RE: Best practice for font control

At 1:23 AM +0100 1/25/00, Karlsson Kent - keka wrote:
> > (*) Windows/other OS'es 12pt onscreen for a Windows PC is
> > 16pt for other
> > OS'es, 12px is 12px everywhere. This goes for printouts too.
>
>I haven't got the foggiest idea what "px" means in a printout.

Haven't you read the recs? The CSS-1 & -2 recs have it as 1/90", 
though I understand this has changed in committee to 1/96", or 0.75pt 
if you prefer. What hasn't changed is that CSS implementors should 
attempt to render a pixel in a manner that is likely to subtend a 
visual angle of approximately 0.0227 degrees.

>For pica points, Didôt points, mm, cm, even inch, one can pick up
>a suitable ruler and measure the size.  Assuming one knows
>the actual (rather than just nominal) zoom.  And for printouts
>as well as desktop screens, the actual and nominal zoom
>should be as close as practically possible.
>
>I know that Windows has one builtin (but not properly declared
>to the user) zoom, and MacOS has another builtin zoom for
>desktop screens.  Now it appears that at least future browsers
>will use the same buitin zoom at least for those two platforms.
>What I suggested (among other things) was that the default
>desktop screen zoom would be 1) (about) 130%, specified by
>CSS, 2) the zoom be properly 'declared' as such to the person
>in front of the (desktop) screen, and 3) that the person in front
>of the screen should (if practically possible, i.e. when in
>control of other aspects of the "surfing") be able to change
>this zoom for his/her reading convenience.
>
>So, 12pt at a (total) zoom of 250% should be (pick out your
>Pica ruler, or convert to mm) 30pt on the (desktop) screen
>surface.  (If not, complain to your favourite browser provider.)
>
>Now, what is 12px at a zoom of 250%?

That would be 22.5pt, unless the implementor has reason to believe 
that this is unlikely to produce a visual angle of approximately 5.1 
degrees.

>And someone with bad eye-sight, will probably want to *reliably*
>and gracefully enlarge *everything*: text, images, vector graphics...
>Not just perhaps enlarge some of the text (if em, %, or !important
>is used).

I certainly think a zoom feature is a very good idea. I will be upset 
if the upcoming Mac version of Opera does not include such.

Received on Tuesday, 25 January 2000 02:51:13 UTC