Normal Vs Preview in FP 02...text formating problem

[Brando]

I have been creating a page in FP 2002. I have noticed that if i format line spacing in normal mode, it changes when i go to preview. For instance, in normal mode i have formatted lines to be single space and then formatted -18( because if i dont put in the -18 it looks double spaced in normal, which makes no sense because the paragraph is set to be single spaced) for spacing after a line which in normal mode looks perfect. When i view it in preview mode the lines almost look double spaced...
( all this is taking place within a table, and paragraphs at the top of the table formatted in the same manner look fine in preview mode)
What is going on? What is the point of FP being a WYSIWYG editor if in fact it doesnt work that way?
Thanks
Brando

[bill]

Welcome to WebmasterWorld Brando.

I don't think there's any WYSIWYG editor out there that will display exactly what the end product will be. FP has the Preview mode for a reason.

One thing you have to be wary of is using FP as a CSS editor/WYSIWYG. CSS is a fairly recent addition to FP, and it's not the best implementation. I've used TopStyle as my CSS editor for several years now. It plugs directly into FP and works nicely in that capacity.

I don't know what sort of experience you have designing websites, but be aware that different browsers will display your site differently. It's not the best idea to try to micro-manage site design for that reason. You can't expect a website to look the same on every operating system, screen resolution, or browser. Whatever FP shows you in WYSIWYG mode is going to an approximation at best, but it's an approximation that helps you get the basics done quickly without the need to hand-code everything.

You may be expecting a bit too much of the software. A WYSIWYG editor is just one of many tools you'll need to make a professional site. Unfortunately there isn't one software package out there that does it all.

[Brando]

Thanks for the input, i understand that the output wont be exactly true to what i see as i design, but something as simple as spacing between lines being that far off seems a bit much. Anyway, i shall experiment around and see...Is there any chance FP2003 is any "better"?
Thanks again

[bill]

FP 2003 does handle CSS better than FP XP/2002 from my experience. I'm not sure whether it will improve the problem you seem to be having now, but it is really a worthwhile upgrade overall. The upgrade from FP 2000 to FP XP/2002 wasn't really all that much of a jump, but the upgrade to FP 2003 is highly recommended.

[europeforvisitors]

You can't expect a website to look the same on every operating system, screen resolution, or browser.

Exactly. Contrary to what a lot of print-trained graphic designers might hope or think, Web design isn't like desktop publishing. If it were, browsers would read PostScript, not HTML...and pages would take half an hour to display at dial-up speeds. :-)