FAQ's

Hi, I'm new to this online class stuff and I don't know if we are supposed to log on at a certain time on a certain day or is this work at your own pace, just as long as we turn our homework in. Thank you.

You can log on and work whenever it is convenient for you. You can work at you own pace as long as all work is turned in by the fouth week and the final, however its probably not a good idea to wait till the last minute to do the homework.

What kind of test is the final?

The test will be given on-line. The questions are fill in the blank, multiple choice and true false. There will be about 40 questions. The questions are similar to those in the book at the end of each chapter. You can take the test any time during the last week of class. You will have about 1 hour to take the test. 

How do I download the sample files?

Double click on them, then click on Save. Save in a folder on your home computer where you can find them. If they are Zip files , use PKzip or Winzip to "unzip" them

How do I view the sample files after I download them?

For the sample files from my web site you need a copy of pkzip or winzip, free at www.pkzip.com or www.winzip.com. Use file open and extract to unzip them. The contents depend on the chapter. See my updates.

Can I do my homework on a Mac?

Yes, as long as the files are text files with ".htm" extensions. They should be readable by MS-Notepad and a browser like Netscape or Internet Explorer.

Do you want us to keep all our projects and turn them in all at once? Or do you want each project on a weekly basis?

You should turn in homework on a weekly basis if possible. Waiting till the last minute, is not a good idea. You should e-mail me the homework before then starting on the second week. I will give you credit if its OK, otherwise I'll let you know what changes you should make and you can turn it in later. Be sure you have a backup of all work on your home computer.

I am having the hardest time trying to figure out how to send my work to you. Can you please help me and let me know how I do it?

To send in your homework you attach it to a WebCt e-mail. When you compose a message you should notice two buttons on the bottom of the screen: "Browse" and "Attach File". Browse lets you locate and select the file on your computer that you want to attach. After selecting the file click on "Attach file" to actually attach it. You can only attach one file at a time, so I recomend zipping the files when you have more than 2 or 3 to send at one time.

What's the first assignment? How do I do it?

cssfaqs.htm is the assignment for chapter 1. Type it in using MS-Notepad as instructed by the instructions in the Downloads section. Test it by viewing it in your browser. To view your page use File|Open Page |Choose File from the menu bar or type the path into the location box on the location toolbar. Does it look the same as the graphic on the instructions? If not check your source code over and make corrections.

I cant see the graphics on my web page! What's wrong?

You could have one of the following problems.
When your web pages and graphics both reside in the same location DO NOT use a pathname to reference the graphics in the SCR= parameter, just use the file name. In other words, if the graphics and web pages are going to be in C:\xyz\abc, DO NOT put <IMG SRC=C:\xyz\abc\mypic.gif > just put <IMG SRC=mypic.gif > . On the other hand, if the graphics are going to be in one folder and the web pages in another, you need a pathname to the graphics.
Remember that if you have a reference to a graphic like <IMG SRC=mypic.gif > and the file name on the disk is Mypic.gif, this may not work either. They have to be spelled exactly the same.
Finally, make sure you really do have a copy of the graphics file.

I specified a Chaucer font in my styles but it is not taking effect . What do I do?

If the font is not installed on your computer, Windows will try and find a similar font. If you are not satisfied with this substitution, you should use "font-family to tell you browser to look for something similar, in this case a cursive font and use it instead. You can check your installed fonts by using MS-Word and looking at the fonts list or by going into Control Panel from Start then click on Settings and opening Fonts. To see a fonts style, right click on the name and click on Open. Remember, their are potentially millions of viewers for your web site. The more unusual a font style, the less chance that they will actually see it. If you want to guarantee that people will see text in a particular style, convert it to a graphic in Paint and display it with the <IMG> tag.

By the way, .bmp graphics files work when you said .bmp doesn't work with html. What kind of teacher are you anyway?

Not all browsers are created equal. What works on one may not work on another. To be sure your graphics are viewable on the widest range of browsers, use .gif or .jpg files for graphics and make sure your code conforms the the HTML standard.

I have a question on tables . If I create a table, say 3 rows and 3 columns, with a border and have an empty cell, how do i get it to draw the border around the empty cell?

An empty cell wont display unless something is in it. To create an empty cell that displays borders and background colors, insert a <BR> tag.

How do I Create a zip file?

Zipping a group of files is a two stage process. First you create the zip file, then you add the files. The procedure below is for Pkzip, Winzip is similar.

Open Pkzip then click on File, and New. Enter the name of the zipfile you want to create, for example: ch2files.zip.

You should now see the "Add Files Dialog" box. Select the drive and folder with the file that you want to zip. Select the files to zip using the "Add Files" button. Click on OK when done.

Attach the zipfile to an e-mail in WebCt and send it to me.

You told me I had a bug in my code, but my web page displays OK on my computer.

Internet Explorer, Netscape and Mozilla view errors differently. IE will ignore many errors, BUT other browsers wont. If you only have one browser, be sure and check your source code before sending me your assignments.

I was wondering why we use .htm instead of .html?

In "The Old Days" when real programmers used UNIX, the extension was html. Along came MS-DOS and it got shortened to .htm, since DOS and early versions of Windows only allowed three letter extensions on file names. Today you can use either extension. What you should NOT do is use Windows long file names. Most web servers are still UNIX and dont recognize them.

I have a question about my own personal Web site. I do not want "random Joe's" being able to view the details of my life online. I am building a site just for my friends that are up in Seattle to keep in touch with them . How do I get a logon/password incorporated into my opening page, just like the WebCT site?

There are two ways you can deal with this problem: The hard way and (my preference) the easy way. First the hard way. Take this class, then take Javascript and then take Java where you will learn how to set up a data base on the server with your friends names and passwords. You can then create a login form that they can fill in and when they click on the forms submit button, the information will be sent to a Java program ( that you have written ) which will look up the information in the database and , if there is a match , Download the appropriate web page.

Now, arent you glad you asked?

Oh, the easy way? Upload the page you want your friends to see. DO NOT put any links to it from your homepage, and send your friends the exact webpage name ( and path, if any ) including the "htm" extension. Only people knowing the page name will be able to access it. For example, if I have a page called "hidden.htm", you could access it at my Netcom web site by typing in the url: "www.netcom.com/~rmstewar/hidden.htm" . Since I dont have any links to that page, and I havent told anyone else the name, only you and I can see it.

Try it.

How do you indent text at the begining of a paragraph?

It used to be that you had to insert &nbsp; in front of text to be indented. Now you can use the text-indent proprty instead.

On the style values, sometimes after the equal sign the value is in quotes, and sometimes it isn't. I don't understand when we use quotes and when we don't.

As with using capital and lowercase letters, there was no real rule in older versions of HTML. In HTML 4 and above it is recomended that you use them, as well as using all lowercase letters for tags .

I have the incredible opportunity to go overseas in just a few weeks, I could RUSH thru the rest of the assignments to finish before I leave which would not be the maximum atmosphere for LEARNING. So, I am wondering, if I could repeat the class and use the lessons I have already completed. Please let me know if this is a workable option. Thanks!

Yes we can do that. We want on-line courses to be as flexible as possible. If you feel you cant finish for whatever reason, I will let you resubmit your work the following session (provided the class is offered) for credit. You will have to drop the first session and enroll in the next class.

I have a question and I didn't find the answer in our book. When looking at webpages, why do some end with .html and some end with .htm? Is there a difference?

Today there is really no difference. In the "Old Days" (pre 1990) ".htm" was used with DOS and Windows computers which only allowed 3 letter extensions and ".html" was used with UNIX computers which allowed longer extensions on file names.

I don't suppose you could change the syllabus background color to white or give us different print options. I print with greyscale and it uses up all my black ink and if I leave it alone I have a solid wall of green. Sorry I'm so frugal but ink cartridges are expensive.

On my printer ( an HP 5550 ) there is an option for turning off printing the background color. Try going to "Print Setup" in the File menu of your browser, and look for a check box that says something like "Print background" and deselect it.