4 Replies Latest reply: Jul 5, 2010 5:08 PM by SEspider RSS

    Need Help With CSS Fonts, and AP Divs. (Seperate problems)

    SEspider Community Member

      Hello All,

       

      I've got two BIG problems  that I just can't figure out at all. No matter what I do, nothing works  for eith er of these two very different problems.

      I'm running  Windows7 and using Dreamweaver MX and CS4 (can't afford to upgrade).

       

      Problem  One

       

      Font Colors, Size, and Styles. I ALWAYS  end up having to resort to MX to fix these issues. I need different  color fonts for different paragraphs, I also need different styles and  sizes. But changing one always changes the others. I've gone to the CSS  panel and tried to change it there, but no luck. I've tried "Compound  (Based On your Selection)" option, but no luck there either. The problem  is that CS4 Forces CSS onto the user reguardless if they need it or  not. The only thing I need CSS for is Accordians, Flash, Drop menus,  etc. But when it comes to simple, flat out, HTML I no longer have  control as I do in MX. I ALWAYS start a new project as a HTML file but  CSS still automatically applies to the entire site.

       

      What  Am I missing?!

      I need to remove MX, but Can't until I figure this  CSS problem out.

      =========================

      Problem  Two

       

      This is nothing new to most here, I'm  sure. The demand for Flash Pop Ups that convert to a banner (Yahoo  Style) has risen and the demand has flooded my ears from clients. The  biggest is UGAI. Who's  site was created in MX largely due to the problem above. Advertisers are  asking for Full Page flash ads that either are small and pop up when  one hovers over their normal HTML ad or that fills an area and plays  short Flash and then resorts to their Flash Banner to reveal the full  site again. And they are willing to pay BIG for this seemingly simple  feature.

       

      How do I make this work? Dreamweaver allows layers/overlays that  I can apply transparent Flash  in. Also known as an "AP Div." But those layers keep jumping all over  the place. It gets worse when viewed in different resolutions. I can get  Overlays to work perfect on MySpace's 1.0 profiles, but not in  Dreamweaver or by hand via Notepad. And it doesn't matter if I'm in MX  or CS4.

       

       

      PS: I jumped from MX to CS4 shortly  after CS4 came out. CSS has proven to be a pain and now I've gotta learn  CMS (Joomla) as well. All on my own.

      >_<

      Here's a CS4 created site still early  in development.

       

      Thanks for any and all help,

      Richard

        • 1. Re: Need Help With CSS Fonts, and AP Divs. (Seperate problems)
          Mylenium CommunityMVP
          What  Am I missing?!

           

          The last 7 or so years of web development? I know that sounds harsh, but clinging to the old ways is not gonna make things better. The <font> tag has been declared legacy a considerable while ago already as have some other old HTML formatting features. You really need to properly learn CSS, including how to use spans, classes and IDs to separate your elements. So like it or not, it is your own wrong mindset that works against you, not the program.

           

          Problem  Two


          Again: Learn and use CSS! Pretty much all of these problems can be resolved and avoided by using DIVs in nested hierarchies and proper relative placement of elements using margins, padding and alignment rules, not absolute values. You realyl should overcome your unwillingness to change your methodology...

           

          Mylenium

          • 2. Re: Need Help With CSS Fonts, and AP Divs. (Seperate problems)
            Nancy O. CommunityMVP

            Problem #1 -

            As Mylenium said, knowing how to use CSS to style your content is the basis for modern web design. Stop relying on old school, deprecated HTML style tags. that make code invalid, bloated and inflexible to work with later.

             

            Let's say you have 3 paragraph styles you wish to use throughout your web site: Red, Green and Blue -- colors used here for demo purposes only.  Simply define the 3 paragraph styles in your external stylesheet and link your HTML pages to this physical file.

             

            CSS Code:

             

            .red p {

            color: red;

            font-weight: bold;

            }

             

            .green p {

            color: green;

            font-weight:  normal;

            }

             

            .blue p {

            color: blue;

            font-weight:  bold;

            }

             

            HTML:

            <p class="red">This is red and bold</p>

            <p class="green>This is green</p>

            <p class="blue">This is blue and bold</p>

             

            <p>This is normal text with <span class="red">Red text</span><span class="green">Green text</span>and <span class="blue">Blue text</span> in between.</p>

             

            How to link an external stylesheet to HTML pages in DW -

            http://alt-web.com/DEMOS/DW-Link-Stylesheet.shtml

             

            Problem #2 -

            You could do this fairly easily with a JavaScripted Modal Window system like Floatbox

            http://randomous.com/floatbox/demo

             

             

            Nancy O.
            Alt-Web Design & Publishing
            Web | Graphics | Print | Media  Specialists
            http://alt-web.com/
            http://twitter.com/altweb
            http://alt-web-design.blogspot.com/

            • 3. Re: Need Help With CSS Fonts, and AP Divs. (Seperate problems)
              SEspider Community Member

              Mylenium,

               

              Thank you for the info. I  had no idea I was 7 years behind.

              I have no issue with  learning CSS AT ALL; therefore no "unwillingness to change your  methodology." So my "mindset" has nothing to do with it.

              If I did not want to learn,  then I never would have purchased CS4. There are plenty of other  programs to achieve a lot of the same things but automatically.

              So it's easier to  understand where I'm coming from, I'll share a little info on myself.

               

              -Started working in Web 3  years ago and knew absolutly jack about about it. Someone wanted to pay  me to make their (now dead) site so they wouldn't have to pay a pro more  to do the same thing. I took the down payment and used it to help me  get MX. What they wanted was mostly graphics (I'm a pro in graphic  design) and text. I used MX's Design view to create the entire site  without touching any code. They loved it and started telling others. So  all of a sudden I'm getting orders to create similar sites that get more  complex over the years. During that time I teach myself all of the code  and can now write a site completly in NotePad.

               

              -I get CS4 in Nov. 2009.  Now I'm working hard to keep up with demand and learn both CSS, CMS, and  Joomla. I still go back to MX to fix simple CSS issues like colrs, etc  because it works and buys me time til I learn the correct, and current,  way to do it in CS4.

               

              -I'm 100% self taught and  use online tutorials rarely because I have little time to search through  them all for what I need. It's a slow and painful process this way, but  I am getting there. MySpace's jump to CSS really opened my eyes for the  need to learn.

               

              Mylenium, thank you again for  pointing out how far behind I am. I'm not upset, but please don't assume  someone is unwilling to learn or have a certain mindset because they  are stuck in a certain area. I AM willing to learn and working hard to  do so, as are many others. We may be old-school when it comes to  developing sites, but it still works. Out of all the sites I've worked  on over the last 3 or so years, I've gotten ZERO complaints and they all  STILL work. Old-School of codes may be considered legacy but they are  not obsolete.  And please, when someone ask for help, don't insult them  and not even try to help.

               

              ===========================

              Nancy,

               

              Thank you so much. I'll  check it out and get back to you on it.

              Looks like exactly what I  need.

               

              ===========================

              I'm typing this fast for  lack of time, so I appologize in advance for any and all spelling and  grammer errors.

              • 4. Re: Need Help With CSS Fonts, and AP Divs. (Seperate problems)
                SEspider Community Member

                Nancy,

                 

                Thank You. Although it was a little over my head at first, it did solve the problem.