Basic HTML in Netscape Composer

TAG Raw HTML for demonstrating the element. Explanation of HTML element
How to do it in Netscape Composer

Contents

Document Elements

HTML <HTML>
<HEAD></HEAD>
<BODY></BODY>
</HTML>		 Tells browser that the included text is in HTML format. Surrounds all html code and text.
Created automatically by Netscape
HEAD <HEAD>
<TITLE>Title of Document</TITLE>
<META NAME="KeyWords" Content="1,2,3">
</HEAD>		 Includes 'header', non-displaying information about the document, like the TITLE and other descriptive tags
Created Automatically by Netscape
TITLE <TITLE>Title of Document</TITLE> Title that appears in Browser header and on bookmark lists. Should be concise and meaningful.
Go into 'Page Colors and Properties' from the 'Format' menu. Choose 'General' tab. Type title into 'Title' field.
META Keywords <META NAME="KeyWords" CONTENT="keyword 1, keyword 2, etc'> Lists keywords related to the document for easier indexing by search engines.
Go into 'Page Colors and Properties' from the 'Format' menu. Choose 'General' tab. Type keywords into 'Keywords' field. Click OK.
BODY <BODY BACKGROUND="bgrd.gif" TEXT="#000000" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" LINK="#0000EE" VLINK="#551A8B" ALINK="#FF0000"> </BODY> Defines the content of the document. Incdues the definitions of colors for text, background, etc. and background graphic.
BODY created automatically by Compser. To change the colors & background image, go into 'Page Colors and Properties' from the 'Format' menu. Choose 'Colors and Background'. Select colors and/or indicate background graphic. Click OK.

Body Elements

H1
H2
H3
H4
H5
H6		 <H1 ALIGN="CENTER">Page Name</H1>
<H2>Section Heading</H2> 		Indicates that text is a section heading. Headings are numbered and displayed in order of decreasing importance-- it's best to use only H1, H2, & H3. Headings are separate paragraphs.
Click in paragraph you want to be a heading. Then pull down Heading 1, Heading 2, or Heading 3 from the drop down menu in the upper left.
P (Paragraph) <P>First paragraph, no content.</P>
<P>Second paragraph, slightly more content here.</P> 		Defines paragraphs in the document. Usually paragraphs are separated by an empty line.
Press Return.
BR (Break) 
<P>First paragraph, <BR>
no content.</P>
 Puts a single break in the middle of a paragraph, list item, etc.
Hold down the shift key while pressing Return.
HR (Horizontal Rule) <HR> Runs a horizontal line across the page (or table cell). Size and width can be indicated.
Click where you want the line, then choose the horizontal line from the tools bar.
BLOCKQUOTE <BLOCKQUOTE>Far off in a distant backwater of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the galaxy....</BLOCKQUOTE> Displays a block of text quoted from another document. Usually indented on all four sides. Useful for setting off blocks of important text.
From the 'Format' menu, choose 'Paragraph', then choose 'Block Quote'
PRE (Preformatted text) 
<PRE>User Services Begins 
Here</PRE>
Uses formatting (spacing, tabs, carriage returns, breaks, etc.) exactly as in the plain ASCII text of the document. Usually displays in a fixed font, such as Courier.(Can include some HTML features)
Select text. Then select 'Formatted' from the pull-down menu in the upper left.

Style and Appearance Elements

STRONG <STRONG>Very Important</STRONG> (logical formatting). Very important text. Generally displays as Bold.
Not available in Composer
EM (Emphasis) <EM>Important information</EM> (logical formatting) Important text. Generally displays as Italic
Not available in Composer
CITE (Citation) <CITE>Huckleberry Finn,</CITE>,
by Mark Twain. 		Title of a cited work. Generally displays as Italic
Not Available in Composer
CODE (Computer Code) 
<CODE>cd webspace</CODE>
 Indicates computer code, such as programming languages, computer commands, etc. Usually displays in a fixed font.
Not available in Composer
B
(Bold)		 
<B>Bloody, bold and resolute</B>
 Displays text as bold.
Select text to be bold, and click the Bolded text (A) button from the Button bar; or use Ctrl-B.
I
(Italic)		 
<I>Caveat emptor</I>: let the buyer beware!
 Displays text as italic
Select text to be italic, and click the Italic text (A) button from the button bar; or use Ctrl-I.
U
(Underline)		 
<U>Underlined Text</U>
 Shows text as underlined (not supported by older versions of Netscape).
Select text to be italic, and choose 'Style' from the 'Font' menu, then choose 'Underline'; or use Ctrl-U
TT
(Fixed Font)		 
<TT>Fixed Text</TT>
 Displays text in a 'fixed' font (in which each letter is the same width, such as Courier)-- similar to PRE , CODE, etc.
Select text from to be fixed font, and click the Fixed font text icon (A) from the button bar; or use Ctrl-T. Or pull down the 'Fixed Font' from the Font pull down in the upper left (second menu).
FONT 
<FONT SIZE="+2" COLOR="#bb4732">Colored 
text</FONT>
 Sets relative or absolute font size, font color.
To change font size, select text to be changed and pull down the size (-2, -1, 0, +1, +2, +3, +4) from the pull down menu.

To change the color, select the text, then choose 'Color' from the 'Format' menu, and select a color from the color box.

Though you can select a font face in Composer, this is NOT recommended! Having the font work properly depends on whether the reader has that font on their computer-- if not Netscape picks the most smiliar name, which could be a picture font!

Anchor Element: Links and Named Targets

A
HREF="URL"

(Hypertext link)

 
Go to <A HREF="htmlchart.html#named_target">
named anchor section</A>
 Allows the user to retrieve the document at the specified URL by clicking on the contents of the element. (Usually displayed as blue and underlined.) The URL may include a named target.
Select the text to be linked, click on the chain link button in the button bar, and type or paste the URL into the Link to field
A
NAME="name"
(Named Anchor or target)		 
<A NAME="named_target">Named Target</A>
 Sets a 'target'/'anchor' which hypertext links can point to.
Select the text to be the named anchor, click the target button on the button bar, and type in the name for the anchor.

Image Element

IMG
(Image)		 
<IMG SRC="/icons/mthawk.gif" ALT="Lehigh mountain hawk">
 Displays an 'inline' (embedded in the document) image in the document. Source (SRC="") gives the full or partial URL of the image file to use; ALT gives the alternative/caption text for the image
Click where you want the image to appear, then select the image button in the button bar and fill in the Image Location. To add ALT text, click the ALT text button and fill in the information. Click OK when finished.

List Elements

UL
(Unordered
List)		 
<UL>
   <LI>First Item
   <LI>Second Item
</UL>
 Bullet List. Items in the list are LI elements.
Lists can be nested.
Select the paragraphs to become a list, then click the Bullet list button in the button bar. Or put the cursor where the list is to be inserted, click the Bullet list button, and start entering items. To change the type of bullet, right-click on the list, select 'Paragraph/List Properties' and change the 'Bullet Style'
OL
(Ordered List)		 
<OL TYPE="A">
   <LI>First Item
   <LI>Second Item
</OL>
 Numbered (or lettered) list.
Items in the list are LI elements.
Lists can be nested.
Select the paragraphs to become a list, then click the Numbered list button in the button bar. Or put the cursor where the list is to be inserted, click the Numbered list button, and start entering items.To change the type of numbering, right-click on the list, select 'Paragraph/List Properties' and change the 'Number Style'
LI 
<UL>
     <LI>List item One
         <UL>
            <LI>Niggle One
            <LI>Niggle Two
        </UL>
      <LI>List item Two
</UL>
 An item in a bullet or numbered list.
List items can include other lists (nesting lists), line breaks, and other HTML tags.
Close tags </LI> are optional.
Inside a list, to create a new list item, press return.
DL
(Decription List)		 
<DL>
<DT>Hack
<DD>To program skillfully.
<DT>Crack
<DD>To break into a computer system
</DL>
 A list of terms with definitions or entries with annotations.
Contains DT and DD elements.
DT elements are the 'terms' or main entries
DD elements are the definitions or annotations.
Choose 'List' from the 'Format' menu, then choose 'Description'.
DT
(Description Term/Title)		 
<DL>
<DT>Hack
<DD>To program skillfully
</DL>
 In an annotated list, the item or term being annotated
Select the line, then choose 'Desc. Title' from the pull down menu in the upper right.
DD
(Description Text/Definition)		 
<DL>
<DT>Hack
<DD>
   <OL>
   <LI>[v.]to program skillfully
   <LI>[n.,archaic]a makeshift, a kludge
   </OL>
</DD>
</DL>
 In an annotated list, the annotation or definition

Select the line, then choose 'Desc. Title' from the pull down menu in the upper right.

created 9/97 by JAH