Form elements not same size (text / textarea)

I have created a simple form with these elements: input type text and
textarea.

The text areas have scrollbars. By visually looking at the form in I.E. 6 I
have set their size and cols values to 18, and they are both the same width
hand look good.

In my browser they line up, but look different in I.E. 5 and 5-5 and more
annoyingly different on the clients machine under I.E. 6.

Is there a way to keep these form elements the same width?

Elliot.

> In my browser they line up, but look different in I.E. 5 and 5-5 and more
> annoyingly different on the clients machine under I.E. 6.
>
> Is there a way to keep these form elements the same width?
>
> Elliot.
>
I remember having to do this for a fussy client a few years back who wanted
his form to look the same in both IE4+ and NN 4.x . I used a bit of
unreliable JS to find out the User Agent and then created the form elements
on the fly with JS varying the size attribute.

Thomas

I was hoping it wouldn't come to that. My main concern is the same form
having different width in I.E. 6 on different machines.
Surely the same browser should look the same on all versions of windows?

"blib" <blib@blob.com> wrote in message
news:bd74qk$ps81b$1@ID-197497.news.dfncis.de...
> > In my browser they line up, but look different in I.E. 5 and 5-5 and
more
> > annoyingly different on the clients machine under I.E. 6.
> >
> > Is there a way to keep these form elements the same width?
> >
> > Elliot.
> >
> I remember having to do this for a fussy client a few years back who
wanted
> his form to look the same in both IE4+ and NN 4.x . I used a bit of
> unreliable JS to find out the User Agent and then created the form
elements
> on the fly with JS varying the size attribute.
>
> Thomas
>
>

Elliot Lewis pounced upon this pigeonhole and pronounced:

[top posting corrected]
>
> "blib" <blib@blob.com> wrote in message
> news:bd74qk$ps81b$1@ID-197497.news.dfncis.de...
> > > In my browser they line up, but look different in I.E. 5 and 5-5 and
> more
> > > annoyingly different on the clients machine under I.E. 6.
> > >
> > > Is there a way to keep these form elements the same width?
> > >
> > > Elliot.
> > >
> > I remember having to do this for a fussy client a few years back who
> wanted
> > his form to look the same in both IE4+ and NN 4.x . I used a bit of
> > unreliable JS to find out the User Agent and then created the form
> elements
> > on the fly with JS varying the size attribute.
> >
> > Thomas
> >

> I was hoping it wouldn't come to that. My main concern is the same form
> having different width in I.E. 6 on different machines.
> Surely the same browser should look the same on all versions of windows?

Surely all your visitors cannot have the exact same window sizes, default
font sizes, screen resolution, maximized or otherwise browser.

You can't make them all look alike. You can't even make them look alike
for the *same* version of a browser.

What will you do when they start installing Mozilla or Opera? ..which
they will do as soon as the "Microsoft has stopped developing IE" gets
around more.

--
-bts
-This space intentionally left blank.

Don't be an idiot.
I do expect a table with width 100 to be the same relational size across all
versions of the same browser.
Therefore I expect a text field of 18 to be the same width as a textarea of
18.
Obviously you don't care about professional looking work.



"Beauregard T. Shagnasty" <a.nony.nous@nowhere.invalid> wrote in message
news:lAGJa.27280$1n.24337@twister.nyroc.rr.com...
> Elliot Lewis pounced upon this pigeonhole and pronounced:
>
> [top posting corrected]
> >
> > "blib" <blib@blob.com> wrote in message
> > news:bd74qk$ps81b$1@ID-197497.news.dfncis.de...
> > > > In my browser they line up, but look different in I.E. 5 and 5-5 and
> > more
> > > > annoyingly different on the clients machine under I.E. 6.
> > > >
> > > > Is there a way to keep these form elements the same width?
> > > >
> > > > Elliot.
> > > >
> > > I remember having to do this for a fussy client a few years back who
> > wanted
> > > his form to look the same in both IE4+ and NN 4.x . I used a bit of
> > > unreliable JS to find out the User Agent and then created the form
> > elements
> > > on the fly with JS varying the size attribute.
> > >
> > > Thomas
> > >
>
> > I was hoping it wouldn't come to that. My main concern is the same form
> > having different width in I.E. 6 on different machines.
> > Surely the same browser should look the same on all versions of windows?
>
> Surely all your visitors cannot have the exact same window sizes, default
> font sizes, screen resolution, maximized or otherwise browser.
>
> You can't make them all look alike. You can't even make them look alike
> for the *same* version of a browser.
>
> What will you do when they start installing Mozilla or Opera? ..which
> they will do as soon as the "Microsoft has stopped developing IE" gets
> around more.
>
> --
> -bts
> -This space intentionally left blank.

Elliot Lewis wrote:
[please don't top post]
> "Beauregard T. Shagnasty" <a.nony.nous@nowhere.invalid> wrote in
> message news:lAGJa.27280$1n.24337@twister.nyroc.rr.com...
>> Elliot Lewis pounced upon this pigeonhole and pronounced:
>>
>> [top posting corrected]
>>>
>>> "blib" <blib@blob.com> wrote in message
>>> news:bd74qk$ps81b$1@ID-197497.news.dfncis.de...
>>>>> In my browser they line up, but look different in I.E. 5 and 5-5
>>>>> and more annoyingly different on the clients machine under I.E. 6.
>>>>>
>>>>> Is there a way to keep these form elements the same width?
>>>>>
>>>>> Elliot.
>>>>>
>>>> I remember having to do this for a fussy client a few years back
>>>> who wanted his form to look the same in both IE4+ and NN 4.x . I
>>>> used a bit of unreliable JS to find out the User Agent and then
>>>> created the form elements on the fly with JS varying the size
>>>> attribute.
>>>>
>>>> Thomas
>>>>
>>
>>> I was hoping it wouldn't come to that. My main concern is the same
>>> form having different width in I.E. 6 on different machines.
>>> Surely the same browser should look the same on all versions of
>>> windows?
>>
>> Surely all your visitors cannot have the exact same window sizes,
>> default font sizes, screen resolution, maximized or otherwise
>> browser.
>>
>> You can't make them all look alike. You can't even make them look
>> alike for the *same* version of a browser.
>>
>> What will you do when they start installing Mozilla or Opera?
>> ..which they will do as soon as the "Microsoft has stopped
>> developing IE" gets around more.
>>
> Don't be an idiot.

may not be the most efficient motivational method to get the best out of
people

> I do expect a table with width 100 to be the same relational size
> across all versions of the same browser.

100 what?

> Therefore I expect a text field of 18 to be the same width as a
> textarea of 18.

18 what?

> Obviously you don't care about professional looking work.

hmm - you really are trying hard to alienate the helpful and knowledgeable.
good luck.

--
William Tasso - http://www.WilliamTasso.com

"Elliot Lewis" <elewis@pixel-kit.com> wrote in message
news:bd92b1$gcv$1@sparta.btinternet.com...
>
>
> "Beauregard T. Shagnasty" <a.nony.nous@nowhere.invalid> wrote in message
> news:lAGJa.27280$1n.24337@twister.nyroc.rr.com...
> > Elliot Lewis pounced upon this pigeonhole and pronounced:
> >
> > [top posting corrected]
> > >
> > > "blib" <blib@blob.com> wrote in message
> > > news:bd74qk$ps81b$1@ID-197497.news.dfncis.de...

> > > > > In my browser they line up, but look different in I.E. 5 and 5-5
and

> > Surely all your visitors cannot have the exact same window sizes,
default
> > font sizes, screen resolution, maximized or otherwise browser.

[top posting corrected AGAIN]

<rant>

> Don't be an idiot.

The very first thing one must do to open a straw man argument
( http://www.google.com.au/search?q=%2...an+argument%22 )
is to call ones opponent to order and to suggest that they may be of less
than acceptable intelligence. This is mandatory. It sets the tone for the
argument and casts the first seed of doubt into the mind of the casual
observer.

> I do expect a table with width 100 to be the same relational size across
all
> versions of the same browser.

One then provides some irrelevant information or opinion which everybody
must agree with, since it is usually quite true and accurate. This part of
ones argument builds on the seed of doubt instilled earlier on and lulls the
casual observer into a sense of security, leading said observer to believe
that one actually does have something useful and meaningful to say.

> Therefore I expect a text field of 18 to be the same width as a textarea
of
> 18.

After this one presents the meat of the straw man argument. One rides on the
sense of security and camaraderie one has established with the casual
observer and one sneakily flows into the argument the assertion that what
one "wants", *must* be so. It is crucial that one makes this part of the
argument unambiguous and not open to any sort of questioning or evaluation b
y the casual observer. It MUST be so. I EXPECT this to happen. This IS the
way it is.

> Obviously you don't care about professional looking work.

One closes out ones argument with a parting shot at ones opponent, perhaps
questioning their professional qualifications to have any sort of opinion at
all on the matter to hand. Ones opponents reputation and even intelligence
is now under serious evaluation and any argument ones opponent may have made
is in tatters and must be seriously suspect.

</rant>


The subject of specifying the width of input elements in a consistent manner
across different browsers is raised in this newsgroup and in most of the
others at least once a month.

The general consensus is that no matter what is suggested it will never,
ever, look the same on all browsers. Some of them are wildly different.

This consensus is largely made by people who have been intimately involved
with HTML and the web in general for many years, many of them since its
inception.

Further consensus is that it does not matter. If a particular browser
renders the elements at a different width then it will have done so for all
pages the user of that browser has ever viewed. That user will be used to
seeing them like that.

The generally accepted rule is that there is no future in trying to make the
input elements pixel perfect in all browsers and that such time spent trying
to do so would be far better expended on refining the content of the page.

Cheers
Richard.

"Elliot Lewis" <elewis@pixel-kit.com> wrote:

>Don't be an idiot.

Who is top posting and using insults?

>I do expect a table with width 100 to be the same relational size across all
>versions of the same browser.

Irregardless of the content of the table and the user's default font
size?

<table width="100"><tr><td>Hello!</td></tr></table>
Try that with a font size that means that the word Hello! can not fit
within 100 pixels.

The specs are quite clear that table widths are suggestions only and
that the browser should ignore them if the content demands that they
do so.

>Therefore I expect a text field of 18 to be the same width as a textarea of
>18.

<input size="18">
The 18 is the number of average width characters. The average width of
a character varies with the font used, and the size of the font. As
the different users may have very different font sizes set in their
configurations there is no way you can expect the same input to be the
same width in all browsers, even if they have the same name and
version number.

And you've probably already noticed that
<input size="18"> and <textarea cols="18"> don't give the same width
in many browsers anyway.

Your expectations are quite unrealistic.

>Obviously you don't care about professional looking work.

Yeah whatever. Looking professional and being professional are
different beasts. Guess what calling people idiots says about
someone's professionalism.

Steve


--
"My theories appal you, my heresies outrage you,
I never answer letters and you don't like my tie." - The Doctor

Steve Pugh <steve@pugh.net> <http://steve.pugh.net/>

Elliot Lewis pounced upon this pigeonhole and pronounced:
> Don't be an idiot.
> I do expect a table with width 100 to be the same relational size across all
> versions of the same browser.
> Therefore I expect a text field of 18 to be the same width as a textarea of
> 18.
> Obviously you don't care about professional looking work.
>

<snip the rest as it obviously was not understood>

I've gotten back to the group and find that I am an idiot.

Thank you very much. Thanks to the other posters who already have said
everything I would want to say. My websites are very professional looking,
and all validate xhtml 1.0 strict with valid css as well.

Why not go curl up with a good book? Perhaps even one about usenet
guidelines?

--
-bts
-This space intentionally left blank.

"William Tasso" <ngx@tbdata.com> wrote:

>[please don't top post]

Please learn how to trim quotes.


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