Resolution

[Stumped]

I made a huge mistake of creating a website at a resolution of 1280 X 1024.
Friends are complaining that the website pages are too large for their
screens as
many have their resolutions set at 800x600.

Is there a reasonably simple way I can CONVERT my website to the lower
resolution without having to recreate it from scratch?

 

[Ronx]

Look at http://www.thepattysite.com/window_sizes1.cfm

How much work is involved depends on the page structure. If it's a
table layout, replace any fixed cell sizes with %s, bearing in mind that
each row in a table must add up to 100% - no more and no less. However
this fluid layout will change with browser window sizes.

Most likely you will need to start again.

PS -screen resolution is not what determines the browser window size,
screen resolution only determines the maximum size.

 

[Stumped]

I'm using the Layers feature from the insert menu EXCLUSIVELY. Four to Five
LAYERS per page.

 

[Murray]

Before you get in too deep with layers, read these -

http://www.great-web-sights.com/g_layerlaws.asp
http://www.great-web-sights.com/g_positioning.asp

 

[Stumped]

How about a message page advising the visitor that the website is viewed best
if
display resolution is set at 1280 X 1024

 

[Murray]

Might as well tell them to only use IE6, too.

Do you really think anyone is going to change their resolution to see your
page? And what about those whose graphics subsystem doesn't support
1280x1024?

 

[Stumped]

Well, I guess I'm still struggling with the concept. On one hand I hear
RESOLUTION is not the problem or the solution and on the other hand I'm
hearing that one should create a website in 800 X 600. Are we merely talking
about a browser issue here?

 

[Ronx]

We are talking about what size the browser is opened to.
My screen resolution is 2560x1024. My browser is normally opened to
800x600.
Many users with high resolution screens make the most of the real estate
by opening some applications (web browsers, email clients, etc.) in
small windows.

Then there are those users who have sidebars open on their browsers,
making the browser up to 300 pixels narrower.

Screen resolution can be ignored. You have to design for the browser
portal width - the width users can actually see in their browsers.
--
Ron Symonds - Microsoft MVP (FrontPage)
Reply only to group - emails will be deleted unread.
FrontPage Support: http://www.frontpagemvps.com/
http://www.rxs-enterprises.org/fp

 

[Stumped]

OK. Browser Portal Width. Screen Resolution can be ignored. And so when
you create a FrontPage Website, what are the significant settings or events
or factors to watch/take into consideration if you are keeping Browser Portal
Width in mind.
Thanks.

 

[Tom Miller]

Dear Stumped,
To allow the widest number of people to use your website you need to design
it on a 800 x 600 resolution monitor setting. If your website can be viewed
at that level of resolution it can be viewed at higher resolutions where it
only looks smaller (eg. 1028 x 768 etc).

It depends on how many people with smaller monitors you actually want to
serve. The level of "user friendlyness" your after.

The more you set the website to by\e "dynamic" about sizing the table cells
or the columns when using CSS, the more you can have it flex. But when you
do, you loose more of the absolute control of the layout that so many web
designers seem to require.

Tom Miller

 

[Stumped]

Thanks Tom. And so, bottom line, resolution is the controlling factor when
creating a webpage/website and I should have the resolution settings in the
lower right hand corner of the FrontPage Website DESIGN PAGE set at 800X600.

Just out of curiosity, if this is the case, why do they provide the options
of higher and lower resolutions for website creation purposes.?

 

[Ronx]

Tom is wrong about resolution settings.
You have to design for the smallest browser window your users are going
to use, which may be 800x600. You can set your screen resolution to
anything you like - 1280x1024 is fine. This allows you to have your
design pane open to a width of 800 pixels, AND you have task bars,
folder list, Views pane (depends on which version of FP is in use) open
at the same time. This is very convenient and saves you having to
scroll when designing.

Your browser can be opened at various sizes to see how the site looks
those various sizes -
File->Preview in Browser allows you to pick a browser and the size to
open it to.

Different browser sizes are provided so that YOU can choose which size
to design to - it is still your choice whether to design for over 95% of
users at 800x600, or for 20% of all possible users at 1280x1024, or
somewhere in-between.

When you build your site in that design pane, remember that if you use a
horizontal scroll bar the page is too wide.
--
Ron Symonds - Microsoft MVP (FrontPage)
Reply only to group - emails will be deleted unread.
FrontPage Support: http://www.frontpagemvps.com/
http://www.rxs-enterprises.org/fp

 

[Stumped]

And so, if I want 95% of all visitors to be able to view my sight comfortably
without having to scroll, I DESIGN at 800X600. If I want fewer than 95% of
visitors to
view my sight WITHOUT scrolling, I DESIGN at a resultion HIGHER than 800X600.

 

[Ronx]

That is correct.
--
Ron Symonds - Microsoft MVP (FrontPage)
Reply only to group - emails will be deleted unread.
FrontPage Support: http://www.frontpagemvps.com/
http://www.rxs-enterprises.org/fp

And so, if I want 95% of all visitors to be able to view my sight comfortably
without having to scroll, I DESIGN at 800X600. If I want fewer than 95% of
visitors to
view my sight WITHOUT scrolling, I DESIGN at a resultion HIGHER than 800X600.

 

[Murray]

Actually it seems correct, but it is not.

If your goal is to have pages that do not require HORIZONTAL scrollbars when
viewed in a maximized browser on an 800x600 screen, the PAGE must be no
wider than about 760px. That means it must contain no elements that are
wider than that. It doesn't matter what screen resolution you use when
desigining the page, what matters is the desired target, and the width of
the page relative to that target.

People seem to tolerate vertical scrolling well, so page height is not so
much of a consideration.

 

[Stumped]

Then developing the site on a design screen that is no wider than 760 will
assure success? That puts 800X600 within spitting distance.

 

[Murray]

Develop the site on any screen you want. Just make sure that your content
is never wider than 760px. Fixing the screen size will not add code to the
page, although it may make you feel better.