[Bug 7645] associate printable pages and less-convenient-to-print pages with link rel value "print"

http://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=7645





--- Comment #2 from Nick Levinson <Nick_Levinson@yahoo.com>  2009-10-04 22:39:07 ---
> What's wrong with <link rel=alternate media=print> ?

Typically, both sets of pages are printable and also fit all other media. A
difference in convenience (the usual case) is not a difference in basic
ability. Therefore, media="print" and media="all" would apply to both.

If a page designer assigns a stylesheet only for "print" to the print-preferred
page and another stylesheet for all other media, itemizing them all except
print in the stylesheet link/s on the pages that are less convenient to print,
the risk is whether some UAs that normally support printing would decline to
send the less-convenient pages to the printer at all, because they're linked to
a stylesheet for nonprint media only. Section 6.7.2 says, "User agents should
also run the printing steps whenever the user asks for the opportunity to
obtain a physical form (e.g. printed copy) . . . .", and, semantically,
"should" allows a UA to not print what the link doesn't say is printable.

"Unless otherwise specified, a keyword must not be specified more than once per
rel attribute." Section 6.12.3, above the table. Section 6.12.3.1 implicitly
allows multiple link elements (e.g., ". . . if a document links to two other
documents with the link type "alternate" . . . ."). I read the two provisions
together as meaning that multiple rel alternate links are allowed on a page but
only if the links are unique within the page. This bars linking from a single
hreflang French page to two hreflang German pages of the same type and media.

An advanced user might know to use a keyboard's Print Screen key, but that's
outside of HTML5, is often unknown to nonexpert users, and can be cumbersome to
use on some pages with some displays.

Forbidding some pages from printing is not a great idea when the difference is
merely one of convenience or between strong and moderate legibility, when, as
if often the case, the less-suitable pages would still be functionally
readable. The difference is most frequently that one consumes more paper and
takes more steps to execute, e.g., as browsers don't usually accept a range of
Web pages to print.

This proposed link is to point to a nonrestrictive preference suggested by the
page author.


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Received on Sunday, 4 October 2009 22:39:11 UTC