| Web Reference |
| Printing Webpages |
| Frequently Asked Questions |
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Is it possible to print from a link on my page? Yes, by using a JavaScript method called window.print . However this method is not supported by all browser settings. See example. top Is it possible to force a page break? Yes, by using Cascading Style Sheets. Define in your style sheet "page-break-before: always" or "page-break-after: always". However this method is not supported by all browser ( It works in IE 5.5. It does not work in Netscape 6). See example. top Are there any standard html rules for printing? Nope! This is the main reason this FAQ exists. CSS2 supports print, but CSS2 is not supported fully by any browser (to date). top Why should I avoid using graphics wider than 550 pixels? If the browser/printer setting produce narrower page than your graphics the image will get cut and the remainder might print on extra sheets. top Why do my gifs look so bad on paper? The normal image resolution for gifs is 72 Dots Per Inch (DPI= 1 pixel on screen), while the normal resolution for images created for print is 300 DPI or better. You can save your images in some other format, but file size will increase dramatically. top Can I just link a Microsoft Suite files (Word/Excel files)? Yes. All you need to do is provide a normal link to that file. However, it is possible that your users don't have these programs/versions. top I have light text over dark background and when I print my page I can't see this text. How can I print this text properly? You can use a special CSS code for printed media, however this solution is part of CSS2 and is not supported properly by most browsers. See example. top Why doesn't an image on the screen print out? There are several explanations: top How to make sure only specific frame would print from a frameset? Frames are tricky because the visitor has to "be" in the frame intended to print by having the cursor in the frame (click the mouse/enter while in the frame). On the other hand the advantage to frames is that you can provide a link to "printable version" which will be a new window with only the "right" frame's content. The link should point to the same page. Make sure to specify the target to _blank or _top to break out of the frameset. See example. top How to print only specific content from the page? Use Cascading Style Sheet to print specific content and hide certain content by specifying different behaviors according to the media. Define in your style sheet a specific class for cotnent you wish to hide when printing by stating @media print { .dontPrintMe{display : none;} } However this method is not supported by all browsers ( It works in browser version 4 and up in most browsers). See: example. top What are the recommendations when creating an HTML printable version? If you expect a page to be printed often, create a seperate version.
top Send questions to: lily@akalg.com Last updated: November 2000 Special thanks to the wonderful people on SFWOW and SVW that contributed immensely to this FAQ by asking and answering most of these questions. |