I'd like to create a dynamic layout, and I'm having one major problem. In my Options--Project Options toolbar, I don't have the "more" option. I'm still using the unregistered version, and I'd like to buy the program if I can get this to work...does anyone know anything that might help me?

If you are trying out SSPro then there is no 'more' option. What used to be in that section in SS basic version is under the 'Advanced' tab in SSPro.

Okay. Thanks. Can you walk me through how to create a dynamic layout using the Advanced tab in SS pro?

Dynamic layout in SS is accomplished by using the relative positioning and sizing settings on the bottom toolbar. You cannot use page centering and relative positioning together (well, you can, but you will not like the results).

Because SS uses CSS absolute positioning, you may not fully achieve a true dynamic layout.

that's what I'm finding. is there a different software that might work better?

I've never had great success with dynamic layout -- as Larry said, CSS positioning gets in the way. So my strong preference is for horizontal page centering instead -- Page Editor > Special Effects tab.

SS has an option to turn CSS positioning off for individual objects -- Object Editor > Transformations -- that you may find useful. Also the Advanced tab of Project Options has a setting to sort objects in the HTML output -- make sure that is off. You can control the position of objects on the page by setting their front-to-back order -- buttons on the bottom toolbar.

Those options will give you a liquid layout -- just like the old days before CSS. That may be enough for your needs.

thank you! I've been playing with the centered layout, and I think I agree that it's better...no distortion of the images. I appreciate all the time and help from everyone today.

It's quite fortuitous for me that this subject should come up. Users expect web pages to fill most of the available screen area these days and seem to regard islands of web page in the middle of their wide screen display as 'dated'. Like robinwhy I've been looking at the use of Dynamic Layouts in the hope that this area had been addressed in the latest version of SSPro. The alternative is to migrate to something like Microsoft Expression Web which provides sufficient control over the css to accomplish the dynamic layout I need. Trouble is, I really like the feel of SSPro and other than this one item it does everything needed. What might be useful would be to have the ability to manually adjust the css properties of particular objects - a sort of 'advanced' option' that would allow the adjustment or even addition of parameters in the same way as we can with frames. Not giving up yet though - convinced there must be a smart work around . . .

quote:

Users expect web pages to fill most of the available screen area these days and seem to regard islands of web page in the middle of their wide screen display as 'dated'.

Do you have a citation to support this statement? Personally, I feel it is in error. Web designers who fill up my screen with worthless junk (mostly google adsense) do not get a 2nd visit from me.

I have the impression that users with wide screens tend to run browsers at less than full screen. I normally run a 1024 wide screen, and even there I often run my browser somewhat less than full screen.

Where text is particularly dense, I will make my browser much less than full screen to make the text into a narrower column -- about the equivalent of a newspaper column. Can't do that with normal SS pages though

I am interested in a dynamic layout with SS that avoids collisions, so if anyone can produce some examples, please do share.

I said nothing about 'worthless junk'. A site that takes account of screen size and adjusts accordingly has much more impact than one that doesn't and has become a defacto requirement for modern commercial sites. eg cf http://www.tdameritrade.com, http://www.monster.co.uk , http://www.syha.org.uk , http://www.alibaba.com/ and then http://www.internetworldstats.com , www.walkingthetmb.com, http://www.freeparking.co.uk.

I was not trying to accuse you of serving a page of worthless junk. I was trying to point out that most designers who follow this advice do serve pages filled with ads, ads, and more ads in an attempt to generate revenue, thus overwhelming their real content.

I'm running a wide-screen (1920px) and none of the links you gave exceeded my normal browser window size (1024) and most of them use what is already available in SS - page centering.

I’m not real hip with this dynamic stuff, but, if the page adjusts itself to the user’s screen width, would I be correct in assuming that all images and text would become distorted?

There are still potential customers using 800x600 screens - if these stats are reliable http://www.w3counter.com/globalstats.php then that's 5% of the target audience. Unfortunately the stats make no mention of China which is one of the market that interests me the most. View the links I sent on a 800x600 screen and see which sites adjust - the ameritrade site is a great example.

The best analogy I can make re the importance of filling the screen is the car. In my fathers generation he had to know how to maintain his car just to keep it going - he had to know how to set the points, adjust the carb, fix a puncture, change a fan belt. Most people I know in my generation have no interest in what goes on under the bonnet, to them a car is something that they just drive and have serviced once a year. They don't even check oil or tyre pressures - they just drive them. In fact the technology is so advanced that some of the driving is done by the car now (eg traction control, anit-skid, collision avoidance).

When I started working with pcs 27 years ago we had to know what was going on under the bonnet to keep them going and regarded them as machines that required our skilled input to operate. If I watch my children's (ok they're adults now) generation it's obvious that their approach is totally different. To them the pc is an entertainment centre and sometimes a work terminal. If they watch TV they do so with a laptop on which they're playing a game with other internet users whilst conversing on facebook with friends whilst texting on their mob and also holding a sporadic conversation with others in the room. They are superb multitaskers. If they want dedicated entertainment they'll either stick a dvd in their laptop or download something off the internet. Everything is delivered to them full screen and when they browse the internet and reach a new site they scan (not 'read') it and if they don't like the look of it they move on. So that gives us probably one second to grab their attention sufficiently to have them delve deeper. If the visuals on a site do not inspire modernity, trust and efficiency (and no doubt a few other things) then we lose the opportunity to sell to them because they'll move on. It's my view that web pages 'marooned' in the middle of a screen are 'old fashioned' and will not compete effectively with those that are full screen.

Having said all of that - when it comes to accessibility, if we don't also make our sites mob accessible we may be missing out on the next generation of users - something I'm pleased to see VM spotted some time ago. I think we refer to them as the iPhone generation - although from what I've seen that means anyone from late teens upwards.

postyr - I understand the technique involves dividing the screen into 'containers' or 'regions' - either using tables or more likely css <div> instructions. Some containers will be fixed size and some containers will resize according to the screen size. So for instance we may decide that the container on the right of the screen is fixed size and contains an image whilst the container to the left of the image contains text and is variable size. So as the screen resizes, the text container changes shape - eg gets narrower but longer or vice versa, whilst the image stays a constant size.

As an aside - I note that this forum will dynamically adjust for screen sizes from 640x480 all the way up to 2560x600 - impressive.

An example of what can be accomplished with SS-Pro can be found here. I have tested at various screen resolutions and the page appears dynamic and fluid. The technique is similar to that used on the ameritrade site; i.e. using tables instead of relying solely on CSS. Until (if ever) the CSS3 standards become adopted and we can use CSS columns, tables will still be needed.

BTW, this example only took about 2 hours to knock out once I understood how to resize and span the table cells to my liking, so it is not difficult. The hardest part is working with the SS table tool. Also, I did not use any special SS-Pro features, so it should be possible to accomplish in standard SS and WebEngine - I'm not sure about WebDwarf.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: larryd,

Very impressive, Larry!

Web Dwarf doesn't have a Table Editor, so WD users miss out here