Customizing Message Board Posts

Introduction

HTML, or Hypertext Markup Language, is the language of displaying information on the Internet. You can use it to become creative with your message board posts. HTML is made up of elements called tags. Tags are simply commands that tell the browser (Netscape, Lynx, etc...) how to display text. An HTML tag consists of a left angle bracket (less than sign), <, the command keyword, and a right angle bracket (greater than sign), >.

Most HTML tags come in pairs. That is, there is a starting tag and an ending tag. You have to tell the browser when to start the formatting and when to stop. This is the same command except with a slash, /, located in the ending tag. An example of this is the H1 tag which displays text in the largest font possible:

<H1>Notre Dame Football</H1> would look like

Notre Dame Football

HTML is not case sensitive that is <H1> is the same as <h1>. If a browser does not support a tag, the tag will be ignored.

Basic Formatting

To make text BOLD place your text between the <B> and </B> tags.

<B>Notre Dame Football</B> would look like
Notre Dame Football

To make text appear in italics place your text between the <I> and </I> tags.

<I>Notre Dame Football</I> would look like
Notre Dame Football

To force a break, use the <BR>tag. This tag does not have an ending element.

Notre Dame Football <BR> ROCKS!! would look like
Notre Dame Football
ROCKS!!

Changing the Size of Text

There are two ways to change the size of your text.

The first way is with the heading-level tags. These tags are the most used throughout the browsers. The only problem is they have an annoying extra line added after the ending element.

<H6>Notre Dame Football</H6>

<H5>Notre Dame Football</H5>

<H4>Notre Dame Football</H4>

<H3>Notre Dame Football</H3>

<H2>Notre Dame Football</H2>

<H1>Notre Dame Football</H1>

The second is with the FONT tag. The FONT tag is a special Netscape Enhanced Tag that has special properties. Unlike H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, and H6 tags, the FONT tag does not force a new line after the ending tag.

<FONT SIZE=1> Notre Dame Football</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2> Notre Dame Football</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=3> Notre Dame Football</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=4> Notre Dame Football</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=5> Notre Dame Football</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=6> Notre Dame Football</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=7> Notre Dame Football</FONT>

<FONT SIZE=3> is the default.

Changing Colors

<FONT COLOR=green>Notre Dame Football</FONT>
<FONT COLOR=RED>Notre Dame Football</FONT>
<FONT COLOR=YELLOW>Notre Dame Football</FONT>
<FONT COLOR=BLUE>Notre Dame Football</FONT>
<FONT COLOR=PURPLE>Notre Dame Football</FONT>

Combining Tags

<FONT COLOR=yellow SIZE=5>Notre Dame Football</FONT>
<FONT COLOR=red SIZE=2>Notre Dame Football</FONT>

Adding an Image

You can add an image to your posts with the IMG tag. After the SRC element enter the address of the image you wish to use. Use the following format:

<IMG SRC="http://graphics.fansonly.com/schools/nd/graphics/nd-secondary-logo.gif"> would look like

Adding a Hypertext Link

To add a link to another site, use the HREF tag. After the HREF= element you place the address of the site in quotes. After the last quote you end that segment with a right angle bracket (greater than sign), >, and then the phrase that you want to link to comes next. Everything is capped off with a </A>. This command takes the folowing form:

<A HREF="http://www.und.com/">Official Notre Dame Site</A> would look like
Official Notre Dame Athletic Site

This way you can link others to another site.

Adding Lines

You can add lines to your message with the HR tag. Inside each HR tag you can also insert the width element for various lengths. For example WIDTH=80% (for a length in percentage relative to the screen size) or WIDTH=400 (for a length in pixels).

<HR SIZE=1>

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