Why Does A Horizontal Rule Change the Font Size?

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

Please see this page for example — the first paragraph uses the same Normal <P STYLE> that all other paragraphs use, but it has a horizontal line at the start.

The font size is smaller, and also seems to be Arial instead of Verdana. Why?

I use Opera 11.64, but Firefox is the same.



This is the source code:

<H2>Buddhavaṃsa</H2>
<P STYLE="list-style-type: none;"><HR ID="HRRule3275" WIDTH="100%" ALIGN="CENTER" SIZE="2">The fourteenth book of the <A HREF="./khuddaka_n.htm" TITLE="ku/khuddaka_n.htm">Khuddaka Nikāya</A> (DA.i.17).</P>
<P STYLE="list-style-type: none;">The <A HREF="./diighabhaanakaa.htm" TITLE="d/diighabhaanakaa.htm">Dīgha-bhāṇakas</A> excluded it from the canon, but it was accepted by the <A HREF="./majjhimabhanaka.htm" TITLE="ma/majjhimabhanaka.htm">Majjhima-bhāṇakas</A> (DA.i.17). </P>

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

I still need an answer to this. With thousands of hoirizontal rules on my site, its impractical to replace them with something else, but why are they affecting the font and font size.

[RayC]

Maybe you don't get an answer because no one else sees it. I certainly don't. Here's what I see in Firefox:



Taking the word "the" from each and comparing (I've reversed on to examine the "t" in particular) shows they are identical. Same size. Same font.



The problem is with your computer or browser configuration, perhaps due to the magnifier features you have enabled. It is NOT an NOF issue.

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

The lines are different fonts and sizes in Firefox too, and SRWare Chrome Iron, but not in IE8.

[Joe Rotello]

On 10/5/2012 4:34 AM, Bhikkhu Pesala wrote:
> Please see 'this page for example'
> (http://www.aimwell.org/DPPN/buddhavamsa.htm) — the first paragraph uses
> the same Normal <P> style that all other paragraphs use, but it has a
> horizontal line at the start.
>
> The font size is smaller, and also seems to be Arial instead of
> Verdana. Why?
>
> I use Opera 11.64, but Firefox is the same.
>
>
>
> AMD 64 3500 • 1 Gbyte RAM • onboard GeForce graphics Windows XP Home SP3
>
> 'My Web Site' (http://www.aimwell.org/index.html) • 'A Brief NetObjects
> Fusion XII Review' (http://www.softerviews.org/NOF%20XII.html)
>
Horizontal rules by their lonesome do not change font sizes.

It's far more likely that the Horiz Rule is butted up against an
invisible <CR> or non-visual <space> and the character font and size is
being adopted, that is, joined between the character(s) and the Horiz
Space..

That happens in RTF editors, word processors and in truly WYSIWYG
web-tools as well.

Separate the Horiz Rule above and below, size it, and keep it our of the
text stream entirely, making sure that the separation isn't done with a
CRTL or SHIFT <space>, that tends to link the two or three
lines...characters, Horiz Rule, characters.

See if that doesn't solve the problem or make the root cause more apparent.

Joe

[RayC]

The lines are different fonts and sizes in Firefox too, and SRWare Chrome Iron, but not in IE8.

In your Firefox they may be different. When I look at it in Firefox, they are identical. See screen grabs in my previouse post. I'm not sure what would cause that, but it is not NOF. It relates to how your browser is rendering the page. Joe's suggestion may bear fruit -- give it a try.

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

Joe's suggestion is of no help. As I said, with many thousands of rules on my site (3,884 pages) it is impractical to change them. Adding a carriage return would fix the issue, but it should not be happening, and it doesn't for you, so I wonder why not?

Adding a carriage return also changes the line-spacing.

See this page for example — there's no carriage returns because I don't want to waste vertical space, but for me every paragraph is in the smaller and different font.

[Joe Rotello]

On 10/11/2012 3:55 PM, Bhikkhu Pesala wrote:
> Joe's suggestion is of no help. As I said, with many thousands of rules
> on my site (3,884 pages) it is impractical to change them. Adding a
> carriage return would fix the issue, but it should not be happening, and
> it doesn't for you, so I wonder why not?
>
>
>
> AMD 64 3500 • 1 Gbyte RAM • onboard GeForce graphics Windows XP Home SP3
>
> 'My Web Site' (http://www.aimwell.org/index.html) • 'A Brief NetObjects
> Fusion XII Review' (http://www.softerviews.org/NOF%20XII.html)
>
One thing many have learned:

1. Internet Explorer 8, and some say 9 too, is NOT a well-done browser,
neither in code nor display problems

2. It is NOT worth it coding expressly to use in IE 8, and that
absolutely everything must work or look flawlessly in IE 8 One is
wasting manifold resources and efforts when doing that.

3.Horizontal Rules are almost ALLAYS separated by <CR> or even by
<SHIFT> + <CR> and the NOF paragraph symbols that display show the
different symbols for those two different separations.

4. In fact, situation #3 above is how most all web-page tools have done
it...and that's how HTML capable Email apps do it as well.

That is, there is deliberately a certain "space" above and below a
Horizontal rule when it's done right. Nothing is ever actually joined to
the Horizontal Rule itself, no matter whether it might be something
"invisible" or not.

Joe

[antonsvideo]

here is how it works well for me

1. I set space above and space below to 0px in case of using normal P
http://www.videoproductions.com.au/N...bove-below.png

2. I separate each text block with carriage return and I place cursor at the end of each paragraph (or at the beginning), press CTRL+T and insert <HR>
http://www.videoproductions.com.au/NOF12/insert-HR.png

the result looks perfect
http://www.videoproductions.com.au/N...sulting-HR.png

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

1. I set space above and space below to 0px in case of using normal P

2. I separate each text block with carriage return and I place cursor at the end of each paragraph (or at the beginning), press CTRL+T and insert <HR>[/url]

However, its not what I want, nor does it answer my question.

What I want is one line of spacing between paragraphs, but minimal spacing between sections that are seperated by a rule. A carriage return adds the extra line, so I don't want to use it between sections where there is a rule.

---

The site is all but finished now, and I could not possiblly edit each page again. In design view the spacing is as I want it, and when it is published, but when published the font size and typeface changes. My browser font settings are all set to Verdana 16, so I have no idea why the font changes. This also happens in Chrome and Firefox.
The paragraph after the horizontal rule in this forum thread uses the same font as other paragraphs. The <HR> code is at the start of the paragraph, as it is in NOF.