HTML Tutorial

HTML TUTORIAL
HTML BASICS HTML LINKS HTML FORMS
INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION
WHY LEARN HTML? HOW TO MAKE A LINK EXAMPLES
TAGS COLORS ON TEXT LINKS CGI SCRIPTS
PAGE STRUCTURE LINK TARGETS THE FORM TAG
HEAD SECTION NO UNDERLINE FORM FIELDS
BODY SECTION ADVANCED TEXT LINKS TEXT
HOW TO LEARN MORE IMAGE LINKS PASSWORD
TAKE THE QUIZ! IMAGEMAPPING HIDDEN
LINK WITHIN A PAGE TEXT AREA
HTML TEXT LINKS IN FRAMESETS CHECK BOX
LINK TO NEW WINDOW RADIO BUTTON
INTRODUCTION
LINK TO EMAIL DROP-DOWN MENU
BASEFONT
TAKE THE QUIZ! SUBMIT BUTTON
FONT
RESET BUTTON
TEXT LINKS
HTML IMAGE BUTTON

TEXT FORMAT BACKGROUNDS
QUICK REFERENCE
TEXT SIZE
INTRODUCTION
TAKE THE QUIZ!
TEXT LAYOUT
BACKGROUND COLOR
TAKE THE QUIZ!
BACKGROUND IMAGE
FIXED IMAGE
TAKE THE QUIZ!
HTML META TAGS
HTML LISTS
INTRODUCTION
HTML TABLES
INTRODUCTION SEARCH ENGINES
INTRODUCTION
BULLETED LISTS AUTOLOAD PAGES
BASIC TAGS
NUMBERED LISTS RSACi CONTENT
TABLE TAGS
TAKE THE QUIZ! TAKE THE QUIZ!
ROW/CELL TAGS
TAKE THE QUIZ!

HTML IMAGES HTML HEXCOLORS
INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION
HTML FRAMES
GIF&JPG IMAGES DECIMAL vs HEX
INTRODUCTION
INSERTING IN HTML RGB COLORS
RESIZING BASIC EXAMPLE HEXADECIMAL RGB
BORDER AROUND CREATING A FRAMESET 216 SAFE COLORS
ALTERNATIVE TEXT DEFAULT PAGES CONVERTING HEX-DEC
SPACING AROUND BORDERS NAMED COLORS
ALIGNMENT OF RESIZEABLE WINDOWS COLOR SAMPLES
TEXT WRAPAROUND SCROLLBARS TAKE THE QUIZ!
TAKE THE QUIZ! LINKS WITHIN
EXAMPLES
TAKE THE QUIZ!
1.1 Introduction
Webpages are written in HTML - a simple scripting language.
HTML is short for HyperText Markup Language.
• Hypertext is simply a piece of text that works as a link.
• Markup Language is a way of writing layout information within documents.
Basically an HTML document is a plain text file that contains text and nothing else.
When a browser opens an HTML file, the browser will look for HTML codes in the text and
use them to change the layout, insert images, or create links to other pages.
Since HTML documents are just text files they can be written in even the simplest text editor.
A more popular choice is to use a special HTML editor - maybe even one that puts focus on
the visual result rather than the codes - a so-called WYSIWYG editor ("What You See Is
What You Get").
Some of the most popular HTML editors, such as FrontPage or Dreamweaver will let you
create pages more or less as you write documents in Word or whatever text editor you're
using.
However, there are some very good reasons to create your own pages - or parts of them -
by hand...
1.2 Why Learn HTML?

It is possible to create webpages without knowing anything about the HTML source behind the
page.
There are excellent editors on the market that will take care of the HTML parts. All you need to do is
layout the page.
However, if you want to make it above average in webdesign, it is strongly recommended that you
understand these tags.
The most important benefits are:

• You can use tags the editor does not support.
• You can read the code of other people's pages, and "borrow" the cool effects.
• You can do the work yourself, when the editor simply refuses to create the effects you want.
You can write your HTML by hand with almost any available text editor, including notepad that
comes as a standard program with Windows.
All you need to do is type in the code, then save the document, making sure to put
an .html extension or an .htm extension to the file (for instance "mypage.html").
1.3TAGS
Basically, a computer sees an "A" as simply an "A" - whether it is bold, italic, big or
small.
To tell the browser that an "A" should be bold we need to put a markup in front of
the A.
Such a markup is called a Tag.

All HTML tags are enclosed in < and >.
Example: a piece of text as it appears on the screen.
This is an example of bold text.
HTML: the HTML for the above example:

This is an example of <b>bold</b> text.
As you can see, the start tag <b> indicates that whatever follows should be written
in bold. The corresponding end tag </b> indicates that the browser should stop
writing text in bold.
1.4Page Structure
All normal webpages consist of a head and a body.
Head
Body
• The head is used for text and tags that do not show directly on the page.
• The body is used for text and tags that are shown directly on the page.
Finally, all webpages have an <html> tag at the beginning and the end, telling the browser where
the document starts and where it stops.
The most basic code - the code you will use for any page you make, is shown below:
<html>
<head>

</head>
<body>

</body>
</html>
1.5 HEAD SECTION

The head section of the webpage includes all the stuff that does not show directly on the resulting
page.
The <title> and </title> tags encapsulate the title of your page. The title is what shows in the top of
your browser window when the page is loaded.
Right now it should say something like "Basics - Html Tutorial" on top of the window containing this
text.
Another thing you will often see in the head section is metatags. Metatags are used for, among
other things, to improve the rankings in search engines.
Quite often the head section contains javascript which is a programming language for more
complex HTML pages.
Finally, more and more pages contain codes for cascading style sheets (CSS).
CSS is a rather new technique for optimizing the layout of major websites.
Since these aspects are way out of reach at this stage we will proceed with explaining the body
section.
1.6 HEAD SECTION

The body of the document contains all that can be seen when the user loads the page.
In the rest of this tutorial you can learn in detail about all the different aspects of HTML, including:
• Text
○ Formatting
○ Resizing
○ Layout
○ Listing
• Links
○ To local pages
○ To pages at other sites
○ To bookmarks
• Images
○ Inserting images (GIF and jpg)
○ Adding a link to an image
• Backgrounds
○ Colors
○ Images
○ Fixed Image
• Tables
• Frames
• Forms
• Metatags
• Hexadecimal Colors
•
The last page in this introduction will give you an overview of how to proceed with the HTML
tutorial (and beyond).
1.7 HOW TO LEARN

This introduction presented you with the very basics of HTML.
In the rest of this tutorial you can study each of the different HTML tags in detail.
To the upper right on all pages you will find the HTML tutorial menu.
The links are arranged so you can approach this tutorial as an ongoing course.
Each link will take you to a "chapter" - 5 to 10 pages - explaining the selected topic in depth.
If you are completely new to HTML, you should start with the chapter about text and work your way
through the links - ending with the chapter about hexadecimal colors.
Once you become familiar with HTML you could proceed to the javascript section, the java applet
section or the Shockwave Flash section.
For a complete overview of the tutorials and resources on this site you should look at the sitemap.
2.0 HTML TEXT

2.1 INTRODUCTION
To enter text on your pages - all you have to do is simply enter the text.
If you do not specify any attributes for text it will use the default size, font etc. of the visitor's
browser.
Browsers can only show fonts available on the visitor's PC.

Therefore you are limited to using the fonts that are available on almost any computer.
If you need to use a fancy font, you should use your graphics program to make an image with the
text. This will assure that the visitor will see it - even if he doesn't have the fancy font you're using.
Since images take up much more space than plain text, thus increasing download time, you should
use this option with care.
On the following pages you will learn how to customize the font settings - both on normal
text and text that works as a link.
Furthermore, you will learn to control how the text aligns on your pages.
Now click the Read More link to get started...
2.2 BASE FONT
To specify the overall font for your page add the <basefont> tag at the beginning of
the <body> section.
Example: The page as it looks in the browser.

Hello! This is my page.
All text looks the same
since I only specified a basefont.
HTML: The code to produce the above example.
<html>
<head>
<title>my page</title>
</head>
<body>
<basefont face="arial, verdana, courier" size="4" color="green">
Hello! This is my page.<br>
All text looks the same<br>
since I only specified a basefont.<br>
</body>
</html>
The color attribute selects the desired color for your text. The face attribute selects the
desired font.
Note:
If you enter a list of fonts, like in the example, the browser will use the first font in the list
available on the visitor's computer.
The size attribute specifies the desired size, between 1 (smallest) and 7 (biggest).
2.3 FONT
The <font> tag will change the font.

Example: How the output looks in the browser.
Hello! This is my page.
This local text looks different.
This text looks like the first line.
HTML: The code to produce the above example.

<html>
<head>
<title>My Page</title>
</head>
<body>
<basefont color="green" face="arial" size="4">
Hello! This is my page.<br><br>
<font color="red" face="arial" size="2">
This local text looks different.
</font>
<br><br>
This text looks like the first line.
</body>
</html>
The color attribute selects the desired color for your text. The face attribute selects
the desired font.
Note:
If you enter a list of fonts, like in the example, the browser will use the first font
in the list available on the visitor's computer.
2.4 TEXT LINKS
The tags used to produce links are the <a> and </a>.
The <a> tells where the link should start and the </a> indicates where the link
ends.
Everything between these two will work as a link.

The target of the link is added to the <a> tag using
the href="http://www.whateverpage.com" setting.
The example below shows how to make the word here work as a link to yahoo.
Click <a href="http://www.yahoo.com">here</a> to go to yahoo.
You simply:
• Specify the target in the <a href=" ">.
• Then add the text that should work as a link.

• Finally add an </a> tag to indicate where the link ends.
You can read about more sophisticated link methods in the link section of
this tutorial.
2.5 TEXT FORMAT
These are the tags for text formats:

<b>text</b> writes text as bold
<i>text</i> writes text in italics
<u>text</u> writes underlined text
<sub>text</sub> lowers text and makes it smaller
<sup> text
</sup> lifts text and makes it smaller
<blink>text</blink> guess yourself! (Note: Netscape only.)
<strike>text</strike> strikes a line through the text
<tt>text</tt> writes text as on a classic typewriter
<pre>text</pre> writes text exactly as it is, including spaces.
<em>text</em> usually makes text italic
<strong>text<strong> usually makes text bold
Note:
The <blink> tag is only supported by Netscape browsers, and should be avoided.
2.6 TEXT SIZE
These are the tags for changing the font size.
<big>text</big> increase the size by one

<small>text</small> decrease the size by one
<h1> text</h1> writes text in biggest heading

<h6>text</h6> writes text in smallest heading
<font size="1">text</font> writes text in smallest fontsize. (8 pt)
<font size="7">
text </font>
writes text in biggest fontsize (36 pt)
The <small> and <big> tags are special in that they can be repeated. If you want
to increase the font size with a factor two, then you could do it like this:
bla bla bla <big><big>whatever</big></big> bla bla bla
Note:
While the font tag lets you specify font attributes in plain HTML, you really
should look into the tutorial on CSS to learn how to get full, flexible and much
more advanced control of your text.
Click here to jump to the CSS tutorial.
2.7 TEXT LAYOUT
These tags will let you control the layout.

HTML EXPLANATION
<p>text</p> Adds a paragraph break after the text.
(2 linebreaks).
<p align="left">text</p> Left justify text in paragraph.
<p align="center">text</p> Center text in paragraph.
<p align="right">text</p> Right justify text in paragraph.
text<br> Adds a single linebreak where the tag is.
<nobr>text</nobr> Turns off automatic linebreaks
- even if text is wider than the window.
Allows the browser to insert a linebreak
text<wbr> at exactly this point
- even if the text is within <nobr> tags.
<center>text</center> Center text.
<div
align="center">text</div> Center text.
<div
align="left">text</div> Left justify text.
<div
align="right">text</div> Right justify text.
Example: the difference between layout tags:
RESULT HTML
Hello world- a linebreak does not Hello world -
insert a linebreak in HTML a linebreak does not
insert a linebreak in HTML
<p>you will need</p>
you will need
<p align="right">to insert</p>
to insert
<p align="left">special tags</p>
special tags
that will insert<br>
that will insert linebreaks<br>
linebreaks where<br>
where you want it!<br>
you want it! <br>
Another method is of course to write
Another method is to write a a sentence, that is long enough to
sentence, that is long enough to force a linebreak.<br>
force a linebreak. <br>
<nobr>This option can however be
This option can however be turned turned off<wbr>with the nobr
offwith the nobr-tag.unless a wbr is tag,<wbr>unless a wbr is used to
used to force it! force it!</nobr>
<center>You can center</center>

You can also center And turn the center off
And turn the center off <div align="center">And on!</div>
And on! <div align="left">Go left!</div>
Go left! <div align="right">Go Right!</div>
Go right!
Note in particular the difference between the <p> and the <div> tags. The <div>tag
allows you to justify content without being forced to add a double linebreak.
Also, note that these alignment tags are not limited to text. They work on text,
images, applets or whatever it is that you insert on the page.
3.0 HTML LISTS
3.1 INTRODUCTION
To create a bulleted list you need to add a <ul> and a </ul> tag at the beginning
and the end of the list.
Numbered lists have <ol> tags instead of <ul> tags.

To separate single list items use <li> and </li> tags.
There are special settings that you can use to customize the lists on your page.
On the following two pages you can learn in detail about bulleted and numbered
lists.
3.2 BULLETED LISTS
This page shows how to make different kinds of bulleted lists.

You have the following bullet options:
• disc
• circle
• square
Look at these examples to see the detailed syntax.

HTML-CODE EXPLANATION / EXAMPLE
Makes a bulleted list using the default bullet type:
<ul>
• text
<li>text</li>
<li>text</li> • text
<li>text</li>
</ul> • text
Starts a bulleted list using discs as bullets:

• This is one line
<ul type="disc"> • This is another line
• And this is the final line
Starts a bulleted list using circles as bullets:

○ This is one line
<ul type="circle"
>
○ This is another line
○ And this is the final line
Starts a bulleted list using squares as bullets:

 This is one line
<ul type="square"
>  This is another line
 And this is the final line
On the next page you can learn how to create and customize numbered lists....
3.3 NUMBERED LISTS
This page shows how to make different kinds of numbered lists.

You have the following number options:
• Plain numbers
• Capital Letters
• Small Letters
• Capital Roman Numbers
• Small Roman Numbers
In addition to these options you can specify at which number the list should start.
The default start value for numbered lists is at number one (or the letter A).
Look at these examples to see the detailed syntax.

HTML-CODE EXPLANATION / EXAMPLE
Makes a numbered list using the default number type:
<ol>
1. text
<li>text</li>
<li>text</li> 2. text
<li>text</li>
</ol> 3. text
Starts a numbered list, first # being 5.

5. This is one line
<ol start="5"> 6. This is another line
7. And this is the final line
Starts a numbered list, using capital letters.

A. This is one line
<ol type="A"> B. This is another line
C. And this is the final line
Starts a numbered list, using small letters.

a. This is one line
<ol type="a"> b. This is another line
c. And this is the final line
<ol type="I"> Starts a numbered list, using capital roman numbers.

I. This is one line
II. This is another line
III. And this is the final line
Starts a numbered list, using small roman numbers.

i. This is one line
<ol type="i"> ii. This is another line
iii. And this is the final line
Starts a numbered list, using normal numbers.

1. This is one line
<ol type="1"> 2. This is another line
3. And this is the final line
An example of how type and start can be combined.

VII. This is one line
<ol type="I"
start="7"> VIII. This is another line
IX. And this is the final line
4.0 HTML IMAGES
4.1 INTRODUCTION
This section will show how to add images to your pages.
We will start out with a presentation of the two main image types on
webpages: jpgand gif.
After that, we will proceed with various ways to insert and customize images, with
a special focus on the different alignments you can choose.
While the focus of this section is images, there are a couple of aspects related to
images that are not covered here.
• If you want to learn how to make images work as links, you should go to
thelinks section.
• If you want to learn about browser safe colors for images, you should go to
the hexcolor section.
• If you want to learn about mouseover effects on images, you should go to

the javascript section.
Otherwise - let's get started.....

4.2 GIF & JPG
Computers store images in several different ways.

Some storage methods focus on compressing the size of the image as much as
possible.
A major problem with using images on websites is that images take much longer
to load than text.
To reduce download times as much as possible two of the best image

compressing formats used on the web are:
GIF JPG
256 colors Unlimited colors
Can handle transparent areas Can't handle transparent areas
This format is not good at compressing Excellent for compressing photographs
photographs and complex images
In general, it is excellent for banners, In general, it is not good for banners,
buttons and clipart buttons and clipart.
This means that:

• Banners, buttons, dividers, clipart and other simple images usually work
best as GIF's.
• Photographs and other complex images usually work best as JPG's.
If you want to use an image that is in a format other than JPG or GIF, you will
need to load the image into a graphics program and save it as either JPG or GIF.
4.3 INSERTING IN HTML
The tag used to insert an image is called img.

Below you see an image called "rainbow.gif".
Here is the HTML code used to insert the image on this webpage:
<img src="http://www.echoecho.com/rainbow.gif">
If the image is stored in the same folder as the HTML page, you can leave out the
domain reference (http://www.echoecho.com/) and simply insert the image with this
code:
<img src="rainbow.gif">
On the following pages we will discuss different ways to control how your image is
inserted.
4.4 RESIZING
You can change the size of an image using the width and height attributes.
In general, it is not advisable to reduce image size using these settings, since the image will be
transferred over the internet in its original size no matter what reduction is set for it. This will slow the
loading of your webpage.
This means, that if you have an image that is bigger in size than you want it to be on your page, you
should reduce the size in a graphics program, rather than reducing the size on the webpage using
the width and height attributes.
On the contrary, sometimes, it can be wise to enlarge images using this technique.
Below are two presentations of the exact same image - with different settings for width and height.
<img src="http://www.echoecho.com/rainbow.gif" width="60"

height="60">
<img src="http://www.echoecho.com/rainbow.gif" width="120"

height="120">
If you leave out the settings for width and height, the browser will automatically use the real
size of the image.
However, you should always enter the settings for width and height, even when using the
real size!
The reason is that if the settings are left out, the browser can't build the page until the image
is loaded entirely.
This means, that the visitor cannot read text around the image while the image itself is
loading - which in turn will give the visitor an impression of a slow loading page.
This becomes especially true if the image is inside a table.

In that case, the whole table will not be shown until the image is loaded entirely.
4.5 BORDER AROUND
You can add a border to the image using the border setting shown in the example below:
Note:
Netscape browsers will only show the border if the image is a link.
<img src="http://www.echoecho.com/rainbow.gif" border="5">
Adding a border to your image might help the visitor recognize that the image is a link.
However, the net is filled with images that work as links and have no borders indicating it - so
the average visitor is used to letting the mouse run over images to see if they are links.
Still - if you have an image that is often mistaken you might consider adding a border to it -
although you should probably consider changing the image entirely - since if it does not
indicate by itself that it is a link then it isn't serving it's purpose.
4.6 ALTERNATIVE TEXT
You can add an alternative text to an image using the alt setting shown in the example below:
<img src="http://www.echoecho.com/rainbow.gif" alt="This is a

text that goes with the image">
You should always add alternative texts to your images, so the users can get an idea of
what the image is about before it is loaded.
This becomes particulary important if the image is a link.

Few things are as annoying as knowing that you want to leave the current page - and at the
same time being forced to wait for an image to load before being able to do so.
It is extremely tempting to use the browser's straightforward options to leave the entire site
instead.
4.7 SPACING AROUND

You can easily add space over and under your images
with the Vspace attribute.
In a similar way you can add space to the left and right of the image using
theHspace attribute.
Below is an example using these attributes:
<img src="rainbow.gif" Hspace="30" Vspace="10">
As you see these settings allow you to add spacing around your image.
Unfortunately, they also force you to add the same spacing to each side of the
image (over and under - or left and right).
The workaround for this, if you only want spacing on one side of the image is to
use a 1x1 pixel transparent gif image.
If, for example, you wanted a 10 pixel spacing to the left of your image you could
use the transparent image (pixel.gif) this way:
<img src="pixel.gif" width="10" height="1"><img

src="rainbow.gif">
The 1x1 pixel transparent gif image is simply stretched to whatever size you want
the spacing to have.
This 1x1 pixel "cowboy-trick" is probably one of the most widely used workarounds
on the entire net.
The reasons are obvious: It works on all browsers and it gives you complete pixel
precision in your design!
4.8 ALLINMENT OF IMAGES
You can align images according to the text around it, using the following alignments:
• default aligns the image using the default settings of the Web browser. Same as baseline.
• left aligns the image in the left margin and wraps the text that follows the image.
• right aligns the image in the right margin and wraps the text that precedes the image.
• top aligns the top of the image with the surrounding text.
• texttop aligns the top of the image with the top of the tallest text in the line.
• middle aligns the middle of the image with the surrounding text.
• absmiddle aligns the image with the middle of the current line.
• baseline aligns the image with the baseline of the current line.
• bottom aligns the bottom of the image with the surrounding text.
• absbottom aligns the image with the bottom of the current line.
• center aligns the center of the image with the surrounding text.
In the table below you can see examples of the different vertical alignments you can make for an
image.
The note in the examples is only there to show how the circular sign is affected by other
images on the same line.
This means, that the alignments shown in the example are made to the circular sign and not the
note.
HTML EXAMPLE
<img
src="rainbow.gif" align="texttop">
bla bla bla bla
<img src="rainbow.gif" align="top">
bla bla bla bla
<img src="rainbow.gif" align="middle">
bla bla bla bla
<img
src="rainbow.gif" align="absmiddle">
bla bla bla bla
<img src="rainbow.gif" align="bottom">
bla bla bla bla
<img
src="rainbow.gif" align="absbottom">
bla bla bla bla
<img
src="rainbow.gif" align="baseline">
bla bla bla bla
4.9 WRAP TEXT AROUND
In addition to the vertical alignments covered on the previous page, images can also be aligned
horizontally.
To do this, add align="left" or align="right" to the <img> tag.

Consider these examples to see how it works:
HTML-CODE EXAMPLE
bla bla bla bla bla blabla bla bla

<img src="rainbow.gif" bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla
align="left"> bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla
bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla
bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla
bla bla bla bla bla
bla bla bla bla bla blabla bla bla

<img src="rainbow.gif" bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla
align="right"> bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla
bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla
bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla
bla bla bla bla bla
Another way to obtain the same effect would be to enter the image and text in an invisible
table. Entering text in one column and the image in another would create a similar effect.
You can learn more about tables here.

Otherwise, you should proceed to the next section to learn how to use images as
backgrounds for the entire page.
4.0 LINKS
5.1 INTRODUCTION
Links are the most fundamental part of the world wide web.
It is the links that tie it all together.
There are three different kinds of links you can have on your website:
• Links to anchors on the current page (Internal).
• Links to other pages within the current site (Local)
• Links to pages outside the current site (Global).
It is possible to make texts and images work as links.

With a little creativity other objects, such as pushbuttons or even drop-down menus can
work as links as well.
This section will cover the usual links: Texts and Images.
Other types of more advanced links will demand use of javascript. Look in thejavascript
section to learn more.
5.2 HOW TO MAKE LINK

The tags used to produce links are the <a> and </a>.
The <a> tells where the link should start and the </a> indicates where the link ends.
Everything between these two will work as a link.
The target of the link is added to the <a> tag using
the href="http://www.whateverpage.com" setting.
The example below shows how to make the word here work as a link to yahoo.
Click <a href="http://www.yahoo.com">here</a> to go to yahoo.
You simply:
• Specify the target in the <a href=" ">.
• Then add the text that should work as a link.
• Finally add an </a> tag to indicate where the link ends.
5.3 COLOURS ON TEXT LINKS
There are a few settings that can be useful for controlling the colors of text links.
This page will teach you how to:
• Define colors for all links on the page.
• Define colors for individual links on the page.

Define colors for all links on the page
The general color of text links is specified in the <body> tag, like in the example below:
<body link="#C0C0C0" vlink="#808080" alink="#FF0000">
• link - standard link - to a page the visitor hasn't been to yet. (standard color is blue -
#0000FF).
• vlink - visited link - to a page the visitor has been to before. (standard color is purple -
#800080).
• alink - active link - the color of the link when the mouse is on it. (standard color is red -
#FF0000).
Note
You can click here to learn more about the hexadecimal colorsystem that is used in HTML.
Define colors for individual links on the page

The method described above is for setting overall link colors for the page.
However, you might want one or more links to have different colors than the rest of the page.
There are two methods for doing this:
• Placing font tags between the <a href> and the </a> tag.
This method will work on all browsers except MSIE 3.
• Using a style setting in the <a> tag.

This method works on MSIE3 and newer browsers.
The first technique would look like this:

Click <a href="http://www.yahoo.com"><font
color="FF00CC">here</font></a> to go to yahoo.
Note:
It is important that both the <font> and the </font> tags are between the <a href> and </a> tags.
The second technique would look like this:

Click <a href="http://www.yahoo.com" style="color:
rgb(0,255,0)">here</a> to go to yahoo.
Note:
The RGB numbers indicate amounts of red, green, and blue using values between 0 and 255. You
can read more about converting between RGB colors and hexadecimal colors here.
Now, since neither of the two methods covers all browsers, we need to use both techniques at
once.
This example will work on all browsers:

Click <a href="http://www.yahoo.com" style="color:
rgb(0,255,0)"><font color="FF00CC">here</font></a> to go to
yahoo.
The last example is interesting. Not only because it will work on all browsers. But even more
because it shows a general approach to making your pages browser safe.
Since browsers simply leave out information that is not understood, you can work around
browser differences by simply adding different settings for multiple browsers.
If you want more advanced effects you should jump to the section aboutstylesheets.
5.4 LINK TARGETS
By default, links will open in the current window or frame.

You need to add a target if you want the link to open in another window or frame
than the link itself is placed in.
To do this you simply add a target="" to the <a href>.

This example will open yahoo in a new window:
<a href="http://www.yahoo.com" target="_blank">
Predefined targets are:

• _blank loads the page into a new browser window.
• _self loads the page into the current window.
• _parent loads the page into the frame that is superior to the frame the
hyperlink is in.
• _top cancels all frames, and loads in full browser window.
In addition to these, you can also enter the name of a frame window if your page is
within a frameset.
You can click here to learn more about links in framesets.

5.5 NO UNDERLINE
By default, text links are underlined by the browser.

If your page is visited by MSIE3 or newer, you can turn off the underlining for an entire page by
adding a style tag to the head section of the document.
Look at this example:

<html>
<head>
<title>This is my page</title>
<style type="text/css">

</style>
</head>
<body>
Welcome to my world!<br>
<a href="http://www.yahoo.com">This Link To Yahoo has no
underline</a>
</body>
</html>
Note:
The style setting will not cause an error if viewed on a browser that doesn't support it. The
browser will simply skip the effect - the link will look like an ordinary underlined link - but no
errors will occur.
You can create much more advanced links with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). If you're
new to CSS you can learn about it in our CSS tutorial. If you're already familiar with CSS
you can learn more about it in the section about CSS links.
5.6 ADVANCED TEXT LINKS
Instead of just turning off the underline on all links you could be more specific in defining the way
you want your links to work.
In the example below underlining is turned off for all links.

The A:hover tells the browser that when the mouse is over a link the underline should appear.
The hover option only works on MSIE 4+.
(But it does not cause an error on Netscape if you include it - the effect just does not appear.).
<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">

</style>
</head>
<body>
<a href="http://www.yahoo.com">This Link To Yahoo has no
underline</a>
</body>
</html>
The methods described above will turn off the underline effect for links on the entire page.
If you want to turn off the effect for just a single link, add a style property to the<a href> tag:
<a href="http://www.yahoo.com" style="text-decoration: none">Go

to Yahoo</a>
NOTE:
The method described above only works on MSIE 3, Netscape 4 or newer browsers.
You can make multiple style settings instead of just removing the underline. Why not define the
colors you want for visited links as well?
This example will show you how:

<html>
<head>
<STYLE TYPE="text/css"></STYLE>
</head>
<body>
<a href="http://www.yahoo.com CLASS=set1> Yahoo </a>
<a href="http://www.hotbot.com CLASS=set2> Hotbot </a>
</body>
</html>
Try clicking the two links below to see how these effects would work. (links have been deactivated
on this page)
Yahoo
Hotbot
You can create much more advanced links with CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). If you're
new to CSS you can learn all about it at our CSS-tutorial. If you're allready familiar with CSS
you can learn all about CSS-links in the section about CSS-links.
5.7 IMAGE LINKS
If you want to make an image work as a link, the method is exactly the same as with texts.
You simply place the <a href> and the </a> tags on each side of the image.
Below is the HTML code used to make the image work as a link to a page calledmyfile.htm:
<a href="myfile.htm"><img src="rainbow.gif"></a>
If you haven't entered a border setting you will see a small border around the image after turning it
into a link. To turn off this border, simply add border="0" to the <img> tag:
<a href="myfile.htm"><img src="rainbow.gif" border="0"></a>
Images that work as links can show a popup text when you place the mouse over it.
This is done with the alt property in the <img> tag.
For example:
<a href="myfile.htm"><img src="rainbow.gif" border="0"alt="Link
to this page"></a>
5.8 IMAGE MAPPING
It is possible to make one image link to several pages, depending on where the image is clicked.
This technique is called imagemapping.
You simply specify which areas of the image should link to where.
In the example below, if you position the mouse in the upper left corner it links to yahoo .... and in
the lower right corner.... it links to hotbot.
<img src="rainbow.gif" usemap = #example border=0>

<map name=example>
<area shape=Rect Coords=0,0,29,29 Href="http://www.yahoo.com">
<area shape=Rect Coords=30,30,59,59
Href="http://www.hotbot.com">
</map>
In the above example we only used rectangular imagemappings. Possible shapes are:
• <area shape=rect coords= x1,y1, x2,y2 Href="http://www.domain.com">
• <area shape=circle coords= x1,y1, x2,y2 Href="http://www.domain.com">
• <area shape=polygon coords= x1,y1, x2,y2, .., xn,yn Href="http://www.domain.com">
There are excellent tools out there to help you create imagemaps. No one calculates the
coordinates by hand.
If you want to use imagemaps on your site you will need to get a program that will allow you
to simply drag the mouse over the areas you want to work as links.
Most HTML editors have this as a built-in function.

If you do not use an HTML editor, you can still get programs that will do this boring job for
you - best thing is - you can get it for free!
Below are links to websites that will help you create your imagemaps on the fly.
Just make sure that the image is uploaded to the web before using these tools.
5.9 LINK WITH IN A PAGE
Linking to anchors is very similar to normal links. Normal links always point to the top of a page.
Anchors point to a place within a page.
A # in front of a link location specifies that the link is pointing to an anchor on a page. (Anchor
meaning a specific place in the middle of your page).
To link to an anchor you need to:

• Create a link pointing to the anchor
• Create the anchor itself.
An anchor is created using the <a> tag.

If you want to create an anchor called chapter4, you simply add this line where you want the anchor
to be:
<a name="chapter4"></a>
After doing this, you can make a link pointing to the anchor using the normal <a href> tag, like this:
Click <a href="#chapter4">here</a> to read chapter 4.
Note:
When linking to an anchor on a page you need to put a # in front of the anchor.
When you link to an anchor on the same page, simply enter

<a href="#YourAnchor">blabla</a>
When you link to anchors on external pages use this syntax:

<a href="http://www.yahoo.com#YahoosAnchor">blabla</a>
Anchors are generally used when you create pages with considerable amounts of text. You
would typically make an index at the top of the page linking to the anchors that have been
added to key places in the text that follows.
5.10 LINK IN FRAMESETS
If a non-framebased HTML document contains a hyperlink that links to a page

called analysis.htm then it appears in the HTML document somewhat like this:
Click here to see the <a href="analysis.htm">Analysis</a> of the

project.
Now if the same link was in a frameset, (say in the frame window called menu)
and we wanted it to link to a page that is loaded in the other frame window,
(named main) then the HTML code would be:
Click here to see the <a

href="analysis.htm"target="main">Analysis</a> of the project
We simply added the desired frame window (main) as a target for the link.
The link will be opened in the main frame window instead of the menu frame
window where the link itself is located.
5.11 LINK IN NEW WINDOW

If you want your link to open a page in a new window use the target="_blank" in the <a href> tag.
Targetting the link to "_blank" simply opens a new browser window that will load the linked page.
Linking to Yahoo the traditional way would require this link:
<a href="http://www.yahoo.com">Go to Yahoo</a>
If you add a target="_blank", the page will open in a new window:

<a href="http://www.yahoo.com" target="_blank">Go to Yahoo</a>
Click the link below to see this link in action:

Go to Yahoo
If you want to customize the new window as to which buttons, menus etc. should be
available and which size it should have, you will need to do that with javascript.
You can use our Popup Tool to create your own customized windows without knowledge of
javascript.
You can learn more about predefined link targets here.

5.12 LINK TO E-MAIL
Having a link that allows visitors to send email from your website can be a great addition to your
site, making it easy for your visitors to send questions or comments.
There is a special link for this action.

Email links are done much the same as links to other pages, using the
<a href> tag.
An email link would require the following code:

<a href="mailto:youremailaddress">Email Me</a>
This will result in the visitor's email program opening a new email with your address already in the
To: field.
If you wish to have a specific subject in the email, you can add it to the html code
using subject= setting :
<a href="mailto:email@echoecho.com?subject=SweetWords">
Send Email</a>
Suppose you want an email link for your visitors containing specific text in the body of their
message, simply add &body=:
<a href="mailto:email@echoecho.com?body=Please send me a copy of

your new program!">Send Email</a>
Or combine all the options and allow your visitor to send email with the address, subject and text
already entered.
<a href="mailto:email@echoecho.com?subject=SweetWords
&body=Please send me a copy of your new program!">Email Me</a>
6.0 HTML BACKGROUNDS
6.1 INTRODUCTION
When deciding whether you want to use a plain color or an image you should consider the fact that
very few of the web's 100 most visited sites use background images.
More than 90 percent have a plain white background.

The few pages that actually do use images use very discrete and fast loading images for the
purpose.
When picking the desired color - whether it be plain or an image - you should also consider the fact
that some colors work with almost any other color - while there are colors that only work with a
limited number of contrasts.
If you use green on a red background, it will look different than if you use the same green on a blue
background. Without digging into deep theories about colors, we will make a note on the fact that
white, gray and black colors tend to be balanced against other colors. That is, white, gray and black
work with any of the colors in the rainbow.
This is probably the reason that white, black and gray are the most widely used background colors
found on the net.
If you're designing for a company that has a certain color they use in other graphics, it is very
tempting to pick that same color for the background of the webpage. This might be a good idea, but
there are other ways to emphasize a certain color than to use it as background for the page.
If, for example, you see a huge white wall with a bright red dot on it, which color makes the biggest
impression on you? The 500 square feet of white or the one square foot of red?
The conclusion is, that limited use of colors often makes the appearence of the colors more
powerful than if the entire page was one big painting.
Furthermore, when you limit your use of colors, you can use the colors more to underscore the
navigation of the page. If secondary navigation elements are held in pale colors while primary
elements are sharp - then the user will, by intuition, get the point.
You can read more about colors on webpages here.
Whether you want to add an image or a plain color as background you need to specify it in
the <body> tag.
The following pages will teach you how.....

6.2 BACKGROUND COLOUR
Adding a plain background color to your page is easy.
All you need to do is add a bgcolor property to the body tag:
<body bgcolor="#FF0000">
As you see, the background color (#FF0000) is entered as a hexadecimal value. You can
click here to learn about the hexadecimal system used on HTML pages.
While plain white and plain black are the most widely used colors on the net, there seems to be a
trend moving towards slight variations of these.
The reason is that the sharp contrast between pure white or black and the text color might be less
readable than a slightly faded white/black.
Look at these examples and choose for yourself which is most readable. To the left are plain
white/black and to the right are slight variations.
Bla bla bla bla Bla bla bla bla

bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla
bla bla bla bla bla bla
Bla bla bla bla Bla bla bla bla

bla bla bla bla bla bla
Another popular technique to give the background more of a paper touch is to use an image
as background.
The next page will teach you how.....
6.3 BACKGROUND IMAGE
If you want to add a background image instead of a plain color there are some considerations you
should make before doing so:
• Is the background image discrete enough to not take away the focus from what's written on
it?
• Will the background image work with the text colors and link colors I set up for the page?
• Will the background image work with the other images I want to put on the page?
• How long will the page take to load my background

image? Is it simply too big?
• Will the background image work when it is copied to fill the entire page? In all screen
resolutions?
After answering these questions, if you still want to add the background image you will need to
specify in the <body> tag which image should be used for the background.
<body background="drkrainbow.gif">
Note:
If the image you're using is smaller than the screen, the image will be replicated until it fills the
entire screen.
If, say you wanted a striped background for your page, you wouldn't have to make a huge image for
it. Basically you could just make an image that is two pixels high and one pixel wide. When inserted
on the page the two dots will be copied to fill the page - thus making what looks like a full screen
striped image.
When you choose to use a background image for the page it is always a good idea to specify a
background color as well.
<body background="drkrainbow.gif" bgcolor="#333333">
The reason is that until the background image is loaded, the background color will be shown.
If there is too much difference between the background color and the background image, it will look
disturbing once the browser shifts from the background color to the image.
Therefore it is a good idea to specify a background color that matches the colors of the image as
close as possible.
You may have noticed that background images scroll with the page when you use the scroll
bar.
The last page in this section will teach you how to add a fixed image to your page.....
6.4 FIXED IMAGE
The background image will scroll when the user scrolls down the page, unless you
have set it to be fixed:
<body background="drkrainbow.gif" bgproperties="fixed">
By adding the bgproperties="fixed" you force the browser to let the background be
fixed even if the user is scrolling down the page.
Note: Fixed backgrounds are only supported by MSIE and do not work in
Netscape browsers - instead they simply act as normal backgrounds.
As mentioned earlier in this section a limited use of colors can add more power to
the few colors that are used.
The most important tool for adding colors to certain areas of the page rather than
the entire background is tables.
The next section will teach you how to add tables to your pages....
7.0 TABLES
7.1 INTRODUCTION
Tables are used on websites for two major purposes:
• The obvious purpose of arranging information in a table
• The less obvious - but more widely used - purpose of creating a page layout with the use of
hidden tables.
Using tables to divide the page into different sections is an extremely powerful tool.
Almost all major sites on the web are using invisible tables to layout the pages.
The most important layout aspects that can be done with tables are:
• Dividing the page into separate sections.
An invisible table is excellent for this purpose.
• Creating menus.
Typically with one color for the header and another for the links following in the next lines.
• Adding interactive form fields.

Typically a gray area containing a search option.
• Creating fast loading headers for the page.

A colored table with a text on it loads like a bullet compared to even a small banner.
• Easy alignment of images that have been cut into smaller pieces.
• A simple way to allow text to be written in two or more columns next to each other.
The importance of using tables for these layout purposes can't be overrated. However there
are a few things to keep in mind when doing so.
Most important is, that the content of a table is not shown until the entire table is loaded. If
you have extremely long pages, you should divide it into two or more tables - allowing the
user to start reading the upper content while the rest of the page is loading.
Now let's proceed with learning about the different techniques...
7.2 BASIC TABLES

Tables are defined with the <table> tag.
To insert a table on your page you simply add these tags where you want the table to occur:
<table>
</table>
The above table would be of no use since it has no rows and no columns.
ROWS:
To add rows to your table use the <tr> and </tr> tags.
Example:
<table>
<tr></tr>
<tr></tr>
</table>
It doesn't make sense to write the above lines in itself, cause you can't write content outside of table
cells.
If you do write things outside of cells it will appear right above the table.
COLUMNS:
You can divide rows into columns with <td> and </td> tags:
Example:
<table>
<tr> <td>This is row one, left side.</td> <td>This is row one,
right side.</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>This is row two, left side.</td> <td>This is row two,
right side.</td> </tr>
</table>
Result:
This is row one, left side. This is row one, right side.
This is row two, left side. This is row two, right side.
This page has shown the core basics of tables. In addition to these, there are different
options for customizing your tables.
The following pages will focus on the different settings for <table>, <tr> and <td>tags.
7.3 TABLE TAGS
The following properties can be added to the <table> tag:

Property Description
align=
left left align table
center center table
right right align table
background=filenam
e image inserted behind the table
bgcolor=#rrggbb background color
border=n border thickness
bordercolor=#rrggb
b border color
bordercolordark=#r
rggbb border shadow
cellpadding=n distance between cell and content
cellspacing=n space between cells
nowrap protects agains linebreaks, even though the content might
be wider than the browser window.
frame=
void, removes all outer borders
above, shows border on top of table
below, shows border on bottom of table
lhs, shows border on left side of table
rhs, shows border on right side of table
hsides, shows border on both horizontal sides
vsides, shows border on both vertical sides
box shows border on all sides of table
valign=
top aligns content to top of cells
bottom aligns content to bottom of cells
width=
n,n
n,n%
minimum width of table in pixels
minimum width in percentage of window size
Note:
Table properties are set for the entire table.
If certain properties are set for single cells, they will have higher priority than the settings
for the table as a whole.
7.4 ROWS/CELL TAGS
These settings can be added to both <tr> and <td> tags.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
align=
left aligns content to the left of cells
right aligns content to the right of cells
center aligns content to the center of the cells
background=filenam
e sets a background image for the cells
bgcolor=#rrggbb sets a background color for the cells
bordercolor=#rrggb
b sets color for the border of cells
bordercolordark=#r
rggbb sets color for the border shadow of cells
valign=
top aligns to the top of cells
middle aligns to the middle of the cells
bottom aligns to the bottom of cells
width=
n specify a minimum width for the cells in pixels
n% specify a minimum width for the cells in percent of the table
width
height=
n minimum height of cells in pixels
n% minimum height of cells in percentage of table height
These settings are only valid for <td> tags.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
colspan=n number of columns a cell should span
nowrap
protects agains linebreaks, even though the content
of a cell might be wider than the browser window
rowspan=n number of rows a cell should span
Note:
Settings for columns(<td> tag) have higher priority than settings for rows(<tr>
tag).
Settings for cells (<tr> or <td> tags) have higher priority than settings for the
table as a whole(<table> tag).
8.0 HTML FRAMES
8.1 INTRODUCTION
Frames can divide the screen into separate windows.
Each of these windows can contain an HTML document.

A file that specifies how the screen is divided into frames is called a frameset.
If you want to make a homepage that uses frames you should:
• make an HTML document with the frameset
• make the normal HTML documents that should be loaded into each of
these frames.
When a frameset page is loaded, the browser automatically loads each of the
pages associated with the frames.
8.2 BASIC EXAMPLE
A frameset is simply an HTML document that tells the browser how to divide the
screen into split windows.
The HTML for the above frameset:
<html>
<head>
<title>My Frames Page</title>
</head>
<frameset cols="120,*">
<frame src="menupage.htm" name="menu">
<frameset rows="*,50">
<frame src="welcomepage.htm" name="main">
<frame src="bottombanner.htm" name="bottom">
</frameset>
</frameset>
</html>
Note that the frameset is only seven lines!

Let's split it all up and add the lines one by one...
8.3 CREATING A FRAMESET
As stated on the previous page, a frameset is simply an HTML document that tells
the browser how to divide the screen into split windows.
If the frameset looked like this:
The code would be:

<frameset cols="120,*">
</frameset>
The screen is divided into two coloumns.

The left being 120 pixels and the right using the rest of the screen (indicated by the
*).
The frame windows would have no names, so the frameset really couldn't be used
for any purpose.
Proceed to learn how to add names and default pages that load into your frame
windows...
8.4 DUPLICATE PAGES
You can add default pages to frame windows with the src setting.
Default pages are the pages that will be loaded when the frameset is opened the
first time.
Furthermore, we can add names to each frame window using the name setting.
This will allow us to make a link in one frame window, open a page in another
frame window.
In this example we added names and default pages to the frame windows:
<frameset cols="120,*" >
<frame src="menu.htm" name="menu" >
<frame src="frontf.htm" name="main" >
</frameset>
The entire frameset will look like this:
m
e main
n
u
We still have the screen divided in two columns, the left being 120 pixels the right
using the rest of the screen. (some screens are set to 640 pixels across, some to
800 and some to 1024, thats why the * is needed).
But now we also have told the browser that the left frame window should load an
HTML page called menu.htm and that the right window should load an HTML
document called frontf.htm.
In addition we have assigned the names menu and main to the two frame
windows, so now we're even able to link to specific windows.
We called the frame windows menu and main, but you could name them
whatever you pleased.
The frameset with a menu window to the left and a main window to the right is the
most common frameset seen on the web.
There are a few more settings we could add to the frameset.

For instance you might want the frame borders to be invisible.
Proceed to the next page to learn how....
8.5 BORDERS
To make frame borders invisible you simply need to add the parameters "cols-line"
to the frameset :
<frameset cols="120,*" frameborder="0" border="0"

framespacing="0">
<frame src="menu.htm" name="menu" >
<frame src="frontf.htm" name="main" >
</frameset>
The entire frameset would now look like this:
m
e main
n
u
We could still add a few more parameters to our frameset....

8.6 RESIZABLE WINDOWS
If you don’t want the frame windows to be resizeable, you should add the
parameter "noresize" to the frame src lines:

framespacing="0">
<frame src="menu.htm" name="menu" noresize>
<frame src="frontf.htm" name="main" noresize>
</frameset>
Now let's proceed with even more parameters for our frameset...
8.7 SCROLL BARS
Lets say you don’t want a scroll bar in the menu window.
Furthermore the main window should have a scrollbar if needed (if the HTML
document doesn’t fit in the window), but if not needed - there should be no
scrollbars.
Then the code should look like this:

framespacing="0">
<frame src="menu.htm" name="menu" noresize scrolling=no>
<frame src="frontf.htm" name="main" noresize scrolling=auto>
</frameset>
If you leave out the setting for scrolling, a scrollbar will appear if needed -
otherwise not.
The next page explains in detail how to link within a frameset...

8.8 LINKS WITHIN
If you have an HTML document with a hyperlink on the text "Analysis" for instance,
that links to a page called "analysis.htm" then it appears in the document as:
Jump to the <a href="analysis.htm">Analysis</a> of the project
Now if the link was in the menu window of our example, and we wanted it to load a
page in the main window, the HTML code would be:
Jump to the <a href="analysis.htm" target="main">Analysis</a> of

the project
We simply added the parameter target="main" to

the <a href> tag.
Now the link will be opened in the main frame window instead of the menu frame
window where the link itself is located.
Four target names are reserved, and will be interpreted by the browser in this way:
• _blank loads the page into a new browser window
• _self loads the page into the current window.
• _parent loads the page into the frame that is superior to the frame the
hyperlink is in.
• _top cancels all frames, loads in full browser window.
If you read through the pages in this section you should know just about all there is
to know about framesets in HTML.
It is possible to further enhance the control of your framesets with javascript. For
example javascript can prevent pages that were designed to work only within
framesets, from being loaded outside the frameset.
The last page in this section will show you examples of different framesets. You
can probably find and customize an example that is very close to what you want for
your own site....
8.9 EXAMPLES
On this page you can see examples of different framesets.
top
bottom
<frameset rows="16%,84%">
<frame src="top.htm" name="top">
<frame src="bottom.htm" name="bottom">
</frameset>
tl tr
bottom
<frameset cols="50%,50%">
<frame src="tl.htm" name="tl">
<frame src="tr.htm" name="tr">
</frameset>
<frame src="bottom.htm" name="bottom">
</frameset>
top
left right
<frame src="top.htm" name="top">
<frame src="left.htm" name="left">
<frame src="right.htm" name="right">
</frameset>
</frameset>
topleft topright
botleft botright
<frameset rows="50%,50%" cols="50%,50%">

<frame src="topleft.htm" name="topleft">
<frame src="topright.htm" name="topright">
<frame src="botleft.htm" name="botleft">
<frame src="botright.htm" name="botright">
</frameset>
topleft topright
brtl brtr
botleft botrbot
<frameset rows="50%,50%" cols="50%,50%">

<frame src="brtl.htm" name="brtl">
<frame src="brtr.htm" name="brtr">
</frameset>
<frame src="botrbot.htm" name="botrbot">
</frameset>
</frameset>
topleft topright
botleft botright
<frameset rows="240,240" cols="320,320">

</frameset>
topleft topright
botleft botright
<frameset rows="50%,*" cols="320,*">

</frameset>
9.0 HTML FORMS

9.1 INTRODUCTION
A form is simply an area that can contain form fields.

Form fields are objects that allow the visitor to enter information - for example text boxes, drop-down
menus or radio buttons.
When the visitor clicks a submit button, the content of the form is usually sent to a program that
runs on the server. However, there are exceptions.
Javascript is sometimes used to create magic with form fields. An example could be when turning
options in a drop-down menu into normal links.
You can use our online tool to create such a menu in less than 5 minutes - without knowing
anything about javascript.
Otherwise - proceed to learn more about forms...

9.2 EXAMPLES
A typical form example would be a search engine.
SEA RCH!
SEARCH THIS SITE
This is what happens when the form is submitted:

• The search words are sent to a program on the server.
• The program will search a database for matches.
• The program creates a webpage with the results.
• The results webpage is sent back to the visitor.
Another example would be a logon page.
FREE WEB-EMAIL AT
ECHOECHO.COM
Username:
Password:
Lo g In
NEW USERS: SIGN UP HERE!
FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?

This is what happens when the form is submitted:
• The ID and password are sent to a program on the server.
• The program will search a database for valid entries.
• If the entry is valid the visitor is sent to the protected page.
• If the entry is invalid the visitor is sent to a "failure" page.
Both examples send the contents of the form fields to programs running on the server.
On the next page you will learn how to run programs that can handle your forms (even if you
technically can't do programming on your server)....
9.3 CGI SCRIPTS
When your form is submitted you need a program that can receive the information and do
something with it.
Such programs are sometimes referred to as: CGI programs.

CGI stands for Common Gateway Interface, which is computer latin for a program that translates
information.
This translation is necessary because the server might be a UNIX machine while the visitor might
be sending information from a Windows platform.
Windows and UNIX handle information differently - so if there were no CGI, then UNIX machines
could only communicate with other UNIX machines etc. and that is pretty far from the basic idea of
the world wide web.
Now, you might be thinking "Well, I can't run programs on my server so this is nothing for
me".
Fortunately you're most likely wrong.

There are dozens of free services on the web that will offer you free CGI for almost any
purpose you might have.
We devoted an entire CGI section on this site, to help you find what you need - including
guestbooks, poll systems, counters, form mailers etc etc etc.
On the following pages we will introduce the different form tags and settings you can use....
9.4 THE FORM TAG
When a form is submitted, all fields on the form are being sent.
The <form> tag tells the browser where the form starts and ends. You can add all
kinds of HTML tags between the <form> and </form> tags.
This means that a form can easily include a table or an image along with the form
fields mentioned on the next page.
Look at this example:

<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>

<form>

</form>
</body>
</html>
Note:
Unlike a table, forms are not visible on the page.
The form in our example is useless for two obvious reasons:

• First it contains no form fields. It is simply comparable to a blank sheet of
paper.
• Second, it does not contain a recipient for the form once it is submitted.
To let the browser know where to send the content we add these properties to
the <form> tag:
• action=address
• method=post or method=get
The address is the url of the cgi script the content should be sent to.
The postand get methods are simply two different methods for submitting data to
the script.
If you are using a pre-programmed script (which we assume here) it is not

important to understand the difference between get and post.
In the description of the script you are using it will be made clear whether the
scripts should be addressed using one method or the other.
Below is an example of a typical form tag, with both action and method specified.
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<form method="post" action="http://www.echoecho.com/cgi-
bin/formmail.cgi">

</form>
</body>
</html>
All we need now, is to allow the visitor to enter some information.
The next page explains how to do that....
9.5 FORM FIELDS
These fields can be added to your forms:
• Text field
• Password field
• Hidden field
• Text area
• Check box
• Radio button
• Drop-down menu
• Submit button
• Reset button
• Image button
You can click on the field type to get a detailed explanation.

If you are already familiar with form fields you can jump to our Quick Referenceto view all
fields at once.
Finally, if you want to learn how to validate inputs to form fields (valid email address etc.)
you should check out this article from our javascript tutorial.
9.6 TEXT FIELD

Text fields are one line areas that allow the user to input text.
If you want several lines you should use a text area instead.
SETTINGS:
Below is a listing of valid settings for text fields:
Top of Form
HTML EXPLANATION EXAMPLE

text One line text field
size= Characters shown.
maxlength= Max characters allowed.
name= Name of the field.
value= Initial value in the field.
align= Alignment of the field.
tabindex= Tab order of the field.
The size option defines the width of the field. That is how many visible characters
it can contain.
The maxlength option defines the maximum length of the field. That is how many
characters can be entered in the field.
If you do not specify a maxlength, the visitor can easily enter more characters than
are visible in the field at one time.
The name setting adds an internal name to the field so the program that handles
the form can identify the fields.
The value setting defines what will appear in the box as the default value.
The align setting defines how the field is aligned.
Valid entries are: TOP, MIDDLE, BOTTOM, RIGHT, LEFT, TEXTTOP, BASELINE,
ABSMIDDLE, ABSBOTTOM. The alignments are explained in the image section.
You can learn about the different alignments here.
The tabindex setting defines in which order the different fields should be
activated when the visitor clicks the tab key.
AN EXAMPLE:
Look at this HTML example:
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<form name="myform"
action="http://www.mydomain.com/myformhandler.cgi" method="POST">
<div align="center">
<br><br>
<input type="text" size="25" value="Enter your name here!">
<br><br>
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>
And the resulting output from it:
En te r y o u r n a me h e r e !
Bottom of Form
9.7 PASSWORD FIELD
Password fields are similar to text fields.

The difference is that what is entered into a password field shows up as dots on
the screen. This is, of course, to prevent others from reading the password on the
screen.
SETTINGS:
Below is a listing of valid settings for password fields:
Top of Form

password One line password field
The size option defines the width of the field. That is how many visible characters
it can contain.
The maxlength option defines the maximum length of the field. That is how many
characters can be entered in the field.
If you do not specify a maxlength, the visitor can easily enter more characters than
are visible in the field at one time.
The value setting defines what will appear in the box as the default value.
ABSMIDDLE, ABSBOTTOM. The alignments are explained in the image section.
AN EXAMPLE:
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<form name="myform"
Enter Password : <input type="password" size="25">
<br><br>
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Enter Password :
Bottom of Form
9.8 HIDDEEN FIELD
Hidden fields are similar to text fields, with one very important difference!
The difference is that the hidden field does not show on the page. Therefore the
visitor can't type anything into a hidden field, which leads to the purpose of the
field:
To submit information that is not entered by the visitor.
SETTINGS:
Below is a listing of valid settings for hidden fields:
Top of Form

hidden Hidden field
value= Value of the field.
The value setting defines what will be sent once the form is submitted.
AN EXAMPLE:
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<form name="myform"
<input type="hidden" name="Language" value="English">
<br><br>
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>
The hidden field does not show, but still, when the form is submitted the hidden
field is sent with it.
In this example the hidden field would tell the program that handles the form, that
the users preferred language is English.
Bottom of Form
9.9 TEXT AREA
Text areas are text fields that can span several lines.
Unlike most other form fields, text areas are not defined with an <input> tag.
Instead you enter a <textarea> tag where you want the text area to start and a
closing </textarea> tag where you want the area to end.
Everything written between these tags will be presented in the text area box.
SETTINGS:
Below is a listing of valid settings for text areas:
Top of Form

textarea Text area - several lines
rows= Rows in the field.
cols= Columns in the field.
wrap=
off Turns off linebreaking
virtual Shows linebreaking, but
sends text as entered.
physical
Inserts linebreaks when
needed and even sends it.
Bottom of Form
The cols and rows settings are straightforward and simple. They specify how
many columns and rows you want in your text area.
The wrap options are the most tricky part of text areas.
If you turn wrap off the text is handled as one long sequence of text without
linebreaks.
If you set it to virtual the text appears on your page as if it recognized linebreaks -
but when the form is submitted the linebreaks are turned off.
If you set it to physical the text is submitted exactly as it appears on the screen -
linebreaks included.
AN EXAMPLE:
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<form name="myform"
This is outside the area<br><br>
<textarea cols="40" rows="5" name="myname">
Now we are inside the area - which is nice.
</textarea>
<br><br>
And now we are outside the area again.
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>
9.10 CHECK BOX
Check boxes are used when you want to let the visitor select one or more options
from a set of alternatives. If only one option is to be selected at a time you should
use radio buttons instead.
SETTINGS:
Below is a listing of valid settings for check boxes:
Top of Form

checkbox Choose one or more options
value= Value that is submitted if checked.
checked Default check this field.
The value setting defines what will be submitted if checked.

ABSMIDDLE, ABSBOTTOM.
The alignments are explained in the image section. You can learn about the
different alignments here.
AN EXAMPLE:
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<form name="myform"
<div align="center"><br>
<input type="checkbox" name="option1" value="Milk"> Milk<br>
<input type="checkbox" name="option2" value="Butter" checked>
Butter<br>
<input type="checkbox" name="option3" value="Cheese"> Cheese<br>
<br>
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Milk
Butter
Cheese
Bottom of Form
9.11 RADIO BUTTON
Radio buttons are used when you want to let the visitor select one - and just one -
option from a set of alternatives. If more options are to be allowed at the same time
you should use
check boxes instead.
SETTINGS:
Below is a listing of valid settings for radio buttons:
Top of Form

radio Choose one - and only one - option
name= Name of the group.
value= Value that is submitted if checked.
checked Default check this field.
The name setting tells which group of radio buttons the field belongs to. When you
select one button, all other buttons in the same group are unselected.
If you couldn't define which group the current button belongs to, you could only
have one group of radio buttons on each page.
The value setting defines what will be submitted if checked.

The alignments are explained in the image section. You can learn about the
different alignments here.
AN EXAMPLE:
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<form name="myform"
<div align="center"><br>
<input type="radio" name="group1" value="Milk"> Milk<br>
<input type="radio" name="group1" value="Butter" checked>
Butter<br>
<input type="radio" name="group1" value="Cheese"> Cheese
<hr>
<input type="radio" name="group2" value="Water"> Water<br>
<input type="radio" name="group2" value="Beer"> Beer<br>
<input type="radio" name="group2" value="Wine" checked> Wine<br>
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>
And the resulting output:
Milk
Butter
Cheese
Water
Beer
Wine
Bottom of Form
9.12DROP DOWN MENU

Drop-down menus are probably the most flexible objects you can add to your forms.
Depending on your settings, drop-down menus can serve the same purpose as radio buttons (one
selection only) or check boxes (multiple selections allowed).
The advantage of a drop-down menu, compared to radio buttons or check boxes, is that it takes up
less space.
But that is also a disadvantage, because people can't see all options in the menu right away.
There is a workaround for this - with the size setting, you can customize the menu so it shows more
than just one option at a time, but when you do that - you also lose the advantage of taking up less
space.
So whatever you decide - there is always a bonus and a price to pay.

Sometimes you may want to replace text fields with drop-down menus. This might be because
selecting from a menu is easier than typing. But it could also be because the script that handles the
form can't interpret just any text entry.
For example, you will often be asked to choose your state from a drop-down menu. This might be
because picking it from the menu is easier than typing the name of the state.
Along the same line, you may often asked to enter the 2 letter initials of your state from a drop-
down menu as well.
This could prevent confusion for the script that handles the form input. If, say, the script was
programmed to only accept capital letters, then a drop-down menu would secure that no invalid
entries were made.
Another typical example would be replacing links with drop-down menus.

This can be done with javascript. If you're not into programming you can easily create a drop-down
link menu with our online tool.
SETTINGS:
Below is a listing of valid settings for drop-down menus:
Top of Form

select Drop-down menu
size= Visible items in list.
multiple= Allows multiple choices if yes.
option Individual items in the menu.

selected Default select the item.
value= Value to send if selected.
Drop-down menus combine <select> and <option>.

Both tags have an opening and a closing tag.
A typical example of the syntax would be:

<select>
<option>Milk</option>
<option>Coffee</option>
<option>Tea</option>
</select>
The <select> tag defines the menu.

The name setting adds an internal name to the field so the program that handles the form can
identify the fields.
The size option defines how many items should be visible at a time. Default is one item.
The multiple setting will allow for multiple selections if present.
The <option> tag defines the single items in the menu.

The value setting defines what will be submitted if the item is selected. This is not always the same
as what it says in the menu. If our field was defined this way:
<option value="ID">Idaho</option>
then, in the menu it would say "Idaho" but when the form was submitted the abbreviated "ID" would
actually be sent.
You can force an item to be default selected by adding the selected option:<option selected>
AN EXAMPLE:
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<form name="myform"
<select name="mydropdown">
<option value="Milk">Fresh Milk</option>
<option value="Cheese">Old Cheese</option>
<option value="Bread">Hot Bread</option>
</select>
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Bottom of Form
9.13 SUBMIT MENU
When a visitor clicks a submit button, the form is sent to the address specified in
the action setting of the <form> tag.
Since visitors aren't always perfectionists you might consider adding a javascript
validation of the content before it is actually sent.
SETTINGS:
Below is a listing of valid settings for submit buttons:
Top of Form

submit Submit button
name= Name of the button.
value= Text written on the button.
align= Alignment of the button.
tabindex= Tab order of the button.
The name setting adds an internal name to the button so the program that
handles the form doesn't confuse the button with the other fields.
The value setting defines what is written on the button.
The align setting defines how the button is aligned.
The alignments are explained in the image section.
AN EXAMPLE:
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<form name="myform"
<br><br>
<br><input type="submit" value="Send me your name!"><br>
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Send me y our name!
Bottom of Form
9.14 RESET BUTTON
When a visitor clicks a reset button, the entries are reset to the default values.
SETTINGS:
Below is a listing of valid settings for reset buttons:
Top of Form

reset Reset button
name= Name of the button.
value= Text written on the button.
align= Alignment of the button.
tabindex= Tab order of the button.
The name setting adds an internal name to the button so the program that
handles the form doesn't confuse the button with the other fields.
The value setting defines what is written on the button.

The align setting defines how the button is aligned.
AN EXAMPLE:
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<form name="myform"
<br><br>
<br><input type="submit" value="Send me your name!"> <input
type="reset" value="Reset!"><br>
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Send me y our name!Res e t!
Bottom of Form
9.15 IMAGE BUTTON
Image buttons have the same effect as submit buttons. When a visitor clicks an
image button the form is sent to the address specified in the action setting of
the<form> tag.
Since visitors aren't always perfectionists you might consider adding a javascript
validation of the content before it is actually sent.
SETTINGS:
Below is a listing of valid settings for image buttons:
Top of Form

image Submit button
name= Name of the image.
src= Url of the image.
align= Alignment of the image.
border= Border width around the image.
width= Width of the image.
height= Height of the image.
vspace= Spacing over and under image.
hspace= Spacing left and right of image.
tabindex= Tab order of the image.
The name setting adds an internal name to the image button so the program that
handles the form doesn't confuse it with the other fields.
The src setting defines the URL of the image.
The align setting defines how the image is aligned.
The border setting defines the width (in pixels) of the border around the image.
The width setting defines the width of the image.
The height setting defines the height of the image.
The vspace setting defines the spacing over and under the image (in pixels).
The hspace setting defines the spacing to the left and right of the image (in
pixels).
AN EXAMPLE:
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<form name="myform"
<br><br>
<br><input type="image" src="rainbow.gif" name="image" width="60"
height="60"><br>
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>

Bottom of Form
9.16 QUICK REFERENCE
If you're not familiar with the form tags you can learn in detail about each tag listed
in the left menu. Otherwise - use this quick reference for an easy overview of form
tags and properties.
Top of Form

textarea Text area - several lines
rows= Rows in the field.
cols= Columns in the field.
wrap= Control linebreaks.

off Turns off linebreaks.
virtual Shows linebreaks, but
sends text as entered.
physical Inserts linebreaks when
needed and even sends it.
text One line text field
password Password field.
maxlength= Characters allowed to enter.
checkbox Choose one or more options
radio Choose only one option
select Drop-down menu
size= Number of items in list.
multiple= Allow multiple choice if yes.
option Individual items in the menu.

selected Make an item default.
value= Value to send if selected.
hidden Does not show on the form.
value= Value to send.
reset Button to reset all fields
name= Name of the button. Res et
value= Text shown on the button.
submit Button to submit the form
name= Name of the button. Submit
value= Text shown on the button.
image Image behaving as button

name= Name of the image.
Bottom of Form
Note: This is a quick reference showing the most common settings for each field.
For a complete listing and explanation you should follow the link to the relevant
field in the menu.
10.0 HTML META TAGS
10.1 INTRODUCTION
Meta tags are used to store information usually relevant to browsers and search engines.
For example, some search engines look to meta tags for descriptions, keywords, etc.
Other examples have relevance to the browser: Examples would be tags telling it to load a specific
url after x seconds or tags telling it that a certain page should not be cached.
Another example is the ICRA meta tag. This tag can prevent sites with adult content from being
seen on IE browsers.
Finally, some meta tags serve a purpose that is unique for the site in question. An example might be
a newspaper site, where the journalist sends a text of an article to an advanced tool that creates an
HTML document of it. This program may add special meta tags to allow an indexing of the articles.
So if you ever see a strange meta tag that is not listed the books, this is probably the reason.
The next page will explain why meta tags relevance to search engines is over rated...
10.2 SEARCH ENGINES

THE MYTH
It is a myth among web designers that with the right meta tags you can make it to
the top on all search engines.
The truth is close to being the opposite.
With the wrong meta tags you can make it to the bottom,
but meta tags alone do not take you to the top anywhere.
THE ABUSE
Two meta tags have special relevance for search
engines: Description andKeywords.
When search engines first started to look for these meta tags, the intention was
that web designers could emphasize what the pages were about. For example, a
scientific page about the surface of the moon might not have the word "moon" on it,
although the page definately related to the topic "moon".
Creative minds didn't take long to find out that this could be an excellent tool for
improving search rankings. Many webmasters included keywords and descriptions
that held no relevance to their page.
THE STRIKE BACK

After some time, the meta tags did not serve the purpose they were intended for.
Most were being used for spamming. Therefore, some search engines, such as
Excite, stopped looking at them entirely.
Other search engines, such as Infoseek, directed the spammers weapons back at
them. They simply ranked sites lower if the meta tags included words that were not
present in the content of the page.
THE CONCLUSION
• Use meta tags with care.
• Do not include words that are not present on your pages.
• Do not repeat words.

• Use the meta tags the way they were intended, because the search
engines are well aware that meta tags are an excellent filter for spam sites.
Let's proceed to the details about the tags.
DESCRIPTION
<META name="DESCRIPTION" content="AN HTML Tutorial">
Most search engines will display the description when they list results from a
search.
If you do not include this tag, then the engine will simply list the first words on the
page - which is not always very meaningful.
KEYWORDS
<META name="KEYWORDS" content="html, webdesign, javascript">
This meta tag was intended to be used for keywords with special relevance for the
page.
But because of misuse, many engines skip them. Others use them as an indicator
of whether a page is spam or not.
The few that use them to indicate what the page is really about, do not value them
as much as they used to.
OTHER TAGS
Many HTML editors create a meta tag telling which program was used for the
page.
<META name="GENERATOR" content="Frontpage 3.0">

Another common tag tells who created the page:
<META name="AUTHOR" content="Bill Gates">
Finally there are some meta tags that are only relevant to certain search engines.
Individual search engines will recognize different tags telling it when to come back
and re-index the site etc.
Look at the help sections for particular search engines to see which meta tags are
supported.
10.3AUTO LOAD PAGES
You can use the refresh meta tag to automatically load a page after x seconds.
<META http-equiv="REFRESH" content="5;
url=http://www.echoecho.com">
In the example www.echoecho.com is loaded after 5 seconds.

Below are a few examples on using this tag.
EXAMPLE 1: REDIRECT TO NEW DOMAIN

The most common use of the REFRESH meta tag is for redirection. Typically
when a site changes the domain name.
If you take a site down from the old domain - people who go to there from
bookmarks will get an: Error 404 - File Not Found.
Instead you should place a page on the old domain saying something like "This
site has moved. Please wait and you will be taken to the new domain. Remember
to update your bookmarks."
If you keep this page on the old domain for a few months you will not loose the
visitors that already have your site bookmarked with the old domain name.
EXAMPLE 2: INTRO SEQUENCE OF PAGES

Another more creative use of the REFRESH tag is a fancy intro to a site.
Say, you wanted the page to write "Welcome", then after 1 second, "Get Ready!",
and after one more second it should say "For A Special Experience". Finally, after
a few seconds the real page would be loaded.
This could be achieved by creating 3 pages with a refresh tag on them. The first
page would load the second page after 1 second, which in turn would have a
refresh tag that loads the third page after 1 more second.
10.4 RSACI CONTENT
It is possible to lock the browser from viewing pages that have not been classified
using the ICRA system (Internet Content Rating Association, formerly known as
RSACi).
To see how the rating system works on Internet Explorer, choose the Tools-
>Internet Options->Content. Try enable the "content advisor" to turn the function
on.
Internet Explorer 3.0 and above, as well as new versions of Netscape support this
service.
Specifying information for content restricted browsers:

<meta http-equiv="pics-label" content='(pics-1.1
"http://www.icra.org/ratingsv02.html" l gen true for
"http://www.echoecho.com" r (cz 1 lz 1 nz 1 oz 1 vz 1)
"http://www.rsac.org/ratingsv01.html" l gen true for
"http://www.echoecho.com" r (n 0 s 0 v 0 l 0))' />
You need to visit www.icra.org for a full description of this tag, as well as
obtaining your own clarification code for your page.
The service is free and should be used on all pages, even the pages that do not
contain bad language or adult content. The reason being, that many company
browsers have been set up to not allow viewing of pages without a content rating.
11.0 HTML HEXCOLOURS

11.0 INTRODUCTION
For some reason colors in HTML are specified using hexadecimal numbers.
Hexadecimal numbers are numbers based on the value of 16 rather than the classical numbers
based on the value of 10.
When you count to 15 using hexadecimal numbers it goes like this: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B,

C, D, E, F
As you see the numbers from 10 to 15 have been replaced with letters.
A typical h1exadecimal color value would be A53C8D.
In this section you will learn how to understand hexadecimal color codes.
You will also learn to convert between hexadecimal and RGB color codes. (RGB codes are
used by most graphics programs to identify colors.)
Finally you will learn about an error in the color interpretation by Netscape browsers,
causing only 216 colors to look the same on all browsers.
First we will proceed to learn about the difference between hexadecimal numbers and
traditional numbers...
11.2 DECIMAL VS HEX
In classical numbers you have ten different figures, whereas in hexadecimal

numbers you have 16 different figures.
Below are numbers from 0 to 15 in both systems:

DEC 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
HEX 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
The highest hexadecimal number you can specify using one figure is F equaling
15.
With two figures the highest value is FF equaling 255.
To prevent confusion on numbers higher than 9 hexadecimal colors are often

entered with a # in front of them.
In HTML, color codes have 6 digits, like #FF3C96.

They are explained in detail on the following pages...
11.3 RGB COLOUS

Screen colors are defined by the colors Red, Green and Blue.
Therefore it is smart that HTML colors are defined in a system based on the amount of each
of the three basic colors.
This system is called an RGB color system.

(Yes, - RGB stands for Red, Green and Blue!)
Most graphics tools (Photoshop, Photopaint, Paintshop Pro etc.) can handle colors in a
RGB color system.
The problem is that while most graphics programs define the RGB code using normal
decimal numbers, HTML defines them with hexadecimal numbers.
This means, that you have to convert between decimal and hexadecimal numbers if you
want to use the same color in your graphics program and on your homepage.
We will explain the technique for this soon, but first, we will explain how RGB codes are
written in HTML...
11.4 HEXA DECIMAL RGB
A typical color definition in HTML would look like this:

<body bgColor="#FF8C67">
The color is defined to be "#FF8C67".

The # simply states that the following numbers are hexadecimal.
The first two digits are the amount of red (FF).
Digits 3 and 4 specify the amount of green (8C).
Digits 5 and 6 specify the amount of blue (67).
Below is an example showing how different colors are mixed to obtain the desired
result:
FF + 8C + 67 = FF8C67
Since there are two hexadecimal figures for each color you can specify 256
gradients of each basic color. This gives a total of 256*256*256 = 16,777,216
different combinations.
However, not all of these colors will look the same on all browsers and operating
systems.
Proceed to learn about the 216 colors that are "safe"...

11.5 SAFE COLOURS
Only 216 colors are what we refer to as "browser safe".

Browser safe colors are colors that look the same no matter which browser you see them on.
The reason is that browsers running on different platforms interpret the colors differently.
The only 216 colors that look the same no matter what, are the colors made out of pairs of 00, 33,
66, 99, CC and FF.
An example would be: "#990066".

You should always strive to limit your use of colors to these combinations.
You can use our color picker to pick browser safe colors.
The technical reason for unsafe colors is that Netscape browsers have their own color system. A
system that does not match with typical graphics programs.
You can easily make a simple test of the Netscape error.

• Try making a small image in your graphics program.
• The image should just be a plain fill with an unsafe color.

• Now convert the color value to hex.
• Then make a page with the hexcolor as background.
• Finally insert the image on the page.
Since you used the same RGB color for both your page and your image, the image should be
invisible on the page.
But on Netscape browsers you can actually see the image!
You can learn more about safe colors in our design section.
Otherwise, proceed to learn how you can convert between the decimal numbers you enter
in your graphics program and the hexadecimal colors you have on your HTML pages...
11.6 216 SAFE COLOURS
Only 216 colors are what we refer to as "browser safe".

Browser safe colors are colors that look the same no matter which browser you see them on.
The reason is that browsers running on different platforms interpret the colors differently.
The only 216 colors that look the same no matter what, are the colors made out of pairs of 00, 33,
66, 99, CC and FF.
An example would be: "#990066".

You should always strive to limit your use of colors to these combinations.
You can use our color picker to pick browser safe colors.
The technical reason for unsafe colors is that Netscape browsers have their own color system. A
system that does not match with typical graphics programs.
You can easily make a simple test of the Netscape error.

• Try making a small image in your graphics program.
• The image should just be a plain fill with an unsafe color.
• Now convert the color value to hex.
• Then make a page with the hexcolor as background.
• Finally insert the image on the page.
Since you used the same RGB color for both your page and your image, the image should be
invisible on the page.
But on Netscape browsers you can actually see the image!
You can learn more about safe colors in our design section.
Otherwise, proceed to learn how you can convert between the decimal numbers you enter
in your graphics program and the hexadecimal colors you have on your HTML pages...
11.7 CONVERTING HEX-DEC
It's easy to convert between hex values and decimal values.

All you need is a calculator that can handle both types.
If you're using Windows, start the calculator that comes with the operating system.
Make sure the view option is set to "scientific".
Enter the decimal value.

Click the Hex field - and watch the calculator convert the number to hex.
Needless to say, you can do it the other way around to calculate decimal values from hex values.
Thats it!
There are a few colors that are so common that they can be defined by their common name.
Jump to the next page to see them...
11.8 NAMED COLOURS
A few colors can be referred to using names rather than hex values.
<body bgColor=Navy>
Below is a listing of these colors and their names:

Black Yellow Red Maroon
Gray Lime Green Olive
Silver Aqua Blue Navy
White Fuchsia Purple Teal
If you want to use other colors, you should make sure to pick safe ones.
The last page in this tutorial will help you with that....
11.8 COLOUR SAMOLES
Below you see 18 tables covering the entire rainbow.

All colors are browser safe.
Each table shows 36 different color combinations.
In the upper left corner of the table is the fixed amount of either red, green or blue
used on all samples in the table.
Depending on which color is fixed for the table, the two other colors can be read
along the axis.
Click on the desired color to see the hex value.

0 0 3 6 9 C F 0 0 3 6 9 C F 0 0 3 6 9 C F
0 0 3 6 9 C F 0 0 3 6 9 C F 0 0 3 6 9 C F
0 0 0
0 0 0
3 3 3
3 3 3
6 6 6
6 6 6
9 9 9
9 9 9
C C C
C C C
F F F
F F F
3 0 3 6 9 C F 3 0 3 6 9 C F 3 0 3 6 9 C F
3 0 3 6 9 C F 3 0 3 6 9 C F 3 0 3 6 9 C F
0 0 0
0 0 0
3 3 3
3 3 3
6 6 6
6 6 6
9 9 9
9 9 9
C C C
C C C
F F F
F F F
6 0 3 6 9 C F 6 0 3 6 9 C F 6 0 3 6 9 C F
6 0 3 6 9 C F 6 0 3 6 9 C F 6 0 3 6 9 C F
0 0 0
0 0 0
3 3 3
3 3 3
6 6 6
6 6 6
9 9 9
9 9 9
C C C
C C C
F F F
F F F
9 0 3 6 9 C F 9 0 3 6 9 C F 9 0 3 6 9 C F
9 0 3 6 9 C F 9 0 3 6 9 C F 9 0 3 6 9 C F
0 0 0
0 0 0
3 3 3
3 3 3
6 6 6
6 6 6
9 9 9
9 9 9
C C C
C C C
F F F
F F F
C 0 3 6 9 C F C 0 3 6 9 C F C 0 3 6 9 C F
C 0 3 6 9 C F C 0 3 6 9 C F C 0 3 6 9 C F
0 0 0
0 0 0
3 3 3
3 3 3
6 6 6
6 6 6
9 9 9
9 9 9
C C C
C C C
F F F
F F F
F 0 3 6 9 C F F 0 3 6 9 C F F 0 3 6 9 C F
F 0 3 6 9 C F F 0 3 6 9 C F F 0 3 6 9 C F
0 0 0
0 0 0
3 3 3
3 3 3
6 6 6
6 6 6
9 9 9
9 9 9
C C C
C C C
F F F
F F F
----pavani sharma

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HTML TUTORIAL

HTML BASICS HTML LINKS HTML FORMS

INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION

WHY LEARN HTML? HOW TO MAKE A LINK EXAMPLES

TAGS COLORS ON TEXT LINKS CGI SCRIPTS

PAGE STRUCTURE LINK TARGETS THE FORM TAG

HEAD SECTION NO UNDERLINE FORM FIELDS

BODY SECTION ADVANCED TEXT LINKS TEXT

HOW TO LEARN MORE IMAGE LINKS PASSWORD

TAKE THE QUIZ! IMAGEMAPPING HIDDEN

LINK WITHIN A PAGE TEXT AREA

HTML TEXT LINKS IN FRAMESETS CHECK BOX

LINK TO NEW WINDOW RADIO BUTTON

LINK TO EMAIL DROP-DOWN MENU

TAKE THE QUIZ! SUBMIT BUTTON

HTML IMAGE BUTTON

TAKE THE QUIZ!

TAKE THE QUIZ!

HTML META TAGS

INTRODUCTION SEARCH ENGINES

TAKE THE QUIZ!

GIF&JPG IMAGES DECIMAL vs HEX

BORDER AROUND CREATING A FRAMESET 216 SAFE COLORS

ALTERNATIVE TEXT DEFAULT PAGES CONVERTING HEX-DEC

SPACING AROUND BORDERS NAMED COLORS

ALIGNMENT OF RESIZEABLE WINDOWS COLOR SAMPLES

TEXT WRAPAROUND SCROLLBARS TAKE THE QUIZ!

TAKE THE QUIZ! LINKS WITHIN

TAKE THE QUIZ!

1.2 Why Learn HTML?

The most important benefits are:

Such a markup is called a Tag.

HTML: the HTML for the above example:

1.5 HEAD SECTION

1.6 HEAD SECTION

1.7 HOW TO LEARN

2.0 HTML TEXT

Browsers can only show fonts available on the visitor's PC.

2.2 BASE FONT

Example: The page as it looks in the browser.

The <font> tag will change the font.

This local text looks different.

This text looks like the first line.

HTML: The code to produce the above example.

2.4 TEXT LINKS

Everything between these two will work as a link.

• Then add the text that should work as a link.

2.5 TEXT FORMAT

These are the tags for text formats:

2.6 TEXT SIZE

These are the tags for changing the font size.

<big>text</big> increase the size by one

<h1> text</h1> writes text in biggest heading

bla bla bla <big><big>whatever</big></big> bla bla bla

Click here to jump to the CSS tutorial.

2.7 TEXT LAYOUT

These tags will let you control the layout.

<center>You can center</center>

3.0 HTML LISTS

Numbered lists have <ol> tags instead of <ul> tags.

3.2 BULLETED LISTS

This page shows how to make different kinds of bulleted lists.

Look at these examples to see the detailed syntax.