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HTML Toolbar

As mentioned before, the HTML toolbar is what we will be using the most to design our messages. Here are the basic functions of the toolbar from left to right.

The Font Selector: In the screen shot above, it says Verdana. This is the font I am currently using on this web page. However, just as with this web page, in order for you to see this font, you must have it on your own computer. Keep this in mind when selecting your font. Try also to stay away from hard to read fonts like script-style fonts and those that are just plain weird. Here are some popular fonts found on most Microsoft Windows machines that are fairly safe to use.

Arial is a very popular font for letters for it's legibility.
Verdana is another font like Arial, but a bit wider.
Courier New looks like a typewriter font.
Times New Roman is by far the most popular font on the web.
Comic Sans MS is just plain goofy!

Font Size Selector:There are 7 different font sizes. Here are examples of theme below.

Smallest
Small
Normal
Large
Larger
Largest
Huge

Now, I strongly urge you to be careful when using the larger fonts. Please, again, refer to the netiquette portion of my web site.

Styles: Bold, Italics, and Underline: To use these functions simply click the button and start typing. Click the button again to stop typing in that style. Or, as with any other option, use your mouse to highlight the text you want effected by this style and then click the button.

Color Palate: Same as above. Click on this icon to select the color of text you wish to use in your post.

Numbered and Bulleted Lists: These two buttons are for lists. Click on the 1-2-3 button for sequential numbered lists and the bullets icon to make bulleted lists. Here's an example of the two:

1. Listed Item 1
2. Listed Item 2
3. Listed Item 3

• Listed Item 1
• Listed Item 2
• Listed Item 3

Positioning: The two => <= arrow buttons are for moving the margins of your text left or right from the default far left margin. This comes in very handy if you use a background image that is on the left side.

Margin Adjustments: Here is where you choose how you want your text aligned. To the left, center or right side of the window.

Horizontal Rule: This icon creates horizontal rules for separating text. You can click on the horizontal rule and resize it as you like.

Hyperlinks: The second to last button is the Hyperlink button. You use this to select text and link it to a URL. This can either be an e-mail address, web site, ftp site, or even newsgroup. There are others too, but these are the basics.

Images: The last button is the Image button. This one is a bit trickier to use. Any image you use in your document must come from a web site. This means when you enter the location of the image file, you must enter a URL such as http://www.domain.com/image.jpg. You cannot specify images on your hard drive since the recipient does not have the identical file on their hard drive.

Get Started On Your First HTML Post

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