I want to allow our main application to generate document files that can be easily read on the iphone, or other smart phones. The easiest way to do this, I think, is to create a simple HTML file and use javascript to show / hide different bits of it. For example, when the user clicks / touches ‘section 1’, the section expands to show its full details; otherwise, it will remain collapsed to save space.
What guidelines should I follow when creating this file? I’ve done a little research and arrived at the following:
- The iphone has a native resolution of 320×480, but only about 320×400 is visible for a web page.
- Other smartphones have resolutions from 160×120 (probably not high enough to bother with) up to 320×240 and some even have 480×640.
These are useful for deciding how to style and arrange the HTML output, for example. Are there any other useful guidelines to work with? For example:
1) How big / small should I make things to let the user have a large enough ‘target area’?
2) How can I get the file onto the iphone? Would the user have to drag and drop it via USB?
3) What size of fonts can I use before it gets too small to read?
etc etc. I don’t actually have an iphone to test on, which makes this a little more problematic.
Thanks for your help!
I don’t know about other smart phones, but the only way your file is going to get onto the iPhone is via the web browser, email, or a custom application that you write. There is no general mechanism for uploading files to the iPhone.
It’s surprisingly easy to read even fairly small text on the iPhone, and the gesture-based zooming makes it very easy to zoom in and out.