Percentage x/y type tool?

[Sliight]

I've reworked my page now using %'s for the height and width and accomplished the goal of making it fit in most windows without the dreaded horizontal scroll bar.

My first question has to do with a web based or downloadable tool that could show the percentages on the page... basically something that keeps me from breaking down everything into it's % out of 100 to place it.

My second question has to do with doing the height/width using pixels instead of %. Does using pixels completely eliminate the page from being fluid into any size window? Pixels would seem like a much better choice as it's tangible using other sizes to compare.

I realize CSS would be better, but I don't have the time currently to learn what I need to know to make this work.

Appreciate any help offered.

Cheers

[jc_gmk]

Why don't you make the page 800 by 600 pixels, then you can work with pixels instead of %.

Nobody should really be working in a lower res than that, if they are they need a new monitor or PC!

[tech_support]

And if they have a 1600*1200 monitor? The page will look very small...

[Sliight]

I use a 1680x1050 22" widescreen...If pixels will stretch then I could try that. The page template set up for all the pages isn't really a super tough thing using %'s as my content tables will always be white, and the menus and page borders will always appear consistent.

I'm really just concerned about the text alignment fitting in all windows regardless of how they size them. I am however using tables, so I'm hoping once I get to the testing point the tables will resize, and in doing so the text is forced to in order to stay in the table.

I think my initial post wasn't very well thought out, so likely best to call me a donkey and move on. Without learning CSS I think I'm destined for a trial and error creating my 25-40 pages for the site (the good news is it's very fun learning at a fast pace, and I love fiddling with any type of computer crap)

[Twey]

Why don't you make the page 800 by 600 pixels, then you can work with pixels instead of %.

And the Crap Design Idea of 2007 award goes to...

Seriously, fluid layouts are always better than fixed layouts. Even fixed layouts should use ems, not pixels, since it's at least a reasonable assumption that the user will have his/her font size set to a sane value for his/her resolution.

My first question has to do with a web based or downloadable tool that could show the percentages on the page... basically something that keeps me from breaking down everything into it's % out of 100 to place it.

I don't understand what you're asking. Can you clarify?

My second question has to do with doing the height/width using pixels instead of %. Does using pixels completely eliminate the page from being fluid into any size window? Pixels would seem like a much better choice as it's tangible using other sizes to compare.

Yes, it does. Remember, a font is roughly a fixed size: since they have to be a certain real-world size in order to be visible, fonts don't scale in proportion to the user's resolution. Thus, a pixel-based block containing text that looks reasonable on a small resolution may be able to fit only a few characters per line on larger resolutions, since the font won't be proportionally smaller. The worst-case scenario is that the text flows out of the box and is hidden by other elements on the page, rendering your content unreadable.

I think my initial post wasn't very well thought out, so likely best to call me a donkey and move on. Without learning CSS I think I'm destined for a trial and error creating my 25-40 pages for the site

Yes. (Basic) CSS really isn't that difficult to learn

[Sliight]

The first question was for a program that does something like an X,Y coordinates type thing... sorta like the pixie program that shows the coordinates and colors of whatever your mouse is on. That way I could figure out the %'s to make stuff fit... It's kinda moot I think since I can just visualize how I want stuff to look and just break it down from 100%.

I've decided I need to learn more on CSS regarding web placement. From what it sounds like I can use CSS to make all of my pages uniform? It's basically going to be a template page of sorts, then I can change content for each page as needed.

Thanks for your help!

[Twey]

From what it sounds like I can use CSS to make all of my pages uniform? It's basically going to be a template page of sorts, then I can change content for each page as needed.

Well yes, but that's simplifying matters a little. Like a script or an image, a CSS stylesheet can be linked to from a page rather than embedding it into the page itself, so you can have a single stylesheet for all your pages, thus making it much easier to preserve a common theme across the site. The epitome of CSS-based development is a site whose structure is completely separate from its presentation: such a site can be made to look entirely different simply by modifying the central stylesheet, with no modifications required to the individual pages.

[tech_support]

Seriously, fluid layouts are always better than fixed layouts. Even fixed layouts should use ems, not pixels, since it's at least a reasonable assumption that the user will have his/her font size set to a sane value for his/her resolution.

Hmm... What if you have a header image then? Can you set the width of the page to 747px?

[Twey]

It's common practice, but a rather bad idea. Instead, try to create a header image that can tile, or that will fade smoothly into a non-image background past a certain length.