Length of title attribute

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  • DU
    #1

    Length of title attribute


    I am looking for opinions on the issue of length of title attribute.
    First of all, the current HTML 4.01 spec is rather vague on this
    issue... at least, it isn't explicit nor normative.

    The HTML 4.01 spec and WAI mention "short message", "short description",
    "advisory title", "informativ e link title" for the title attribute.
    Personally, I think that having a more than 128 characters tooltip does
    not meet the original goals of the HTML 4.01 spec. and is not a good
    webpage design decision.

    DU
    --
    The site said to use Internet Explorer 5 or better... so I switched to
    Firefox 1.0.4 :)
    Tags: None
    • Philip Ronan
      #2
      Re: Length of title attribute

      "DU" wrote:
      [color=blue]
      >
      > I am looking for opinions on the issue of length of title attribute.
      > First of all, the current HTML 4.01 spec is rather vague on this
      > issue... at least, it isn't explicit nor normative.[/color]

      The Macintosh version of IE can only show 48 characters. Any more than that
      and it truncates the title to 45 characters and sticks "..." on the end.

      Other browsers only seem to be limited by the number of characters that fit
      across the top of the window, AFAICT.

      --
      phil [dot] ronan @ virgin [dot] net
      http://vzone.virgin.net/phil.ronan/



        Comment

        • Kim André Akerø
          #3
          Re: Length of title attribute

          "DU" <drunclear@hotN OSPAMmail.com> skrev i melding
          news:3fpcnaF8vt 6kU1@uni-berlin.de...[color=blue]
          > I am looking for opinions on the issue of length of title attribute.
          > First of all, the current HTML 4.01 spec is rather vague on this
          > issue... at least, it isn't explicit nor normative.
          >
          > The HTML 4.01 spec and WAI mention "short message", "short description",
          > "advisory title", "informativ e link title" for the title attribute.
          > Personally, I think that having a more than 128 characters tooltip does
          > not meet the original goals of the HTML 4.01 spec. and is not a good
          > webpage design decision.[/color]

          Although the specs ARE vague describing the length for the title attribute,
          it's just a general guide. There is no set maximum length, but you have to
          take into consideration your visitors on this matter.

          Compare the textual content of this attribute to the <title> element, or
          even the "Subject" field in your e-mail and/or Usenet messages. Provide a
          short explanation/description of the instance of the element you're using it
          with, and don't overdo it.

          Not all so-called "web designers" take this into consideration, as their
          egos expand beyond the comprehension of what other people (ie. the visitors)
          might consider a good website experience.

          --
          Kim André Akerø
          - kimandre@NOSPAM betadome.com
          (remove NOSPAM to contact me directly)


            Comment

            • Kim André Akerø
              #4
              Re: Length of title attribute

              "Philip Ronan" <invalid@invali d.invalid> skrev i melding
              news:BEBD4C37.3 2236%invalid@in valid.invalid.. .[color=blue]
              > "DU" wrote:[color=green]
              > > I am looking for opinions on the issue of length of title attribute.
              > > First of all, the current HTML 4.01 spec is rather vague on this
              > > issue... at least, it isn't explicit nor normative.[/color]
              >
              > The Macintosh version of IE can only show 48 characters. Any more than[/color]
              that[color=blue]
              > and it truncates the title to 45 characters and sticks "..." on the end.
              >
              > Other browsers only seem to be limited by the number of characters that[/color]
              fit[color=blue]
              > across the top of the window, AFAICT.[/color]

              The OP was talking about the title ATTRIBUTE, not the title ELEMENT. Quick
              reminder about the differences:

              title attribute:
              <span title="Hello, this is my description">of this text</span>

              title element:
              <title>Place page title here</title>

              --
              Kim André Akerø
              - kimandre@NOSPAM betadome.com
              (remove NOSPAM to contact me directly)


                Comment

                • David Ross
                  #5
                  Re: Length of title attribute

                  DU wrote:[color=blue]
                  >
                  > I am looking for opinions on the issue of length of title attribute.
                  > First of all, the current HTML 4.01 spec is rather vague on this
                  > issue... at least, it isn't explicit nor normative.
                  >
                  > The HTML 4.01 spec and WAI mention "short message", "short description",
                  > "advisory title", "informativ e link title" for the title attribute.
                  > Personally, I think that having a more than 128 characters tooltip does
                  > not meet the original goals of the HTML 4.01 spec. and is not a good
                  > webpage design decision.[/color]

                  While the tooltip from a TITLE attribute that is the width of a
                  maximized window might be considered too long, there is no specific
                  limit in the HTML specification

                  There is a Mozilla bug (likely in Firefox, too) that tooltips in
                  general do not wrap. This affects the TITLE attribute. In
                  Mozilla, the tooltip for a TITLE attribute on an IMG element will
                  appear at the right of the window if the image itself is at the
                  right. The same is true for a TITLE attribute on a link (<A> </A>)
                  that appears near the right margin of the text. Although a tooltip
                  might be less than half the width of the window, Mozilla truncates
                  it at about the 90th character.

                  See the bug report at
                  <URL:https://bugzilla.mozill a.org/show_bug.cgi?id =45375>.

                  --

                  David E. Ross
                  <URL:http://www.rossde.com/>

                  I use Mozilla as my Web browser because I want a browser that
                  complies with Web standards. See <URL:http://www.mozilla.org/>.

                    Comment

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