[thelist] resizing in browswer

[phil]

I think it's a very important skill to be able to design liquid tables,
especially when you are dealing with a large number of variable elements -
browser window size, monitor resolution, font size, etc. and if you are
working with content from a database you can never be sure how much of it
may have to 'pour' into your table cell or page.

I agree that it's a bit frustating if you are set at a high resolution and a
site you are looking stretches out, but with careful alignment of elements,
use of relative widths and table nesting you can pull it off.

It's a bit hit and miss sometimes, but then that's another important skill
for web designers to master. I think it's a great challenge to build a
flexible page and really admire sites that manage it.

> Has anyone else felt that liquid tables have been a bit oversold? I use
> a large monitor so that I can have multiple windows open. My resolution
> is set at 1280x960. When a browser window is open, it's *large*.
> 
> The biggest frustration I have is that reading very wide paragraphs of
> text is difficult and exhausting to the eyes. The width of the text
> prevents me from being able to speed read, which is helpful when I'm
> trying to scan large amounts of text.
> 
> However, I also find that very few designs actually work well at a large
> resolutions as they do at the minimum resolution they are designed for.
> Graphic elements seem to float away from one another to the four corners
> of the screen, leaving a wide gulf of open space - to me, that's more
> annoying than having a lot of left-over space.
> 
> Information design is about *design* - it's creating a way to
> communicate with user so that information is easily accessible and
> comprehensible. Just as an effective ad in a magazine creates impact not
> only with its information but also its layout, I find that effective web
> design retains more control over the user experience than simply
> allowing the design elements to expand in all directions to fit all
> browser resolutions. I would love to at least see more web designers
> limiting the width of their text columns.
> 
> Comments?
> 
> M.
> 
> Janice Tocher wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Jamie,
>> Excellent article on 'liquid' pages at the following
>> 
>> http://www.evolt.org/article/Liquid_Tables/20/2321/index.html
>> 
>> good luck with your development!
>> Janice
>>