Page zooming
Encyclopedia
In computing
, page zooming is the ability to zoom
in and out a document or image at page
level. It is usually found in applications related to document layout
and publishing
, e.g. word processing
and spreadsheet
programs, but it can also be found in web browser
s as it improves accessibility for people with visual impairment
and people using mobile devices, such as PDA
s and mobile
s which have a relatively small screen.
When zooming in, a horizontal scroll bar will appear when the screen is not wide enough to hold the page content.
Early web browsers had only the ability to resize the text on a page, but in the meantime all major browsers have the ability to resize the full content. The quality differs between the web browsers since they use different algorithm
s.
Some web browsers now have Zoom Text Only, for text resizing. It should alter all sizes given in em, ex, rem and ch, whatever they may refer to. If the page is carefully written, that can make the main text more readable without sending so much of the less important material outside the window.
This concept has also been extended to home entertainment devices. Most media players of recent generations such as DVD
and Blu-Ray include (via buttons on a remote) the ability to "zoom" in and out, and to change the focus of the zoom in any direction in two dimensions.
Computing
Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and improving computer hardware and software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology...
, page zooming is the ability to zoom
Digital zoom
Digital zoom is a method of decreasing the apparent angle of view of a digital photographic or video image. Digital zoom is accomplished by cropping an image down to a centered area with the same aspect ratio as the original, and usually also interpolating the result back up to the pixel...
in and out a document or image at page
Electronic page
An electronic page is a term to encompass the grouping of content between basic breaking points in presentations or documents that originate or remain as visual electronic documents. This is a software file and recording format term in contrast to electronic paper, a hardware display technology...
level. It is usually found in applications related to document layout
Page layout
Page layout is the part of graphic design that deals in the arrangement and style treatment of elements on a page.- History and development :...
and publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
, e.g. word processing
Word processing
Word processing is the creation of documents using a word processor. It can also refer to advanced shorthand techniques, sometimes used in specialized contexts with a specially modified typewriter.-External links:...
and spreadsheet
Spreadsheet
A spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper accounting worksheet. It displays multiple cells usually in a two-dimensional matrix or grid consisting of rows and columns. Each cell contains alphanumeric text, numeric values or formulas...
programs, but it can also be found in web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
s as it improves accessibility for people with visual impairment
Disability
A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
and people using mobile devices, such as PDA
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
s and mobile
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s which have a relatively small screen.
Different modes
There are two notably different modes of page zooming:- text resizing that resizes the text by increasing or decreasing the font size, with wrapping to avoid horizontal scrolling, leaving the size of the images the same.
- real page zooming mode that resizes also images, other multimedia objects, and viewports.
When zooming in, a horizontal scroll bar will appear when the screen is not wide enough to hold the page content.
Early web browsers had only the ability to resize the text on a page, but in the meantime all major browsers have the ability to resize the full content. The quality differs between the web browsers since they use different algorithm
Algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...
s.
Some web browsers now have Zoom Text Only, for text resizing. It should alter all sizes given in em, ex, rem and ch, whatever they may refer to. If the page is carefully written, that can make the main text more readable without sending so much of the less important material outside the window.
This concept has also been extended to home entertainment devices. Most media players of recent generations such as DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-Ray include (via buttons on a remote) the ability to "zoom" in and out, and to change the focus of the zoom in any direction in two dimensions.
Web browsers
- AmayaAmaya (web browser)Amaya is a free and open source WYSIWYG web authoring tool with browsing abilities, created by a structured editor project at the INRIA, a French national research institution, and later adopted by the World Wide Web Consortium . Amaya is used as a testbed for web standards and replaced the Arena...
- iCabICabiCab is a web browser for the Macintosh by Alexander Clauss, derived from Crystal Atari Browser for Atari TOS compatible computers. It is the most recently actively developed browser for 68k-based Macintoshes that features tabbed browsing and one of a very few browsers that was still updated in...
- Internet ExplorerInternet ExplorerWindows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
- Opera browserOpera (web browser)Opera is a web browser and Internet suite developed by Opera Software with over 200 million users worldwide. The browser handles common Internet-related tasks such as displaying web sites, sending and receiving e-mail messages, managing contacts, chatting on IRC, downloading files via BitTorrent,...
- Firefox (as of Firefox 3)
- SafariSafari (web browser)Safari is a web browser developed by Apple Inc. and included with the Mac OS X and iOS operating systems. First released as a public beta on January 7, 2003 on the company's Mac OS X operating system, it became Apple's default browser beginning with Mac OS X v10.3 "Panther". Safari is also the...
- ChromeGoogle ChromeGoogle Chrome is a web browser developed by Google that uses the WebKit layout engine. It was first released as a beta version for Microsoft Windows on September 2, 2008, and the public stable release was on December 11, 2008. The name is derived from the graphical user interface frame, or...