Using Styles

After you create a tag style, your work is done. The browser automatically applies the style to the appropriate tag on the page. For example, if you create a “p” tag style, any paragraph (anything with the HTML <p> tag applied to it) on the page reflects the formatting dictated by that style. However, when you create class or ID styles, you need to take an extra step: You must assign the class or ID to the tag you wish to format.

Applying a Class Style

You can apply class styles to any selection in the document window, whether it’s a word, an image, or an entire paragraph. In fact, you can apply a class style to any individual HTML tag, such as a <p> (paragraph), <td> (table cell), or <body> tag. You can even select just a single word within a paragraph and apply a style to it.

Applying a Class Style to Text

Start out by selecting some words. Then, from the Property Inspector, select the style name—you can do this either in HTML mode, in which case you select the name from the Class drop-down menu (Figure 3-5, top) or in CSS mode, where you use the Targeted Rule menu (Figure 3-5, bottom).

To style an entire paragraph, triple-click within the paragraph to select it, and then use the Property Inspector to select a style. When you style an entire paragraph, you’re actually telling Dreamweaver to apply the style to the <p> tag. In that case, Dreamweaver adds a special class property to the page’s code, like this: <p class=“company”> (for a class style named .company).

Figure 3-5. The ...

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