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getting mobile menus even on desktop

Anonymous
2024-10-22T03:09:25+00:00

Hi all,

I'm having a rather odd problem. I was helping a couple of people with a website I manage for the organization I belong to. One of them could not find a particular page, which is nested in a submenu, so I figured when someone else contacted me about not being able to find the same page, I had better do some testing. The first person was getting toggle menus, and my web development background told me that the first thing I should have the second person check is her screen resolution. As all three of us are totally blind, screen resolution isn't going to matter much to us, but having taken web development classes recently, I know that modern websites are designed so that navigation that is fully displayed on desktop must be expanded on mobile. For the sake of testing, I also attempted to reduce my resolution to something that might be found on a mobile device. For some reason, I couldn't get a mobile display right away, but I was able to help one of the people find the page she was looking for. So, I set my display to the recommended size and portrait orientation, and forgot about it for several hours until I had to open iTunes and got a message implying that my screen resolution wasn't high enough. So, I flipped the orientation to landscape and forgot about it again. The next day, I noticed a website had a collapsed menu that was usually expanded, but that site is going through some changes right now, so I didn't think much of it. Then I went to the website that started this whole saga of messing with display settings to do something else, only to now see that I was getting the toggle menu. What's my problem? My screen resolution looks to be set to the recommended size, 1920 by 1080 I think, but I'm still getting toggle menus. I didn't even look to see whether my orientation was portrait or landscape when I started this, but it's in landscape now.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Display and graphics

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-10-23T22:59:26+00:00

    Thanks. For the site I was testing, I am one of the admins, so I could have easily checked that if that were in fact the problem. I was able to put Firefox in full screen and the normal desktop view came back, but when I close Firefox and reopen it, it goes back to the small view. I have a question into their support community, but so far no response there. Do you know how to adjust the view in Firefox? When I go into the zoom menu, actual size is greyed out.

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-10-22T16:03:34+00:00

    Dear rcavanaugh!

    Welcome to the Microsoft Community!

    The problem you are facing may be due to the browser's responsive design detection mechanism. Modern websites usually decide which layout to use - desktop or mobile - based on the width and height of the screen. Here are some reasons why you may get a mobile menu even on higher resolutions:

    1. Browser cache:

    • The browser may cache your last view state. Even if you change the resolution and orientation of the screen, the browser may still use the previously cached state to display the website.

    2. Browser window size:

    • Sometimes, even if the screen resolution is correct, the website may display the mobile view if the browser window size is small.

    3. Browser settings:

    • Some browsers allow users to force the use of mobile view or desktop view through settings.

    4. Website responsive design:

    • There may be some problems with the website's responsive design, for example, its media queries may not be set correctly, or it may have incorrectly detected your browser environment.

    Here are some possible solutions:

    - Clear browser cache:

    • Try clearing your browser cache and cookies. This can usually be done through the browser's settings or history function.

    Disclaimer: Your browser automatically saves temporary internet files to help pages load faster. Clearing this cache will sometimes fix website issues. Please back up all your personal files first, such as Favorites, to ensure you do not lose data.  

    - Resize your browser window:

    • Make sure your browser window fills the entire screen or at least exceeds the width threshold that triggers the mobile view.

    - Check your browser settings:

    • Check your browser's settings to see if there are any options that control the view mode. For example, in Chrome, you can emulate different devices by pressing F12 to open the developer tools and then clicking "Toggle device toolbar".

    - Use your browser's developer tools:

    • Use your browser's developer tools to inspect your site's CSS media queries and see if they are applied correctly. You can manually change device presets to test different screen sizes.

    - Reset your display settings:

    • Confirm that your display settings are indeed 1920 x 1080 and the orientation is landscape. Sometimes, display settings may not take effect immediately and require restarting your computer or reapplying the settings.

    - Try a different browser:

    • Try accessing the site using a different browser to see if the problem persists. This can help determine if the problem is related to a specific browser.

    If you have tried all of the above steps and the problem persists, you may need to contact the website administrator or developer to have them check that the site's responsive design is working properly. Also, make sure your operating system and browser are up to date to avoid any known compatibility issues.

    Thank you for your understanding and support! 

    Best regards,

    Yang.Z - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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