Re: Controlling page breaks in printouts -Reply

>>> Dan Delaney <dgdela01@homer.louisville.edu> 06/21/96 09:04am
>>>
<issue of Word's version of "block protect" snipped>

>    Not that that is specific to Micro$oft Word, it's been a
>standard  feature of good typesetting software for years. And
>regardless of whether  or not you like it, it is the best way to
>do it. Consider this:
>
><BLOCK>
><H1>Headline</H1>
>Large paragraph, say, 20 lines or so.
></BLOCK>

Considering the existance of block elements versus
character-level elements, I don't think the name
"block" would be helpful.  (I'm still telling people
that H1's don't go in the <head> and that there is no
element called <heading> (as of yet.))  Besides, what
would be the difference between that and <DIV>?

>Now that would certainly keep the headline from being orphaned,
>but it  would make it so that if there wasn't enough room at the
>bottom of the  page for the ENTIRE PARAGRAPH, then it would take
>it to the next pages.  What you need is to be able to tell the
>browser: "Keep headers with the  first two lines of the next
>paragraph". That way it will only break to  the next page before
>the headline only if the first two lines of the next  paragraph
>would not fit at the bottom of the page with it. However, WE 
>SHOULD NOT HAVE TELL BROWSERS TO DO THIS! That should simply be
>the way  they print it out.

I think this whole issue should be a matter of style 
sheets, not HTML per se.  I particularly like the idea 
of having separate style sheets for different media.  
See:
http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/Style/

>   So I don't think this is an HTML issue at all, but rather an
>issue stemming from the fact that none of the companies that make
>Web Browsers have professional designers and typographers working
>for them. That is quit apparent even by the way the graphical
>browsers display headlines on the screen, and by the default
>colors they all use (grey background!)

There is a valid reason why most browsers use the grey 
background: to reduce eye fatigue.  Paper refects, monitors
radiate; white may be great for paper, but it's no fun
to look at all day.  And while #C0C0C0 is a bit dark, it is 
rather portable.  I'm not sure that your average "professional
designer" would have thought about that, considering what 
I've seen on the web by those who call themselves that.

C  h a r l e s    P e y t o n   T a y l o r        
ctaylor@nps.navy.mil

The opinions and views expressed       ##  even though we're on
our own,

are my own and do not reflect          ##        we are never all
alone,

Those of the Naval PostGraduate School ##  when we are singing,
singing.

                   http://vislab-www.nps.navy.mil/%7ectaylor/

Received on Friday, 21 June 1996 14:47:36 UTC