I can't make my mind if it looks better (easier or not to read), to text-align:justify paragraphs or not. I keep trying on/off and I can't decide what I prefer.
Any opinion on the subject?
Selen
10:15 pm on May 29, 2019 (gmt 0)
Justify causes too large spaces; better to make it "initial" ; )
lucy24
12:04 am on May 30, 2019 (gmt 0)
I, personally, speaking strictly for myself, expressing purely my own opinion, simply loathe the look of justified text, and never use it.
tangor
12:20 am on May 30, 2019 (gmt 0)
chuckles. I use justify all the time, just make sure the text length is reasonable for eye movement. You end up with the same number of LINES, but from time to time (unless you also use word break) with a bit of spread between words.
It is a matter of presentation. That said, the vast majority of sites not NOT use justify, so keep that in mind.
tangor
12:21 am on May 30, 2019 (gmt 0)
Note: the white space is there all the time, just more noticeable between words than the blank area at the end of a line ... same difference.
Dimitri
8:17 am on May 30, 2019 (gmt 0)
Thanks.
tangor
11:30 pm on May 30, 2019 (gmt 0)
One final thought on justify ... one can compact the body text presentation with a paragraph indent and ditch the block paragraph spacing ... more is visible for any screen than with block.
Pick and choose when to use ...
Dimitri
8:38 am on May 31, 2019 (gmt 0)
I wish there were more algorithms available to control the text justification. In theory, you can use the "text-justify" CSS field to specify an algorithm, but apparently browsers are not support it, and in all events the list of algo is too simplistic.
tangor
4:36 pm on May 31, 2019 (gmt 0)
Related to text-justify is character spacing, font choices, and known (fixed) widths) "margins". With responsive the goal for most, the above becomes a little more difficult to manage. If the user opts for different font choices (and many do!), all your hard work can disappear in a page load. (sigh)
The other aspect of text-justify is knowing when to use "big words" ... :)
Something like "reallybigwordthatneedstobethere" should be the first or second word of any paragraph to avoid having to word-break or leave a boatload of white space between words later in the paragraph!
If words are kept simple---seven characters or less---text justification works great. It is especially useful in columnar text (newspaper style) and defines the visible gutter which makes reading much easier.
Again, pick and choose when to use!
lucy24
5:20 pm on May 31, 2019 (gmt 0)
In making ebooks I don't have a choice about what words to use or where to put them, since the text is already there. Instead I don't hesitate to use soft hyphens in the middle of loooong words (“character­istically”).
I believe there exists a WP plugin (I've seen it on one site and can’t account for the behavior any other way) that chops up words at all possible syllable breaks, with as little as 2 or 3 letters each way. Fortunately my browser doesn't do this by default, as I think it looks revolting. Especially when it happens to guess wrong.
tangor
5:44 pm on May 31, 2019 (gmt 0)
I don't hesitate to use soft hyphens in the middle of loooong words (“character­istically”).
Exceptionally valid option ... and one I use when necessary!
