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Page last updated 25/01/2012 10:24:02

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Page sizing

Setting page width

Before you start making your site think about the screen resolutions that will be used to view your site. Have a look at this photo of the Analytics of this site, you will see the most popular viewing resolution is 1280 x 720.

You can set your default page width to the size you think your most popular viewer will be, not forgetting the viewers of the lower resolution 800 x 600.

Set it to somewhere in the middle so the lower size does not have to do much scrolling if at all.

This sites pages are set at 1000 wide and aligned left, so you can see with the monitor you are viewing with the amount of excess space on the right side.

Serif Webplus generates pages that use absolute sizes and positions, so if you put your page as 1000pix wide that is what WP produces. Some users are wanting a flexible page size to fill all screen resolutions - maybe for another version.

Site Properties

When you first make your site, set your default page size within the site properties window File > Site properties > Options. When your default page size has been set any new normal and master pages will be set at this. When you set the default page length, make this as short as possible(as long as your shortest page).See page truncation

The reason for this is if you set the default master page length to 1000pix you would be able to increase the normal page length but you would not be able to make it smaller.

So as a rule of thumb have the default length just long enough to hold your header and bottom navbar, attaching the navbar to the bottom so it will stay there when you increase the normal page length.

Note for WP10 users.

I have found on my version that when I set the width & length in the site properties that when a new page is produced the sizes are transposed i.e. 800W x 1000L would change to 1000W x 800L.

Warning for X2 users.

When you have set the length of the master page initially and later you decide to change the length be sure to check all your page lengths as it has been noted that even if you have extended your normal pages length to a length that is longer than the adjustment you decide to take the master page, your normal pages will be taken to this new length.

While your setting the page sizes within the page properties set your default page alignment, choice of left or centre(default).

Page Truncation

Quote from X2 and WP10 help file

“As for Height, allow enough vertical distance to let you lay out the objects on your longest page. It's OK to allow more space than you expect to fill. As each individual page is published to the Web, WebPlus will truncate the page either at the specified Height setting or just below the bottom element on each page/master page, whichever is less. In other words, there's no danger of blank space below your bottom element—but don't let elements run outside the indicated page dimensions.”

For WP10 this is true. But with a little problem, because it truncates at the last object there is no space between the bottom of the last object and the bottom of the screen. So to give it a few pixels breathing space put a non hyperlinked hotspot just below the last object as this will become the last object and give you space.

As for X2 this quote is not true. Because of the new on-page colour option in the master/page properties, even if it is left as no colour, html code is produced to indicate that an object is on the page the length set as the page length so the truncating takes place at the bottom of the page and not what you perceive as the last item on the page.See this thread on Serif forum. This is the reason for making the master page length as short as possible, as I describe here.