Browsers with Word-Wrap

March 24, 2004 3:31 PM

Browser questions: (1) are there any browsers that have word-wrap options? I find that when I read certain pages, specifically Usenet via Google Groups, each line runs way past the edge of the screen, and I have to scroll to the right to read. (2) Are there any browsers that have word-wrap options for print? I'm tired of having to remember to set orientation to landscape so the right edge of text doesn't get cut off.

I'm running WinXp. Also, I know you can cut/paste into Word. I'm hoping for a quick browser-based solution that allows you to override whatever styling is making the text run so far to the right.

posted by grumblebee to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

Response by poster: Oh, and while we're here, is there a way to link to a frameset so that a particular configuration of frames is displayed? I know you can link to a specific frame within the frameset, but can you link to the entire frameset, so that all frames show up, but not with the default frames?
posted by grumblebee at 3:35 PM on March 24, 2004

Most browsers do wrap words, within the constraints of the layout. One exception, of course, is for the <pre> tag, which I believe is what Deja Google News Groups uses. The very purpose of this tag is to prevent the browser from doing anything with the layout -- it's preformatted.

Unfortunately, a great many people who use Usenet are incompetent, and don't know how to word wrap their posts. While I can't suggest a user agent that will help you work around these people, I can suggest you flame them. Unwrapped posts to Usenet are Poor Netiquette.

In re: frameset: No. That's one of the things everyone hates about frames, and one of the chief reasons they are to be avoided.
posted by majick at 3:57 PM on March 24, 2004

If you're on Mac, try Tofu.
posted by dobbs at 4:02 PM on March 24, 2004

I put a style bookmarklet into a button on my toolbar. It overrides the styling on the page to make pages easier to read (standard font, size, spacing, max-width, background, etc.). I use it a lot. You can use the same idea (I think it works in IE, Mozilla, probably Opera, others...) to reformat however you want:

Make a User Style Bookmarklet

Something like this should work for you, though there may be other CSS attributes more suited to your needs:

* {max-width: 720px ! important;}
posted by whatnotever at 4:02 PM on March 24, 2004

As for the frameset question: No, you can't link to a frameset with specific content, which also breaks a lot of other "normal" browser behaviour, which is one of the reasons a lot of people (me included) hate frames in most situations.

If you can do javascript you could first open the page, and then load the subpages into the (named) frames.

These kind of largely unrelated questions are probably better off as a separate post, it makes it easier for the people searching the archives. There's nothing wrong with posting two questions consecutively if they're both worthy questions.
posted by fvw at 4:35 PM on March 24, 2004