FAQ Home to Cookwood Press
First and foremost, please consider this page permanently under construction. The more questions I get, and the more frequently I get them, the quicker I'll update the page. Hopefully, you'll find the answer to your question here. If not, try posting a message to my Question and Answer board.


Is there a single file that I can download with all the examples?
Yes! There finally is a single downloadable file with all the examples, both for Macintosh and for Windows. There's even a handy table that shows you which files go with which sections on which pages (it's also included in the download). Remember that all of the example files and images are © 2000 Elizabeth Castro. All Rights Reserved.


How come you didn't answer my question personally?
This is a constant struggle for me. I am one of those people who really likes to help and I make every effort to answer as many questions as I can. The problem is, I'm just one person and I get twenty questions a day and I'm going a little crazy. That's why I ask you to use my Q&A Exchange. That way, everyone can benefit from everyone else's questions. Just search for the topic you need help with.

Some pointers on getting a helpful response: Outline all of the strategies you've already tried, and give me all the necessary details, including what you're expecting and what exactly happened instead. I'm good at sleuthing out what's going on, but I'm not clairvoyant. The easier you make it for me to help you, the more likely I am to answer. (And it never hurts to gush about my books : )

If you post a note and noone answers it, try reading through that last paragraph again, and then post a revised question. I really do want to help.


When I try to edit my HTML file, it opens up in my browser.
When you double-click a file, your computer looks at the file's extension and decides which program it should use to open it. In the case of HTML files, it imagines that you want to view the HTML page in a browser, not a text editor, and that's why it automatically opens the page with your browser. (That's also why the file automatically takes on the icon of your browser, even if you just created the file with Wordpad or SimpleText.)

So how can you edit that file again? You open your text editor and then choose File > Open and then select the file. That is, you open the file from inside your text editor. Save changes as usual, keeping the same .html extension. And that's all there is to it.

In Windows, you can set up the right-click so that it will give you the option of opening the file with a text editor.


What happened to the examples from the earlier editions?
They're still available, just not so obvious so people don't get them confused with the new edition's examples. You can always find a link to them by clicking the Examples arrow in the left frame and then going all the way down to the bottom of the list. Or go to the examples from the 3rd edition (1998) or 2nd edition (1997) directly.


Are styles covered in detail in the new edition? How about scripts?
Yes, there are now four chapters devoted to Cascading Style Sheets (level 2). I've added a brand new JavaScript chapter that tells you how to change multiple frames with a single click, create rollovers, and much more. And there's a separate chapter that explains how to incorporate scripts into your HTML pages. If you want to see what else is in the book, check out the Table of Contents or look something up in the Index.


Why don't styles work? I've typed the styles exactly as you show them in the book.
The problem with styles is that not all browsers support the full specifications for them. One way to find out if the browser is the problem is to check my browser tester pages. And don't forget to check for typos!


What does deprecated mean?
As you read through my book, you may notice that many of the tags have been deprecated. That means that the World Wide Web Consortium--the organizational body that publishes the standard HTML specifications--doesn't want you to use them. They'd prefer you use CSS to format your documents. While deprecated tags are still currently "proper" HTML, the W3C says it plans to drop those tags at some point in the future. But, in my opinion, no browser will stop supporting them for many years to come. You can find more on deprecated tags on page 44 of the new Fourth edition of my HTML 4 for the World Wide Web: Visual QuickStart Guide.


Where is the browser safe palette you promised us?
I've created a browser safe palette for Photoshop users (both Mac and Windows). You can find it in the Extras section. Also note that Photoshop 5 comes with a Web Safe colors palette. You'll find that in your Goodies folder.

If you don't have Photoshop but use Windows, you might want to look into PaintShopPro, version 5, which has a built-in browser safe palette for GIF images.


How can I learn more about JavaScript?
The Fourth Edition of HTML 4 for the World Wide Web, Visual QuickStart Guide does include a brand new chapter which explains several cool JavaScript tricks. Check it out! You can also find information about adding JavaScript to your Web page (see pages 291-300). Beyond that, you'll need a book on JavaScript (perhaps JavaScript for the World Wide Web: Visual QuickStart Guide or JavaScript Bible) to learn how to create your own cool effects.


There are some things that don't work with my browser, but you didn't mention that on the page.
Browsers are constantly changing. My book is based on the standard HTML specifications published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Only non-standard tags recognized by just one of the browsers are marked with the Netscape-only or IE-only icons. Presumably, the browsers will support all of the official HTML 4 specifications at some point. I recommend you test your pages in as many browsers and on as many platforms as possible. I'm creating a set of browser tester pages to make it easy.


My frames work with Explorer but not Netscape. What gives?
If you've got a couple of nested framesets, make sure that you close each frameset properly with its own </FRAMESET> tag. Explorer is a bit more tolerant if you forget one. Netscape won't show the frames at all.


How do I update two frames with one click?
It's in the Fourth Edition. Check out page 304.


My tables work in Explorer but not in Netscape. What's the deal?
You probably forgot a closing </TABLE> tag. Netscape requires it (as should Explorer by the way).


When I go to look at my page, I see HTML code instead of a beautiful formatted page. Why?
You probably used Microsoft Word to create your page and then when you went to save your document you used the "Save as HTML document" feature. What that does is convert a regular Word document into HTML. But since you already wrote the HTML code, what it does to your page is convert your HTML code into displayable HTML code and then generates more HTML code to format your HTML code. (Did you get that?) To see what I'm talking about, when you go to look at your page in the browser, choose View > Page Source.

There's no problem using Word, you just have to stay away from that command. Instead, choose File > Save As, and then select Text only from the Formats and make sure you use the .htm or .html extension for your file.

If you find that that still doesn't help, try putting the file name in double quotes when you save the file. This keeps Windows from adding other extensions (like .txt) onto the end of your file name.


In the examples online : When viewing source, all I see is the HTML for the frameset, not the frame (that is, the example itself). What gives?
When you first go to a site set up in frames, the browser is showing you the frameset and if you choose View > Page Source, you'll see the HTML code for that frameset.

Windows users: right-click the right-hand frame (where the example is) and then choose the View Source command from the pop-up menu that appears. The source code for the example (and not the frameset) will appear.

Macintosh users: To see the HTML code for the individual pages within the frames, you have to click anywhere within the frame (but not on a link). That selects the frame. Then go to View > Page Source and you'll see the code for the frame (not the frameset).

For more details, you can also check the explanation for seeing the book examples.


Why don't my images appear?

Make sure they're saved in GIF or JPEG format with the proper extension. Then, make sure that the path that you specify for them (in step 2 on page 82) actually points to where they are. Reread the section on URLs on pages 27-29. So, if the image is in the same folder as the HTML file that references it, you just need to use SRC="image.gif". But if the image is in a folder inside the folder that contains the HTML file, you'll need SRC="folder/image.gif". And if the image is somewhere else, you'll need to specify that, precisely. Otherwise, the browser won't be able to find the image.

Last little thing? Don't forget to upload the images to the server when you upload your Web page. Again, the path that you type for SRC has to match where the image actually is so the browser can find the image.

You can find more details about image problems on page 327 of the Fourth Edition's "Help! My Page Doesn't Work!" chapter.


What's the difference between .htm and .html?

Older Windows systems required three letter extensions, and so in the infancy of the Web, pages that were served by such systems had to use .htm. In fact, the three letter extension is so ingrained in many Windows/DOS users, that it is still seen pretty regularly.

Unix and Macintosh (and indeed Windows post version 3) do not have this limitation, and so can handle four letter extensions (as well as three letter extensions).

Remember that what matters is the server, not the local system on which the pages are viewed. Windows 3.x users can still browse pages with four letter extensions. It's only Windows 3.x servers that wouldn't be able to serve such pages (nor would designers using Windows 3.x be able to create pages with four letter extensions).


Is there any way to protect my HTML code or images?

You've probably noticed (if you're on a Windows system) that when you try to view the source or try to download images from some pages, you get an error message. That error message was probably produced with a JavaScript script that is activated when the visitor does a right-click. Note that since there is no right-click on a Macintosh, Macintosh visitors have no trouble downloading source code or images from these sites.

Is there a better, fool-proof way? I don't think so. Your HTML code and images are generally downloaded into the cache of every visitor's browser who visits your site. That means that they could go into their browser's cache folder and find the image anyway.

You can copyright your HTML code and your images. And you can add digital signatures with Photoshop (and probably other programs as well).


Has the HTML book been translated into any other language?

It has indeed. Check out the News article for details and links, but you can find my HTML 4 book in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Dutch, Polish, and soon in Hebrew.