pixel font sizes

[fefewf]

why is using pixel font sizes wrong?

 

[Jonathan N. Little]

why is using pixel font sizes wrong?

Because for folks who use MSIE that cannot change the size. If a visitor
cannot read the text...bye-bye visitor.

If you use em to size your fonts, it's like your library having
large-print versions of every book. This simple practice allows you to
offer a large-print version of your site.

 

[Jukka K. Korpela]

Scripsit Jonathan N. Little:

I wonder whether we being trolled.

Because for folks who use MSIE that cannot change the size.

Actually, there is one mistake and one misleading point in that statement,
although it's generally a good answer to people asking stupid questions.
Oops... there are no stupid questions, just... But to the point:

1) People using Internet Explorer (officially called Windows Internet
Explorer now, though some people prefer using the older full name or its
abbreviation) _can_ change font sizes on web pages. Most of them just don't
know how. (They need to use a setting that overrides _all_ font sizes set on
web pages, or use a user style sheet with !important.) Even fewer also care
to, so the basic conclusion is indeed:

If a visitor cannot read the text...bye-bye visitor.

2) The misleading part is that the formulation suggests that this is some
kind of browser peculiarity, rather than the way browsers are required to
behave. If you set font size in pixels, then pixels shall it be. This is one
of the few things that IE implements by the book and many other browsers
don't. Letting font size increase affect such sizes is comparable to having
a control that lets the user specify the size of a millimeter or the
duration of a second. (In fact, the size of millimeter, inch etc. _do_
change if the monitor resolution is changed, but this is a different
oddity.)

If you use em to size your fonts, it's like your library having
large-print versions of every book. This simple practice allows you to
offer a large-print version of your site.

Except that this also happens if you don't set font size at all. However,
setting font-size: 100% is recommended (though it is dummy in principle) as
a weapon against some browser bugs. Using % is somewhat less risky than
using em for font size, again due to browser bugs.

 

[Jonathan N. Little]

Scripsit Jonathan N. Little:


I wonder whether we being trolled.


Actually, there is one mistake and one misleading point in that
statement, although it's generally a good answer to people asking stupid
questions. Oops... there are no stupid questions, just... But to the point:

1) People using Internet Explorer (officially called Windows Internet
Explorer now, though some people prefer using the older full name or its
abbreviation) _

WIE, or should I say WEE! Whatever. I like MS's naming that lends to the
already entrench misconception that MS(W)IE is required to browse the
Internet on Windows system.

can_ change font sizes on web pages. Most of them just
don't know how. (They need to use a setting that overrides _all_ font
sizes set on web pages, or use a user style sheet with !important.) Even
fewer also care to, so the basic conclusion is indeed:

Most IE(okay?) users are ignorant enough of the menu "View > Text Size>
...." let alone fool with user stylesheets. Sorry just been my observation.

2) The misleading part is that the formulation suggests that this is
some kind of browser peculiarity, rather than the way browsers are
required to behave. If you set font size in pixels, then pixels shall it
be. This is one of the few things that IE implements by the book and
many other browsers don't.

Agreed. Although it is small consolation on what they miss... but hey,
if all browsers followed a common spec where would be the challenge in
web design?

Letting font size increase affect such sizes
is comparable to having a control that lets the user specify the size of
a millimeter or the duration of a second. (In fact, the size of
millimeter, inch etc. _do_ change if the monitor resolution is changed,
but this is a different oddity.)

Agreed, discrete units px, in, cm, ... should not be user adjustable.
But that said, their implementation in webpages' visual style should be
carefully considered. The ramifications of bad design would be more
severe if browsers like Firefox didn't break the rules, been to some
sites that would not be accessible at all!

Except that this also happens if you don't set font size at all.
However, setting font-size: 100% is recommended (though it is dummy in
principle) as a weapon against some browser bugs. Using % is somewhat
less risky than using em for font size, again due to browser bugs.

But, it the bug in question concerning that MS browser, and occurs if
you use em units to set the base font size? If you set the base font
size with % you can reference off of that in em's without problems?

body { font-size: 100%; }
..legalese { font-size: .75em; }

 

[Sherm Pendley]

In fact, the size
of millimeter, inch etc. _do_ change if the monitor resolution is
changed, but this is a different oddity.

Just to clarify that point - obviously, the real-world size of these units
does not change. What changes is the number of pixels per inch your monitor
is displaying. Sadly, many browsers(1) simply assume a 96ppi display, and
fail to adjust for reality.

So, if you specify a 1in margin (for example) in CSS, what you'll usually
get is 96px - which will only result in a 1" margin if your monitor is set
to exactly 96ppi. If your monitor is 72ppi instead, you'll get a 1.25"
margin, and at 120ppi, .75".

sherm--

(1) Mozilla is one exception - its control panel has a pane where you can
hold a ruler up to the screen to calibrate the PPI setting it uses when
translating physical units into pixels.

 

[dorayme]

In fact, the size of millimeter, inch etc. _do_
change if the monitor resolution is changed, but this is a different
oddity.

I'd like to see that! (But I know what you mean).

 

[dorayme]

(1) Mozilla is one exception - its control panel has a pane where you can
hold a ruler up to the screen to calibrate the PPI setting it uses when
translating physical units into pixels.

I recall iCab being another.

 

[cwdjrxyz]

why is using pixel font sizes wrong?

As several others have pointed out, various browsers respond to pixel
font sizes in somewhat different ways and for different screen
dimensions, thus other methods for controlling text size often work
better for a wide range of browsers. One extreme way to avoid many of
these problems is to make the whole page as an image, including the
text. This actually has been done, but usually for reasons other than
making the page more viewable. Some who put up pages or send out email
that is likely to get blocked if certain words are included sometimes
use just an image for the questionable material. Most filters for
blocking content do not scan words in images. Of course you can set
your browser not to show images but then you may block images you
might wish to see, especially if alt for the image is set to something
misleading making you think you might wish to turn on images. Making
too much of the page as a large image may greatly increase the file
size over using text and a few small images, if required. This would
sometimes slow your page down too much if you are aiming for viewers
who have only a slow dialup connection. I see no need for making most
of the page an image for my personal use. However, some spammers and
scam artists apparently think it is of benefit to them to do so. They
must think that they will gain more viewers by avoiding being blocked
by scans of text than they will lose from viewers who have images
turned off.

 

[Bergamot]

(1) Mozilla is one exception - its control panel has a pane where you can
hold a ruler up to the screen to calibrate the PPI setting it uses when
translating physical units into pixels.

FYI, that feature never worked on Windows.

 

[- Bob -]

Most IE(okay?) users are ignorant enough of the menu "View > Text Size>
..." let alone fool with user stylesheets. Sorry just been my observation.

Exactly the point. Developers debate this font issue endlessly - most
users don't even realize IE has menus. I've never met a non-developer
who knew what a sytlesheet was. Too many techies worry about picayune
minutia that matters only to other techies.

The same rule applies to page width arguments. A business web site is
a marketing tool for business, you want it to have the appearance you
design it for - not to have a technical design that makes techies
drool. Suggesting that it needs to resize endlessly to any browser
width is like suggesting that an architect's building design should be
able to be optically stretched to fit on any lot... just let all the
windows, doors, walls, plumbing, heating, etc all stretch to a smaller
or larger lot size.

 

[dorayme]

Suggesting that it needs to resize endlessly to any browser
width is like suggesting that an architect's building design should be
able to be optically stretched to fit on any lot... just let all the
windows, doors, walls, plumbing, heating, etc all stretch to a smaller
or larger lot size.

What about the suggestion that it needs to be able to stretch a
bit, contract a bit, fit on a goodly number of different screens
and platforms and browsers, be reasonably comfortable for a range
of people of different capacities? What's this like? A house that
has good insulation, the doors open and close without jamming...?

 

[Jukka K. Korpela]

Scripsit - Bob -:

Exactly the point. Developers debate this font issue endlessly - most
users don't even realize IE has menus. I've never met a non-developer
who knew what a sytlesheet was. Too many techies worry about picayune
minutia that matters only to other techies.

People who really, really need font size control (such as visually impaired
people, who might prefer visual browsing even though e.g. 6opx is the
smallest font size they can read) do know about browser menus and other ways
to user control over font size. They might even have a user style sheet,
perhaps written by a helpful techie friend.

To such people, fixed font size in pixels is not an issue because it does
not exist.

Fixed font size in pixels (or points or millimeters) is a problem just to
the few billions of people who do not absolutely need font size control but
cannot read the typical tiny font sizes comfortably (or at all). And they
often simply leave the problem by going elsewhere. If you wanted to sell
them something, you just told them to ask your competitors.

P.S. By "tiny", I mean effectively anything below 10pt. For readability on
paper, the font size of copy text should be between 10 and 12 points; that's
a reasonable compromise between conflicting needs, and the exact value
depends on the font, but generally 12 or 11.5 is more suitable than 10. On
screen, the font size should generally be _larger_ than on paper, since the
presentation medium is coarser and the reading conditions vary more. So even
12pt should be regarded as acceptable only if it is easily controllable by
users, as far as it depends on the author.

Magically, this means that the best thing you can do to copy text font size
is doing nothing. Well, except for font-size: 100%, which is logically a
dummy setting but helps to avoid some bus.

 

[Vaxius]

WIE, or should I say WEE! Whatever. I like MS's naming that lends to the
already entrench misconception that MS(W)IE is required to browse the
Internet on Windows system.


Most IE(okay?) users are ignorant enough of the menu "View > Text Size>
..." let alone fool with user stylesheets. Sorry just been my observation.





Agreed. Although it is small consolation on what they miss... but hey,
if all browsers followed a common spec where would be the challenge in
web design?


Agreed, discrete units px, in, cm, ... should not be user adjustable.
But that said, their implementation in webpages' visual style should be
carefully considered. The ramifications of bad design would be more
severe if browsers like Firefox didn't break the rules, been to some
sites that would not be accessible at all!





But, it the bug in question concerning that MS browser, and occurs if
you use em units to set the base font size? If you set the base font
size with % you can reference off of that in em's without problems?

body { font-size: 100%; }
.legalese { font-size: .75em; }

There's no base font-size here: 100% of what?

 

[Jonathan N. Little]

On Sep 29, 1:25 pm, "Jonathan N. Little" <[email protected]>
wrote:

There's no base font-size here: 100% of what?

the BODY is the base of the displayed document, text outside of the BODY
element is not presentational.

body { font-size: 100%; }

means 100% of the "user defined | browser default" font size, all other
displayed elements are children of the BODY and are referenced off of
its settings...

 

[Vaxius]

the BODY is the base of the displayed document, text outside of the BODY
element is not presentational.

body { font-size: 100%; }

means 100% of the "user defined | browser default" font size, all other
displayed elements are children of the BODY and are referenced off of
its settings...

Nice, I didn't know you could do that.