Learn how to create zoom buttons for your pages
Tuesday August 5, 2008
Zoom buttons are those icons you see on Web pages that allow you to make the font size of the page smaller or larger to meet your needs. It turns out that with CSS alternate stylesheets and a stylesheet switcher, it's easy to create these buttons.
Comments
I love this element of css but it’s crippled in complex designs. Points and pixels render em useless.
The function works well on blogs, where designs are simpler. Right now the home page of the New York Times already has fit issues at default size, enlarge the character size and watch it all go to hell.
I doubt I'’ll be using em in my new design, trying to fabricate one for the client he’ll like is hard enough without making it seamlessly expandable.
Joseph: Points and pixels are not the point - as you can create a zoom CSS stylesheet with points as the font size or pixels. Or whatever font size measure you prefer. Personally, I use ems, but that is not a requirement for this type of zooming.
I do agree that doing this for a complex design is difficult and time consuming. I wouldn’t want to be the one who had to do it for even the About.com pages, let alone the New York Times or some other site where there were lots of developers.
All right, thanks. I was under the impression em was necessary for effective zoom; use points or pixels and it won’t work well, obviously that’s incorrect, sorry.