05.12.98 CSS & Design Spec [ Rookie Query ]

[Steve Thomas]

At 05:38 AM 12-05-98 -0700, Thomas Dowling wrote:
>>
>> Also take the same site and open it on a macintosh type size will look
>> larger or smaller depening on the orginal platform the site was created
>> on. ...
>
>Given the same font at the same point size, the Mac has always had a
>smaller on-screen rendering than Windows.  That's just how it is, and
>probably always will be until Stevie and Mikey learn to play nice
>together.

I believe that this is due to the different resolutions standard on Mac and
Win platforms: Mac is 72dpi, Win is 90dpi. You'll find that the same GIF
looks bigger on a Windows PC than a Mac, for the same reason. (I think --
someone will no doubt correct me if I'm wrong.)

>
>For this and several other reasons--notably accessibility--it is usually
>unwise to specify absolute font sizes.  (Although doing so in CSS instead
>of FONT tags probably makes it easier for a user to bypass your font
>settings in favor of their own.)

I second that. As the owner of a pair of ageing eyes, I find it useful to
set my default font size to 12pt rather than 10pt. No doubt by the time I
retire I'll be up to 18pt.  :-)   I hate it when certain sites decree that
their text will be displayed in some (to me) microscopic type size. Let the
user decide!


Steve
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 Stephen Thomas, Senior Systems Analyst
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