Re: Inverted text

[This thread addresses something I was concerned with anyway, but I've
been away for a while and haven't had a chance to propose it before.]

Although the UI extensions proposal quite rightly introduces a
:selection pseudo-element (although it is actually also a pseudo-class),
it doesn't address the issue of the colours of the selection that the
concept implies, and in particular the inverse video effect typically
used. Although it is possible if one has specified (for example) P
{color: black; background: white}, to say :selection {background: white;
color: black} this doesn't address the fact that UAs at present will
invert colours of selected items, and that there is no way of specifying
this as things stand. 

They actually have something like :selection {background: invert; color:
invert}. This value I propose would only apply to elements whose targets
are pseudo-classical (!) such as :selection and :focus, on which it
would apply to invert the normal colours. On other selectors it would be
ignored.

Whils on this subject, the UI WD does not address the fact that,
although UAs certainly do use inverse video for selections, current
operating systems do not necessarily do so; since they use system
colours for window text and background, they also can use system colours
for selected text. To describe several implementations, for example of
INPUT[type=text], a selectedwindow system colour is required (this
unfortunately presents slight problems; e.g., INPUT[type=text] {color:
fieldtext; background: field; border: fieldborder}
INPUT[type=text]:selection {color: selectedfieldtext; background:
selectedfield} would mean that if one changed the colours of
INPUT[type=text] one would also be required to change its :selection
pseudo-element, but this is, I feel, only a minor issue).

Another issue that has not been addressed by the proposal is the fact
that it does not allow form controls to be made that fit in with the
system; for example, one system might implement SELECT menus and their
ilk as popup menus, whereas another might require the user to pull them
down.
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Received on Thursday, 27 April 2000 06:38:21 UTC