shrunken webpages on laptop

[jimmy_crack_connor]

My Dad's just bought a laptop (a new widescreen HP thing) but when I've been fiddling round setting it up, downloading anti-virus etc, I've somehow changed the size of internet pages so they appear as small screens in the middle of the page, with blank space at the sides. The desktop page looks fine though. :confused::confused::confused:

 

So frustrating!!! Anyone know how I can sort please? Perhaps I should have just left the old man to it!

[KenB]

Hi and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help

 

There are various fixes for this ....

 

Try this one.

Open a web page and locate the corners with the screen curser.

The normal arrow will change to a double one.

Hold the left mouse button down and drag each corner to fill the screen.

 

Once you have done this hold the CTRL key down and close the window using the red X (top right )

 

Do not open anything when resizing.

[DSTM]

Further to the good advice KenB has given, also check your resolution settings.

When you have a shrunken page open click CTRL+0.

This should set the Web Page to 100% again.

At least your honest and said you have been playing with the settings.

Normally it's the Cat walked on the Keyboard excuse.:)

[jimmy_crack_connor]

Na i wasn't playing with the screen settings though - that just happened - honest!

 

Unfortunately these solutions aren't doing the trick though...

 

Firstly, nothing changes to the cursor when i locate the corners of a web page, so that option doesn't work.

 

Secondly, contol+0 makes it a bit bigger, but still leaves about 3 inches of blank space either side of the web page. And also, this make cuts off the bottom half of the web page. I've got it all out of proportion somehow and don't how to fix it! :-S

[jimmy_crack_connor]

PS my resolution is set at 1366 x 768 which I think is right, think there's some sort of other problem...any ideas?

[Jelly Bean]

Have you tried a system restore to just before you fiddled with the laptop?

[jimmy_crack_connor]

hmmm there's an idea....but I'd like to avoid having to re-download AVG / anti-malware / ms-office....but maybe it's my only option..

[KenB]

nothing changes to the cursor when i locate the corners of a web page

Open the webpage > click the button to the left of the red X ( top right of page )

Now try locating the corners and draging to size.

[jimmy_crack_connor]

Open the webpage > click the button to the left of the red X ( top right of page )

Now try locating the corners and draging to size.

 

 

tried that, but it just reduces the size of the overall frame, then the dragging returns it to the size it was. It's the internet page within that frame that I'm having the problem with, as it still has a few inches to the left and right that aren't being filled with the web page. The browser goes all the way from the left to the right of the screen (so favourites is on the left and tools / X on the right, it's the shrunken internet page within that that's the problem....:confused:

[KenB]

I can't replicate what you describe.

If I understand it - you open Internet Explorer ( It is IE ? ) and the home page opens full screen.

You then open a web-page and this opens smaller - but you can't expand it.

 

Is this correct?

 

Take a look here:

Windows XP Your Way: Tips for Configuring and Using Internet Explorer

It states XP - but it should still be relevant.

It may help.

[bugsy_]

If it is windows 7 with IE8;

 

Go here and Reset your IE8, as it is only the setting in IE that seem to out of the ordinary here.

 

edit;

 

Also you say it is a new laptop, make sure your are installing all updates from the windows updater.. see here

Edited January 4, 2011 by bugsy_

[jimmy_crack_connor]

Sorry, it's not just IE, it's the same for google chrome as well.

 

I'm not sure, maybe it's ok now. I've got web pages to fit the width of the page, however I'm not sure if this is at the expense of the height of the web page. By that I mean, in IE, looking at this page only Bagsy's last message fits the height of the page, there is no room for any other messages. Is this as it should be, or should the page be able to fit in more if it's correctly proportioned?

 

When I check pages such as BBC News ot the BBC Sports pages there's still always big gaps to the left and right - is this the same for you guys?

 

Thanks for your ongoing help!

[Goku]

Hello and Welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help Jimmy. :)

 

Can you please post a screen shot so that we may understand your problem better?

 

Take a screen shot

 

-- Goku

[jimmy_crack_connor]

Hi Goku, no worries i've attached a few examples of what i'm talking about. Hopefully i've attached correctly.

 

Should the BBC pages fill the width of the pages?

 

Should I be able to see more of the webpage between the top and bottom of the screen on the 'forum' example?

 

:confused:

 

Many thanks

[Goku]

Hello Jimmy, if you are talking about the big white spaces on either side of the page (on the BBC site), then I think it is the layout. The forum, and most sites, are designed to fit the width of the browser. If you want, you can easily alter the BBC site to fit the width of the browser too. Just go to the BBC site and press Ctrl and the + key at the same time. I have attached screenshots of a before and after version, that I tried on my computer:

 

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/th.9c6c8c48dd.jpg

 

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/th.974530561c.jpg

 

Hope that helps. :)

 

-- Goku

[KenB]

Should the BBC pages fill the width of the pages?

Mine looks the same as yours :)

[RandyL]

At 1024X768 on my wide screen it fills the page on BBC.

 

At 1280X960 it looks like yours.

 

So it's probably a function of your resolution and the page layout. If the page was coded with absolute values for page widths or tables instead of percentages then at different resolutions it will do that.

[KenB]

I think Randy has cracked it :)

 

On my desktop at the moment with a 1024X768 resolution.

BBC page fills the screen.