Suggested Browser Settings

for the

Sci.Electronics.Rrepair FAQ
Sam's Laser FAQ, and
Silicon Sam's Technology Resource

Version 1.02

Copyright © 1994-2006
Samuel M. Goldwasser
--- All Rights Reserved ---

For contact info, please see the Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ Email Links Page.

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Introduction
Browser Settings

Introduction

Although there will never be any requirement that a particular browser or operating system be used to access these documents, for your optimum reading pleasure, it may be desirable to tweak some things in your browser's preferences. While some of these are a matter of aesthetics or personal taste and I don't expect everyone to share mine, others like the fixed width fonts, are more critical.

Browser Settings

These are the only ones I can think of and chances are they are already configured appropriately but it won't hurt to check:

Fonts: To make sense of the many ASCII schematics, diagrams, and tables, the fixed-width font in your browser's preferences must be correctly set up. I use "QuickType Mono". Others that are suitable include "Lucida Console" and "Courier New". All formatted material is assumed to be a maximum of 80 columns in width. Thus it's best to adjust the width of your browser window so that at least 80 columns fit if possible. (For the variable width font I use "Arial" but there's nothing special about that choice, it's just one I like.) Both fonts are set to 12 point for my 1280x1024 pixel display.
Colors: No settings are specified in these documents for text or background colors so it's up to you to set defaults in your browser. I'll offer my current favorites but feel free to ignore them (R,G,B values in decimal): bgcolor=0,0,0 (black), text=238,224,208 (warm white), link=255,221,0 (yellow), vlink=255,153,0 (orange), alink=255,153,0 (orange). I wasn't going to bother with color but when I experienced Sam's Laser FAQ with light colored text on a dark background, I was hooked. As a rationalization of sorts, this color scheme is easier on CRT-based computer monitors.
The only real disadvantage I can see is that for printing, it will be best to change your browser preferences to use black text on a white background unless you have stock in an ink company! ;)
If you want to install these colors in local copies of any of the documents, replace the <BODY> line with the following:
```
    <BODY bgcolor="#000000" text="#eee0d0" link="#ffdd00" vlink="#ff9900"
     alink="#ff9900">
```
(These are the same colors as those given above but in hexadecimal.)
PDF: Many of the more complex diagrams and schematics are available only in Adobe PDF format. Thus, a PDF plugin or application capable of reading PDF files will be required. Note that conversion from PDF to other formats can be accomplished in several ways including performing a screen save or using the shareware program, Ghostview (which will generate a BMP file) followed by a graphics program like LVIEWP or MSPAINT.
Java: Except for the entry page to the "Laser, Optics, and Holography Ring" (in Sam's Laser FAQ), there is no Java of any kind in any of these documents. Thus, unless you intend to access the Ring, Java can be disabled in your browser if desired. Of course, I can't guarantee what might be at the far end of links to other sites. However, some like eBay searches, run faster with less fluff when Java is disabled!
Frames: There are none. Rendering on different browsers/platforms is never the same and it makes mirroring or grabbing all the info from the site more difficult, tedious, and messy.
Search: The Drexel University mirror site has a fast search facility which is also accessible from Repairfaq.org and the UPenn mirror site. Should this not be adequate, the cheapest, easiest search capability can be performed using Google or some other Internet search engine with www.repairfaq.org as the domain along with any other search terms.

-- end V1.02 --