RE: [WSG] When is use of absolute units acceptable?
> Terrence Wood wrote: > > On 10/09/2006, at 7:34 PM, Lachlan Hunt wrote: > >> Firstly, pixels are not absolute units, they are defined as relative > >> units. Although this is a very common misconception, try not to get > >> confused about the terminology. > > > > I thought the definition of px as a relative unit was an error see: > > http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-gl/2004JanMar/0187 I recently wrote on this subject at http://www.punkchip.com/2006/06/wcag-accessibility-checkpoints/, it may be of use to some of you here. Thanks M ** This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify [EMAIL PROTECTED] or the sender of the e-mail. It is your responsibility to protect your system from viruses and any other harmful code or device. This e-mail message has been scanned for the presence of computer viruses; However LMUK accepts no liability for any which remain. We may monitor or access any or all e-mails sent to us. ** *** List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
Re: [WSG] When is use of absolute units acceptable?
Terrence Wood wrote: On 10/09/2006, at 7:34 PM, Lachlan Hunt wrote: Firstly, pixels are not absolute units, they are defined as relative units. Although this is a very common misconception, try not to get confused about the terminology. I thought the definition of px as a relative unit was an error see: http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-gl/2004JanMar/0187 That e-mail seems to point out that pixels are relative units in CSS and the proposed erratum relates to a WCAG checkpoint that failed to recognise this fact. If it were an error in CSS, the issue probably would have been raised on www-style and recent drafts of CSS 2.1 would reflect that. But that is not the case, pixels are still defined as relative units. P.S. I just want to point out that, in my previous post, wherever I referred the the 'en' unit, I meant 'ex' instead. There is currently no 'en' unit defined in CSS. -- Lachlan Hunt http://lachy.id.au/ *** List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
Re: [WSG] When is use of absolute units acceptable?
I thought the definition of px as a relative unit was an error see: http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-gl/2004JanMar/0187 But there is this: http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-gl/2004JanMar/0188.html : The whole topic is a red herring. It's ultimately a user and user-agent issue. If Working Group members could rid themselves of the psychosis that IT DOESN'T WORK IN INTERNET EXPLORER FOR WINDOWS, HENCE IT DOESN'T WORK FOR ANYONE, we'd be much better off. It is up to the user to adjust font size. If their browser or device won't let them do that, they need to choose a better browser or device. This does not excuse authors from any responsibility whatsoever, but it does excuse them from *ultimate* responsibility. I do not always agree with Joe Clark, but I do agree with his view on this issue... Regards, Rimantas -- http://rimantas.com/ *** List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
Re: [WSG] When is use of absolute units acceptable?
Terrence | Lachlan | Lea Many thanks for the feedback and references - most useful. Cheers, Nick -- Nick Roper Quoting Terrence Wood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: On 10/09/2006, at 7:34 PM, Lachlan Hunt wrote: Firstly, pixels are not absolute units, they are defined as relative units. Although this is a very common misconception, try not to get confused about the terminology. I thought the definition of px as a relative unit was an error see: http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-gl/2004JanMar/0187 kind regards Terrence Wood. *** List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
Re: [WSG] When is use of absolute units acceptable?
On 10/09/2006, at 7:34 PM, Lachlan Hunt wrote: Firstly, pixels are not absolute units, they are defined as relative units. Although this is a very common misconception, try not to get confused about the terminology. I thought the definition of px as a relative unit was an error see: http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-gl/2004JanMar/0187 kind regards Terrence Wood. *** List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
Re: [WSG] When is use of absolute units acceptable?
Nick Roper wrote: For example, suppose I have a maincontent div in which other content blocks will be positioned. Is it acceptable to set padding on the main div, or margins on contained divs, in absolute units - say 30px - on the basis that this shouldn't affect the content itself (or could it?) Firstly, pixels are not absolute units, they are defined as relative units. Although this is a very common misconception, try not to get confused about the terminology. Relative units are defined as such because their size is relative to something else. The units em and en are relative to the font size, percentages (for width, height, margin, padding and border) are relative to the container size and pixels in CSS, as opposed to device pixels, are relative to the nominal viewing distance of the device. Absolute units are a fixed size and are not relative to anything. They include millimetres, centimetres and inches. I believe the misconception occurs because (unlike em, en and %) px are not relative to something that the user can easily change like their window size or font size. Secondly, yes it is ok to set sizes in pixels. However, you must be careful not to use pixels in a way that restricts the user's ability to make the design comfortable for themselves. For instance, if the use of pixels affects a user's ability to increase the font size or, in extreme cases, use a narrower viewport than your own because doing so can significantly break the design or makes it difficult to read, then you should consider a different technique. -- Lachlan Hunt http://lachy.id.au/ *** List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
Re: [WSG] When is use of absolute units acceptable?
Nick Roper wrote: I just wondered what the general opinion is about when it is acceptable to use absolute units for sizes/measurements. In theory, the only time I use px measurements is when inserting an image which has a max usable width and height. Eventually hopefully this won't be the case - doesn't Opera allow iimage scaling atm? Hopefully the other browsers will follow. In practice - sometimes I do margins and padding in px. Not very often. I'd have to dig into my design notes to recall why, but sometimes designs (with images, iirc) get easier if you remove that one element of measure, the padding and/or margin, and I tend to think the impact is minimal. What can I say, I must be soft-line ;) HIH! warmly, Lea -- Lea de Groot Elysian Systems http://elysiansystems.com/ *** List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
[WSG] When is use of absolute units acceptable?
Hi, First new post to the List, so apologies if this is covered previously. I just wondered what the general opinion is about when it is acceptable to use absolute units for sizes/measurements. For example, suppose I have a maincontent div in which other content blocks will be positioned. Is it acceptable to set padding on the main div, or margins on contained divs, in absolute units - say 30px - on the basis that this shouldn't affect the content itself (or could it?) Thanks, Nick -- Nick Roper *** List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
