Pagination questions

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • Rhino

    Pagination questions

    I would like to make a CSS for an HTML resume that ensures that page breaks
    come at desired places within the printed version. I know about
    page-break-before, page-break-after, etc. but I'm still confused about the
    basic techniques of pagination in CSS.

    I expect the vast majority of people viewing the resume to be in North
    America and to use 8.5 inch X 11 inch paper when printing the resume but how
    can I have any idea what margins, fonts (and font sizes), and "extra
    information" (file name, date, page numbers, etc.) they have set up in their
    browsers and/or printer drivers? And what if some of them are European
    companies with North American offices and just happen to use A4 or some
    other European page size as a company wide standard?

    Some people viewing the resume might not be very computer literate and not
    know how to adjust their own settings so it's probably unrealistic for me to
    suggest that they change all their print settings to particular values.
    Others may be running very old browsers that don't support much CSS or old
    printers that don't offer much control.

    How do I figure out where to put the page breaks? If I don't know how long
    the usable portion of the page is (or, to a lesser extent, how wide it is),
    how can I know where to put the page breaks to optimize the use of paper?

    Also, I see that page breaks within tables are discouraged
    (https://www.blooberry.com/indexdot/c.../pbbefore.htm).
    Unfortunately, the resume has a longish table - Employment History - near
    the top and it is unlikely that it will fit within a single page. What "bad
    things" are likely to happen if I do a page break within the page? Also,
    what behaviour can I expect if I give a value of "avoid"? The description
    says "Avoid inserting a page break before the current element box." Does
    this mean there will NEVER be a page break before the current box? That
    seems unlikely since then I don't see how it would be different from "auto".
    Can anyone enlighten me?

    Lastly, at the risk of complicating this CSS dramatically, is there any way
    that the CSS can determine the user's various settings so that it can
    determine just how much room it has so it can set the page breaks
    dynamically? That way, I could conceivably compute exactly how much text I
    could put on the page so that I could choose the optimum place for a page
    break. If this is possible, could someone point me to a tutorial or
    well-explained example of this? It's not that I *want* to do something this
    complex but it is important for the resume to break in appropriate places
    when it is printed so I might be willing to attempt this approach if no one
    can suggest a better solution.


    --
    Rhino


  • Harlan Messinger

    #2
    Re: Pagination questions

    Rhino wrote:[color=blue]
    > I would like to make a CSS for an HTML resume that ensures that page breaks
    > come at desired places within the printed version. I know about
    > page-break-before, page-break-after, etc. but I'm still confused about the
    > basic techniques of pagination in CSS.
    >
    > I expect the vast majority of people viewing the resume to be in North
    > America and to use 8.5 inch X 11 inch paper when printing the resume but how
    > can I have any idea what margins, fonts (and font sizes), and "extra
    > information" (file name, date, page numbers, etc.) they have set up in their
    > browsers and/or printer drivers?[/color]

    You can't. Period.
    [color=blue]
    > And what if some of them are European
    > companies with North American offices and just happen to use A4 or some
    > other European page size as a company wide standard?
    >
    > Some people viewing the resume might not be very computer literate and not
    > know how to adjust their own settings so it's probably unrealistic for me to
    > suggest that they change all their print settings to particular values.
    > Others may be running very old browsers that don't support much CSS or old
    > printers that don't offer much control.[/color]

    This isn't an especially browser-related problem. Exactly the same
    issues exist when you send a Word document or a PDF that has been
    formatted for 8-1/2 x 11 to someone who uses A4.
    [color=blue]
    >
    > How do I figure out where to put the page breaks? If I don't know how long
    > the usable portion of the page is (or, to a lesser extent, how wide it is),
    > how can I know where to put the page breaks to optimize the use of paper?[/color]

    I think your best bet is not to bother. Besides, if prospective employes
    are looking at resumes on the web and then printing them out, then
    they're not *expecting* typeset-quality documents.

    [snip]
    [color=blue]
    > Lastly, at the risk of complicating this CSS dramatically, is there any way
    > that the CSS can determine the user's various settings so that it can
    > determine just how much room it has so it can set the page breaks
    > dynamically?[/color]

    Again, no. All you can do is specify what you'd like to have happen.
    It's up to the application to apply those specifications in whatever way
    it's been designed to do so, including making any modifications to
    default print settings that it may have been designed to make.
    [color=blue]
    > That way, I could conceivably compute exactly how much text I
    > could put on the page so that I could choose the optimum place for a page
    > break. If this is possible, could someone point me to a tutorial or
    > well-explained example of this? It's not that I *want* to do something this
    > complex but it is important[/color]

    Really? I've never seen a resume where it was important, and I've
    printed out many on-line resumes. How is yours different?
    [color=blue]
    > for the resume to break in appropriate places
    > when it is printed so I might be willing to attempt this approach if no one
    > can suggest a better solution.[/color]

    Comment

    • Rhino

      #3
      Re: Pagination questions


      "Harlan Messinger" <hmessinger.rem ovethis@comcast .net> wrote in message
      news:35a1bmF4iv fvoU1@individua l.net...[color=blue]
      > Rhino wrote:[color=green]
      > > I would like to make a CSS for an HTML resume that ensures that page[/color][/color]
      breaks[color=blue][color=green]
      > > come at desired places within the printed version. I know about
      > > page-break-before, page-break-after, etc. but I'm still confused about[/color][/color]
      the[color=blue][color=green]
      > > basic techniques of pagination in CSS.
      > >
      > > I expect the vast majority of people viewing the resume to be in North
      > > America and to use 8.5 inch X 11 inch paper when printing the resume but[/color][/color]
      how[color=blue][color=green]
      > > can I have any idea what margins, fonts (and font sizes), and "extra
      > > information" (file name, date, page numbers, etc.) they have set up in[/color][/color]
      their[color=blue][color=green]
      > > browsers and/or printer drivers?[/color]
      >
      > You can't. Period.
      >[/color]
      That's what I suspected.
      [color=blue][color=green]
      > > And what if some of them are European
      > > companies with North American offices and just happen to use A4 or some
      > > other European page size as a company wide standard?
      > >
      > > Some people viewing the resume might not be very computer literate and[/color][/color]
      not[color=blue][color=green]
      > > know how to adjust their own settings so it's probably unrealistic for[/color][/color]
      me to[color=blue][color=green]
      > > suggest that they change all their print settings to particular values.
      > > Others may be running very old browsers that don't support much CSS or[/color][/color]
      old[color=blue][color=green]
      > > printers that don't offer much control.[/color]
      >
      > This isn't an especially browser-related problem. Exactly the same
      > issues exist when you send a Word document or a PDF that has been
      > formatted for 8-1/2 x 11 to someone who uses A4.
      >[/color]
      Agreed.[color=blue][color=green]
      > >
      > > How do I figure out where to put the page breaks? If I don't know how[/color][/color]
      long[color=blue][color=green]
      > > the usable portion of the page is (or, to a lesser extent, how wide it[/color][/color]
      is),[color=blue][color=green]
      > > how can I know where to put the page breaks to optimize the use of[/color][/color]
      paper?[color=blue]
      >
      > I think your best bet is not to bother. Besides, if prospective employes
      > are looking at resumes on the web and then printing them out, then
      > they're not *expecting* typeset-quality documents.
      >[/color]
      Good point.[color=blue]
      >[color=green]
      > > Lastly, at the risk of complicating this CSS dramatically, is there any[/color][/color]
      way[color=blue][color=green]
      > > that the CSS can determine the user's various settings so that it can
      > > determine just how much room it has so it can set the page breaks
      > > dynamically?[/color]
      >
      > Again, no. All you can do is specify what you'd like to have happen.
      > It's up to the application to apply those specifications in whatever way
      > it's been designed to do so, including making any modifications to
      > default print settings that it may have been designed to make.
      >[/color]
      Again, pretty much what I expected....
      [color=blue][color=green]
      > > That way, I could conceivably compute exactly how much text I
      > > could put on the page so that I could choose the optimum place for a[/color][/color]
      page[color=blue][color=green]
      > > break. If this is possible, could someone point me to a tutorial or
      > > well-explained example of this? It's not that I *want* to do something[/color][/color]
      this[color=blue][color=green]
      > > complex but it is important[/color]
      >
      > Really? I've never seen a resume where it was important, and I've
      > printed out many on-line resumes. How is yours different?
      >[/color]
      Okay, maybe "important" was too strong a word. A friend was looking at the
      resume and complaining that one section broke in the middle and would have
      looked a lot better if it had not been split.
      [color=blue][color=green]
      > > for the resume to break in appropriate places
      > > when it is printed so I might be willing to attempt this approach if no[/color][/color]
      one[color=blue][color=green]
      > > can suggest a better solution.[/color][/color]

      Thanks for your help with this!

      Rhino


      Comment

      Working...