With the help of Thomas’s screencast series I’m getting a better understanding of box model or inline box design. Which is the right term? However, I do have a few questions.
Thanks!
freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options
Box Model has a very specific meaning in terms of CSS, and it doesn’t really mean “an inline layout where elements repel one another”. For one reason or another, it has caught on in the Freeway community, but I try to correct it where I can. Specifically, box model refers to the way that a browser calculates how much room an element should occupy on screen. Border + padding + dimensions, to be ultra-specific. It really doesn’t mean anything in the context of “are all the elements on the page nested inside one another as relatively-positioned siblings or ancestors or not”.
You can mix and match layered and inline elements in a design, but realize that the layered elements will not affect anything else on the page, and will not be affected by anything else on the page. I tend to put them in a spot where they won’t cause any harm, like the very top of the screen, and start the relatively positioned elements below that point. You should not use layers for an element that can have a variable height, like something containing HTML text that might be resized by the browser.
Freeway 6 has made enormous gains in terms of using inline elements on a master page. Freeway 5.5 and below are not so lucky. If you haven’t upgraded yet, that’s one good reason to do so.
Walter
On Feb 1, 2013, at 2:12 PM, RavenManiac wrote:
With the help of Thomas’s screencast series I’m getting a better understanding of box model or inline box design. Which is the right term? However, I do have a few questions.
- Is layering not allowed with the inline box design technique?
- How does one achieve pull down menus with an inline box design?
- Will Master Files work with inline box designs?
Thanks!
freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options
freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options
Thanks for the explanation Walter. This stuff can be a bit confusing. So box model and inline layout are different ways of approaching a problem, correct?
If I’m trying to achieve a responsive website design, which technique is better?
freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options
No.
“Box model” refers to a very picky detail of how a browser determines the dimensions of an object on screen. As a name for a thing, it is very tightly defined, and it doesn’t mean “nest elements within each other so they are all in the same plane and thus repel one another when they change sizes”.
“Inline Layout”, as best I can interpret the words, does mean that.
Both terms are used interchangeably in the Freeway community to mean “nest elements within each other…” and yes, that technique works predictably in all browsers. But to call it Box Model is to use the name in vain.
Everything you have heard described as “Box Model” could be more correctly called “Inline” and the technique is identical in all cases. We’re not talking about two different things here. It’s a naming problem.
Walter
On Feb 1, 2013, at 2:41 PM, RavenManiac wrote:
Thanks for the explanation Walter. This stuff can be a bit confusing. So box model and inline layout are different ways of approaching a problem, correct?
If I’m trying to achieve a responsive website design, which technique is better?
freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options
freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options
An inline structure (not Box Model as Walter explained) is almost always a good starting point for many reasons, not the least of which is that you have a bombproof layout. That said there may be times when it’s not necessary but as Walter said you can mix-n-match construction methods to suit the design goal.
Responsive design is dependent on CSS so you need to educate yourself on its workings.
Todd
On Feb 1, 2013, at 1:41 PM, “RavenManiac” email@hidden wrote:
Thanks for the explanation Walter. This stuff can be a bit confusing. So box model and inline layout are different ways of approaching a problem, correct?
If I’m trying to achieve a responsive website design, which technique is better?
freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options
freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options
So, are the techniques Thomas outlines in his screencasts entitled “BoxModel Contest” really Inline Layout Techniques?
http://freewaycast.com/screencasts/view/104-boxmodel-contest
freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options
BTW, I think this helps illustrate what Walter was talking about:
freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options
I guess I should have read this from the webpage I linked, which helps clarify Thomas’s screencast videos:
“BoxModel Contest is a (nearly) endless series of screencasts which shall enable you to build inflow constructions.”
I’m assuming “inflow constructions” = “inline structure or layout”. I guess reading is not really my strong suit. LOL
freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options
By my lights, yes.
Walter
On Feb 1, 2013, at 3:03 PM, RavenManiac wrote:
So, are the techniques Thomas outlines in his screencasts entitled “BoxModel Contest” really Inline Layout Techniques?
http://freewaycast.com/screencasts/view/104-boxmodel-contest
freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options
freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options
On Fri, Feb 1, 2013 at 3:03 PM, RavenManiac email@hidden wrote:
So, are the techniques Thomas outlines in his screencasts entitled
“BoxModel Contest” really Inline Layout Techniques?http://freewaycast.com/screencasts/view/104-boxmodel-contest
Honestly, I think Thomas’ accent is so adorable he could call it anything
he likes 
but you are correct about it being Inline Layout, and I think
in time Thomas and others will conform to whatever we all settle on. We are
an evolving community and I think there are many Freewayers who are ready
to begin taking these next steps as web designers. I’m very glad Walter
brought this up now.
freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options
Honestly, I think Thomas’ accent is so adorable he could call it anything he likes
I agree.
freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options