad that this single microsoft mistake has has lead to a generation
of
people who don't really know what "resolution" really is.

Resolution is usually expressed as so many things per something. What is
your printer resolution? It is probably 600 dots per inch like mine is.
That
is exact. The printer spurts out 600 dots in an inch, each of them 1/600
inches wide. A peice of 8 inch wide paper is ... 4800 "pixels" wide.

What is the resolution of your screen? Is it 800 pixels per 15 inches or
1275 pixels per 10 feeet (yes, I do have a display that is 10 feeet wide,
it
is my home theatre projector).

The "resolution" of your screen is most certainly not 800x600, without any
units. At the very least it is 800x600 pixels per screen.

Microsoft got it even more wrong in that dialog. Press that Advanced
button.
You get to choose your DPI. What is this? Dots Per Inch? How the bloody
hell do they know how wide in inches my screen is? It might be my
telephone.
It might be my ten feet wide TV projector. This DPI value is merely a
multipication factor the screen drivers use to scale text when they need
to
convert font points into pixels. Nothing to do with "inches" of
"milemetres"
or "fathoms".



Regardless of the "resolution" issue: the browser may not be maximixed,
mine
never is. Even if it is are the borders/scrollbars/office toolbars taken
into account? Answer: rarely.

Don't get distracted by the misinformation offered by a few gearheads in
this ng!

Yes, do get distracted by the information probided by the gearheads in
this
group. Those gearheads just may be experts in their field. They just may
know what they are talking about ;-)

Cheers
Richard.

poor rf keeps forgetting he vowed never to reply to a posting of mine again
....such a weak guy!
....he even thinks he's an expert. Methinks he's like the "farmer - out
standing in his own field"
....certainly not an expert on creating a web presence judging by his regular
bloatings here!
....maybe the VB (Victoria Bitter) kicked in again, or Roo kicked him out of
bed!

--
W

"kchayka" <kcha-un-yka (AT) sihope (DOT) com> wrote

West wrote:

"PhilG" <phil (AT) aplusdesign (DOT) co.uk> wrote in message
news:3fc47e8a$0$12666$fa0fcedb (AT) lovejoy (DOT) zen.co.uk...

What is the best/safest screen resolution to design for?

...by the way, screen resolution *is* the term to use

No, it is not. Screen resolution and browser window size are two
different and mostly unrelated things.

Screen size (in pixels) is only one factor of resolution, others are
physical (monitor) size and dpi. Browser window size can be anything
less than or equal to screen size.

In a desktop environment, subtract GUI elements like the browser
toolbar(s) and any sidebars, then you have the canvas size. It will be
rather smaller than window size, which may already be rather smaller
than screen size.

You cannot predict what the canvas size will be, so trying to design for
any one specific size is really a wasted effort.

--

The other BS artist joins in - how predictable!
....get a like k-whatever!

--
W

In message <3fc47665$0$12706$fa0fcedb (AT) lovejoy (DOT) zen.co.uk>, PhilG
<phil (AT) aplusdesign (DOT) co.uk> writes

What is the best/safest screen resolution to design for? I currently work in
1280X1024 and I do appreciate that everyone works in this resolution. I have
heard that the safest option is to design for 800X600 although, some people
use javascript to detect the screen resolution and load approriate.

I can see problems with the javascript method:

(1) Not every system has javascript enable
(2) More than one version of the site has be designed (not much done though)


I was just wondering, as a snapshot, what resolution some you design to?


Assuming we're talking about browser window size, I would always make

sure that it looked good at 800x600.

People with larger windows can still see it OK; people with smaller
windows (in reality, probably not that many) will need to scroll
horizontally (maybe).

That, of course, assumes that you are working to a fixed size and
cannot, because of your design constraints, work with a 'fluid' design.

Just make sure that the text can be resized by the user.

regards.
--
Jake

West wrote:

"kchayka" <kcha-un-yka (AT) sihope (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:3fc4b09c$0$43848$39cecf19 (AT) news (DOT) twtelecom.net...
West wrote:

"PhilG" <phil (AT) aplusdesign (DOT) co.uk> wrote in message
news:3fc47e8a$0$12666$fa0fcedb (AT) lovejoy (DOT) zen.co.uk...

What is the best/safest screen resolution to design for?

...by the way, screen resolution *is* the term to use

No, it is not. Screen resolution and browser window size are two
different and mostly unrelated things.

Screen size (in pixels) is only one factor of resolution, others are
physical (monitor) size and dpi. Browser window size can be anything
less than or equal to screen size.

In a desktop environment, subtract GUI elements like the browser
toolbar(s) and any sidebars, then you have the canvas size. It will be
rather smaller than window size, which may already be rather smaller
than screen size.

You cannot predict what the canvas size will be, so trying to design for
any one specific size is really a wasted effort.

The other BS artist joins in

What specifically was it I said that is BS?

...get a like k-whatever!

Are you suggesting that others should get like me? Why, thank you!

Your Freudian slip is showing, west.

--
To email a reply, remove (dash)un(dash). Mail sent to the un
address is considered spam and automatically deleted.

Yes, make the design stretch and resize for any resolution. Its hard to get
a design that will work fluidly (is that a word?) - but its worth it. I
actually had a designer tell me it couldn't be done. We ended up hiring
someone else to complete the job...and it definitely could be done.

--Tina
--
http://www.AffordableHOST.com
20% Discount Code: newsgroup
We transfer time from your current host!
Serving the web since 1997


"PhilG" <phil (AT) aplusdesign (DOT) co.uk> wrote

What is the best/safest screen resolution to design for? I currently
work
in
1280X1024 and I do appreciate that everyone works in this resolution. I
have
heard that the safest option is to design for 800X600 although, some
people
use javascript to detect the screen resolution and load approriate.

I can see problems with the javascript method:

(1) Not every system has javascript enable
(2) More than one version of the site has be designed (not much done
though)


I was just wondering, as a snapshot, what resolution some you design to?


Not really replying to myself but let me see if I have got the gist of
this
correct.

You do not design to a screen/browser resolution, you let the design do
the
work, by that I mean fluid design. If you design to a specific resolution
then you tie yourself to that size and you will most probably have
horizontal scroll bars.

As I read in one of the links, a fluid design is one where the page loads
and fills the screen/browser whatever the resolution.

Is that close?

The reason that I asked the original question is that, so far, all my
design
attempts have been of the fixed variety. I now wish to progress to
something
that is much more universal and pleasing to the eye!

"kchayka" <kcha-un-yka (AT) sihope (DOT) com> wrote

West wrote:

"kchayka" <kcha-un-yka (AT) sihope (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:3fc4b09c$0$43848$39cecf19 (AT) news (DOT) twtelecom.net...
West wrote:

"PhilG" <phil (AT) aplusdesign (DOT) co.uk> wrote in message
news:3fc47e8a$0$12666$fa0fcedb (AT) lovejoy (DOT) zen.co.uk...

What is the best/safest screen resolution to design for?

...by the way, screen resolution *is* the term to use

No, it is not. Screen resolution and browser window size are two
different and mostly unrelated things.

Screen size (in pixels) is only one factor of resolution, others are
physical (monitor) size and dpi. Browser window size can be anything
less than or equal to screen size.

In a desktop environment, subtract GUI elements like the browser
toolbar(s) and any sidebars, then you have the canvas size. It will be
rather smaller than window size, which may already be rather smaller
than screen size.

You cannot predict what the canvas size will be, so trying to design
for
any one specific size is really a wasted effort.

The other BS artist joins in

What specifically was it I said that is BS?

...get a like k-whatever!

Are you suggesting that others should get like me? Why, thank you!

Your Freudian slip is showing, west.

....k-whatever comes out for air!!!
No Freudian slip -- I was suggesting you should correspond with someone like
yourself and get out of my face!
You and your southern hemisphere comrade are only b-movie, and stuck in a
flawed markup. Tell people the truth -- tables work in all browsers and CSS
is browser-challenged as well as unable to display some of the simplest
requirements of professional web developers.
....now go stick your nose up your ass again!!!

--
W

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In article <3fc47665$0$12706$fa0fcedb (AT) lovejoy (DOT) zen.co.uk>,
phil (AT) aplusdesign (DOT) co.uk says...

What is the best/safest screen resolution to design for?

None of them.

I currently work in
1280X1024 and I do appreciate that everyone works in this resolution. I have
heard that the safest option is to design for 800X600 although, some people
use javascript to detect the screen resolution and load approriate.

Clever. Duplicate content. Very neat.

--
Hywel I do not eat quiche
http://hyweljenkins.co.uk/
http://hyweljenkins.co.uk/mfaq.php

West wrote:

...by the way, screen resolution *is* the term to use -- go to display
properties/settings and you will see for yourself!!

Screen resolution is *a* term to use, but it's not entirely useful when it
comes to web design.

My screen is 1024x768 pixels. How is that useful to you as a web designer?

It's not. Because my browser canvas area is usually only about 800px wide.

--
Toby A Inkster BSc (Hons) ARCS
Contact Me - http://www.goddamn.co.uk/tobyink/?page=132

West wrote:

"kchayka" <kcha-un-yka (AT) sihope (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:3fc4c614$0$40218$39cecf19 (AT) news (DOT) twtelecom.net...

What specifically was it I said that is BS?

I was suggesting you should correspond with someone like
yourself and get out of my face!

But it can sometimes be mildly amusing taunting you about your
antiquated notions on how the web works.

You and your southern hemisphere comrade are only b-movie, and stuck in a
flawed markup.

There is nothing flawed about my markup - it's rather well-formed, thank
you.

Tell people the truth
[snip irrelevant diatribe]

Um, this doesn't answer the question I asked...

What was it I said about screen resolution/window size/canvas size that
is BS? It was all rather factual and is certainly easy enough to see
with your own eyes. If you can't figure out how to adjust your own
settings, shall I provide you with some detailed instructions? OK

Assuming you're using IE6, use any of the following shortcuts, either
alone or in combination. Most should affect the canvas size in some way:
CTRL+E (adjust the width of the sidebar as you see fit)
CTRL+I
CTRL+H
ALT+V, then T, then S (or A or L, or G if you have google toolbar)
F11
ALT+spacebar, then R, followed by
ALT+spacebar, then S, then 1 arrow left followed by several arrow right,
then Enter

You could also resize the window by dragging a corner with the mouse if
you're more comfortable using a mouse than the keyboard. There are many
other changes you could make in the browser, but this should be enough
to get my point across.

Next, I'd cover changing other system settings that could affect the
browser canvas size, like taskbar (App/Windows, Office, etc.) sizes
and/or position, screen size, etc. I'll post these instructions if you
need them, too. BTW, I can give you Linux and Mac instructions as well,
if need be. Different platforms have different ideas for all these
things. For example, maximizing a window on Mac does not give the same
result as maximizing a window on other platforms, at least not on OSX.
It's pretty weird.

...now go stick your nose up your ass again!!!

I don't know why you get so worked up when somebody corrects your
mistakes. Are you that insecure?

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