Formatting Text
Basic formatting on a web page is achieved using HTML tags. Tags are used to describe the structure of text and its appearance. You do not need to know the tags themselves to apply formatting to text. This can be done using the Property Inspector and/or the Text menu.
The structure of text means its organisation into headings, body text, lists and so on. There are a variety of tags available to do this. These tags are interpreted by the browser, which displays them with appropriate physical characteristics. For example, it displays an <H1> paragraph with a larger font size than ordinary body text <P> paragraphs. Heading tags should be used in sequence. For example, you should not jump from <H1> to <H6>.
It is not as easy to determine the appearance of text on a web page as it is in a word processor. You have to consider that fonts or colours you choose may not be available on all systems. You cannot set specific font sizes in basic HTML, you need to think in terms of relative size. Because pages are displayed in a resizable window, possibly at a different screen resolution, you have to be aware that the page size may be different for different users.
Applying Fonts and Font Combinations
When you choose fonts to use on your pages, you need to consider the following:
- As with a printed document, mixing too many different font styles and over-using enhancements such as bold and italic does not produce a good effect.
- Sans serif fonts (fonts without curly edges, such as the heading above) are considered to be easier to read on-screen.
- If you use unusual fonts, it is unlikely that users will see the page as you do.
Font combinations
When a user browses a website, the pages can only be displayed using fonts available on their own computer system. If fonts you specify are not available, another font will be substituted.
In Dreamweaver, instead of applying a font to text, you apply a font combination. If the first choice font is not available, the second choice will be used; if the first and second fonts are not available, the third will be used; and so on. The font combination should specify broadly similar fonts, so that if one is missing, the effect on the page will not be so noticeable.
To apply a font using the menu
OR
- Click at the point you want the changes to take effect from
- From the Text menu, select Font
Font submenu
- Select a font combination from the submenu
To apply a font using the Property Inspector
- Click the arrow to the right of the Default font box on the Property Inspector
- Select a font combination from the list
Default font box on the Property Inspector
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