Sent by [EMAIL-REMOVED] on 18 September 2002 20:08
>> What's the difference between using points and pixels?
>> Which one should be used for the web?
>
> Neither. Use 'em' or '%' units on the web.
I feel a holy war coming on.
> Points are dependent on the user's screen resolution,
Actually points have nothing to do with the screen. Points are to be used
in print and print alone. The "theory" for points on the screen is that 1
pt = 1 px which entierly faulse. 1 pt only = 1 pt and points are only
relevant in print.
> Pixels ignore the user's preferences
Actually, again, no, this is incorrect. Some "Browsers" ignore the user
preferernce when it comes to designs based on pixels. This is the lack of
functionality in specific browsers (namely IE5.x on Windows from what I
remember). Most browsers (namely IE 6.x+ on the Mac from what I remember)
offer the functionality to size any text regaurdless of the metric.
> 'em' units are relative to the font-size and are therefore much
> friendlier for readers.
yes, but relative to what? You will either have a base font defined by a
metric or you will use the default size for 1 em. The problem is that the
default size for 1 em is related to pixels on the screen (Pixels Per Inch)
to some extent.
> Percentages are relative to the parent element's width
> (generally) and so typicaly scale with the window, which is also
> friendlier for readers.
"generally" is the keyword though.
> For font sizes, you could also use the keywords ('larger', 'smaller',
> 'xx-large', 'medium', 'small', etc), which are relative to the user's
> preferred font size.
I have seen this method in action but the results are not always consistant
cross-platform cross-browser.
Check out Owen's screen shots of various font sizing methods:
http://www.thenoodleincident.com/tutorials/box_lesson/font/
For details:
http://www.thenoodleincident.com/tutorials/box_lesson/font/method.html
- Nick
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