Tech Forum

I'm on a mac, I'm in google chrome, the window is maximized, the zoom level is set to 100%, and the content on lds.org is limited to the middle third of the screen. I'm unable to attach a screenshot, and I doubt this feedback box has the same dimensions as what you'll read it from, so I'll try and describe it in more detail. With 99% of websites, it doesn't matter if you maximize the browser window, or set it to be tall and skinny, the content of the site will conform to the dimensions you set for the window. However, with lds.org, it seems like the content is optimized for mobile devices in portrait mode, and it doesn't matter if you're on a widescreen computer with a maximized window, the content will stay in a strip down the middle of your screen. Just like if you were working in a Word document and set the margins to 3 inches wide instead of the default 1 inch. If you did that in Word, you'd have 6 inches of wasted space in your margins, and only 2.5 inches of content down the middle. That's what lds.org is like, and it is frustrating, and I was wondering if there is a reason why and/or a way to get around it. Thanks for your time!

"With 99% of websites" seems over-estimated to me (fixed-width sites are pretty common). That said, I know of no easy way to change this. The options I know of are:

1) send feedback to the web team (via the feedback option at the bottom of the page). You shouldn't expect more than that your feedback will be reviewed and considered (as will everyone else's and not to cancel you out or anything, but I like the narrow width because reading is faster - which is why newspapers print(ed?) in columns). It could be a long time before they decide anything and still longer before it's implemented...

2) to use a browser plug-in to override the site's CSS. If your browser doesn't offer such a plug-in, you'd have to switch browsers to one that does (I know this is possible with Firefox as I've done it for a few sites). While this option doesn't require you to rely on anyone else, it does require time and a good understanding of CSS.

Sorry. I know that doesn't help any, beyond knowing that there's no fast, easy fix.

Liz

Layout is by no means my forte, but I think the issue is they'd have to do something drastically different for "wide screen". Either a completely different layout, or place additional content to each of the sections.

Yes, this drives me crazy, too. I've certainly submitted feedback about in in several forms.

A helpful person created some CSS overrides using the Stylish extension for Chrome. See this thread for more details. This helps, but doesn't fix all the problems. I'm glad I can easily turn the changes on/off from the toolbar. The good thing is someone did it for me and shared

I also noticed a session from the LDS Tech Conference about multiscreen personalization. I haven't had time to watch it, but the topic gives me hope that maybe they'll stop thinking everyone uses lds.org on a small tablet or phone.

I had that issue when the site was first upgraded. On a Windows 8.1 machine using Firefox, I pressed the Ctrl+ scrolled up on my mouse wheel. That usually changes the size perspective for individual websites. I don't know if there is a Mac equivalent, but I never have had to worry about the aspect ratio again.

I did that with Yahoo and a few other sites as well.

On a Mac, in most browsers you can zoom in and out using ⌘+ or ⌘-.

It is true that zooming will help the text get bigger to fill the available screen space. In my experience, that's not what I want. I'm trying to get more content on the screen, not make the existing content bigger. The lds.org CSS seems to set a maximum width for the text, which means you can't take advantage of a wide monitor to get more content on the screen.

I am aware that it can be easier on the eyes to not have to scan back and forth over large widths; however, I prefer to manage that by my window width, not by some site imposing a maximum width, as does lds.org.

My biggest problem is that the formatting transfers to printing. I'm wasting paper because I cannot print the articles/talks using the whole page. I have to copy/paste/print in another program.

It's always really quick for me to simply copy-all and paste-all into my word processor of choice, then format as I like, and then print. But yeah, extra steps.

Your suggestion seems like a reasonable request you could make via the Feedback link at the bottom of most Church web pages. RIght now the print functionality for items like Conference talks, has toggles for "Include highlights and underlines" and "Include footnotes", so you could propose something like "Include formatting". Toggling that off would then give you the full-width output I think you're looking for.