CSS: The Missing Manual

CSS: The Missing Manual

Introduction

Part I: CSS Basics

Chapter 1. Rethinking HTML for CSS
  1.1. HTML: Past and Present
  1.2. Writing HTML for CSS
  1.3. The Importance of the Doctype

Chapter 2. Creating Styles and Style Sheets
  2.1. Anatomy of a Style
  2.2. Understanding Style Sheets
  2.3. Internal Style Sheets
  2.4. External Style Sheets
  2.5. Tutorial: Creating Your First Styles

Chapter 3. Selector Basics: Identifying What to Style
  3.1. Tag Selectors: Page-Wide Styling
  3.2. Class Selectors: Pinpoint Control
  3.3. ID Selectors: Specific Page Elements
  3.4. Styling Tags Within Tags
  3.5. Styling Groups of Tags
  3.6. Pseudo-Classes and Pseudo-Elements
  3.7. Advanced Selectors
  3.8. Tutorial: Selector Sampler

Chapter 4. Saving Time with Inheritance
  4.1. What Is Inheritance?
  4.2. How Inheritance Streamlines Style Sheets
  4.3. The Limits of Inheritance
  4.4. Tutorial: Inheritance

Chapter 5. Managing Multiple Styles: The Cascade
  5.1. How Styles Cascade
  5.2. Specificity: Which Style Wins
  5.3. Controlling the Cascade
  5.4. Tutorial: The Cascade in Action

Part II: Applied CSS

Chapter 6. Formatting Text
  6.1. Formatting Text
  6.2. Changing Font Size
  6.3. Formatting Words and Letters
  6.4. Formatting Entire Paragraphs
  6.5. Styling Lists
  6.6. Tutorial: Text Formatting in Action

Chapter 7. Margins, Padding, and Borders
  7.1. Understanding the Box Model
  7.2. Control Space with Margins and Padding
  7.3. Adding Borders
  7.4. Coloring the Background
  7.5. Determining Height and Width
  7.6. Wrap Content with Floating Elements
  7.7. Tutorial: Margins, Backgrounds, and Borders

Chapter 8. Adding Graphics to Web Pages
  8.1. CSS and the <img> Tag
  8.2. Background Images
  8.3. Controlling Repetition
  8.4. Positioning a Background Image
  8.5. Using Background Property Shorthand
  8.6. Tutorial: Creating a Photo Gallery
  8.7. Tutorial: Using Background Images

Chapter 9. Sprucing Up Your Site's Navigation
  9.1. Selecting Which Links to Style
  9.2. Styling Links
  9.3. Building Navigation Bars
  9.4. Advanced Link Techniques
  9.5. Tutorial: Styling Links

Chapter 10. Formatting Tables and Forms
  10.1. Using Tables the Right Way
  10.2. Styling Tables
  10.3. Styling Forms
  10.4. Tutorial: Styling a Table
  10.5. Tutorial: Styling a Form

Part III: CSS Page Layout

Chapter 11. Building Float-Based Layouts
  11.1. How CSS Layout Works
  11.2. Types of Web Page Layouts
  11.3. Float Layout Basics
  11.4. Applying Floats to Your Layouts
  11.5. Overcoming Float Problems
  11.6. Handling Internet Explorer Bugs
  11.7. Tutorial: Multiple Column Layouts
  11.8. Tutorial: Negative Margin Layout

Chapter 12. Positioning Elements on a Web Page
  12.1. How Positioning Properties Work
  12.2. Powerful Positioning Strategies
  12.3. Tutorial: Positioning Page Elements

Part IV: Advanced CSS

Chapter 13. CSS for the Printed Page
  13.1. How Media Style Sheets Work
  13.2. How to Add Media Style Sheets
  13.3. Creating Print Style Sheets
  13.4. Tutorial: Building a Print Style Sheet

Chapter 14. Improving Your CSS Habits
  14.1. Adding Comments
  14.2. Organizing Styles and Style Sheets
  14.3. Eliminating Browser Style Interference
  14.4. Using Descendent Selectors
  14.5. Managing Internet Explorer Hacks

Part V: Appendixes

Appendix A. CSS Property Reference
  A.1. CSS Values
  A.2. Text Properties
  A.3. List Properties
  A.4. Padding, Borders, and Margins
  A.5. Backgrounds
  A.6. Page Layout Properties
  A.7. Table Properties
  A.8. Miscellaneous Properties

Appendix B. CSS in Dreamweaver 8
  B.1. Creating Styles
  B.2. Adding Styles to Web Pages
  B.3. Editing Styles
  B.4. Managing Styles
  B.5. Examining Your CSS in the Styles Panel
  B.6. CSS Properties

Appendix C. CSS Resources
  C.1. References
  C.2. CSS Help
  C.3. CSS Navigation
  C.4. CSS and Graphics
  C.5. CSS Layout
  C.6. Browser Bugs
  C.7. Showcase Sites
  C.8. CSS Books
  C.9. Must-Have RSS Feeds
  C.10. CSS Software

The Missing Manual combines crystal-clear explanations, real-world examples, a dash of humor, and dozens of step-by-step tutorials to show you ways to design sites with CSS that work consistently across browsers. You'll learn how to:

• Create HTML that's simpler, uses less code, is search-engine friendly, and works well with CSS
• Style text by changing fonts, colors, font sizes, and adding borders
• Turn simple HTML links into complex and attractive navigation bars-complete with CSS-only rollover effects that add interactivity to your Web pages
• Style images to create effective photo galleries and special effects like CSS-based drop shadows
• Make HTML forms look great without a lot of messy HTML
• Overcome the most hair-pulling browser bugs so your Web pages work consistently from browser to browser
• Create complex layouts using CSS, including multi-column designs that don't require using old techniques like HTML tables
• Style Web pages for printing