By Gary Feldman on

I've been using this small user style sheet for a while now, in order to make the documentation more legible. It gets rid of the right sidebar, and shrinks the text in the left sidebar. Removing the right sidebar allows more of the actual documentation to appear on the page without scrolling (I mostly work on a 14" laptop). It also gets rid of an annoying problem on some pages, where a line that couldn't be broken extends into the right hand side blocks, becoming illegible.

Shrinking the text on the left allows much more of the contents to show. It gives me a much better feel for where I am in the documentation and a better view of related sections.

I use the Firefox Web Developer toolbar to apply it, though there are probably better alternatives. It isn't much, and it may not be 100% correct for all pages, but my primary motivation in posting it is to get feedback on these changes. Do they make sense? Do you think the right side blocks shouldn't be eliminated?

Here's the code:

.sidebar a {
  font-weight: normal;
  font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;
}

.sidebar {
  font-size: 85%;
}

.sidebar h2 {
  font-size: 117%;
}

.block-forum {
  display:none;
}

#sidebar-right {
  display:none;
}

#threecol {
  width: 95%;
}

Thanks,
Gary

Comments

gtoddv’s picture

gtoddv commented

The right side is generally a better choice for navigation blocks. The book nav block should be moved and then you would only have to hide or collapse the superfluous blocks while maintaining excellent usability. Of course the web designer/master would have to agree to moving the block.

For navigating a manual, the current right side blocks are not of much use. Hiding them is a good idea. But in my (usability-based) world the right side is where navigation should be.

Gary Feldman’s picture

Gary Feldman commented

I have no opinion either way about which side is best. I think I just stuck with the left side because that's where the content listing is already being displayed, but it shouldn't be too hard to move it to the right.

Do you know of any research articles that discuss the question of which side is better? I'm always on the lookout for more usability data.

Thanks,

Gary Feldman