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Sander Tekelenburg schreef:
<blockquote cite="mid:p06240608c2d14049ad8b@%5B192.168.0.101%5D"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Your main argument for a print links seemed to be that some people might not
know where to find their UA's print command (hard to believe -- even IE by
default presents a shiny print button always).</pre>
</blockquote>
Well, Opera doesn't show a print button for instance.<br>
<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:p06240608c2d14049ad8b@%5B192.168.0.101%5D"
type="cite">
<pre wrap=""> Giving them a "print link"
doesn't help them, because now they still don't know where their UA's print
command is.</pre>
</blockquote>
That's not the point as it is not up to the author of a website to
educate their visitors about their browser. I agree that it is best if
people knew the applications they're using but that's just not always
the case.<br>
<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:p06240608c2d14049ad8b@%5B192.168.0.101%5D"
type="cite">
<pre wrap=""> So if you'd really want to help those people, you would not
provide a print link. You'd let them figure out how to print, or you could
add a help page that explains how to print a web page (making sure that
you're clear about which specific browsing environment you''re talking about).
</pre>
</blockquote>
A lot of site owners just don't want to do that as it turns the focus
on the browser instead of their. Providing a print link on the spot
where you refer to printing doesn't force the visitor to think (which
seems to be the credo in usability land).<br>
<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:p06240608c2d14049ad8b@%5B192.168.0.101%5D"
type="cite">
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Compare it to the sentence "You can find our address on the contact page".
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap=""><!---->>From a usability point of view it is advisable to make "contact page" a link
Actually, no, that would be close to "click here". "You can <a
href="contact.html#address" rel="contact">find our address</a> on the contact
page" would be the more usable markup. (Or alternatively, the entire sentence
can be the link.) (Btw, this in turn shows that the sentence was not written
for the Web. I understand that this was just a quick example. But it's the
sort of text that makes sense in print, but not on the Web. Unfortunately
many authors still throw text that was written for print on the Web.)
</pre>
</blockquote>
You're right. It was indeed a quick example. What I meant to say was
that providing a link that offers what you're talking about is better
than 'just' talking about it. Especially because it is the web we're
talking about. Compare it with these annoying URLs and
email addresses that are not actual links.<br>
<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:p06240608c2d14049ad8b@%5B192.168.0.101%5D"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">So what? If every browsing environment would work and present the same,
there'd be no need for more than one browsing environment. The very fact that
different people have different needs and preferences is why we have
different UAs, why we have separation of content and presentation and why
different UAs work differently. It is what makes the Web work.
The only thing that's important, if you're talking about usability, is that
things work the same for a given user across sites. And per definition, only
UAs can provide that experience.
</pre>
</blockquote>
What I meant was that people are not always on the same environment.<br>
<br>
cheers,<br>
Sander<br>
<br>
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