Easy Web Design: HTML Code

Netscape gives you four views on your document. Normally, you’ll use the “Normal” view. This allows you to edit your page and see basically what it will look like on the web. There are three other views: HTML Tags, HTML Source, and Preview.

Preview shows you exactly what the page will look like to other people who view your web page using Netscape.

HTML Tags shows you your page as it appears in Normal view, but with the HTML tags displayed in yellow squares. This allows you to select all of the text affected by a tag, and it allows you to edit the attributes of that tag (which we’ll get into next).

HTML Source shows you the underlying HTML that makes up your web page. You can edit the source if you feel comfortable doing that.

For example, Composer does not support forms in Normal mode, but you can add them in HTML Source mode and edit them in HTML Tags mode.

Go to Normal view or HTML Tags view and type some text to introduce your form, such as “Please enter your favorite color.”

Select those two paragraphs. Pull down the “Insert” menu, and choose “HTML…”. Type “<form>” at the beginning, and “</form>” at the end.

Almost all HTML tags have a beginning and an ending that look like <tag> for the beginning (such as <form>) and </tag> for the ending (</form>).

You should now see a big yellow box that says “FORM”. You can then double-click that and enter the necessary form information. Give the form a name of “favecolor” and an Action URL of “mailto:” and then your e-mail address. Choose “post” for the method.

Now, click on the yellow “FORM” box, and choose “HTML…” from the “Insert” menu. Just after the line about “Please enter your favorite color,” type “<input>”. Close the Insert box.

Double-click the new yellow “INPUT” tag, and specify a field name of “Color” and an initial value of “Paisley”.

Highlight your form by clicking on the yellow “FORM” box again, and choose “Insert:HTML…”. Place an “<input>” tag just before your closing “</form>” tag. Complete the insertion and double-click the new (second) yellow INPUT box. Make the “Field Type” a “Submit Button”. Give it a name of “submit” and a value of “Mail Me Your Fave Color”.

Anyone who clicks on the button will send you their favorite color.