You can preset the formatting used in web pages using style sheets or content defaults. Content defaults provide a limited set of formatting controls which only affect newly created web pages. Style sheets provide additional options to preset the formatting for text, paragraph, list, table, heading, and graphic elements in a web page. Style sheets affect all web pages to which the style sheet is linked. Regardless of whether web page formatting is controlled by content defaults or a style sheet, you can manually format content as you edit a web page using the Web Page Editor.
Style Sheet:Use this option to select an existing style sheet as the default style sheet for all new documents. This option may be preset for the Standard style sheet, but you can select another style sheet as your default. The default location for style sheets is the Style Sheets folder in the System folder, but style sheets can be stored in any folder. By assigning a default style sheet, new web pages automatically inherit the assignment. Content Default settings are ignored for new web pages when you set a default style sheet.
The Restore Defaults button is disabled if the Style Sheet is the default Web Page option.
Note: The Style Sheet assignment is included when you export content defaults. Distributing the exported defaults (.ops file) to all authors ensures that everyone is using the same default style sheet. See Export/Import Tools Options Defaults in this chapter for more information about sharing default settings.
Content Defaults: Use this setting to preset basic formatting options for new web pages.
Font Family: The default font family applied to text in a web page. The Font Family can be selected from a list of predefinedfont stacks or the system fonts installed on the machine. The default setting is Arial.
Font size: The default font size and unit applied to text in a web page. You can enter a numeric value or select a predefined size. The default setting is 10. The default font unit is points.
Text Color: The default color of text in a web page. The default setting is black (#FF000000).
Page Color: The background color for web pages. The default setting is white (#FFFFFFFF).
Select a Color:The same Color dialog box appears for all color settings in the Developer; text color, text background color, web page background color, cell background and border colors, bubble background color, string input background color, and Player and Presentation marquee colors. A No Color option for removing an applied color is also available in the Color dialog box for some web page and style sheet color options.
You can select a color from either the Basic Colors or the Web Colors palette. Web colors have an unambiguous color metric that render similarly for most monitors, and are therefore considered safe colors. The Web Colors palette is based on the Microsoft Windows default 16-color palette, but safe colors are not limited to these 16 colors.
The More Colors option provides the tools to mix your own custom color or enter the RBG (red, blue, green) values for a known color. Mixing a new color is done by using a combination of the vertical slider to select a color and the large palette to select a variant. As you mix colors, you can preview the results and view the hexadecimal value of your custom color. You may want to note the hexadecimal value of a custom color if you plan to customize the Player with a matching color.
Custom colors created with the More Colors option appear on the Recent Colors palette for easy reuse. This palette only appears after you create the first custom color. When the Recent Colors palette is full, older colors drop off as new ones are added.
Note: When you point to a color in the Basic Colors, Web Colors, or Recent Colors palette, a tooltip displays the color's hexadecimal value.