HTML Tips and Tricks

HTML TIPS AND TRICKS

HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. It is based on SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language), a much bigger document-processing system. SGML defines the structure of the content of a document, not that content's actual appearance on the page or screen.

HTML defines a set of common styles for Web pages: headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, etc. It also defines character styles such as boldface and code examples. Each element has a name and is contained in what is called a "tag." You cannot create your own tags. The W3 Consoitium maintains the standards for tags which are referred to as: HTML 2.0, HTML 3.0 or HTML 3.2.

Browser-specific extensions to HTML tags also exist and these offer new features unique to individual browsers. Some tags and extensions can be used anywhere and others will produce different results in different browsers. It is always wise to check your work in several browsers.

Working with HTML tags is similar to working with the codes used by found in wordprocessor like WordPerfect. If an HTML tag is in the wrong place or missing some important information, your pages will not display correctly.

HTML documents can be created using standard text editors like Notepad or WordPad, or you can use an HTML editor such as Netscape Navigator Gold or Microsoft's FrontPage. A specialized HTML editor it will automatically generate the tags for you making the creation of a web page easy and fast. Most new versons also include templates and wizards to help you get started.

A quick way to build your understanding of HTML is to view the source code of an interesting web document. This will show you not only the tags used but the arrangement of the tags, text and images. HTML coding usually surrounds the text it effects and it may take several tags to create the effect you are seeing on the web page. An HTML tag cheat sheet or reference book can help you interpret what you find.

When first learning to create HTML documents, keep things simple. Start with one page and try out the various types of HTML tags on it. Save the document frequently so changes can be viewed before it is in final version. Then create a second HTML document and try linking the two pages together.

Be careful to use relative links in your HTML documents so they will work after the documents are published on the server. For example: use "index.html" instead of "a:\\htmlclass\\index.html". An absolute link contains the full path of a file and may be meaningless if the files are eventually moved to a server.

Utilize the Windows' Copy and Paste functions to make new HTML documents as well as to create links. The Cut function is also very useful in editing documents but if you really want to cut something and paste it into a new position, don't "cut" until you have copied and saved. Then you will not lose your work if something should go wrong.

HTML does not recognize any hard returns or blank spaces that are included in the text you type. If spacing does not look right when you are viewing your document with the browser, you must edit the source document to change things. The paragraph, break and horizontal rule tags control the spacing of text.

Capitalization of HTML tags is optional as is leaving a blank line between sections of a document. However, these things will make your HTML documents easier to read and edit.

Choose color, background, and text combinations that are easy on the eyes.

You may need to use Netscape's View/Reload command to see any changes you have made in your document. After a document has been viewed the first time, subsequent revisions may not be visible unless you use this command.

If you create a document with a lot of text on it, you can use Word or WordPerfect to check your spelling. To do this, open the file in the desired application. If a dialog box titled: Convert File Format appears, select "ASCII (DOS) Text" from the drop-down list and click OK. Check the spelling and when save any changes using the same file name and file type. If no errors were found, you can just close the application without saving the file.

To get a fast start on creating a web page, Netscape's File/Save As.. will allow you to save a copy of an existing web page. To capture an image, point to the image on the page and click the right mouse button. Select Save Image As.... to save a copy of the image file to your hard drive or floppy.

There are many public doman (free) icons and images available for downloading on the Internet. You can use any search engine to locate them. Yahoo is a good place to start looking for free icons and images . Be sure to check for copyright information before saving an existing image. These are some local images you can freely use. To create your own images, you will need to use a graphics package.

If you plan to create many web pages, create an organizational scheme for them consisting of directories and files with a central index. Also consider establishing a style sheet for your pages so they have a consistent look and feel.