[thelist] CSS/Font size/MAC IE 5.0

[Bob Davis]

on 11/9/00 5:32 PM, Carleen Tracy at carleen.tracy at b3interactive.com wrote:

> Thanks Robert,
> I forgot to mention that I don't want this font resizing. My problem is that
> it is. Aren't fixed sizes suposed to not resize? It works (not resizing) in
> every browser from 4.0 up except MAC IE 5.0. what gives?

Font display on different browsers can be a problem - because they are all
so different.  In addition to the font-resizing issue that you point out,
you have to remember that Mac IE 5 users also get to specify the resolution
they want things to display in (you choose either Mac standard 72dpi or
leave it at the windows standard 96dpi or change it to something random if
you really want to).

The point is that there's no way to make sure that your carefully chosen
font sizes are going to look the same on my screen as on yours.  I can make
choices that will destroy your layout.  I can link in stupid style sheets, I
can over-ride your decisions, I can make your really pretty page as ugly as
I want to (on my machine, that is...).

What is there to do about it?  Not a lot.

http://www.alistapart.org/stories/fear4/index.html

For some reason, their server is currently requesting passwords, but when
they get that resolved I suggest you read this article. It's really good.

You might also look up the ALA article entitled :"The Tao of Web Design"
(can't get at the site right now, as I mentioned above, or I'd send you a
link to it).  

In short, there are a lot of good arguments for letting your users decide
what font size they want to view your site at.  I, for one, use the font
resizing ability of IE 5 all the time (too many developers on Windows choose
fonts that are useless on a Macintosh).  Flexibility is a good thing.

bob

-- 

bob davis
bobd at members.evolt.org