I had asked about CSS and text, but I didn;t get any resonses so I’ll try a slightly different way.
Can CSS text styles be saved? I would assume this is different that the HTML styles that can be saved.
I’m coming from a GoLive (now, GoDead) background, which had a se up similar to the way FW sets up styles, but it used CSS instead of just HTML.
Thanks…
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Can CSS text styles be saved? I would assume this is different that the HTML styles that can be saved.
They are saved along with the Freeway document if i’m not mistaken. You could always start a blank Freeway document, create all your CSS styles in the Style Editor and then save the document as a template. This way could always start from the template with your prefered styles. Also, a style sheet is generated whenever you publish a site so you could try importing that into a new project.
I’m coming from a GoLive (now, GoDead) background, which had a se up similar to the way FW sets up styles, but it used CSS instead of just HTML.
I’m sorry, I do not understand your meaning. The styles created via the Styles Editor are CSS.
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Sometime around 21/5/08 (at 11:17 -0400) Robert Bovasso said:
Can CSS text styles be saved? I would assume this is different that
the HTML styles that can be saved.I’m coming from a GoLive (now, GoDead) background, which had a se up
similar to the way FW sets up styles, but it used CSS instead of
just HTML.
If you set your HTML page output level to the ancient HTML 3.2 then
all your HTML type styling will be output as crude inline font tags.
If you output in HTML 4 or XHTML then your output will be coded as
standard CSS.
There’s no magic difference in how you interact, other than when
working in a page output level that supports CSS your styling options
will be noticably greater.
The CSS code can be embedded within the head of each page or
generated in an external CSS document, as you wish. This is set up
using the Document Settings controls, accessed from the File menu.
Is this any help, or have I misunderstood something?
k
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That sounds like what I was looking for, Keith. Does the CSS button need to be “on” when doing this?
I haven’t exactly figured out what the button is for.
Thanks for the help.
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Sometime around 21/5/08 (at 11:55 -0400) Robert Bovasso said:
That sounds like what I was looking for, Keith. Does the CSS button
need to be “on” when doing this?I haven’t exactly figured out what the button is for.
The CSS button refers to the starting ‘behaviour’ (for want of a
better term) of objects you create - meaning HTML or graphic boxes.
It doesn’t actually affect text-based CSS; that’s down to the Styles
palette. Here’s how that button works…
When the CSS button is hilighted (blue) then items you make from that
point on will be automatically positioned using CSS code in the HTML
that you output, they aren’t laid out using an invisible table
structure.
When the CSS button is not hilighted (i.e. it is grey) then items you
make from that point on will be positioned using invisible table
structures in the HTML code that you publish.
One key thing to note is that this button DOESN’T change the state of
anything that’s already on your page. It ONLY affects the default
state for new items made from that point onwards.
Because Freeway doesn’t work directly with HTML code, it generates
this fresh whenever you preview or publish. This means that your
layout abilities aren’t held back by what HTML allows or doesn’t
allow - and you aren’t forced down one object positioning path (or
restricted in any other way for that matter) as you build your
layout. You can change an item’s final positioning method simply by
checking or unchecking the ‘Layer’ checkbox in the Inspector palette.
Is this any help? I’m actively interested in hearing how this
connects with your existing experiences with GoLive, and where you
might like more clarification with regards to switching to Freeway.
k
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Yes, this is making things much clearer.
I’m not a coder and I come from a print background, so, to me, FW works very similarly to a layout program, such as InDesign.
This is also how GoLive tried to work. Did a pretty good job, but apparently when you used the “easy” method of doing things, it produced some “boated” code (as the coders would say).
I need to work in it more to compare, but so far I like it a lot.
Is there any advantages or drawbacks from starting a site with CSS on or off? I’m assuming it looks the same to the user, for the most part.
Thanks for helping out with all my questions!
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Sometime around 21/5/08 (at 13:57 -0400) Robert Bovasso said:
I’m not a coder and I come from a print background, so, to me, FW
works very similarly to a layout program, such as InDesign.This is also how GoLive tried to work. Did a pretty good job, but
apparently when you used the “easy” method of doing things, it
produced some “boated” code (as the coders would say).
That’s one of the big drawbacks of trying to make layouts in an
environment that’s already based in HTML; the language itself isn’t
rich enough even to begin to approach the flexibility a designer
needs without dropping in proprietary code elements, hence the
code-bloat in what it generated.
Freeway, on the other hand, uses a higher-level design model and
outputs the optimal code to recreate your layouts, on demand and
freshly generated each time. It is a rather different way of working,
but definitely one that’s more akin to professional print design
tools. Unlike designing web pages in InDesign or QuarkXPress,
however, Freeway is made specifically for web output - the entire
toolset, feature list and application behaviour is made with this in
mind.
When I really do need more code access than Freeway and the range of
Actions provides, I’m already at the level where BBEdit rather than a
‘visual coder’ tool is what’s needed. It isn’t common, and it usually
revolves around crafting larger amounts of custom PHP.
Is there any advantages or drawbacks from starting a site with CSS
on or off? I’m assuming it looks the same to the user, for the most
part.
Yep, you’ve got it in a nutshell: “for the most part”. There are
architectural differences to do with using one or the other, and
there are differences in the page layout dynamics both in the Freeway
construction stage and in the browser rendering stage. But that’s
something you can work your way through as you progress; you don’t
need to worry particularly about most of that until you want to.
I suggest sticking to working with the CSS button active for the most
part. And avoid the temptation to use an actual table object (that
you draw out yourself) for layout purposes - unless you’re handling
tabulated data or want to control form elements.
Glad I could help. It is interesting to hear how an ex-GoLive user is
finding Freeway 5. I liked the idea of GoLive, particularly back in
the days when it was CyberStudio, but although it always was a
powerful tool the realities always seemed to be rather less than the
promise. Everyone will have their preferences of course, but I hope
you find Freeway 5 to your liking.
k
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