sIFR
sIFR: Enhance web typography with accessible, scalable Flash-based text replacement
About sIFR
sIFR (Scalable Inman Flash Replacement) is an open-source solution for embedding custom typography in web pages while maintaining accessibility, search engine optimization, and semantic markup. Using JavaScript, CSS, and Flash, sIFR replaces short text passages with your chosen fonts, ensuring compatibility across browsers and devices. It supports screen readers, allows text selection, and integrates seamlessly with linked text. Lightweight and cache-friendly, sIFR is ideal for headlines and display text, offering a balance between design and functionality.
FAQ
sIFR (Scalable Inman Flash Replacement) is a method to insert rich typography into web pages without sacrificing accessibility, search engine friendliness, or markup semantics. It uses a combination of JavaScript, CSS, and Flash to replace short passages of plain browser text with text rendered in your chosen typeface. The process involves checking for Flash installation, measuring designated elements, creating Flash movies, and scaling the text to fit.
Yes, sIFR is fully accessible to screen readers and other assistive technologies. The original HTML document remains unchanged, ensuring accessibility, search engine friendliness, and semantic integrity. Additionally, sIFR text can be selected, copied, and pasted, and it works with linked text (anchors).
sIFR works on Mac, Windows, and Linux machines with JavaScript turned on and Flash 6 or greater. It supports major browsers like PC IE 5+, Safari, Firefox, Opera 7+, Omniweb, and Konqueror, covering over 90% of consumer-grade machines.
If Flash is not installed or JavaScript is turned off, the HTML page displays as normal without sIFR. Additionally, sIFR works with the Firefox FlashBlock extension to degrade to HTML for users who have installed it, respecting their preference to avoid Flash.
sIFR is best used for headlines, pull quotes, and small swaths of display text. Avoid replacing large amounts of text or entire paragraphs, as this can significantly slow down page loading. It is recommended not to replace more than about 10 blocks of text per page. Also, be cautious with transparent backgrounds and linked text, as these may have compatibility or usability trade-offs.
The sIFR JavaScript file is less than 10k and loads only once, after which it is cached by the browser. Flash movies containing fonts are typically between 8k and 20k and are also cached. If multiple headlines use the same font, the Flash movie is loaded only once, minimizing bandwidth impact.
Yes, sIFR can be easily removed by simply deleting the JavaScript file from your site. This will revert the text back to standard browser text. sIFR is designed as a temporary solution until better methods for custom typography become widely available.
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