*You will need to be on-line for some of this lesson, but if you want, you can print it out and go over it a little bit so you know exactly when you need to look things up on the Web. I will put a * by the times when you need to be on the Web.
Right now, the Web page you have been working on (myweb.htm) should have either a gray or a white background. Wouldn't you like to change that background color to something new? Colors in HTML are kind of weird -- when you tell the computer what color you want your Web page to be, you have to use a system called hexadecimal, and each color has a strange code.
For example, the code for RED is #FF0000. The hexadecimal code for bright gold is #D9D919. The code for white is #FFFFFF. Many Web pages have a white background.
The code you type to change the background of your Web page looks like this:
<body bgcolor="#42426F">
and you type the background color code near the very top of your Web page, right after the <HTML>.
Try opening up your myweb.htm file, and type <body bgcolor=#42426F> near the top. Make sure you type it exactly right.
Then, save the change to your file, and open myweb.htm in your Web browser, just like you have done in earlier lessons. If everything went right, your Web page background should be cornflower blue.
Now, would you like to change the color of the words? The code for that looks like this:
<font color="#9F5F9F">
In this case, the number #9F5F9F represents Blue Violet. Type the code for blue violet write after the code for background color, re-save your Web page and look at it through your browser. Cool, huh?
*There is a Web site that gives you examples plus all the hex codes for different colors. Check it out at: http://www.infi.net/wwwimages/colorindex.html
Try experimenting with different background colors and text colors!
If you ever want to turn your text color back to black, type in <font color="000000">. If you want a white background for your web page, use <body bgcolor="ffffff">
But wait, you say! I don't have any graphics! Where can I get some graphics? Well, the answer is simple -- you can get them off the Web. There are all kinds of sites with graphics you can download and use for your own pages. These graphics are often called clip art.
*(For this portion of the lesson you will need to be hooked up to the Web) Go to this web site: http://www.barrysclipart.com/Webpix/objects/object_w.htm
(It might take awhile to load, but it is full of graphics you can use.)
Look for a graphic you might like (I copied the Lego piece, bottom left). Then, position your mouse cursor over the graphic. On a Mac, hold in the mouse button; on an IBM-compatible PC, hold in the right mouse button. You should see a menu pop up. Choose "Save this Image As." Then, another menu will pop up. It should already show the name of the graphic, and you will have the option of where to save the graphic. Save it in the same place as your myweb.htm file.
Now, go back to your myweb.htm file and type in <img src="lego.gif"> Save your page, a view it in your browser. You should see the lego graphic right there on your page!
If you use a search engine to look for "clip art," you will find all sorts of Web pages that feature neat graphics and cartoons that you can download. Just be sure that you are on a page where the person who owns it has given permission for you to copy the graphics. If you "steal" somebody's graphic and they have not officially offered them to you, you are breaking the law.
Practice changing the font colors and background colors of your Web page. Search for clip art images and download them onto your computer. Then, insert them into your growing web page.