[funkyprem]

I'm an advocate of using 62.5% to get the default font-size down to 10px and then build from there using em's. I have a meeting tomorrow with my client, who has demanded that x-small, medium, xx-large technique to do the font-sizing.

Now I was convinced that my way was the best way to do it and was used by all the big boys. Looking around, i'm now not sure as mr meyer and mr clarke have very different ways in their css files.

Can anyone shed any light on who has recommended this in the past, or am I completely wrong with this and should I just accept the slap on my wrist for this and hang my head in shame?

Cheers guys and gals.

[freelancr]

Another vote for 62.5%, if the client is telling you how to do your job when it comes to something as basic as font sizes, I really would advise you don't touch this project with a barge pole. Clients that try to micro manage the project are bad enough, but this guy sounds like he will make your life a living hell.

[funkyprem]

cheers freelancr. slightly mis-explained the situation. the client (big as one that they are) hired two firms, us (who i'm contracting for) who already run the infrastructure of the site and are doing the front-end development in a reskinning project. And the other company provided a techincal spec for us to work to and are producing the visuals, and it's this other third party supplier who are 'suggesting' the keyword method is the best.

You wouldn't know of anyone I could quote using the 62.5% method??

[freelancr]

Originally Posted by funkyprem

You wouldn't know of anyone I could quote using the 62.5% method??

Well you could search for the original article, it explains why to use it and isn't there loads of screenshots of different browsers on there too? Either way it is a tried and tested good method.

Don't know of any specific sites that use it because I don't browse the css unless it does something cool.

[herkalees]

Your method is correct, your client's is not. On one hand you can tell your client that they're hiring you because you know what's best. On the other hand, if they don't care, just give them their shit-code.

[weldo]

just use the method they'd prefer ... use it as a chance to learn about the differences/benefits for yerself ...

i've seen it in use - its swings and roundabouts i think ...

i think the 62.5 method may suit designers more - for more control over font sizes, whereas the small/med/large is used more with accessibilty in mind - for government sites etc - but you don't get as much control over every detail ... ?

[freelancr]

but the 62.5% method doesn't adversely effect accessibility does it, as em's can be resized in all browsers?

[funkyprem]

i thought that was the point... almost all the control of pixel sizing, with the ability to resize the text.

[pgo]

Yep, that's the idea.

In Dan Cederholm's latest book he uses the keywords - x-small and so on - so it's not unheard of. I still use the 62.5% though.

[funkyprem]

Thanks guys, i'll see what they flag up in the meeting today.

dum dum dumdum, dum du dum dum dum dum dummmmmmmmm

[cam]

the 62.5% has some issues with IE font-sizes being slightly off (at least in IE6 it did, unsure of IE7), but the difference is so small it's barely noticeable.

what you're doing definitely isn't wrong - it's a preference

[pgo]

Yeah. I say just build it the way your client asks.

Or could you do the 62.5% and then use the keywords from there?

[funkyprem]

no, 62.5% them ems from then on.

they were ok with my justification in the end. their main reason for bringing the whole issue was that when someone goes one text size down, very small text became unreadable whereas if it had been declared as x-small for instance it would always stay readable.

they were clutching at straws!

[IdealWebsites]

I was taking a look at Yahoo's YUI developer stuff and they advocate using percentages for all fonts.

Yahoo! UI Library: Fonts CSS

Personally I've always used the 62.5% method but I'm glad this topic came up as I was wondering what other people thought about the Yahoo recommendation.

[funkyprem]

had a look at that yahoo stuff when hunting around for backup, but got a little confused by what they've put together.

I thought that the default font-size was 16px on all monitors (obv default settings). so how can 100% of 16px equate to 13px??

[cam]

Originally Posted by funkyprem

had a look at that yahoo stuff when hunting around for backup, but got a little confused by what they've put together.

I thought that the default font-size was 16px on all monitors (obv default settings). so how can 100% of 16px equate to 13px??

the first thing Y!UI's fonts css does is set the font-size of the body element to 13px, and everything is relatively sized via percentages from then on, so 100% = 13px (unless you're dealing with child elements).

it's nice and everything, but i still find 62.5% technique more readable

[pgo]

Well, since 62.5% resets to roughly 10px, it makes math a lot easier.

1.5em * 10px is easier than 1.5em * 13px

[funkyprem]

my bad. hadn't seen that one line of code!

[funkyprem]

after seeing this..

body {
    font:13px arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;
   *font-size:small;
   *font:x-small;
}

1) what is the point of the font overriding the font-size?
2) what is 'clean' in the font list?

I'm still gonna use what Mr Meyer has set out with a few tweaks of my own.

[herkalees]

Originally Posted by funkyprem

after seeing this..

body {
    font:13px arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;
   *font-size:small;
   *font:x-small;
}

1) what is the point of the font overriding the font-size?
2) what is 'clean' in the font list?

I'm still gonna use what Mr Meyer has set out with a few tweaks of my own.

That is just poor css writing really, nothing to aspire to.