Preserved Topic: interface sizes

well it wouldnt be a normal week if i didnt post another question, here it goes; im using photoshop to design my first interface for my friends first web sight (yea i know its going to be rough) i dont know much about interfaces. what size should i make it (read: hight, width, resolution)? what kind of file should i save it as? ill just reply to my thread as soon as i dream up some more questions. thank you in advance for any replys

threep offers a few thoughts concerning his usual designing process:
"well, i usually, have a 800 x 600 image open, because that is the smallest resolution i cater for, and it fits nicely in my 1024 x 768 screen then.
i would save it as a PSD. then, when i'm more or less happy with the design, i look at how to 'cut it up', and i usually do this manually - i'm still not very comfortable with the knife function in PS 6.0 - doesn't seem to do what i want it to (anyone who is happy with this, please speak up!) . consequently, my usual technique is to select each part of my psd that will be a separate image, copy visible, paste into a new image, and save as a gif for web.
i then code it all together in notepad/html beauty.
if you need any more advice, do tell, i can give you a working example if you're interested..."

well,
i had the same questions at first too as i was trying to do an interface too
finally i just got around by drawing it just as to suit my mood and needs
i personally don't think there is a specific size to use on nterfaces, but rather try to make it blend in the overall design
most interfaces i've seen use frames as targets for each link
but you should know which tehnique you want to use
i tried NOT to use frames on my site, rather used pop-up windows and layers for the main menus
not the best or the easiest to integrate, but it works fine
and i think it kinda looks cool too
anyway, try posting a link to your site's draft or sth like that
maybe we'll know how to help you out better like that
k?


The worst vice is advice...
.:arlechinu's rustforge:.

two very good replys. i asked my friend for the addy, but he says the sight is on hold till he gets front page xp. im still learning how to make a web sight, im just doing the art right now. a nice link to a tutorial like that would be kinda cool. 3rd person, you always post very good answers to my questions, my thanks up front, its a little early for any major advise right now, but i cant pass up the excellent offer of a working example give me the info about this working example. sadly, i have 0, as in zero, web page making experience so far, but cant make me dumber learning how, can it?

frontpage XP? PUKES...

damn soc-x, you read my mind. what am I thinking now?



[This message has been edited by wcr one (edited 07-20-2001).]

From the sound of it, this might not apply, but if you're a good coder, it's quite possible to fit all resolutions. There are actually several different options. You can detect the resolution and have a different version for each, but this is a pain in the ass. I suggest using dynamic tables that expand to fit the size of the browser. I would also suggest using a base or minimum resolution of 800x600 or about 780 pixels wide (height doesn't matter, of course). I recently coded a site like this, and although there were a few cross-browser problems, I eventually got it pretty well, although I abandoned everything aside from NN4+ or IE4+. Take a look if you like: http://www.woodlandsoftroy.com

The code isn't bad, but there is certainly alot of it, that's the downside of this type of thing...seems like a few more tables are necessary. Well, this post will probably fall on deaf ears since we are talking about frontpage anyway, but I just thought someone might get something out of it.

accually im not using front page, im just doing the art, when i make my own sight, i have no idea what to use. i could use some suggestions. my code ability is null at the moment, feel free to drop a link to some html tutorials. is notepad the best way to make a sight? plz reply. and mbridge, your reply isnt falling on deaf ears. what im not understanding is the way to set up my file for the art. lets do this step by step (new kids song). i hit file, then new. i get a box that lets me set hight width and resolution. so im guessing a 800 hight, 600 width... but i have no idea on the resolution. plz give me an answer in pixels/inch. i heard 72 pixels an inch is good for on screen stuff, is that true?

Yes, go with 72 pixels per inch.

You should start out with a height of around 500-700 and a width of 770-775 (780 is the absolute maximum, but go with 770-775 to be safe). Then, start designing!

Not entirely lucid right now.

I would suggest HTML Beauty, but I don't have the link handy.

DPI for web isn't exactly relevant. A graphic that is 300 px wide is 300 px wide regarldless of DPI. Somethng like that. If somebody decides to print it, something fixes it to look right. Um....

Interface size. Gonna have to learn how to use TD with percents and fixed widths. The only example that comes to mind right now is http://www.planetunreal.com Re-size your browser and see what happens. 'Course, it does have a minimum size before the horizontal scrollbar kicks in.

I'm off to soak my head. G'night, folks.


[This message has been edited by warjournal (edited 07-20-2001).]

mbridge, thanks for the pixel info, and hey, i know you dont need to hear this 23409823 times, but that sight is very professional. i especially liked how it was easy on the eyes. not to mention that poor windstar!!! im going to check out html beauty, and look into td with percents and fixed widths... (whatever that happens to be ) well that about ends this thread

http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/General/Internet/WWW/HTMLPrimer.html
http://home.netscape.com/assist/net_sites/table_sample.html
http://info.med.yale.edu/caim/manual/contents.html
http://www.max.co.yu/

threep, slightly reserved about posting such an ugly site, slides his in as well:
"ugly, yes. but also liquid...
realise that whilst design was not up to the developer (who will remain nameless), a large chunk of the implementation was.

hi all

Gix - why not create a page that doesn't resize when the browser gets made bigger or smaller
By using frames, you can make sure that the center piece will always remain one size - for instance 735 pixels wide by 375 pixels height, regardless of how the browser sees it, or whether the person had a 800x600, 1024x768 or 1152x864 screen resolution.
Check this out as an Idea
later ya'all always wanted to say that


The person born with a talent they are meant to use, will find their greatest happiness in using it.

That WoodalandsofTroy site is amusing me immensely. I went to the message board and got to read a bunch of messages being passed among all these home owners. What is that, one of those gated communities? That Jim Lovat guy seems to get crapped on a lot... either by having his cars vandalised or by dogs. And look, not only do we get little Mikey Bridge's birthday, we get his parents' phone number! Woohoo! ;-) Now all I need is an area code...

uhoh...I better look out! Hope I haven't made any enemies! :P

Oh yea, and I agree, that jim guy is a bit of a wanker.

just a note on size, 780 is NOT safe if you're going to do a fixed width site it shouldn't be over 750-760 (750 is super safe) unless your gonna zero the topmargin and leftmargin, then you can go up to around 770.

There's no accounting for how wide someone has their scrollbars set and the default of 25 is going to cause 770 wide pages to scroll ever so slightly if the margins aren't zeroed.

As for height on a 800x600 display, it should be less than 400 pixels to accomodate those giant buttons that default on the browsers, a lot of people never change those either.

750x390... sucks huh.

I do a lot of fixed width sites myself and it's really depressing thinking about the constrained size when you start to conceive of ideas but when you have very little information to present it's sometime s the best choice.

Jason

ummm, on the computers i have seen, if the margins are zeroed (doesn't everyone zero them?) 780 fits just fine. 770 is probably a better number though.

Speaking of which, could some of your guys check this site at 800x600 for me. It fit's fine in IE 5.5 and Mozilla on my PC but I'm not sure it it will work in other people's browsers...

I just want to make sure. I think it's larges size is about 700 x 400.. not too sure though.

Thank's peoples.

Oh yeah, It will break in NN 4.x or IE 4.x or lower..

everybody needs a swamp bear

Dracusis, that site aint too friendly to my Mac. IE5- the navigational portion of your interface disappears except when using the scroll bar, then it kinda flickers over there on the left. NN 4.7 & NN6- blank page.. strange, usually they're more reliable than IE for me.

Nice graphics tho.
-cyoung

Oops! I buggered up the browser detection. This link should work for NS6 and Mozilla based browsers. But NN4 will go spastic...

Didn't work on Mac IE 5?? The navgation is all flash. And it's in Flash 5. But if you don't have flash you should still see the nav bar it just won't do anything...?? humm...

I am concerned about the Mac IE 5 problems though. Could you describe them a bit more??

everybody needs a swamp bear

Sorry so long.. been away, well sorta.. Been away from the asylum anyway. Ran out of black pills, I'm back. Netscape 4 I didn't try this time. Netscape 6 redirects to sorry.html. IE5 Mac shows this and the interface seems to flicker from top to bottom making itself barely visible when your scroll bar is used. I have flash 5.0 r41 (I think 41). Hope this helps.. do I get extra pills for this kinda stuff?

-cyoung