I have a question for those website designers who use fireworks and or dreamweaver. I have recently built a couple of websites composing all the artwork in Fireworks and exporting to Dreamweaver for upload to the net.
Everything works pretty good and you can really make some cool websites with these software packages.
The problem I'm having is when the viewer's text size is larger than what I've created the site with. If the text is to large it can have some really crazy effects to the cells around it leaving gapping holes between the cells and shifting images/slices to places the don't belong.
I've seen websites where the side border shrinks and expands depending on text size.How is this done?
Does anyone have any idea what I can do to remedy this problem.
Again, I'm new at this and self taught using a book I purchased as a guide so be gentle.
posted
It's all the graphics. When you resize the viewable text your table has to grow and all the graphical slices get pushed aside so it's all hosed. Mine works fine making the text larger but it's just plain tables with no graphics in the middle portion. I can honestly say I have never even thought about people making the text bigger. I would think there aren't enough people doing that to matter. I am sure there are a lot of sites that won't work properly. Dan Antonelli's company does some real graphical sites and it does the same thing with some of them. Don't sweat it!
-------------------- Amy Brown Life Skills 101 Private Address Posts: 3502 | From: Lake Helen, FL, USA | Registered: Feb 2001
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I "put a band-aid on it" by making the text smaller. Was looking over Dan's sites (awesome stuff). He has some that work and some that don't when increasing the text size...like you said maybe just depends how much graphics you throw around it???
I'm getting a number of new clientele since landing the first alpaca account. These people all go to shows and what not together and word travels fast.
Kinda neat animals, they can sell for some pretty big dollars.
posted
You could do it simply with a style sheet. In DW shift+F11 brings up the style sheet window ... click new style ... redefine html tag
Then, for example, you could set the <p> tag to 11 pixels then everything you type with "paragraph" text would be 11 pixels ... you can also set your colors, fonts and stuff there
-------------------- Compulsive, Neurotic, Anti-social and Paranoid ... but basically Happy Posts: 2677 | From: Rochester, NY, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Like Mark said, use style sheets and specify a size for the text. This will override the settings in the user's browser thus not even allowing a change of text size. It's how my site is setup, 'cept for my copyright notice on every page, not sure how that happened but oh well.
You could also use Layers instead of tables. Layers take less overhead to download and render on screen than tables, and they are absolute, ie: wherever you position them, whatever size you make them, that's exactly how they appear on every window out there. If your text overruns the layer size, the layer will appear with scrollbars the user can navigate.
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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posted
You need to build expandable table cells that fill in as type size increase or decreases - like a body copy area will be somewhat flexible in size depending on amount of copy - so you'll 'fill' that cell with a repeater image or solid depending on what you need done---
note repeaters on top right fill to right, and then below the nav area is a repeater which includes slice of blue color, and a bit of the white into the body area.... as the site expands downward, it simple fills in the cell with that same repeater.
All the repeater work is done in DW not FW although you'll slice the repeater in FW.
Until I figured out how to do them correctly, life was very difficult
Just remember, all cells need to be filled with something - so always think about what happens when they get bigger-- (downwards, mainly)
Style sheets are a must as well, but that won't address the variances in copy lengths in the editable regions on different pages of a site which use the main template page you create for it.
"Some are born to move the world, to live their fantasies. But most of us just dream about the things we'd like to be." - Rush Posts: 1192 | From: Washington, NJ | Registered: Feb 1999
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I've used layers before with the scroll bar that take effect if the text runs out of the designated area. Really wanted to avoid that if possible to prevent viewers from having to scroll to much.
I like the style sheet idea making the text stay the size it should regardless.
However, Dan's method is exactly what I was thinking I wanted to try.
I've searched the net briefly looking for a tutorial that better explains this method. Dan...do you know of any tutorials, step-by-steps, or any thing that explains what you've dscribed in greater detail?
posted
I think by repeater Dan is referring to a pattern fill that looks basically the same when resized. Like a left/right gradient that stays the same when repeated vertically.
The CSS text lock doesnt work on Mozilla or Opera browsers. Even some of Dans examples break when the text is adjusted.
Personally I would either put the left and top on frames (allowing the text to stretch the rest of the main window only) or use an image for the text. Both bring their own problems though.
Javascripts are an option, learning js just for this one problem might not be worth the effort.
-------------------- Paul McDowell 7 Hills Signs Virginia Posts: 84 | From: Lynchburg, Virginia | Registered: Oct 2004
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