crosenblum
msg:570567 | 6:53 pm on Dec 18, 2002 (gmt 0) |
I would do some testing. Then I would use a ruler tool, called Screen Ruler. It allows me to measure in pixels height or width, of stuff on the browser. You may want to create a printer-friendly page, that only allows content on one page. or breaks it up to however many. You can't control the content, but you can control what surrounds it.
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dhdweb
msg:570568 | 6:53 pm on Dec 18, 2002 (gmt 0) |
I have run into this and found no real solotion because alot depends on how the user has the default page margins set for printing! I think it also depends on the browser that they are printing from! If there is a solotion to this I would also like to know. dhdweb
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sun818
msg:570569 | 7:01 pm on Dec 18, 2002 (gmt 0) |
Is the blank page due to spaces at the end of your HTML?
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piskie
msg:570570 | 7:03 pm on Dec 18, 2002 (gmt 0) |
It can be done but is twitchy on different browsers and printer default settings let alone what a Mac can do to a layout. You will find more success defining font size in pt rather than px. This sacrifices some consistency with screen appearance. You will probably end up restricting your page content and layout to the lowest common denominator making some pages look sparsely populated when printed from some combinations. I have been there and although it all worked OK in the end, I was not happy with some layout changes required. You could consider .pdf
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Nick_W
msg:570571 | 7:12 pm on Dec 18, 2002 (gmt 0) |
Thanks guys, just what I suspected. I've told the client that this is a website rather than a print brochure and I've explained the "print one of one" setting but, he still seems unsatisfied... .pdf is out of the question. Space at bottom? - No, I took out the entire footer (copyright etc) and it still did it. As far as I'm concerned this is perfectly normal. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't depending on the screen design and your browser/printer settings. Am I wrong? - I don't think so.... Nick
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dingman
msg:570572 | 7:21 pm on Dec 18, 2002 (gmt 0) |
| alot depends on how the user has the default page margins set for printing! |
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I've found that
@media print {
body {
margin: whatever;
padding: whatever2;
font-size: 11pt;
}
}
works well for me. It's not foolproof by any means, but it gave me a bit more consistency. I haven't tested it extensively, because the page that prompted me to do the work is one where I primarily care that *I* can print it and have it look nice when I want to deliver a paper copy of the document to someone. Ultimately, even with a very detailed '@media print' section, you can't be certain of much. If I think of print at all when I design, I think of 8.5" x 11" US letter-sized paper. Someone somehwere might well think of A4. There are some controlls for presentation on print media that might help in CSS2, but you really can't control pagination as far as I know.
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Nick_W
msg:570573 | 7:29 pm on Dec 18, 2002 (gmt 0) |
Unfortuntely out of the question. He's using IE5 As far as I know IE6 is the only browser that supports print styles (maybe opera too...)... Nick
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mivox
msg:570574 | 7:41 pm on Dec 18, 2002 (gmt 0) |
Well, at least if it's a totally blank page, he can feed the paper back into the printer... what I hate is when all the important info prints out on the first page, and then you get all the useless footer info on the top 1 inch of a second sheet of paper... hehe. However, unless you can solve the problem by using a printer friendly page I think he's out of luck... there are too many variables to even begin to consider, once you start moving web content out of the browser window.
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dingman
msg:570575 | 8:32 pm on Dec 18, 2002 (gmt 0) |
| As far as I know IE6 is the only browser that supports print styles (maybe opera too...)... |
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You can add Galeon and Mozilla to that list.
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shanz
msg:570576 | 12:29 pm on Dec 19, 2002 (gmt 0) |
Opera allows you to print to a percentage size. We use this a lot for printouts. He will of course then complain about layout issues. Printing web pages is a pain in the ass, especially when your boss is an editor of a publishing firm and text layout to the nearest mm is grounds for dismissal! Shanz
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rogerd
msg:570577 | 1:30 pm on Dec 19, 2002 (gmt 0) |
| then you get all the useless footer info on the top 1 inch of a second sheet |
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I find this exact behavior 90% of the time I print a single web page. The page looks small, so I just click "Print", and darned if I don't get a copyright notice or text nav menu on the second page every time. This phenomenon is so pervasive that I must assume that the Printer Paper Manufacturers Association is actually paying webmasters to make sure no page could actually fit on a single sheet of paper. I'd like to sign up for this program. I realize this program is a closely guarded secret, but perhaps someone can sticky me with the details. :)
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zooloo
msg:570578 | 2:32 pm on Dec 19, 2002 (gmt 0) |
"Printer Frioendly" pages. Any suggestions on what makes a page printer friendly please? What to do and what to avoid. Thanks zooloo
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Nick_W
msg:570579 | 2:43 pm on Dec 19, 2002 (gmt 0) |
Well, the story has a happy ending ;) Turns out that he actually has IE6! Probably one in a milliion non-techies here in Denmark. So, did a print stylesheet that knocked out the left and right navigation and uses print units for fonts. He loves it ;) Thanks for all the interesting opinions guys... Nick
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indiechild
msg:570580 | 4:38 am on Dec 20, 2002 (gmt 0) |
I thought IE5 supports print stylesheets too?
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dingman
msg:570581 | 4:21 am on Dec 22, 2002 (gmt 0) |
Don't know about 5.0, but I just installed 5.5 in Wine and it's doing OK with print style sheets.
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Nick_W
msg:570582 | 10:30 am on Dec 22, 2002 (gmt 0) |
Right, did a little reaserch and here's the list of browsers that support the @media rule:- IE5.5+
- IE5.0+ on Mac
- NS6+
- Opera 5+
The support for the specific rules like page-break-before are virtually non existent in anything other than Opera 5+ Not sure on NS7 though... Nick
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