Zoomable Pages With Em Sizing
Since Internet Explorer does not resize px-sized text when it changes the text size of a page, but Firefox does, the principle that a page should behave the same way in both browsers demands that one never use px-sized text. But using em-sized text with non-auto px-sized containers means that the page will break above a certain browser text size, as the words become too long to fit the width of their container. The solution to this problem is the use of em-sizing for all elements.
To use full em-sizing, one must have in mind the expected browser text size of the viewer (by default this is 16px per em in most browsers), and one must understand that the em sizes in the style of an element are specified relative to the calculated font size of the parent element. The former consideration is of trivial consequence, but the latter presents a complicating factor for document trees deeper than one element.
In order to allow for the inheritance of em sizing and the consequent shrinkage of px per em as the document tree is traversed from root to tip, there are two options:
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Style each element in the knowledge of the calculated font size of its parent.
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Prevent all em styled elements from inheriting from a font-sized ancestor
Option 1 means that every deviation in font size from the browser text size must be matched by an inverse multiplicative factor in the em sizes of child elements. It is unweildy, since changing the font size of an element then necessitates changing the em sizing of all descendent elements. Option 2 means that elements that declare a font size must have no em-styled descendents - one pushes all font sizing out to to the tips of the document tree.
By virtue of the easy restyleability of documents following option 2,
it is to be preferred. Following this scheme presents no restriction to
the visible form a document takes, so any document may take advantage of
conversion to full em-sizing. In Waxpad, just check the option under the tools > layout mode menu
to have your current document converted to full em-sizing, according to
your current browser text size (observable under the view menu). You can
change back to px output by re-checking the 'pixel layout' option.
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