Seven tricks that Web users don't know

[Webnauts]

Seven tricks that Web users don't know

They may seem obvious to you, but less-technical users are frequently stymied by issues like these here: http://www.smackthemouse.com/7us-tricks.pdf

Any other not mentioned in the above article?

[JMac]

I don't know if this qualifies as web specific but knowledge of screen resolution and how to change it (does that make it "screen reVolution"?) has really come into play in the last month for me.
One client (at that time, potential client) surfed around our portfolio and had the following complaint: "we noticed all the sites you've designed are too big for the screen." That awful screen resolution demon!!! I've been designing in 1024x768, feeling that (espcecially here in Canada, where high speed and high tech are supreme) if they weren't already, users would catch up pretty quickly... that was despite reading a poll here a while back that gave 800x600 as the most common resolution. All of our clients (except this one, of course) have had 1024x768 or more.
When I explained screen resolution to her, a blank look came over her face. The concept of tinkering with the default settings on something so simple as screen resolution was horrifying to her.

JMac

[mediaman]

I have been designing for 800 x 600 as I see many of the "big boys" do, however, I always debate on placing the content area on the left (as per bbc.co.uk) or centering it (like macromedia.com).

It's amazing that such a simple thing gives me such a headache!

[Narasinha]

Originally Posted by JMac

I've been designing in 1024x768, feeling that (espcecially here in Canada, where high speed and high tech are supreme) if they weren't already, users would catch up pretty quickly... that was despite reading a poll here a while back that gave 800x600 as the most common resolution. All of our clients (except this one, of course) have had 1024x768 or more.
When I explained screen resolution to her, a blank look came over her face. The concept of tinkering with the default settings on something so simple as screen resolution was horrifying to her.

I've run into many neophyte users who don't know much at all about changing any settings on their computer. They know how to get online and browse the web. I suppose it's somewhat similar to drivers who know only how to put gas in the car. Anything beyond that and they're truly lost.

As for designing for 1024x768 or 800x600, I take the route of designing for a decent look even down to 640x480. WebTV is even a bit smaller (560x420)! I try to get the best compromise for all the resolutions I can. I even check how it looks on a PDA with the Shift+F11 option in Opera for Small Screen Rendering view.

As for the list of browsing tricks, they're things that many of us take for granted. How many people know that if you hold the shift key when you click a link (even in IE!) it opens the link in a new window? I use that all the time (though I rarely use IE).

Best Regards,
Narasinha

[igor1]

Following this discussion about screen resolution I have added a simple utility:

http://www.ij.nQ.pl/english/screen.jsp

This (just created) JSP shows present statistics of screen resolutions of web surfers visiting my website.

with regards

Igor

[JMac]

Igor-

I think I'll keep watching your stats page, if that's alright.
I've been sort of going by "people who leave must not like the site OR their resolution is such that they can't use it" - not very considerate of me, I know. One of the women who make up the Mostly Mommies group (www.mostlymommies.com ) recently found out about screen resolution, too. We're now plotting the changes needed to make it friendly right down the resolution line.

Frankly, designing in 800x600 makes me nauseous. :-) I know I need glasses!

JMac

[Narasinha]

While we're thinking about display settings, let's not forget bit depth. My stats program records display resolution and bit depth. 1024x768 and 800x600 are pretty evenly split. When it comes to bit depth 32-bit is leading, but 16-bit still accounts for over twenty percent of my visitors. The web looks quite different through 16-bit glasses! ;) I rarely change bit-depth when checking my work. Perhaps I should start.

Regards,
Narasinha

[cyberRobot]

Originally Posted by igor1

Following this discussion about screen resolution I have added a simple utility:

http://www.ij.nQ.pl/english/screen.jsp

This (just created) JSP shows present statistics of screen resolutions of web surfers visiting my website.

with regards

Igor

Just curious, do you visit the site frequently while maintaining it? Is your resolution set to 1024x768? Some times the webmaster may be the one skewing the results, making it look like the majority of the users view the web page as you do.

We also might want to take into consideration that just because I have my resolution set to 1024x768, doesn't mean I have my browser maximized. I rarely surf with the browser maximized. It all depends on how the window opens when I click my browser icon.

You also have users which surf with side panels open (Favorites, History, etc.), which takes up screen space.

I personally still design pages at 640x480, but allow them to stretch for people with higher resolutions. Not only is this good for people with 640x480 moniters, but for those who want to print out one of your web pages. Most printers only print 650px of screen space. (Not including landscape mode) The rest gets cut off.

And I don't accept the paperless society excuse. A lot of people I talk to use more paper now than they ever have because we are going paperless.

[salubritas]

The way I approach this is that I design in my normal resolution (1280 x 1024) then test the pages by sizing the browser window differently using JR Screen Ruler as a guide - http://www.spadixbd.com/freetools/jruler.htm

The problem with changing your own screen resolution is that low resolutions look awful on a large screen monitor, particularly flat screens that are made for a particular native resolution. You just can't tell how it would look on a different monitor.

[sijpie]

We also might want to take into consideration that just because I have my resolution set to 1024x768, doesn't mean I have my browser maximized. I rarely surf with the browser maximized. It all depends on how the window opens when I click my browser icon.

Exactly. I use 1200 x 1024, but my main reason for having such a big screen resolution is that I can have various windows open, and click from one to the other without having to search which is which on the task bar.

So a quick check on the size of my browser window shows it is roughly 1110 x 810, with about 1020 x 665 useable area (the rest is favourites and toolbars). If I work on any PC with more than 640 x 400 resolution I will usually have a smaller sized browser window.

So to me 800 x 600 is still a very safe and good size to design to. So what if I leave a bit of real estate unused on bigger screens. If it makes it less busy, so much the better.

[joliettech]

As far as screen resolution is concerned, I find the best way to test your layout is to click File>Print Preview, as cyberRobot wrote. If your visitors are printing your pages (and if your providing the content they’re looking for, they’re printing your pages). If any of the content is cut off, it’s too wide. Approximately 680 pixels is the maximum for printing an 8-1/2 x 11 portrait page with 1” margins (which are the default settings for most printers, of course you can change these settings to print wider pages, good luck getting the average surfer to do that).

I use a 21” monitor with the resolution set at 1600 x 1200. It’s typical to have 8 to 10 or more windows open at one time (6 to 8 of them browser windows). None of the windows are full screen, the only program I use at full screen is AutoCAD. The browser windows are approx. 800 or 900 pixels wide, so it is easy to move from one to the next.

[ldyguique]

Print size is controlled by the setting in View / Size -- and then the larger/smaller, etc. This also controls the printsize in Outlook Express. Internet Explorer default settings will frequently override other browsers, especially ones based on the IE engine. IE is still the vast majority choice for browsers. And, while many people do not know how to change display settings, some of them do know how to make "some" settigs changes through File/Edit/View, etc.

Personally, I rarely dink around with the default screen resolution; however, I do edit my Appearance in display settings -- working with a combination of "larger" there and then, finetuning it through View/Size.

People with vision handicaps frequently are aided by a tech support person to find Internet Options / Accessibility and check "ignore font sizes specified." I sometimes use that for sites that keep fonts unbelievablly tiny (what would appear to be about 8pt type if they were in printed form AND are not affected by View/Size). Unfortunately, this blows out other sites and renders them unreadable as text overlaps, etc. I know how to turn off/turn on these settings; most don't. Once set, always set.

Readability is therefore controlled by a combination of Display properties: screen resolution and appearance choices, plus by View/Size AND Accessibility options. Printing is controlled by View/Size for browser settings, whether it's printing a website OR email.

[Niko Holopainen]

I use 1600*1200 for personal use and never have the browser in full size.

But back to the issue, for any testing/observation purposes the first thing to do is to filter out company personnel and similar people that would visit the site daily as to keep the ratings even remotely truthful.

Yours truly as always,

[AChernyak]

I use a very odd screen resolution configuration (1400 x 1050). Nonetheless, I am used to it. However, finding desktop wallpaper is always a pain =).

[Niko Holopainen]

Don't worry, most midprice (~2.000€) laptops seem to come in 1400*1050) I know mine is and most of my friend's so I'm sure they'll get more popular ;)

[splinter]

One way to get around the printing problem is to use CSS. You can create Print style sheets that automatically get used when the person clicks "Print". This means you can make things dissappear, other things appear, resize things, change colours etc. etc. and still have your normal page.

It also means no seperate print pages.

[Webnauts]

Originally Posted by splinter

One way to get around the printing problem is to use CSS. You can create Print style sheets that automatically get used when the person clicks "Print". This means you can make things dissappear, other things appear, resize things, change colours etc. etc. and still have your normal page.

It also means no seperate print pages.

Can you tell us the how it works and the code?

[erica]

It's similar to the way you include a single css file in multiple documents with two small differences - first, you use media=print to specify that it is for print media, second you use a link to a file to print instead of the html. For example,

<link rel="alternate" media="print" href="printversion.doc" />

[cthathem]

SelfHTML (de) states, that Netscape 6.0 would have problems interpreting media="print". Maybe you could try something like this, but I'm not sure if that would work on all browsers:

@media print {    
  /* all font colors set to black */
  body, body * { color:#000000; }

  /* hiding all images */
  img { visibility:hidden; }
}

These style settings could be defined in your css file. In the above example the images are hidden (img visibility:hidden;) and the body tag and all its child elements are set to black font color.

Georg