Overriding CSS font sizes?

[granny]

This is something that really annoys me. The vast majority of websites now don't let you change font sizes in IE because they're using php or CSS's. Now I run windows in a modest 1280x1024 on 19" monitors and more and more sites now have text that's just too small to read comfortably. Here's the example that prompted me to post this. That text is too fucking small!

Moving beyond the obvious question of "why don't people pay any heed to basic usability issues when designing websites?" is there any easy way to force font size changes on CSS/php/whatever sites? I'd prefer not to switch browsers since I am forced to use IE at work and, tbh, I've tried several other browsers and just don't like them.

Cheers for any ideas

 

[jaba]

Mozilla has a text zoom under the view menu, and IE has a text size option somewhere? that any good? I know what you mean though, tiny text hurts!

 

[Shovel]

Text resize can sometimes be an issue.

You can, however, do it.

IE and Moz and most other browsers allow you to define your own style sheet, therefore you can redefine your font sizes accordingly. It's not foolproof, I don't think, but it should work for a lot of cases at least:

1) Create a text file. Open it and add the following:

/** Style Sheet to Override Default Small Fonts */
body {
   font-size: 1em !important;
}

Try that first, don't forget the "!important" part. That tells it to override stylesheets for the site you're visiting.

If that doesn't do it, you could try modifying it to read:

/** Try and overide every element on the page, then make sure that headings are sized appropriately */
body, body * {
   font-size: 1em !important;
}
h1 {
   font-size: 150% !important;
}
h2 {
   font-size: 130% !important;
}
h3 {
   font-size: 110% !important;
}

Then rename the text file to "override.css" and go to Tools -> Internet Options (in IE) and click the "Accessibility" button at the bottom. Choose "Format Documents Using My Stylesheet" and browse to wherever you've saved it.

If you want to change the base font size, change the "1em" value. 1em is something around size "12" in Word (I think), so try 1.2, or 1.5. Or you can declare the size as "14pt", which is the actual font size (equivilent to that which you would find in Word).

Hope that helps.

 

[granny]

That's fantastic Shovel but doesn't quite work... but while I was firking about in the Accessibility options I spotted a tick-box that said "Ignore font sizes specified on webpages" so I ticked it and that's exactly what I was after!

*thumbs nose and blows raspberries at CSS and php sites with nanotext!*

Wouldn't have found it without your idea Shovel, thanks

 

[Cyradix]

In IE just try holding your ctrl key and using your mouse scroll-wheely-thingy

Edit : bah, nevermind.... just tried it and it won't override the fonts...

 

[old.Tohtori]

Incridients for a more enjoyable read for the weak at eye:

One website with "tiny" text.
One new file in word(or other text managing program)
One "select all" click from the right mousebutton menu.
One copy.
One paste to the formentioned text managing program.
One edit of font/size.

Serve cold. Enjoy!

 

[Gef]

In IE just try holding your ctrl key and using your mouse scroll-wheely-thingy

Edit : bah, nevermind.... just tried it and it won't override the fonts...

Nice one, works perfectly in Firefox, when will people learn that IE sucks

 

[granny]

Nice one, works perfectly in Firefox, when will people learn that IE sucks

I'd prefer not to switch browsers since I am forced to use IE at work and, tbh, I've tried several other browsers and just don't like them.

 

[Tom]

Nice one, works perfectly in Firefox, when will people learn that IE sucks

I tried firefox, it was nice, but the number of pages that refused to load was annoying.

Therefore, firefox sucks.

 

[Gef]

Firefox doesnt suck, the websites you were visiting suck. Written by M$ fanboy whores

 

[Shovel]

Chicken and Egg Tom.

Firefox, as a web browser is fairly close to perfection. Internet Explorer, while genuinely trashing Netscape 4 all those years ago has caused people to code lazy, non-compliant sites which then don't display right in Explorer. Worse still are those who try and force you to use IE - www.xda-2.co.uk is a wonderful example. It's supposedly optimised for IE and NS6, but Firefox (which uses a newer version of NS6's Gecko rendering) gets rejected by some shoddy scripting.

Yes I agree that websites not working in FX are frustrating but the problem is with the site, not Firefox. Naturally, that doesn't remove the problem. It's a really tricky situation which will probably take a few years to resolve.
That said, I only have 2 sites that don't display in FX - Windows Update and Office Update. I have the View in IE extension so I can jump to that browser for backup if need be. It takes out the forseeable hassle of running two browsers.

On the flipside, and one for discussion: IE is a pile of shite when it comes to rendering pages right, so if a page doesn't display quite right in IE, who is in the wrong? The Web Dev has coded a universally standards compliant page but IE spits it out wrong? (Guess what my big frustration of the month is...).

I had to code lots of hacks to get my new site working right in IE. It pissed me off immensely. But all the time I do it I wonder: "When this hack works, the user will think that IE is fine and dandy and wont think twice about continuing to use it when I code my next site...". How the hell we get out of this situation I really don't know.