I am completely new to this. I hand-coded my first site. Itıs pretty
basic. I found the validator for CSS on w3.org and this is the result I
got.

Warnings

* Line : 2 font-family: You are encouraged to offer a generic family as
a last alternative
*  Line : 2 (Level : 2) font-family: You are encouraged to offer a
generic family as a last alternative : body
*  Line : 10 (Level : 1) You have no background-color with your color :
a:link
*  Line : 14 (Level : 1) You have no background-color with your color :
a:visited
*  Line : 37 (Level : 1) You have no background-color with your color :
.mail
*  Line : 41 font-family: You are encouraged to offer a generic family
as a last alternative
*  Line : 41 (Level : 2) font-family: You are encouraged to offer a
generic family as a last alternative : #divnav
*  Line : 43 (Level : 1) You have no background-color with your color :
#divnav

This is the CSS for line : 2

body {background-color: #A5A5A5;
font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, "sans serif";
font-size: 8pt;
color: #000000;
text-align: center;}

I thought ³generic family² was serif or sans serif. I donıt understand
what they mean.
I also donıt know what (Level: 2) is.

This is the CSS for a:link and a:visited

a:link
{color: #000000;
text-decoration: none;}

a:visited
{color: #000000;
text-decoration: none;}

Do I need a background-color every time I use a color?

I hope Iıve made this clear. Iım sure all this is very basic but I just
canıt find the answers. I was able to fix a couple other mistakes and
have been reading all day. I sure could use some help.

I havenıt published my site yet. Iım trying to clean things up. Only
have a few mistakes so far. One other thing that doesnıt work but Iıll
leave that to another post if I canıt figure it out.

Thanks, Linda

--
remove invalid to reply

linda  <lrcullen@invalidnc.rr.com> wrote:
> * Line : 2 font-family: You are encouraged to offer a generic family as
> a last alternative
> [...]
> body {background-color: #A5A5A5;
>      font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, "sans serif";
>      font-size: 8pt;
>      color: #000000;
>      text-align: center;}
>
> I thought ³generic family² was serif or sans serif. I donıt understand
> what they mean.

"sans serif" is a font named "sans serif".

sans-serif is a generic font without serifs.

Also, you might consider avoiding Verdana:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~sbpoley/webmatters/verdana.html

> I also donıt know what (Level: 2) is.

It indicates how important the warning is.

> *  Line : 10 (Level : 1) You have no background-color with your color :
> a:link
> [...]
>
> a:link
>      {color: #000000;
>      text-decoration: none;}
> [...]
>
> Do I need a background-color every time I use a color?

Yes. Otherwise your color could be used against the user's default color,
and there may be insufficient contrast for it to be legible.

Also, you should probably use background rather than background-color,
because background also overrides any background-image the user's default
configuration might use.
--
Darin McGrew, mcgrew@stanfordalumni.org, http://www.rahul.net/mcgrew/
Web Design Group, darin@htmlhelp.com, http://www.HTMLHelp.com/

"I'd love to make time, if only I could find the recipe."

linda wrote:

> body {background-color: #A5A5A5;
>      font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, "sans serif";
>      font-size: 8pt;

You also want to avoid this 8pt font size. Flyspecks. If you drop the
very large Verdana as Darin recommends, you will see this. Besides, pt
(point) is for print media. Use:  font-size: 100%;   then we will all
get our default size.

--
-bts
-When motorcycling, never follow a pig truck

In article <di4ksp$7oq$1@blue.rahul.net>, Darin McGrew
<mcgrew@stanfordalumni.org> wrote:

> linda  <lrcullen@invalidnc.rr.com> wrote: 
>
> "sans serif" is a font named "sans serif".
>
> sans-serif is a generic font without serifs.

That's what I thought. So why am I being "encouraged to offer a generic
family as a last alternative? I'm missing something.

this is my new CSS: font-family: arial, helvetica, "sans serif";

>
> Also, you might consider avoiding Verdana:
> http://www.xs4all.nl/~sbpoley/webmatters/verdana.html

Thanks for the link. The Verdana's gone. And I was having a hard time
grasping % and for some reason all of a sudden it clicked while I was
reading that article. Changed all my font sizes to %
> 
>
> It indicates how important the warning is.
> 
>
> Yes. Otherwise your color could be used against the user's default color,
> and there may be insufficient contrast for it to be legible.
>
> Also, you should probably use background rather than background-color,
> because background also overrides any background-image the user's default
> configuration might use.

Also added background in all the places suggested. Thanks for your
explanation. It makes so much sense.

My CSS now validates except the "generic family as a last alternative"

Thanks for all your help. Much appreciated. Now if I can just fix the
generic family thing.

Linda

--
remove invalid to reply

In article <2v1hpbche6u8$.vlwwed1tmkxk.dlg@40tude.net>, Beauregard T.
Shagnasty <a.nony.mous@example.invalid> wrote:

> linda wrote:
> 
>
> You also want to avoid this 8pt font size. Flyspecks. If you drop the
> very large Verdana as Darin recommends, you will see this. Besides, pt
> (point) is for print media. Use:  font-size: 100%;   then we will all
> get our default size.

I changed all my font sizes to Percentages. As you'll see in my reply
to Darin I get it now. I certainly don't need more Flyspecks.

Can you tell me why my fonts look smaller in Mozilla? I tested in IE,
Mozilla and Opera.

Thanks, Linda

--
remove invalid to reply

linda wrote:

> In article <2v1hpbche6u8$.vlwwed1tmkxk.dlg@40tude.net>, Beauregard T.
> Shagnasty <a.nony.mous@example.invalid> wrote:
> 
>
> I changed all my font sizes to Percentages. As you'll see in my reply
> to Darin I get it now. I certainly don't need more Flyspecks.

Good on you. Now all you need to do is correct the word above
"sans serif";
to
sans-serif;

It's a hypenated word, and don't use quotes.

> Can you tell me why my fonts look smaller in Mozilla? I tested in IE,
> Mozilla and Opera.

Well, since you've now switched to percentages, you are now seeing your
own default sizes in each browser. They may be set differently. By doing
this, you have given your visitors the freedom to view your site the way
they want to, especially those who have vision problems and have chosen
a large size.

--
-bts
-When motorcycling, never follow a pig truck

linda wrote:
> That's what I thought. So why am I being "encouraged to offer a generic
> family as a last alternative? I'm missing something.
>
> this is my new CSS: font-family: arial, helvetica, "sans serif";

"sans serif" is no generic font family. The keyword is sans-serif (no
quotes, hyphen).
--
Johannes Koch
In te domine speravi; non confundar in aeternum.
(Te Deum, 4th cent.)

Darin McGrew schreef:
> Also, you might consider avoiding Verdana:
> http://www.xs4all.nl/~sbpoley/webmatters/verdana.html

I disagree on that, just because verdana uses a bigger x-height doesn't mean
 that it is bad. You can read it
very well
Verdana is used on most computers, I understand that Linux users and such do
n't have it by default. So why
don't they install it?
Screenshots on http://virtuelvis.com/archives/2004/01/avoid-verdana proove t
hat Verdana is best readable, do
webdigners have to care about users who don't have a windows/apple default-f
ont? That would trim the options a
very lot!


BTW: I find it very misleading to just say "Throw away Verdana" to newbees.



--
Niek

>> Also, you might consider avoiding Verdana: 
>
>I disagree on that, just because verdana uses a bigger x-height doesn't
>mean that it is bad. You can read it very well
>Verdana is used on most computers, I understand that Linux users and
>such don't have it by default. So why don't they install it?
>Screenshots on http://virtuelvis.com/archives/2004/01/avoid-verdana
>proove that Verdana is best readable, do webdigners have to care about
>users who don't have a windows/apple default-font? That would trim the
>options a very lot!
>
>
>BTW: I find it very misleading to just say "Throw away Verdana" to newbees.
>
Verdana is  the best bad choice we have! What else are we to use -
Arial? <sarcasm>Comic Sans</sarcasm>?
--
Chris Hughes
"Reality is that which, when you cease to believe, continues to exist."
http://www.epicure.demon.co.uk

On Fri, 7 Oct 2005, 'sNiek wrote:

> Darin McGrew schreef: 
>
> I disagree on that, just because verdana uses a bigger x-height
> doesn't mean that it is bad. You can read it very well

You evidently haven't understood the point yet.

> Verdana is used on most computers, I understand that Linux users and
> such don't have it by default. So why don't they install it?

That's none of your business as a web author.  Their browser belongs
to them - your job is to offer content that's optimised to display on
it, whatever it may be.

> BTW: I find it very misleading to just say "Throw away Verdana" to
> newbees.

Who ever said that?  Verdana is a perfectly fine font for its
purposes.  But it's inappropriate for authors to specify it for body
text on their web pages, for the reason that you have read but
apparently have not yet understood.