One way to format text on Daily Kos is to write HTML tags. This is easier than you might think! You've probably seen HTML tags -- they are those things in pointy brackets ("angle brackets") that Daily Kos inserts in your text when you use the formatting buttons for links, blockquotes, and so on. They tell the computer to do a certain thing to format what follows.
Most HTML tags come in pairs. The first tag, the angle brackets with a code inside, signals the beginning of the tag's action, and the second one, which adds a / inside the brackets before the code, signals the end. Whatever text is between the tags is what's acted on. For instance, if I write SAMPLE TEXT, highlight it and click the Bold button, I get this in my draft: <strong>SAMPLE TEXT</strong>. It looks like this in my diary: SAMPLE TEXT.
In that example, there's a button to insert those tags for me, but there are more things we can do than Daily Kos has buttons! Ready to learn how to write some code?
Lesson 3: HTML Tags
There are
almost 100 HTML tags (eeek!), but many of them aren't used on Daily Kos, and some of them are two different ways to do the same thing. Today, we're going to focus on a few that change the style of the text that's between them, with a couple that do other simple formatting thrown in. Being a geek has never been so easy!
Carefully type HTML tags exactly as they appear below, including lowercase and spacing (or not), and especially not forgetting the / in the closing tag. Computers can't guess what you mean the way human readers can!
To Get This... |
Type These HTML Tags
Before & After Your Text
|
Purpose
|
boldface:
My text |
<b>My text</b>
OR
<strong>My text</strong>
|
adds emphasis
|
italics:
My text |
<i>My text</i>
OR
<em>My text</em>
|
adds emphasis
|
underlining:
My text |
<u>My text</u>
|
adds emphasis
|
strikethrough:
My text |
<s>My text</s>
OR
<del>My text</del>
|
indicates wording change
|
Heading Style 1:
My text
|
<h1>My text</h1>
|
signals a new section
|
Heading Style 2:
My text
|
<h2>My text</h2>
|
signals a new section
|
big:
My text
|
<big>My text</big>
|
makes text larger
|
small:
My text
|
<small>My text</small>
|
makes text smaller
|
superscript:
My text
|
My <sup>text</sup>
|
creates superscript
eg: E=mc2
|
subscript:
My text
|
My <sub>text</sub>
|
creates subscript
eg: H2O
|
teletype/code:
My text
|
<tt>My text</tt>
OR
<code>My text</code>
|
displays text in teletype/computer font
|
right-to-left text:
My text
|
<bdo dir="rtl">My text</bdo>
|
displays text from right to left
|
center:
My text
|
<center>My text</center>
|
centers text & images
|
blockquote:
My text
|
<blockquote>My text</blockquote>
|
primary use is to signal
quote from a source
|
Geek extra credit: You can combine tags; for instance,
<strong><em>bold italics</em></strong> = bold italics.
In the case of <big> and <small>, using more than one multiplies their effect:
<big>text</big> = text BUT <big><big><big>text</big></big></big> = text
RED ALERT: DO NOT GET TOO CUTE WITH THIS! Others before you have posted text with 20 <big>s and been sorry (you know who you are!). Remember, it looks different on different devices. It might look merely impressively huge to you, but you will soon be hearing from others to whom it makes the diary thread all but unusable. No one needs that much emphasis!
|
In general, formatting "tricks" that can be done in a diary can also be done in a comment. Practicing your skills in comments (in this diary, for instance!) is an easy and low-stakes way to know what you're doing before you work on a diary. So while these lessons focus on how to do things in comments, know that the same tools will produce the same results in a diary.
Preview Is Our Friend!
Preview is a lifesaver in TWO important ways! First, it shows us how our comment or diary will look when posted. That may NOT be the way you thought it was going to look when you composed it! Always take advantage of the ability to look at the preview and make sure everything works and looks exactly the way you planned. If it doesn't look right in Preview, your comment or diary will not magically improve after being posted!
Second, when writing a diary, Preview is also the way to SAVE your diary draft. If you're working on a diary, clicking Save & Preview periodically is a very good idea. Otherwise, if the site goes down, or your browser tab gets closed by mistake, you are back to the drawing board!
|
Additional Resources for Diarists
As we discussed yesterday in New Diarists: Links & Blockquotes, Daily Kos provides some handy tools that make it easy to add links, blockquotes, boldface, and italics to your diaries and comments. belinda ridgewood and I are still keeping an eye on that diary, so feel free to practice posting links and blockquotes there (or here, for that matter), and we'll help as needed.
During the next few weeks, belinda ridgewood and I will be posting a series of diaries explaining how to do more things. Our next diary, for instance, will show how to create special characters, such as ¢ and ♥, using ampersand codes. Meanwhile, New Diarists: Resources for All provides links to 1) resource diaries for drafting, formatting, and mechanics of the site; 2) advice diaries re writing, interacting with commenters, and working with groups; and 3) a list of helpful groups and series for New Diarists. And Cranky Users: Our Story So Far lists how-to diaries published during DK4's first year.
|
If you have questions about posting comments or diaries, feel free to post a comment and ask. If I don't know the answer, I'll make something up. And as always, experienced kossacks are welcome to ask questions or to post advice for New Diarists as well.
New Diarists is a safe place to practice diary writing skills with a mentor's guiding hand. Experienced diarists are invited to join and buddy up with new diarists, and new diarists are welcome to join and to ask for help. The group's Publication Manager provides a space where we can collaborate on diaries and help with everything from revising to formatting to promoting your new diary.
How-to and Help diaries, such as smileycreek's New Diarists: How to Collaborate with Us on a Diary, will be published to the New Diarists group. Visit our home page and click on the little ♥ to follow us.
Ready to play? Send a private message to nomandates for an invitation to join the group.
|