Font Sizes

[mikewgd]

Not sure if there is a specific thread for this already. I didnt see one but as you know font-sizes defer from browser to browser and operating system to operating system. I was wondering is there anyway to guarantee the font will be the same size? Personally Ive used px and pt for the longest time and when I started working for this company they told me to use percents which I do agree is a lot easier but I find that it changes in browser and operating system.

Now I know you can use .em or something like that and that supposedly sets the font at lets say 80% and will look the same throughout any browser or operating system? Just want some help on this and getting up-to-speed on my browser compatibility and etc. . .

Thanks!

[aeroweb99]

Here is a post here.

[DesignVHL]

I've read on some places that pt really shouldn't be used because it is really more of a print term. And using Pixels will not allow users to increase or decrease the text size.

Based on my research into this, I've found that using em's or percentages is the best. Personally I like to stick with percentages. I do suggest you not go below 80% - as the text can get a bit tiny on mac browsers. But its worked well for me lately, so I'm stickin' with that.

Also, do keep in mind that every computer and browser will infact display text a bit differently.

[aeroweb99]

The main reason some use pixels is for control of layout and appearance. No matter the resolution the layout will always be proportionate to how you intended it to look. Yes the drawback is the resize factor. But ems and % will have unpredictable results as well. If a user has their font set to large or extra large, then your ems and percentage is based on that setting.

There is just no failsafe solution. (Why oh why couldn't there just be one browser?)

I also have read that ems and percentages are best. But I've always used points. I don't know anymore!

[mikewgd]

Oops, proved how much I researched. Sorry about that

[diddy]

I've always used percentages, for some reason don't like using ems. However in certain situations there's no problem making something in pixels. For me, I put headers as pixels, because I find it easier. (long story) and for mostly everything else I'll use percentages. It's completely up to you. As aeroweb99 said, there's no failsafe soloution. There's nothing stopping you using a mixture of methods on your site, but they may interfere with each other sometimes. But just try it out and to what you feel is best.

[aeroweb99]

I think the one thing you don't want to do is declare a global font size in pixels (like in the body tag) and then use percentages in your divs.

Don't be sorry Mike, it's not a simple problem. That's why when you search on this stuff, you get all kinds of opinions.

Also another method is to use "smaller, medium, larger" declarations. However these are also based on the default font size of the browser and of course, they are different.

Experiment with them, then check out your work at browsershots. Great tool by the way.