Troubleshooting Web Pages

General Problems

Having problems getting that web site to work? Try this guide to some common problems and how to solve them.

Q: I'd like my text to display in two columns / would like to indent the right margin, but can't see how to set this up.

Possible causes: there is no facility for two-column text or right indents in the HTML standard, but it can be done using tables.

Remedies:
1. Two-column text: insert a two-column table, and insert half of the text in each column. Set the table width to 100% to allow it to resize automatically depending on browser and screen settings.
2. Right indents: insert a one-column, one-row table, and set the width to, say, 95%. Preview in various browsers to check that the results are what you want.
3. These two can, of course, be combined.

Q: If I press the Return key at the end of each line of text, I get a gap before the next line of text. I want to close up the text so that the next line is right underneath the preceding one (as in Remedies, above).

Possible causes: By default, each paragraph is spaced from the previous one (as are other formats such as Headings).

Remedies:
1. Instead of pressing the Return key at the end of each line of text, insert a 'soft' return. In most packages, this is set by holding down the Shift key while pressing Return. This inserts a <BR> (break) tag into the HTML. The effect is to provide a line return without ending the paragraph.

Q: I used a really nice font in my pages, and it works fine on my computer, but on others it displays in a different font.

Possible causes: Fonts are not sent as part of the code when your web pages are viewed, only the font name is sent. If the user's computer doesn't have this font, the default is used.

Remedies:
1. It is possible to set a Secondary font that will be tried if your first choice is not available. Using one of the common fonts (such as Arial) gives a useful safety net if the default (usually Times New Roman) doesn't give the effect you want. Of course, if this isn't available either you are back to Square One. In FrontPage, Secondary fonts can be selected from the Style button in Font Properties.
2. For short clips of text, you could consider using an image instead of text. Create a small image with the same background colour as used on the page, then create the words in the image. Set the image background colour to be transparent (in case you change the page backgrounds later), and insert the image where the text would have been. Because it's an image, it will always appear as you created it.

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