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Posted by dorayme on 01/25/07 02:55
In article <b94gr2tcooemuvgk9oigim2m07lr33e8no@4ax.com>,
William Hughes <cvproj@grandecom.net> wrote:
> On Wed, 24 Jan 2007 18:40:39 -0600, in alt.html William Hughes
> <cvproj@grandecom.net> wrote:
>
> >On Thu, 25 Jan 2007 09:14:13 +1100, in alt.html dorayme
> ><doraymeRidThis@optusnet.com.au> wrote:
>
> [...]
>
> >>I would be inclined to make a page per letter. It is simply not a
> >>page that many folk would read and scroll.
> >
> >Yeah, I was thinking about that, seeing how much info there is in each
> >group.
>
> I've reformatted the original page slightly, and run up a test page.
>
> Original: http://home.grandecom.net/~cvproj/gen-names.htm
> Test*: http://home.grandecom.net/~cvproj/gen-names-a.htm
>
> * I'll need to add a submenu to access all 26 pages.
>
> One of the things that has always bothered me about this page, and the
> others mentioned in the OP, is that the reader scrolls way past the
> left-column menu fairly quickly.
>
Yes, this is a standard "problem" and one that is pointedly fixed
by use of frames. Pity the latter has so many disadvantages. You
will hear it said that scrolling out of sight menus are no
problem but it has always seemed to me an almost total absurdity
which we have all gotten used to and so see as normal. I see it
as normal ow and I have lots of scrolling away menus. You can fix
the nav col via positioning but watch out for 2 things now:
browser support and jumpy scrolling (for why there are these
consequences, ask the devil or one of his capricious offsiders*).
Savvy readers all know about the Home button on the keyboard and
this can help too. Yes, you can also put in "top" links. You can
put in a page menu at top so that when folk go to top, they can
return easily to where they were via the page menu. There are
other strategies too.
> Aside from replicating the menu several times, or figuring out some
> way of "freezing" the column, the only answer I could come up with was
> putting in several "Return to Top of Page" links. That strikes me as
> rather messy...
See above, you can freeze it, position:fixed or something, look
it up. You can work around IE, take a look at:
<http://home.tampabay.rr.com/bmerkey/examples/fake-position-fixed.
html>
and other references you will find.
But can we be bothered? Still leaves jerky scrolling that some
folk complain about.
So... armed with these facts, perhaps designing to avoid the
problems is a way to cope (to speak seemingly tautologically).
Seriously, as short a page as is practical - remember, it can be
super practical for it to be very long for an essay, why would
they in the middle of reading an absorbing essay want so much to
see your menu? If they are likely to because of references or
things that come up in the scrolling toilet roll of a thing, then
one thing to do is to try reasonably to anticipate such and make
intelligent guesses for links in the essay proper. Webby thing to
do after all.
There is not a simple book on this stuff, it all depends on too
much.
While I am at it, perhaps consider a footer where you link to all
the copyright stuff and some other things you have in the left
nav now, and remove it from the page. Think always how much
clutter you can get off! I like your flag links, looks nice...but
I would not bother with all that links info stuff either there or
the icons in the body... but this perhaps is all a matter of
taste. It does make things a little less immediately easy for
newcomers because they have to learn non-standard things... must
stop...
*btw this is one more argument for the existence of god. Those of
you who have not completely given up on me will have noticed that
I often refer to my friend, Spartanicus as God in []. He has
expressly reported jerking. In the context, of course, of fixed
positioning (calm down Boji). So, he is unlikely to be the devil
or any of his disciples. He knows a lot - suspiciously! So he is
God. Simple enough reasoning. But I will not defend it unless
anyone says something really stupid against it. Sorry, William,
some in-house larrikinism.
--
dorayme
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