Tag descriptions

In this chapter you'll find descriptions of every default tag of OptimaHTML.

Unnecessary closing tags

</LI> - Within a list, each list item is surrounded by the <LI> and </LI> tags. </LI>-tags aren't always necessary.

</P> - The <P> tag creates a line break and starts a new paragraph. The </P> closing tag is not required. This is because browsers understand that when they encounter a <P> tag, it implies that there is an end to the previous paragraph. <P> tags need a closing pair only when the <P> tag includes special parameters, which are very rarely used.

</DD> - Within a glossary list, each term's definition begins with the <DD> tag. Closing this tag isn't necessary.

</DT> - Within a glossary list, each term begins with the <DT> tag. Closing this tag isn't necessary.

</OPTION> - The <OPTION> tag is a standalone tag and does not require an ending tag.

</BODY> - The largest part of your HTML document is the body, which contains the content of your document (shown within the display area of your browser window). Closing tag isn't always necessary.

</HTML> - The purpose of the <HTML> tag is to tell the web browsing software that the document it's looking at is indeed an HTML page. Usually browsers understands that page is HTML page just by looking at the <HTML> tag at the top of the page, so this </HTML> closing tag (which is used at the end of the file) isn't always necessary.

Unnecessary meta tags & miscellaneous

<META HTTP-EQUIV="Author"... - A META-tag which contains the name of the page's author. Not required.

<META HTTP-EQUIV="Generator"... - A META-tag which contains the name of the program that created the HTML-document. Not required.

<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-type"... - A META-tag which tells the content of an HTML-document and its charset. This META tag is rarely required.

<!DOCTYPE..> - A META-tag that usually contains the HTML version used in the page. Not required.

<!--..comments..--> - Comments describe some parts of HTML-documents and have no affect to document's appearance in web browsers. They are usually used in prefabricated pages or HTML code for documentation. JavaScripts and SSI tags put their code into HTML comments, but OptimaHTML can handle these files really carefully, so needed data won't be deleted.

<FONT FACE="Times"> - This tag tells web browsers to use Times as the document's text font. Not required because most browsers use Times as the default font unless the user has selected to use another default font.

Carriage returns - Carriage returns in the HTML-code have no affect to the appearance of the final page.

Extra spaces - If there is more than one space in HTML code, it's usually a mistyping. You can remove extra spaces safely.

Double breaks - Double line breaks may be used in making double-sized breaks in the text. Usually one of them should be removed, since the effect can be created by using <P> tags.

Redundant authoring tags - Many WYSIWYG web page editors leave their own tags in the HTML code. These tags can describe editor's window position during page creation, version of editor etc. For example, Claris Home Page inserts different kind of <X-CLARIS...> tags. These tags are completely unneeded, so you can remove them safely.

Redundant internal tags - Cleaning up redundant tags means removing multiple definitions of a single tag. For example:
<B>Bold text</B> <B>Bold text 2</B>
  the same effect could and should be created like this (to use less disk space and to make code more readable):
<B>Bold text Bold text 2</B>

Empty tags - Some WYSIWYG web page editors may leave empty tags in the code, for example <B></B>. These tags are completely unnecessary, because they don't contain any data that would be eventually visible in a web browser.

Replace long tags with shorter ones - Some tags can be replaced with shorter tags which perform the same function as their longer counterpart, for example the <CITE> tag can be replaced with the <I> tag.

Style tags

<BLINK>...</BLINK> - Makes the text blink. Removing this tag will remove the blinking style from the text.

<TT>...</TT> - Makes the text look like it was typed with a typewriter. Removing this tag will remove the typewriter style from the text.

<B>...</B> - Makes the text bold. Removing this tag will remove the bold style from the text.

<I>...</I> - Makes the text italic. Removing this tag will remove the italic style from the text.

<U>...</U> - Makes the text underlined. Removing this tag will remove the underline style from the text.

<CITE>...</CITE> - Makes the text look like a citation, usually rendered in italics. Removing this tag will remove citation style from the text.

<CODE>...</CODE> - Makes the text look like a machinecode. Usually shows up in a typewriter font like courier. Removing this tag will remove code style from the text.

<EM>...</EM> - Makes the text look like emphasized text. Usually shows up in italics. This tag was a part of the first HTML-definition and unlike the I-tag it will have effect even in very old browsers. Removing this tag will remove emphasized style from the text.

<STRONG>...</STRONG> - Makes the text look like strongly emphasized text. Usually shows up in bold. This tag was a part of the first HTML-definition andunlike the B-tag it will have effect even in very old browsers. Removing this tag will remove strong emphasized style from the text.

<FONT FACE="..."> - Defines the font used to render the text. Removing these tags will make the text use the default font, which is usually Times or Times New Roman.