Frequently Asked Questions

  1. How did you learn HTML?
  2. How can I use graphics from another website?
  3. Where can I learn more about writing webpages?
  4. How can I convert images between different graphic types?
  5. How can I make my graphic image transparent?
  6. How can you insert more than one blank space between words?
  7. How can I put a visitor counter on my webpage?
  8. How do I add feedback or order forms to my webpage?
  9. How do I create an HTML file?
  10. How do I put my webpage on the internet so anyone can see it?
  11. How can people find my webpage?
  12. How can I add a sound file to my webpage?
  13. How do I get an image to work as an animation?
  14. How do I include a scrolling marquee like you have on your home page?

1. Thanks for the tutorial. Say, how did you learn HTML?
Actually, I taught myself HTML by looking at the document source code of various pages that interested me and then seeing how they did things. You may be able to do that depending on the browser you use (eg, Netscape or Internet Explorer)--go to "View" window, and then "Document Source." Then you can decipher how different things were done. There's only about a dozen different commands/tags to learn for about 95% of what you might want to do in a webpage with HTML 2.0.
2. Some websites have really great graphics. Is there a way for me to use their graphics?
Yes, there are ways. Without commenting on the legality of doing this, I will comment on the "how" of doing this. For example, depending on your browser (Netscape, Internet Explorer, etc) you can copy and save someone else's graphics from their webpage--just a point and click will do it. Try it out: go to someone's page, find a graphic, point and right-click on the graphic (but hold down the clickbar and don't release it), and--if you use Netscape--up comes a window that says "save this graphic" or "copy this graphic". Choose "save this graphic" and it DOES to a file with the same name the author used for his or her graphic but it is saved on YOUR computer. Then you've got that graphic! Another way is to view the document source code, find the name of the graphic that the author uses and go visit the webpage with just that graphic, then save that page. For example, if you view the document source code of http://www.gorin.com/class/classstruct.html you'll find a graphic of the doggy in the window, listed in the source code as classbj.gif . Then use your browser to go to the URL of classbj.gif in the same directory as the document you viewed (in this case, it is   http://www.gorin.com/class/classbj.gif ) and up will come a single image of the dog (awww, ain't they cute!). You can then save the whole file (that is, classbj.gif) using the "file" menu of your browser. There's other nifty ways to do things, but this will get you started quickly toward "borrowing with pride".
3. Where can I find out more about web page writing?
The other day I was in a bookstore and checked out the computer section. There were shelves of books on the subject of the Internet and writing webpages. If you go yourself and skim a few books, I'm sure you'll find a good one. You might also try searching elsewhere on the web, too.
4. I am trying to add images to my webpage of some photos that I scanned, but I am not having any luck. When I scan the image I can save it as *.cpt, *.tiff, or several others, but not *.gif or *.jpg . Is there a way to convert the image from *.cpt to *.gif, or is there some way to use it as it is?
I know exactly the problem you are referring to. What you need is a Graphic Converter program that converts from one type of graphic file to another. I use a Mac computer and there are plenty of such programs for the Mac. For example, check out http://iawww.epfl.ch/Staff/Yves.Piguet/clip2gif-home/GifBuilder.html which is for the Mac. If you are using a PC instead of a Mac, then you'll need a different program. I think http://www.mindworkshop.com/alchemy/alchemy.html might be something to check out. If neither of these work, then use the search engines such as http://www.yahoo.com or http://www.altavista.digital.com to locate gif converter or graphic converter programs. Once you find one that looks good, it is just a few "clicks" to convert the image from *.tiff or *.pict to *.gif or *.jpg .
5. I need to make a transparent background for one of my gif images. How can I do that?
A gif image is almost always rectangular. For example, suppose you have an image of your company logo--the gif image will be rectangular containing your logo within the rectangle and the rest of the rectangle all one color, say white. So when you display the rectangular image on your homepage, you may not want the white within the rectangle to appear on the colored background of your homepage. You can get rid of that white background within the rectangle by making it "transparent". To do this, you'll need to get a gif converter program. There are links to such in the answer to question number 4 above. You can also search the web for a simple "Transparency" program to download--that's how I found one I use. When you use a gif converter program, there are choices within that program to allow you to make the background of an image transparent. To do this you must point your cursor on only one pixel and tell the converter program to make that pixel transparent AS WELL AS EVERY OTHER PIXEL THAT IS THE EXACT SAME COLOR AS THAT ONE. So for example, if you select a pure white pixel to be transparent, then all other pure white pixels will be transparent. But be warned, that may affect your logo, if any pixels within your logo are also pure white. Here's a site that allows you to convert your graphic into a transparent one: http://www.inf.fu-berlin.de/~leitner/trans/english.html .
6. You said that whitespace doesn't matter to a browser, so is there any method to get a browser to show two blank spaces between two words instead of the standard one blank space between them?
Yes, the answer lies in the use of Character Entity Sets. The specific technique to get a single blank space is to include the funny code:   in your html. For example, the phrase:
  BE HAPPY
has the standard one blank space between the two words. But
  BE  HAPPY
has two blank spaces between the two words. The second version with the two blank spaces was coded as:
BE  HAPPY
Note that there is only one use of the funny code, since one blank space happens automatically due to the regular typing of a blank space between the words, the other blank comes from the funny code. You can use the &ampnbsp; code several times in a row to give you several blank spaces as seen here:
BE                HAPPY
Give it a try and you'll see what I mean.
7. I want to put a visitor Counter on my page but have no earthly idea on how to do this. Can you help?
Your local internet service provider might have a utility on their computer that you can use to create a counter. Ask them about it. That's the simplest route. If they don't have such, you can always use a free webcounter service that is available at http://www.digits.com or at http://www.123counter.com that will help you create a webcounter that actually sits on their computer. And you can do this with this company in minutes over the internet. All you have to do is give that company a unique name for your webcounter and the URL location of your homepage. Then that company will give you some html code that you put on your homepage. Just access their homepage and they'll guide you through the process. Then, any time someone hits (that is, accesses) your homepage, that company will send the "count" to your homepage so that it appears. It's a free service for most websites; however, because the counter is on their computer instead of your internet provider's computer, it'll take a lot longer for the counter to appear on your page when people hit your page, because not only does your webpage have to be accessed, but that company's webpage counter system has to be accessed, too.
8. I am building my website and want to have some feedback forms such as order forms. How can I do this?
First, realize that information that is sent across the internet is not usually 100% secure. Therefore, you need to talk to your local internet provider to see what security systems and software they have available for you to use so that when people order your products and give a credit card number, that the order is accomplished as a "secure transaction". As far as forms go, there is a whole tutorial on forms available at http://www.cwru.edu/help/interHTML/toc.html. However, it is not a simple issue of just writing some html code. You need to work with your local internet provider to have them establish protocols for your form to be properly managed on their server so that the form responses from users is sent automatically to you. Some providers have software available that is very easy to use and sets up forms automatically with very little html programming by you. Lastly, you should always make sure that after a visitor submits a form to you, that you provide a confirmation page that says that their form has been sent.
9. Now that I understand HTML programming, how do I actually create an HTML file?
All you need is a basic word processor, such as WordPad or Simpletext. Just open up a new file in one of those applications and start typing in your HTML code.  Saving the file as an html file correctly can be a bit tricky, though.  Here's a way I found that works although I'm not sure it's the best way.  Suppose you want to create a file called "test.html".  First, open the basic editor, and type the HTML code.  Second, SAVE the file, typing the FILENAME as "test.html" and the FILETYPE as TEXT DOCUMENT.  Then click the SAVE button.  You can actually view this file right on your own hard drive without the file being on the internet. Just open your browser like you normally do to cruise the web, then go under "file" and click on "open file". Then give the name and location of the file you just created, and voila!--you'll see it as if it were really on the web! That's how I used to do most of my webpage development (now I use MS FrontPage).
10. How do I put my webpage on the internet so anyone can see it?
Actually putting any file on the web is something that you'll have to talk about with your internet service provider (ISP). For a fee, your ISP will set up an account for you, with e-mail and internet privileges, and disk space on their computer for storing your webpages so that anyone can access them. Your ISP will also provide you with software that allows you to upload and download (between your computer and their computer) the webpage files that you create. In addition, they might help you establish virtual domain names for your website, such as "http://www.mycompanyname.com", and they'll help you set up virtual email names like "info@mycompanyname.com". That website actually resides on your ISP's computer, and any request to go to that URL will automatically send it to your ISP's computer.
11. Okay, once I write my webpages, then upload them to my internet service provider's computer, how can people around the world find my webpage?
Your website has to be registered with a search engine. Actually, there are dozens and dozens of different search engines (like Webcrawler, AltaVista, Yahoo, to name a few), so if you want a search engine to be able to find your website, then you have to register your webpage with that engine. For example, I registered this HTML tutorial with probably two dozen of the more popular search engines. There are service companies, such as your own ISP, that will do the registration for you (for a small fee). However, I just spent the time doing it myself. Most registrations take less than a few minutes--just go to the search engine's main page, and click on "Add URL", and then fill out one simple form. But beware: each search engine takes a different length of time until your website is indexed by them and ready for searching by anyone else in the world. Some search engines will be ready to allow searches of your webpage in minutes, others may take several weeks before your webpage is searchable.
12. How can I add a sound file to my webpage?
Sound files can be used in two ways: as a *.wav file that is downloaded all at once when a web page is visited; or as a streamed audio file that is downloaded in pieces. Downloading a wav file takes a very long time. In fact, a 10-second sound clip can take several minutes to download if there's heavy traffic on the internet. But a streamed audio file begins playing in seconds after the page is visited. RealPlayer is a product that plays streamed audio and video. And Microsoft has a Multimedia player at their site http://www.microsoft.com/windows/mediaplayer/. It is easy to record sound as a *.wav file using your sound recorder on your computer, along with a good quality microphone hooked in. At that point you can use the wav file or convert it to a streamed audio file. The microsoft mediaplayer site has a downloadable package to do the conversion of wav to streamed files, and it shows you the HTML to use in your webpage to play the streamed file. To handle the easier *.wav file in a webpage, there's two choices: Use the file as a "background" which will play the file automatically when the page is visited, or as a hot link that the user can click on. To accomplish the sound as a "background", use the following command in the <HEAD> tag container: <BGSOUND SRC="filename.wav" loop="1"> . It's that simple. To permit a visitor to click on hot link to get the sound, here's an example: <A HREF="filename.wav">Click here for sound.</A>
13.  How can I get an image to work as an animation?
Most gifs are static. An animated gif is created as such, and it is saved as a single file. For example, you can view an animated image file (it's a jpg not a gif) we have at http://www.gorin.com/images/gorincookad.jpg . It is visible from a normal browser such as Internet Explorer or Netscape. You don't need Flash.
Now creating an animated image file is another matter altogether. You do need special software to make one. For example, Microsoft Image Composer and dozens of other programs will create an animated image for you.
14.  How do I include a scrolling marquee like you have on your home page?
I learned html by looking at how other people wrote their websites. It's easy. Within your browser (Netscape or Explorer), pull down the View window, then click on Source. It'll show you the html for that webpage. (People are getting smarter on how to hide the code, but most sites still leave it for all to see this way.) So, go to the source html code on our page, and look to see how I did it. There's two main elements, one in the <Head> section which is in javascript and defines the scrolling function, the other in the <Body> section in html which invokes the scrolling function. Just replace the phrase in the javascript that scrolls in my webpage with the phrase you want. Do the same thing for the invoked function in the body section.


Help us create a new website! If you speak a language other than English, come visit this website= A brief list of useful foreign language travel phrases.   Or if you want a listing of worthwhile restaurants to visit while on travel, check out Restaurants Around the World.

Last revision:  September 26, 2006