Bill Aycock on mon 21 apr 97
Tony, as usual, very helpful- gave a very good idea re recipes;
ie- put the quantity first, then a FIXED number of spaces, then the name.
I emphasize the FIXED, because there is a LOT of variation in the way
different computers and different programs handle space. Some give you
options that most people dont even know they have.
The primary option, and one that caused a lot of grief when making and
reading tables, is the option of fixed or variable letter spacing. This can
make a table look like garbage, if the sender and the receiver are not in
sync. I like the variable option, but when I want to read a table that is
more complicated than a recipe, I turn that option off. This aligns
everything , the way the originator intended.
With the suggestion Tony made, the key is that there is little variation in
the length of the number, but a LOT in the name. A small variation in a
small length is less bothersome than the same variation (proportionately) in
a large length. This way, even if the sender and receiver are not in sync
about letter spacing, it is readable.
Bravo, Tony
Bill- going out to mow a small part of Persimmon Hill, between rain
sessions. (Not like the North west had it, and the North central has it,
thank goodness)
Bill Aycock --- Persimmon Hill --- Woodville, Alabama, USA
--- (in the N.E. corner of the State)
also-- W4BSG -- Grid EM64vr baycock@hiwaay.net
Bill Amsterlaw on wed 23 apr 97
Hi Clayart:
Here is why I think tables in email often looking like garbage....
I. There are two different types of fonts that can be used in writing or
reading text.
a. Fixed-spaced fonts
b. Proportional-spaced fonts
II. There are two different ways to create space in a table
a. Tabs
b. Spaces
III. The usual email transmission contains no information about the font that
was used to write the email. The author's font setting and tab setting may
differ from the settings used by the reader.
Fixed-space fonts use the same amount of space for all characters.
Proportional-spaced fonts adjust the inter-character space according to the
shape of the individual characters. Most Windows fonts are proportional. The
commonest fixed-space font is "Courier New".
If the author used no tabs and a fixed-space font to write a table, the reader
needs to use any fixed-space font. If the author used a proportional font and
no tabs, the reader needs to use the same, identical font used by the author.
Therefore, I propose this:
1. Always use a fixed-space font such as "Courier New" and no tabs when
writing tables. (Readers use any fixed space font.)
or,
2. Advise readers what font and tab settings to use to properly view the
table.
- Bill Amsterlaw (wamster@msn.com)
Plattsburgh, NY
Bill Aycock wrote:
>>
The primary option, and one that caused a lot of grief when making and reading
tables, is the option of fixed or variable letter spacing. This can make a
table look like garbage, if the sender and the receiver are not in sync. I
like the variable option, but when I want to read a table that is more
complicated than a recipe, I turn that option off. This aligns everything, the
way the originator intended.
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