American Audio DCD-PRO240 User Manual download pdf (Page 154)

Freeway Reference: Styling Text

154

HTML styles

FW Pro only

HTML is basically a text file which contains various bits of information. HTML is not a document description language in the way that

PostScript is. PostScript is a language that describes all aspects of a page from the position of blocks of text and images to any gradients,

lines, and fills used. PostScript is output by applications such as Adobe’s InDesign and Illustrator, and QuarkXPress, and any other

application that has a print button. This information is sent to a printer or image setter which uses the instructions to print the page.

In contrast, HTML is a description of how information is organized. This information includes text that can be read. It was not designed

for the control that one can exert over printed documents. It has been bent into that task by web designers who want more control over

the layout of the page and positioning of items.

CSS

CSS is an acronym for Cascading Style Sheets. These are used to apply styling to text and layout in an HTML document. CSS can control a

good many things: positioning of items, borders around items as well as the appearance of HTML-based text.

Classes

In HTML, a class can be used to assign one or more style attributes to a part of the page, for instance a block of text or an item. This

functionality is mirrored in Freeway using Styles. When a Freeway site containing HTML text is published, Freeway generates classes

for the Styles used on the page and assigns them to the relevant text or objects in the HTML output. The classes are then used by the

browser to display text and objects on the page in the way they have been styled in the Freeway document.

About HTML Text

HTML text is fluid; it can be resized by the user, and it can be read electronically by search engine spiders that index a site, as well as

assistive devices that help those who have difficulty using displays. HTML text can be styled — we can change the color, font, and size

of this text. What we can’t do is make this styling absolute. The user can always override the choices made. This kind of text can also be

selected in the browser and can be copied and pasted into another application.

HTML text also occupies a small amount of space. It is fast to download and will normally be displayed before any graphics are.

Serving Suggestions

The most we can hope to do is suggest to the user’s browser that the text is displayed in a particular way (for example Verdana at 11

pixels). The user’s machine may not be able to display the text for a number of reasons:

• The user has set up defaults that override your settings.

• The font may not be present on the client machine

• The site may be being browsed using a Braille reader or a system that reads text using a synthetic voice.

• The browser displaying the site may be too primitive to handle layout instructions (e.g. Lynx)

It should be pointed out that these are likely to be minority users, but remember that minority users have just as much right to view

your web site as those with the capabilities to view everything you care to throw at them.

What fonts are available?

Freeway offers a very limited set of fonts for use with HTML styles. This is not an oversight; Freeway gives you access to the fonts that

are most likely to be on most machines.

Google Web Fonts and other new HTML font options

There was a time when HTML text could only be used with one of the web-safe fonts—which is a small list of fonts which include

Times, Helvetica (Arial), Courier, Symbol, Verdana, Trebuchet MS and Georgia— but in the last few years a greater select of fonts have

become available as either Google Web Fonts or “@font-face” fonts.

Both of these new methods work in a similar way. Google Web Fonts uses code which links to a font that is uploaded to Google’s servers

(so it is effectively available on any computer) and @font-face fonts are generated and then uploaded to your web server with the rest of

your HTML files so they will display correctly on any computer.

To read more about using Google Web Fonts, see the KnowledgeBase article at http://www.softpress.com/kb/questions/276/.

There are two free third-party Actions which make it easy to choose any font that has the necessary permissions to use as @font-face

fonts. See the following pages on the Internet:

• Caxton: http://actionsworld.com/Actions/Caxton/index.php

• Web Fonts: http://www.freewayactions.com/product.php?id=034

Both of the above Actions will let you use third-party fonts as HTML text on your websites—but it is very important that you have the

necessary permissions to use the fonts, as using them as @font-face fonts is effectively sharing the font.

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American Audio DCD-PRO240 User Manual Page 154

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American Audio DCD-PRO240 User Manual Page 154

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