• Netscape Communicator is a free download that is found at the Netscape Site
• Click HERE to get the latest version of Netscape Communicator.
• Once you have finished this step you are ready to build a web-page.

Basic Controls/ Text         Return to top

The text tools in an HTML editor are much the same as in a word processing program. This tutorial assumes you have a working knowledge of word processing and will only cover differences between that and webpage design.

• There are tools for type format, size, color, style, bullets, numbering, indents and alignment.

- It is important to know that you can not use tabs in HTML. To simulate tabs, and move text around you can use the indent tools.
• To work with text you can either just type the text directly into the page or copy and paste text from a word processing document. 

- Any formatting the text orginally has on the word processing document will be lost once it is on the webpage!
• If a return is used on the page the cursor will jump two lines. If you wish to have only one space between lines of text you must hold down the shift key while you hit return or go to INSERT on the top menu bar, and choose NEW LINE BREAK.
• Although many computers have a great many fonts available to use in your webpage it is important to remember that if you choose a font that is specific to your machine other computers may not have that font. If the remote machine does not have this font it will substitute a different font for yours. It is therefor safest to choose either Arial, Helvetica, or Times. These fonts are found on most systems.

Basic Controls/ Images        Return to top

1. It is important to note that there are only 2 types of image files that work on webpages: GIF and JPEG. If you have pictures in a different form you will need to use a graphic editing tool such as Adobe Photoshop or Macromedia Fireworks to change your file into the correct type.
2. Once you have a picture you wish to use place the cursor in the place on the page you wish to put your image and then click on the insert image button  on the toolbar.
3. Now you will see this window..
4. You want to click CHOOSE FILE... and then find your file. Once you have found the file you want you will be able to change the size, determine whether the text is wrapped around the image (you will not be able to see the text wrapping until you preview the page in the browser, and how much space is around the image.
5. When you have set all the options you want then click OK. The image will be placed into the page.

Linking to Another Webpage        Return to top

1. One of the greatest assests of webpages is the ability to link to other pages that contain important information about your topic.
2. You have the ability to link either text or graphics to other pages.
3. To create a link you need to first select the text or object you wish to use as a link. Do this by clicking on the object, if it's an image, or by "dragging" over text.
4. Next click on the link button on the menubar.
5. You will now see the format window with the Link tab at the front.
6. You will see, in the the Linked text box, what you have chosen to be a link.
7. Below that you will see the Link to Box, this is where you will tell the program what file you wish to link to.
8. In the URL (page location) or File box type in the complete address of the page you wish to link to, including the http://.

Hint: It is much easier to open your browser, go to the page you want to link to and then copy the address from the location and then paste it into your pagek!
You may also link to a file that is located on your own computer by clicking the Choose File button and finding the file you want.
9. Click OK and you're done! Open the page in the browser window, click on , and see if your links work!

Linking to Another Part of Your Webpage      Return to top

You will follow the first seven step from "Linking to Another Webpage"!

1. The first thing you need to do is to put a "target" on the page where you wish to link to. (This is also called an anchor)
2. To do this place your cursor in the desired spont and click the target button.
3. You will then be asked to name the target, do so and click OK.
4. Follow the directions above for "Linking to Another Webpage".
5. Once you have the link window open look at the bottom of the window you will see the text Link to a named target in a specified page (optional).
6. In the box below this text you should see all the targets you have made, simply choose the one you want and click OK.

Creating a Mail-to Link

1. Follow the directions above for "Linking to Another Webpage".
2. Place your cursor in the URL (page location) or File.
3. Type mailto: followed by the email address you wish to use.

Example: mailto:jsmith@navi.nte

Changing the Background

One important aspect of webpages is the ability to customize the look and feel. The background is an important part of this.

1. To change the background color go to the FORMAT drop-down menu and then choose PAGE PROPERTIES from the bottom of the window.
2. The Page Properties window will open. Make sure the colors and background tab is on the front.
3. The top part of the window is concerned with colors. Here you can change text, link, visited link, active link, and background colors. To do this just click on the colored box to the right of the thing you wish to change, choose a new color and then click OK.
4. The bottom part of the window is the control of the background image. You may use an image as a background instead of plain color. 

HINT: Try to choose a background that is not very large in size. Whatever image you choose will be tiled so a very small piece is all that's needed. Don't use large images, they will take a long time to download!

Working with Tables

Webpages are built on a programming language called HTML (hypertext markup language). This can sometimes be a very imprecise system of presentation. To combat this problem it is important to use tables. Tables enable designers to arrange information and graphics on a page and be relatively sure that it will stay in that orientation on another computer. 
 
• The first step in using a table is to insert one. Simply place your cursor on the page where you want the table to be and then click on the table button .
• An Insert Table window will open. This is where you will be able to control how many rows and columns a table has, it's alignment, whether it has a border, it's width, it's heigth, and a background (if you want one different from the regular page).
• Once the table has been inserted into the page you can place text, images, graphics etc. into it.
• To control the table after it has been inserted into the page you need to place your cursor inside the table somewhere and then go to FORMAT and choose TABLE INFO...
• Here you will be able to control the table properties. Most of the controls are selfexplanitory, click on the different tabs and check it all out. 
• The one important control on this window is located on the Cell tab. It is called Cell Spans. This control enables you to make one cell "grow" to take over several cells. Here is a picture of what can be done. Notice how the top cell streches across two columns and the right column spans 4 rows.

• If you wish to add a row, column, cell, or table you need to choose INSERT...TABLE...
• If you wish to delete a row, column, cell, or table you need to choose EDIT...DELETE TABLE...

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©Christi Boggs 2002