Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Reference

Name

font-size — NN 4 IE 4 CSS 1

Synopsis

Inherited: Yes

Determines the font size of the element. The font size can be set in several ways. A collection of constants (xx-small, x-small, small, medium, large, x-large, xx-large) defines what are known as absolute sizes. In truth, these are absolute as far as a single browser in a single operating system goes because the reference point for these sizes varies with browser and operating system (see Figure 10.4 and Figure 10.5 for size comparisons as viewed on the same video monitor). But they do let the author have confidence that one element set to large is rendered larger than another set to medium.

Figure 10-4. Font size constant values in Navigator on the Windows and Mac platforms

Figure 10-5. Font size constant values in IE on the Windows and Mac platforms

Another collection of constants (larger, smaller) are known as relative sizes. Because the font-size attribute is inherited from the parent element, these relative sizes are applied to the parent element to determine the font size of the current element. It is up to the browser to determine exactly how much larger or smaller the font size is, and a lot depends on how the parent element’s font size is set. If it is set with one of the absolute sizes (large, for example), a child’s font ...