JZ Presents - Ask Doctor Web

<BODY LEFTMARGIN="0" TOPMARGIN="0" BGCOLOR="#FF6680" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#990033" VLINK="#660033" ALINK="#FF6680"> <table border="0" CELLPADDING="12" width="399"> <tr> <td width="50"><IMG SRC=00002Y15.gif HSPACE=25 HEIGHT=1 WIDTH=1 ALT=""></td> <td width="325" BGCOLOR="#FF6666"> <P ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE="HELVETICA, ARIAL" SIZE="3"><B>THESE PAGES ARE CONSTANTLY UPDATED.</B></FONT></P> <BASEFONT SIZE="4" FACE="Times, Times New Roman"> <CENTER> <IMG WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=250 VSPACE=12 BORDER=0 ALT="Ask Dr Web" SRC=00002Y16.jpg><BR> <B><FONT FACE="TIMES, TIMES NEW ROMAN" COLOR="#FFFFFF" SIZE=5>HTML & Web Authoring</FONT></B> </CENTER> <FONT FACE="TIMES, TIMES NEW ROMAN" SIZE="4"> This <IMG SRC=00002Y15.gif VSPACE=10>is <B>a design page about a text-<WBR>based tool:</B> HTML.(Don't worry, we'll get to graphic design tools like Photoshop <A HREF=http://www.zeldman.com/abtgraph.html target="_top">later.)</a> <BR> <IMG vspace="8" hspace="8" SRC=00002Y15.gif> On this page I'll point beginners to the best places to learn HTML, the text code that builds web pages. For those who already know the code, I'll discuss ways to take it way beyond spec. I'll cover shareware <A HREF=http://www.zeldman.com/faq1b.html#edit>editing</A> programs and utilities; begin talking about what makes a page work (and what can hurt it); and offer tips and tricks for automating tedious processes and generally working faster and smarter. Just what you'd expect on a page like this.<BR> <IMG SRC=00002Y17.gif ALT="" ALIGN=LEFT HSPACE=4 HEIGHT=32 WIDTH=32>Even <IMG SRC=00002Y15.gif VSPACE=8>better, I'll let you in on one of the <A HREF=#os>least-<WBR>publicized facts</A> about web authoring: <B>nearly everything you need is already included in your operating system.</B> The companies that make commercial web authoring software aren't going to tell you about it, but on this page I will. <BR> <IMG vspace="8" hspace="8" SRC=00002Y15.gif>You'll learn how to add coherence to your pages by matching your <A HREF=#color>HTML colors</A> to the colors in your images. And find out why grabbing one of those spiffy new "HTML-<WBR>free" WYSIWYG web page editors could be committing <A HREF=http://www.zeldman.com/faq1b.html#pm>web suicide.</A> <BR> <IMG vspace="8" hspace="8" SRC=00002Y15.gif>I'll share secrets that let you create a strong sense of graphics where there <I>are</I> no graphics  only text. Suggest means of layout control in a medium that was designed to leave layout control in the end-<WBR>user's hands, not yours. And offer special techniques for web authoring on the Macintosh platform. <BR> <IMG vspace="8" hspace="8" SRC=00002Y15.gif>In the last 100 yards of this page, we'll look at the software through which your pages are seen. Discuss whether to design for Navigator and Explorer, or lowest-<WBR>common-<WBR>denominator browsers. And how to add powerful new capabilities to your HTML design arsenal without doing harm to older browsers. <BR> <IMG vspace="8" hspace="8" SRC=00002Y15.gif> I call these techniques <A HREF=http://www.zeldman.com/faq1b.html#punish>"punishment-<WBR>free enhancements,"</a> and you won't read about them anywhere else. (Other pages tell you how to use "cool new features" without warning you about what they can do to un-<WBR>cool, un-<WBR>new browsers. I'll give you information that lets <I>you</I> decide which trade-<WBR>offs work for you and your audience.)<BR> <IMG vspace="8" hspace="8" SRC=00002Y15.gif> Finally, we'll talk about <A HREF=http://www.zeldman.com/faq1b.html#style>style sheets</a>, a great idea whose time has not come. <BR> <IMG vspace="8" hspace="8" SRC=00002Y15.gif> After all that, we'll be ready to talk about creating <A HREF=http://www.zeldman.com/faq2.html>images,</A> adding <A HREF=http://www.zeldman.com/faq3.html>multimedia</A> (sounds, movies, animations and beyond), advanced <A HREF=http://www.zeldman.com/tricks.html>tricks</a> to make your pages behave the way you want them to, and a crazy little thing called <A HREF=http://www.zeldman.com/faq4.html>content.</A> <BR> <B>Unfortunately, <IMG SRC=00002Y15.gif VSPACE=12> you can't see the page, because it is stored in a frame and your browser doesn't like those. Not to worry; just visit the <A HREF=00002Y14.htm>frame-free version.</A></B> <BR> <IMG vspace="10" SRC=00002Y15.gif> <BR> <BR> <P ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF=00002Y14.htm><IMG SRC=00002Y18.gif WIDTH="90" HEIGHT="69" BORDER="0" ALT="more"></a></P> </TD></TR></TABLE>