Web page display

[Bill Ridgeway]

I posted the following to the Microsoft.public.internet explorer.general
NewsGroup
"A Client has a HP HPw2007v wide screen monitor. Some web sites are
displayed across the full width of the screen yet others occupy just (about)
the middle third of the screen. What would be the cause of this and how can
it be resolved please?"

To which Frank Saunders MS-MVP IE,OE/WM replied
"Caused by the way the site is programmed. Live with it of write to the
Webmaster."

I responded -
"That was my initial thought. However, my Client reports that, of his two
computers each with a wide screen monitor, one will display certain web
pages across the middle third of the screen whilst the other will display
the same web page(s) OK. Any other ideas? If the cause is a configuration
issue all web pages would be displayed in the middle third or full width not
just some. If the cause was in the web sites they would be displayed
consistently across both computers."

and followed up with -
"On reflection, my statement << If the cause is a configuration issue all
web pages would be displayed in the middle third or full width not just
some>> That argument is flawed if wide screen monitors can be optionally
configured to spread web pages (programmed to be displayed in the 'square'
aspect ratio) to the full width. That is one way there could be a
difference between the two systems. I appreciate this is more of a hardware
question but do wide screen monitor software have this facility?

This now looks as though it may be a hardware issue rather than an IE7 / web
design issue. I wonder if anyone on this NG may have an insight as to
reason for and resolution of this irritating issue.

Thanks.

Bill Ridgeway
Computer Solutions

 

[RobertVA]

I posted the following to the Microsoft.public.internet explorer.general
NewsGroup
"A Client has a HP HPw2007v wide screen monitor. Some web sites are
displayed across the full width of the screen yet others occupy just (about)
the middle third of the screen. What would be the cause of this and how can
it be resolved please?"

To which Frank Saunders MS-MVP IE,OE/WM replied
"Caused by the way the site is programmed. Live with it of write to the
Webmaster."

I responded -
"That was my initial thought. However, my Client reports that, of his two
computers each with a wide screen monitor, one will display certain web
pages across the middle third of the screen whilst the other will display
the same web page(s) OK. Any other ideas? If the cause is a configuration
issue all web pages would be displayed in the middle third or full width not
just some. If the cause was in the web sites they would be displayed
consistently across both computers."

and followed up with -
"On reflection, my statement << If the cause is a configuration issue all
web pages would be displayed in the middle third or full width not just
some>> That argument is flawed if wide screen monitors can be optionally
configured to spread web pages (programmed to be displayed in the 'square'
aspect ratio) to the full width. That is one way there could be a
difference between the two systems. I appreciate this is more of a hardware
question but do wide screen monitor software have this facility?

This now looks as though it may be a hardware issue rather than an IE7 / web
design issue. I wonder if anyone on this NG may have an insight as to
reason for and resolution of this irritating issue.

Thanks.

Bill Ridgeway
Computer Solutions

A little clarification please

Is the desktop spreading all the way across the display? Are the icons
or material displayed withing the application windows distorted (look
elongated horizontally or vertically)?

Is the browser opening with a window that is less than the full width of
the display OR are the page contents only extending partway across the
window?

Are you using bookmarks/favorites from within the browser, clicking
icons on the desktop or clicking icons within your task bar's "Start"
menu to access the different sites?

Did you install any software in connection with upgrading from a regular
display (4:3 aspect ration) to the wide screen display(s)? Did the wide
screen displays come with any installation media (CDs or DVDs)?

Check the screen properties and compare the resolution, color depth
(number of colors) and the DPI (dots per inch) settings. Resolution and
color depth are available on the "Settings" tab of the "Display
Properties" pop-up (right click the Windows XP desktop and select
"Properties" from the context menu). You'll probably be able to reach
the DPI setting with the "Advanced" button, but specific procedures
after that are dependent on which video hardware your computer is
equipped with. Report back with the setting from both computers. Also
report back with the wide screen display's native resolution (should be
listed on the packaging, in the manual and possibly a decal attached to
the display)

Also report back with which browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari
etc) and version number you are using. If you have an alternate browser
installed on the problem computer do you have the same problem when
viewing pages in the other browser?

Probably good to provide the site URLs (as long as there are no privacy
or security concerns) so respondents can see what they look like on
their computers and possible look at the HTML code the sites are
transmitting.