Working with Table Borders

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Macromedia® DreamWeaver® MX Unleashed
By Matthew Pizzi, Zak Ruvalcaba
Table of Contents
Chapter 5.  Creating Tables


Table borders can be modified from the original size and color. The border thickness is a global attribute; however, you can change the border color of any particular cell.

To change the border size, select the table by choosing Modify, Table, Select Table. In the Properties Inspector, type in a value for the border size and keep in mind the value is based on pixels. Type in 0 if you don't want a border. If you plan on using a border with your tables, keep in mind that Netscape and Internet Explorer each render the border a bit differently. Refer to Figure 5.11 to see the difference between the border's appearance. In this example, I'm using a border size 15, which is really big; I want the borders to be clear in the figures.

Figure 5.11. Notice how the border appears differently in Netscape from the way it appears in Internet Explorer.

graphics/05fig11.jpg

With the table still selected, notice in the Properties Inspector that there is an option for border color. If you use the swatch to select a color, the entire table's border changes to reflect the color that you selected.

You can also change the border around an individual cell. Simply place a blinking cursor within that cell, and you'll notice a border color option as well in the Properties Inspector. Choose a different color by using the swatch. After you select a new color, it will automatically be reflected in your document. The cell border color overrides the table border color.

Background Color and Images

You can set a color or background image for the background of the entire table or for individual cells. You may find that either of these techniques will help with the design of your page.

Setting the Background of a Table

With the table selected, in the Properties Inspector notice an area labeled Bg Color with a small inkwell next to it. If you click in the inkwell, a Web-safe color swatch pops open. Choose any one of the colors within the swatch, or type a hexadecimal value into the text field located toward the top of the swatch. After it's been selected, you'll see the background of your table automatically reflect the new color.

With the table still selected, notice that underneath the Bg Color option is a Bg Image option. In this text field, you can type in a path to an image in your local root folder or click the folder icon to search for an image. After you've completed that task, the image you selected will tile across the background of the table, as shown in Figure 5.12.

Figure 5.12. You can place an image into the background of the table.

graphics/05fig12.jpg

Setting the Background of a Cell

You can also set the background color or a background image of individual cells. Place a blinking cursor inside the cell you want to modify to select it. With the blinking cursor in the cell, you'll see the Bg Color option in the Properties Inspector. Use this swatch to select a color. After you select a color, it automatically overrides any background settings of the table, as shown in Figure 5.13.

Figure 5.13. After you set a background color for a cell, it appears over any background color or image the table uses.

graphics/05fig13.jpg

The same goes for background images. You can easily set a background image for a cell by using the Properties Inspector. You can either type in a path to the image file, or you can click the folder icon to the right of the text field and search the hard drive for the image. The image used by the cell will appear over any background settings used by the entire table.


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    Macromedia Dreamweaver MX Unleashed
    Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 Unleashed
    ISBN: 0672326310
    EAN: 2147483647
    Year: 2002
    Pages: 321

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