the showthread width problem

[samtha25]

One of the nice things about vBulletin is that showthread was designed so that each message is in a separate table, which keeps wide messages with code from making the entire thread go wide. When you wrap showthread in a table, though, you break that nice feature, since each message table will then go as wide as the outer table, which will be as wide as the widest message. Moreover, a message with code is breaking out to the left as well as the right, as the browsers struggle to make sense of the width specifications.

Pretty is nice, but not at the expense of functional. Since vbulletin.org is, by definition, a site where many posts may be expected to contain code, I suggest you sacrifice the neat look, if need be, and break showthread out of the wrapping table. You might be able to retain the thin silver border, but the drip thing would have to end before the first post in the thread, but it might be better to just accept a less elaborate look for showthread.

In sizing the columns in showthread, here's what I've found works best across browsers. Use a spacer gif in the author column (including the heading where it says "Author" "Thread"). Set the width to between 160-175, height to 1. Remove width attributes from _all_ the columns except for the thread column. Set the width on the thread column in showthread and postbit to 90%. That should force the thread column to butt up against the spacer gif in the author column, then resize out, when there is pre text in the message.

[Sinecure]

I beleive this is one of the reasons we made the 2nd style available Plus certain people didn't like the colors .

[Mark Hensler]

I'm still trying to grasp this concept of the end-user explaining to the author how to use the product. Opinions are one thing. But I highly doubt that these people require a lesson on tables.

[Admin]

I appreciate your input samtha25, I'll see what I can do about this problem.
I will probably create another header/footer without the outter border, and use them in showthread and newreply.

[Meta]

Yeah. Good idea!

(it's horrible to read here sometimes ... if you only have 800 x 600 pixels on a tv.)

[Meta]

Did i understand you well, Sinecure?

The other style don't has this problem?

(If yes ... i will use the other style instead.)

[Admin]

Problem should be fixed now... new header/footer was create for showthread and newreply pages, to keep this from happening again.

[samtha25]

That solves the problem of the entire thread going wide, but messages with any long lines of PRE text in them are still breaking out to the left and right. You can probably get them to line up on the left if you do as Wayne suggested at vb.com and make the width of the thread column width="*", but I haven't looked at your source in any detail. If you want the author column to line up all the time, I think the only way is to throw in the spacer gif. I haven't found anything else that works.

BTW, I like these colors!

[Mark Hensler]

I like the template changes. I actually didn't notice until I read in there that they changed.