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7.3 The Text Tab
The Text tab contains the editing options for the text content that you previously input
into the Page Text Contents while in the Content window. You can edit everything from
the size and position of the actual text box, to the link colors, font styles, line leading,
and borders around the box. The Text tab also offers text wrapping, background
graphic offsetting, transparent background image handling, plus much more.
Click the Text tab to reveal the editing options for your text content. Unlike the Page
editing options, the tools interface under the Text tab is divided into two subsections:
Properties and Borders. By default, the Text tab (and all other tabs) will open with the
Properties section selected. The Properties section lets you edit the font attributes for
the text content (plus the text box position and text wrapping), whereas the Borders
section lets you edit the attributes for the actual box that contains the text.
1. Properties
The editing options available under Properties, allow you to edit the following attributes
for your text content:
Position and Size of the Text Box
You can position and resize the text box by either using the spin box controls or by
using your mouse in the viewer window. To move and resize using the spin box
controls simply adjust the Top and Left values to reposition the text box, and adjust the
Width and Height values to resize it. To move the box using your mouse, select the
box in the viewer window with your mouse and drag and drop it to the new position.
Select the grab handles with your mouse to resize the box in the viewer window.
Options: Text Wrapping Margins & Extend Page to Footer
The text content on your page can optionally have vertical & horizontal text wrapping
margins around other objects to help you quickly space text out from other objects on
the page, such as floating images. This alleviates the need to set special margins
around each and every object and saves you a lot of time. The Vertical margin control
will let you increase or decrease the space between your text and any objects that lay
above or below the text. The Horizontal margin control will let you increase or
decrease the space between your text and any objects that lay on either side of the
text area. The margins apply only to the lines of text that flow around the dimensions of
the object's area. They do not apply to the entire text contents; the remaining text will
wrap around the objects according to the margin settings.
In addition to text wrapping margins, you can also choose to have the text box
automatically extend to the footer. This option is handy for themes that use a
background graphic that employ the bitmap slicer - selecting the Extend Page to
Footer option will automatically make the text box graphic extend to meet up with the
footer, whenever the position of the footer is changed. This option is also handy for
text boxes that use borders that need to meet up with the footer box - whenever you
change the amount of text, whether it be fewer or more lines of text, the text box will
always adjust to meet "flush" with the top of the footer box.
Font Editing Options and Line Spacing
The property settings for your fonts let you easily edit the font type, size, and color for
the four different styles that can be used in your text content: Normal, Heading,
Subheading, Alternate. The new additional font selections (subheading and alternate)
give you more options for adding more variation to the appearance of your text. To edit
the font, select the Normal tab. Click the pop up button and select a font type from the
pop up list. Then click the sizing spin box control to set the font size. Click the color well
to choose a color for the font. These settings will apply to all text that you specified to
be 'normal' when in the Content window.
The line spacing (line leading) for your normal text can also be increased or decreased
by clicking on the Line Spacing spin box control. The same options are available for
the other three font styles. Select the Heading tab and repeat the above steps to edit
the fonts and line leading for the heading text. Follow the same steps to edit the fonts
for the Subheading and Alternate text used in your text content. The settings for each
style remain independent of the other styles, meaning you can make each one
different without affecting or changing the attributes of the others.
Edit the Link Colors and Add an Underline to Linked Text
The Links section lets you select the colors for the different states of linked text that
you created previously in the Content window. You can make the linked text be distinct
or stand out from the normal text by giving it a different color and/or by underlining it.
The Normal color is the color of the linked text in its normal state or its regular idle
state. The Hover color is the color that will display on the text when someone rolls their
mouse over it. The Click color is the color that will display when the linked text is
clicked with the mouse.
All four font styles can contain links and the link settings remain independent of one
another, the same as the do when editing the font attributes for non-linked text. To edit
the font attributes for linked text, select the font type you wish to edit (Normal, Heading,
Subheading, or Alternate), and simply click the color wells to choose a color for each
one of the linked states. Select the Underline ( U ) button to underline the linked text.
To remove the underline, click the Underline button again. You can preview the hover
and click colors in the Preview window by hovering your mouse over the linked text and
clicking it.
2. Borders
Click the Borders button to reveal the editing options for the text content box. You can
edit the following attributes for the text box:
Add a Border to the Text Content Box
The Border Style refers to the type of border that frames the text content box. You can
choose from Single, Double, Dotted, Dashed, Grooved, or Ridged border. Click the
pop up button to reveal the list of available border styles and select the desired border
for your text box. In order for the border to display, make sure the Border size settings
are not set to '0' (discussed next).
Select the Border Size and Colors
The Borders settings let you set the width of the border and edit the border color(s). To
set the width, click the spin box controls to increase or decrease each side of the
border. Each side of the border - left, right, top, and bottom - have to be set
individually, and do not have to be the same value. If you do not want a border around
your text box, just leave the border values set to '0'. Each border side is equipped with
its own color well. Click the color well to select and change the color of each border
side. As with the size, the colors for each side, do not have to be the same.
Set the Inside Margins for the Text Content
The Inside Margins settings allow you to choose the margins for your text content,
similar to that of a word processor when setting the left, right, top, and bottom margins
of your document. The inside margins allow you to space text nicely within a framed
box or to align the text with other objects on the page. Click the spin box controls on
each side to increase or decrease the inside margins. You will see the text move as
you adjust these values.
Give the Text Box a Background Color
The Background settings let you change the color or add an image for the background
of the text box. This is independent from the background of the page or any other
element's background. The Background settings let you choose from Transparent,
Color, Image, or Repeating the Image. To keep the background the same color as
your Page background, select Transparent. To select a different color for the
background, select Color from the list, and click on the color well to choose the desired
color.
Use an Image for the Text Box Background
To insert an image into the background, select Image and then drag and drop the
desired image into the image well. You can drop .JPG, .GIF, or .PNG files into the well.
You can choose to repeat the image horizontally across the X-axis (Repeat Image X)
of the text box or conversely across the Y-axis (Repeat Image Y) of the box. Or you
can make it repeat across the entire area of the box (Repeat Image).
You can now use images with transparent backgrounds as well. You can drop a .GIF
or .PNG file with a transparent background into the image well and select check the
Transparent Bckgrnd check box to maintain the image background transparency. This
will allow you to seamlessly layer the element's image with other elements for a
creative effect. For images without transparent backgrounds, .JPG is recommended.
Background images can be offset to position them anywhere inside of the element.
Under the Offsets label, click the 'X' spin box control to move the image left or right
within the text box; click the 'Y' spin box control to move the image up or down within
the text box.
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