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NWE Help: Web: Authoring: Differences

NWE Home :: Help :: Web :: Authoring

The appearance of a Web page differs drastically from computer to computer. That's one of the most difficult lessons of web authoring, but one that won't change no matter how sophisticated HTML or XML become.

Why don't all pages always look the same? The main reason lies in browser preferences. Everyone looking at web pages can configure their browser as they please. One can turn off underlines on links, or make all text huge, or strip images before they load.

Different fonts and font sizes
This is the most common problem. Because every browser can have different default typefaces and font sizes, text is often very different. Try it here: make the standard typefaces 24 point (under Preferences). Different, no?

Different monitor sizes and resolutions
The monitors in the NWE are 15". Your monitor at home may be bigger or smaller. A monitor on a laptop is certainly smaller. The monitor being used to type this right now is much larger. That has an effect on the way a page looks (resize your browser window to see how).

Different operating systems
The NWE uses Solaris, a version of Unix. You probably use Microsoft Windows or the MacOS. Other operating systems like Linux and FreeBSD are becoming more popular. Each renders a document a bit differently, no matter how hard programmers try to adhere to standards.

Browser standards conflicts
Netscape and Microsoft continue to battle over the standards used for HTML and other web document languages. Each company has added HTML codes and server extensions which work for their product but not for others (Microsoft's Front Page is the most infamous example of this). For this reason, pages look very different in Microsoft Explorer and Netscape Navigator.

Error handling
Most web pages have errors. Those mistakes are handled differently by different browsers, causing variation in page appearance.

What is to be done?

  • If you're making pages for NWE classes, make them in the NWE. That rules out a lot of the problems expressed above.
  • Try to write correct HTML. asWe can help by looking at your pages and commenting on the quality of the code.
  • Look at the page in different browsers, resize the window, and try different fonts.
  • Use HTML tables to improve layout control.