Vista - msdn scripting information

Hi,
I use msdn.microsoft.com as my starting point for searching for scripting
info from Microsoft. I use IE6. Recently it seems that the styling of this
web site is wasting a significant portion of my screen space. I'm using a
12 by 9-inch screen in 1024 by 768 resolution. I'm using IE6 on WXP with
various service packson various computers.

The main web page at msdn.microsoft.com wastes an inch at the top with
widely spaced item, but the search box is prominent, so it works for me.
The search results wastes about two inches, but at least it can be scrolled
up to get to useful info in the result list.

My main problem is with the pages linked to in the search results. Very
recently, pages like
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/libr...32(VS.85).aspx, pull up their
skirts, so to speak. The page loads, filling the window, but then the left
and right panes/frames pull up their bottom edge about two inches above the
bottom of the window and raise them more if I make the status bar visible.
This leaves a strip about two inches wide at the bottom of the IE window
which is always blank. No matter how the IE window height is increased or
decreased, that two-inch of blank space is maintained. The vertical scroll
bar does not extend down into the two-inch blank space.

I'm wondering if this is a problem for all IE versions or only older IE
versions. Does anyone else see this problem?
If it is a css or other style problem, does anyone have a URL with info or
sample scripts for overriding this styling for uselessness that seems to be
an increasing phenomenon. Does anyone have a URL for bringing stuff like
this to the attention of Microsoft?

I suppose it could be a problem caused by disgruntled employees at
Microsoft. If so, I hope they get regruntled soon.

-Paul Randall

Paul Randall wrote:My pet peeve is that many website designers are
assuming that I am using a 24in LCD display, just
because they have one.

There are even cases (where I wanted to refer to
a page ofter) where I have had to download the page
and manually adjust the css to make the page more
readable.

cheers, jw

Paul Randall wrote:Paul, assuming ms is not willing to "snap-to" and fix
their website to your liking (doubtful), then you can
fix-it-yourself.

You can retrieve the page (either with xmlHTTP's methods,
or just an ordinary "NavigateTo"), and then take out the
header (or anything else) by writing a script (in the
onLoad event) to use css or dhtml to either hide the
offending elements, or to simply delete them.

cheers, jw
____________________________________________________________

You got questions? WE GOT ANSWERS!!! ..(but, no guarantee
the answers will be applicable to the questions)

You don't get the vertical scroll bar if you use FireFox.

"mr_unreliable" <kindlyReplyToNewsgroup@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Om30BkxpJHA.4448@xxxxxxI once tried to write a stylesheet and set up IE to use it to override the
header style that bother me, but was only partially successful. But they
changed their style, I think. With respect to the two inches of white space
at the bottom on pages like
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/libr...32(VS.85).aspx, I thought my
style changed might have been a cause since I'm a CSS neophyte. It turns
out that on a newly installed WXP, I see the same effect in its IE6. Do you
see this effect on your systems?

If it looks like this will be a long term thing, then maybe I will load the
web page in a VBScripted instance of IE and dynamically delete IE tags that
cause these silly effects.

Thanks for your input,

-Paul Randall

Paul Randall wrote:Ugh. That page is weird.

(On my system) in IE6, I get the white-space at the bottom.

However, Firefox renders that page perfectly (at least afaict).
I never thought I'd see the day when firefox did a better job
of showing a MICROSOFT page than IE (an ms product) does.

cheers, jw

<gimme_this_gimme_that@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:533b2132-c8d6-4de0-97eb-af343a2e8e7d@xxxxxxThanks for mentioning FireFox. I don't want it on this computer, but I
decided to try it on that newly reinstalled WXP system. On IE6, when the
two-inch whitespace appears at the bottom, the header is scrolled up under
the IE window's header/menu/ button bar area. I didn't know it was there.
On this laptop, no part of the MSDN header appears. On my test WXP system,
about 1/4 inch of the MSDN header appears when the scroll bar's thumb is at
the top. That 1/4 inch just barely allows me to click the 'printer friendly
version' button, which is also a 'Paul' friendly version. On my laptop, I
can't get to that printer friendly version button :-( Maybe I can load this
stuff in an instance of IE started with a VBScript, and have the script
click the printer friendly button for me.

In Firefox, the page is displayed as it should be, with a vertical scroll
bar that can scroll any part of the page into view. Maybe upgrading my
laptop to SP3 would make it give me the 1/4 inch of the header like the test
WXP system does.

-Paul Randall

If you are making the best out of a machine that's over 4 years old -
I recommend staying with SP2.

SP3 will make your machine much safer against browsers - but it *will*
slow it down - and if you're machine is slower than 1.2Ghz - you'll
which you hadn't upgraded.

"mr_unreliable" <kindlyReplyToNewsgroup@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OkkLg70pJHA.6096@xxxxxxThanks for looking at it.

Its not just that page -- there are probably thousands that render in that
particular stupid manner. That is why I complained in a Microsoft-hosted
scripting group whose users might actually use a Microsoft browser to get
Microsoft info on Microsoft's tools that are frequently access by scripting.
If only there were a place to point out to Microsoft how stupid this is.

-Paul Randall

<gimme_this_gimme_that@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:5e67847f-7614-4a26-9a6d-dc7a36eb60a6@xxxxxxThanks for the info.

-Paul Randall