[WEB4LIB] Re: Netscape 6.1 -- Print Preview

[rich at richardwiggins.com]

On Sun, 19 August 2001, "Thomas Dowling" wrote:

> IE went for
> years without Print Preview and many people found it quite usable
> regardless.

It was usable as a browser, but we do more than "browsing."  Many e-commerce sites advise "Print a copy of this page for your records."  
If you look up a map to a specific address on Mapquest, you are more likely to print it out than download it to a PDA.  Most magazines with an online presence are now smart enough to offer printer-friendly versions, knowing that people want to read, mark up, and hand around longer, complicated articles. 

Browser designers just didn't realize how important a function printing a Web page is.  And unless the page is in PDF, often you want to check out what it's going to look like.  For long Web pages, IE Print Preview allows you to pick which physical page(s) to print -- useful to avoid waste.

> On the list of problems facing Netscape, its future on library public
> workstations is probably not what has the company shaking in their boots.

I wouldn't recommend NS 6 for end user desktops, either.  In the year 2001, a browser that lacks good printing (including accurate Print Preview) is not ready for prime time.   And it's a shame, because I think IE needs effective competition.

/rich

_____________________________________________________

Richard Wiggins
Writing, Speaking, and Consulting on the Internet
rich at richardwiggins.com  http://richardwiggins.com