Screen & monitor resolution testing

[Maxine]

I work on a 19" monitor. To approximately test different resolutions,
I use "Sizer" software (http://www.brianapps.net/sizer.html) to test
in 800x600 and 460x800. However, that is viewing the screen on my
monitors 0.24 mm Dot Pitch.

I can pick up used 15" monitors for under $50, and my graphics card
can run 2 monitors at the same time. Is it worth it to hook up a
smaller monitor for a more accurate representation of what viewers
with smaller monitors might see?

Thank you in advance for any advice,
Roxy

[dorothy.bradbury]

Main thing is to maintain resizeability throughout a site,
particularly on forms & tables. Very often this isn't done
requiring searching off the screen by sideways scrolling.

This is very irritating for users, disrupts reading and with
a competing site a click away may send visitors away.

Applies to static as well as dynamically fed tables etc.

If looking at TFTs, remember they can't resize like an analog
and thus stretch an image below their native pixel size to fit.
That can result in some strange visual imaging, not for CRT.

Considering resolution is useful if the application, context
or use is likely to be viewed by certain segments (eg, laptop).
Those segments may have a greater proportion of one resolution
than another - eg, 800x600 for 12.1" screens. However, as time
goes by 1024x768 may dominate - and is by no means a limit
on common laptop resolutions. Text size scaling is useful.

Consider the user by all means, but don't assume :-)
Designers are not always representative of the user population :-)
--
Dorothy Bradbury
www.stores.ebay.co.uk/panaflofan (Ebay)
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dorothy...ry/panaflo.htm (Direct)