[wp-hackers] Re: The fixed with of the admin area

[Stephen Rider]

On Mar 11, 2008, at 9:42 PM, Alex Hempton-Smith wrote:

> After thinking this through again I would tend to agree with you about
> making it fluid width, it does seem the most logical approach. If we
> go this route, the real question then is: do we have a max/min width
> for the text editor, and if so, how large should it be?
>
> It's been proved (I think), that people work best in text-boxes which
> aren't too long, so having it the full width of the screen wouldn't be
> a good idea on very large monitors.

(repeating, but you asked...)

I think the best solution is to use max-width.  Yes, some people don't  
like it, but the average person demonstrably read more easily in a  
column of limited width.

I see three ways to adjust for bigger screen sizes:

1) Scale sizes up according to font-size, by setting the widths in em  
or %.  Then when people on big screens set their fonts to 16pt, the  
interface will scale up with it.

2) Include an alternate style sheet, so people who prefer full-screen  
text boxes can simply switch.

3) Just set a width and let the people who want full-width change it  
via plugin.

I understand that some people really like the full-width editor, but I  
say again, you folks are the exception, not the rule.  Most people  
have difficulty reading reaaaally long lines of text (relative to the  
font size).  As far as I've seen around here, the rule is to design  
for _most_ and let the rest use plugins.

I've said my bit.  I doubt I'll have much to add beyond this....

Stephen


-- 
Stephen Rider
<http://striderweb.com/>