Hello, and welcome to my help page. I don't claim to know all the answers, but some questions pop up in my mail quite frequently, so I'll address them here. You can either choose a question from the list below, or you can scroll through the whole thing (if you have a lot of time and patience.)
If you have a question that you don't see here, let me know and I'll try to answer it for you! Also...please take time to sign my guestbook.






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Questions Did you really make all those sets?
What is "cut and paste" and how do I use it?
Can I use any image/graphic I find on my page?
Is it okay to link to any image once I have the URL?
How do I put frames around pictures?
I want to change the background and text colors on my page, but I don't know the numbers for the colors I want. Where do I find them?
What is the Helpbox?
How do I put music and/or pictures into my email?
I've seen lots of banners advertising websites, but I want something a bit different for mine. Any ideas?
How do I use the Transloader?
How do I link to images?
Can you teach me HTML?








Q.Did you really make all those graphics sets?

A.Don't I wish! No, I did not make all the sets. The only ones I made are the ones listed under "My Sets" and a couple of others.








Q. What is "cut and paste" and how do I use it?

A.Cut and Paste is a very handy little trick. It allows you to copy text from one place and put it somewhere else. For example, if you find a javascript that you want to use on your page, you can either copy it down and spend forever retyping it, or you can cut and paste the whole thing in a few easy steps. Here's how:
First, you have to use the "Find" feature of your WebTV. You can either press the "Find" key, or hold down "cmd" and press the letter "f". Either way, a little box will pop up and ask you what word you'd like to find. Type in the first word of what you'd like to copy, then press "return".
Now the word you want will be highlighted. Press and hold down the "shift" key, and use your arrow keys to highlight the entire block of text you want to cut. It's quickest to use the down arrow to highlight large chunks of text, then use the left and right arrow to end the highlighted area exactly where you want it.
Now you press and hold the "cmd" key, and press the letter "c". You'll hear a little chirp sound as your WebTv clips it out.
Go to your page editor or mail screen or wherever you want to place the text you clipped out. Position your cursor where you want to place your clipped text, then press and hold "cmd" and press the letter "v".

Presto! You've mastered Cut and Paste! You can try it now to get the hang of it. Use the find function and type in Presto as your target word. Clip out a section of this paragraph, then paste it into the little box below:



Now that you are an expert cutter and paster, use the home button below to return to the list of questions.






Q.Can I use any image or graphic that I find on my own page?

A.Yes and no. You can get the url of just about any image by using the method I'm about to describe, but the real question is if you should. If it's an image that is being offered for free use, by all means, take it. If it is a copyrighted image or if the author of the page you find it on asks that the image not be used, please respect that.

Now, let's talk about getting an image. If you find something that isn't on a WebTV friendly site, you can't click on it to get the URL and the author of the site doesn't have the URL conveniently displayed for you. Don't despair, that image can still be yours.
First, make note of the URL of the page the image is on. (Use your "options" button, then select "info" to find out the URL)
Now, you can go to a Validator such as the one at http://madrabbit.net/webtools/source.html ,enter the URL in the space at the top, and press the "view source" button. It will then show you every bit of the HTML for that page, as well as all the image sources. You can get the image's URL that way and then transload it into your directory......or you can use plan B, which is much easier.
Plan B: Go to the Transloader at http://transload.starblvd.net , then drop down until you see the link to HEX, the HTML extractor. Go to HEX, and enter the URL of the page. Press the button at the bottom to extract the HTML, and wait while the Transloader works its magic.
Once the extraction is complete, you will have a list of every image and hyperlink on the page you extracted from. Beside each image URL is a (P) that you can click on to preview the image, so that you're sure you have the right one.
Now that you've found your image, click on the URL and you'll be taken to the Transloader. All you have to do now is fill in the blanks and press the "transload" button, and the image is yours!
(*Note:Before you click on the button below to be taken back to the list of questions, you may want to take a look at the next question.)







Q.If I have the URL of an image, can I link directly to it instead of Transloading it?
A.Only if it's on a page that offers linkable graphics for WebTV users. If you don't see anything that says it's okay to link, it's safest to Transload. Linking without permission is bandwidth theft, and that's evil, wicked, and just plain wrong!
*Hint* Even if the images are linkable, it's safest to transload them anyway. If the owner of the page decides to delete the image or move their page, you'll end up with a big ugly blank spot where your image used to be!

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Q.How do I put frames around pictures?
A.This is one of my favorite ways to dress up a page. Feel free to cut and paste any of the HTML you see and use it on your own page.
Let's use this picture as an example:
<img src="http://www.angelfire.com/fl/tearsofdawn/ images/caspic.jpg" height="200" width="200">



It's pretty enough, but kind of plain.
Let's dress it up with a frame that matches the background. Here's how:

<table border=7><tr><td> <img src="http://www.angelfire.com/fl/tearsofdawn/ images/caspic.jpg height="200" width="175"></td></tr></table>


Here's what it looks like:



I like that much better!

What if I wanted to put that same picture in a double frame? Let's try this:

<table border=12><tr><td> <table border=7><tr><td> <img src="http://www.angelfire.com/fl/tearsofdawn/ images/caspic.jpg height="200" width="175"></td></tr></table> </td></tr></table>


Here's the result:



Pretty simple, isn't it?

Now let's put a caption beneath the picture. Here's the HTML:

<table border=12><tr><td> <table border=7><tr><td> <img src="http://www.angelfire.com/fl/tearsofdawn/ images/caspic.jpg height="200" width="175"></td></tr></table> <center>This is the caption</center> </td></tr></table>


This is what the captioned picture looks like:

This is the caption


Just put your text in place of "This is the caption"

You can also put colored frames around it, like this:

<table bgcolor="9933ff" border=12><tr><td> <table bgcolor="cc0066" border=7><tr><td> <img src="http://www.angelfire.com/fl/tearsofdawn/ images/caspic.jpg height="200" width="175"></td></tr></table> </td></tr></table>


Here's the picture inside a two-tone double frame:



It's as simple as that! Feel free to cut and paste any of the HTML you want, just be sure to change the URL of the castle picture to whatever picture you want to use. You can change the thickness of the frame by changing the number after "border=" to a higher number for a thicker frame or a lower number for a thinner frame. You can also change the colors to any you like by changing the table bgcolor number to your choice of colors. Enjoy!

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Q.Where do I find the numbers for different colors I want to use?
A.Well there are different places you can look, but the easiest is the color cube. It shows small squares of lots of different colors. You move your cursor over the different squares and a little window at the bottom shows you the six-digit number of the color you've chosen.
To get to the color cube, return to the list of questions and click on "What is the helpbox?" You'll be taken to a handy little 'remote control' I put together to make things easier on you.
Also on the Helpbox you'll find a button labeled "HTML Resources". By pressing that button you'll be taken to a huge list of helpful sites, including several that are devoted to showing you all the colors you can use.
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Q.What is the Helpbox?
A.The Helpbox is a little tool I set up to make things a bit easier on you. Think of it as a remote control that will take you to several places that will be very useful to you as you build your site.
If you like the Helpbox and think you'll use it often, you may want to save it in one of your "Favorites" folders. I have a large version of it saved on one of my shortcut keys, so that I can get to where I want to go quickly and easily.
Want to see it?

Take me to the Helpbox!


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Q.How do I put music and/or pictures into my email?
A.You can add a signature to your email that will put a background, a song, an animated image, or all of the above into your email. Here's how:
Go to your Mail screen and select Settings from the sidebar on the left. Now select Signature from the list of options. Put your HTML tags into the little box and click on the "Done" button. That's all there is to it!
For a selection of cut and paste email signatures to get you started, visit ULTRA'S page. He was kind enough to set several up, and all you have to do is cut and paste them into your Signature box, then change the background, sound, and image URLs to whatever you want to use.
I included ULTRA'S page on the Helpbox list, so you can visit him by returning to the list of questions, clicking on "What is the Helpbox?", and following the directions there.
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Q.I've seen lots of banners advertising websites, but I want something a little bit different for mine. Any ideas?
A.Here is one of my favorite "banners" for my site:

Neon Dreams
Free graphics for WebTV users
Visit Neon Dreams for coordinated page sets and more


Since it's a table instead of a true banner, it loads quickly and can be changed to any color you like. Here's the HTML to make one for yourself, just cut and paste it, then change the "YOUR URL GOES HERE" to your URL, change the "table bgcolor" numbers and the "font color" numbers to your colors, and put your own text in place of "YOUR TEXT HERE". It's a long code, but I love the results!

<center> <table bgcolor="9900cc" border="7" width="400"> <tr><td align="center"> <table bgcolor="990066" border="7" width="400"> <tr><td align="center"> <table bgcolor="660066" border="3" width="400"> <tr><td align="center"> <font size="+2"><font color="black"><blackface> <marquee scrollamount="2" behavior="alternate"> YOUR TEXT GOES HERE....NAME OF YOUR PAGE </marquee> </blackface></font> </td></tr></table> <center><a href= "http://www.YOUR URL GOES HERE"> YOUR SECOND LINE OF TEXT GOES HERE <A/></bR> <font color="ff6699"><bold> YOUR THIRD LINE OF TEXT GOES HERE </bold></font> </tr></td></table> </tr></td></table>


Like I said, I love this little trick, and you can change anything you want. Just keep your text short.

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Q.How do I use the Transloader?
A.Oh boy, this is the #1 question I get, and there is no simple answer. You can try reading the help/instructions at the transloader, or you can look through this to see if it helps.
Once you find an image you want to transload, you need to note the exact url of that image. Use you "info" key, use a validator, or use the Transloader's HEX function.(for more info about this, see the question about getting images) Or, if you have the Transloader saved as one of your F keys, go directly there from the image.

Now that you're at the Transloader, you must fill in the information it needs to move the image to your directory. We'll go over each piece of information, one by one:
Last Visited URL-this will automatically be filled in for you. It is the URL of the last place you were before coming to the Transloader. If you used a F key to get there, it will be the URL of the image you want.
The little teardrop below the Last Visited URL line-if the URL of your image is the same as the Last Visited URL, click on this teardrop and it will copy the URL into the next field, the Source URL
Source URL-This is where you put the URL of the image you want. For example, if you wanted my castle picture, the source URL would be http://www.angelfire.com/fl/tearsofdawn/image s/caspic.jpg...not just caspic.jpg
Rename To-this is what you want the image to be called in your directory. If you want to call the castle picture "castle.gif", that's what you would type here.
Target FTP Server-here's where a lot of people get confused. If you want it to go to your Geocities directory, you type ftp.geocities.com......or for Angelfire, you type ftp.angelfire.com. A lot of people type www.angelfire.com and that won't work. I don't know for sure what the FTP server names are for Xoom,Tripod,Talkcity, or any others, but you should be able to find a FTP help page through those places, or email them for information.
Target Account Name-this is a bit confusing also. For Angelfire, you type in anonymous. For Geocities and most of the others, you type in your actual account name that you use with them. Again, find out from their FTP help page what their policy is.
Target Account Password-either your account password or your email address. If you used anonymous as the account name, use your email address, otherwise you use your actual password.
Upload Directory-the directory you want the image placed into. For Angelfire, it's /incoming, for Geocities you do not have to enter anything, but entering your directory name makes it faster. For example, if you're at /SiliconValley/Lad/1000, that's what you'd type, than add an extra / at the end.
Now you should be ready to press the "Transload" button and follow the directions on the screen.
Whew, that's a lot! It can look very confusing and it's easy to get frustrated, but you'll get it right. Keep trying, and if you have a problem, either check the faq/help areas at the Transloader, or ask me.
Some questions I can't answer about Xoom, Talkcity, or some of the other places because I've never dealt with them, but I'll try to help if I can.

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Q.How do I link to images?
A.If you find an image you like on a site set up for WebTV users, where the author of the site says it's okay to link, the process is simple.
All you have to do is set up a tag like the following:

<img src="http://www.wherever.com/name of image">

For example, if you want to use my castle picture, you would use the following tag:

<img src="http://www.angelfire.com/fl/tearsofdawn/ images/caspic.jpg">

That's all there is to it! If you want the image centered, just add a <center> tag before the <img src> tag, and a </center> tag after it.

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Q.Can you teach me HTML?
A.Oh goodness.....well, um......I'd love to, but it takes such a long time, and I'm still learning myself. I'll be happy to try to answer any specific questions you have, but I'm afraid I can't teach anyone the basics of HTML.
I can, however, tell you how I learned and am still learning. First of all, I got a copy of one of the HTML for Dummies books. I know a lot of people hate the Dummies books, but it helped me out a lot.
Another great way to learn is to check out all the tutorials and help pages out there. Use the helpbox (see the question "What is the helpbox?") to go to Linkable Graphics, then go from there to Draac's pages. He has a lot of information on various subjects. Also on the helpbox are links to HTML resources and ULTRA'S. Both are very informative, and can help you out tremendously. HTML resources is a long list of places to visit, and ULTRA"S has a bunch of tricks and tips to guide you.
Also, you can use your "search" function to look for html help, html resources, or html tutorials.
Above all, be patient, and keep trying! I learned the basics through trial and error, and believe me....there was a lot of error!

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