Chapter 10

Organizing Information with Lists

• List Types and When to Use Them
• Creating a Numbered List
• Creating a Nested Numbered List
• Adding Extended Attributes to a Numbered List
• Creating a Bulleted List
• Adding Extended Attributes to a Bulleted List
• Using a Definition List
• Creating Directory and Menu Lists
• Editing Lists
  • Changing the List Type
  • Deleting Lists or List Items
  • Inserting List Items
• Workshop Wrap-Up
  • Chapter Summary
  • Next Steps
  • Q&A
    

Do you have links to sites that you want to point people to? Have you written a great paper that shows people how to build, install, or complete something? Lists are among the best ways to organize information like this. They help information stand out clearly. There are several different types of lists that you can use in your pages.

List Types and When to Use Them

There are five basic types of lists that you can use in your pages. When you use a list type, FrontPage anticipates how you want the list to be formatted. For numbered lists, FrontPage automatically places numbers at the beginning of the line. Bulleted lists are preceded by bullets. Definition lists start with a term at the beginning of the line and indent the definition.

The five types of lists are

• Numbered lists
• Bulleted lists
• Definition lists
• Directory lists
• Menu lists

Numbered lists are used to place items in a definite order. They are good for describing steps or procedures. Bulleted lists, on the other hand, are useful when you want to display a list of items that do not necessarily have to be arranged in a logical order.

Definition lists are used for entering a term and its definition, such as in a glossary, or for adding a title and a description in a hot list.

Directory lists and menu lists are used to place short items in a list. Although they are not often used, FrontPage supports them.

Creating a Numbered List

Use numbered lists when you want to present an ordered list of items. Top Ten lists are popular on the Web. Obviously, many people like to use numbered lists. I have my own Top Ten list, shown in Figure 10.1.

Figure 10.1 : Use numbered lists when you need to arrange items in a specific order.

Numbered lists are usually rendered as paragraphs separated by white space and prefixed by numbers. You can prefix them in other ways, though, as you learn in the "Adding Extended Attributes to a Numbered List" task.

To create a numbered list:

1. Start the list. Position the insertion point at the end of the line after which you want the list to start, and choose Insert | List | Numbered. Alternatively, position the insertion point at the beginning of the first line in the list. Then choose Numbered List from the Style Bar, or use the Numbered List button on the toolbar. In either case, FrontPage positions the insertion point at the beginning of the line and enters the first number for you automatically.
2. Enter an item for the list. Press Enter to add additional items. The list numbers increment for you automatically.
3. Press Enter twice or use Ctrl+Enter to complete the list.

Creating a Nested Numbered List

Sometimes you need to create nested lists-that is, multilevel lists-to arrange content. You can use the Insert | List commands or the Increase Indent and Decrease Indent buttons to create a nested list.

1. Position the insertion point at the end of the line which precedes the line you want to indent.
2. Choose Insert | List | Numbered or press the Increase Indent button twice. The insertion point moves to the next line, and it starts a new number sequence (see Figure 10.2).
   Figure 10.2 : To create nested numbered lists, use the Insert | List | Numbered command or the Increase Indent and Decrease Indent buttons.
3. Enter your list items until the items in the nested area are complete. Your list items are entered into the same level of the nested list.
4. To return to the original level in the list, position the insertion point at the end of the last indented list item. Click the Decrease Indent button twice. The number increments to the next number within that level.

Adding Extended Attributes to a Numbered List

Look at the numbered list in Figure 10.2. A multilevel list is sometimes arranged with numbers and letters to designate the levels, as in an outline. How can you do that?

In FrontPage, the default is to use numbers in a numbered list, but you can assign other attributes to them. For example, you can specify large letters, small letters, large Roman numerals, or small Roman numerals in a numbered list. To do this, you use extended attributes. Table 10.1 describes the attributes that you can add to a numbered list.

To add extended attributes to a numbered list:

1. Position the insertion point within the first item in the numbered list that you want to change, or select the line.
2. Right-click and choose List Properties from the pop-up menu. The List Properties dialog box appears.
3. Click the Extended button. The Extended Attributes dialog box appears.
4. Click the Add button to add an attribute. The Set Attribute Value dialog box, shown in Figure 10.3, appears.
   Figure 10.3 : You can add letters or Roman numerals to the list instead of numbers through extended attributes.
5. Enter one of the attribute name/value pairs shown in Table 10.1. Where an attribute value is given, check the Specify Value checkbox (checked by default) in the Set Attribute Value dialog box. The information is entered as in Figure 10.3.
6. Click OK to exit the Set Attribute Value, Extended Attributes, and List Properties dialog boxes.

You might be a little confused at this point, because the FrontPage Editor does not change the appearance of the list. If you use your browser to look at the list, though, you can see the change. For example, I changed the second level of my list to use large letters. Figure 10.4 shows what it looks like in Internet Explorer. Notice that the second and third items in that level of the numbered list are automatically incremented to the next value.

Figure 10.4 : You can view the attributes that you add with some browsers, such as Internet Explorer and Netscape 2.0.

Creating a Bulleted List

When you want to list items but do not have to put them in a specific order, you can use bulleted lists. Many people use bulleted lists to display links to their favorite sites, and there are many other applications for them as well. In most browsers, bulleted lists are displayed as paragraphs separated by white space. Items are preceded by bullets, which are sometimes rendered differently. For example, when the list shown in Figure 10.5 is opened in Netscape, it looks the same as it does in the FrontPage Editor. It uses unfilled and filled squares for the second and third levels. When the same list is displayed in Internet Explorer, however, round bullets are used for all the levels.

Figure 10.5 : Use a bulleted list to create a list of items that do not have to be arranged in a particular order.

To create a bulleted list:

1. Position the insertion point on the line that precedes the list, and choose Insert | List | Bulleted. Alternatively, position the insertion point on the line where you want to begin the list. Then choose Bulleted List from the style bar, or use the Bulleted List button on the toolbar. In either case, FrontPage inserts a bullet for you.
2. Enter the first item in the list, and press Enter. The insertion point moves to the next line and inserts a new bullet.
3. Type the next list item.
4. Press Enter twice or use Ctrl+Enter to complete the list.

Adding Extended Attributes to a Bulleted List

You can change the type of bullet in a bulleted list by using extended attributes. Extended attributes enable you to use discs, circles, or squares for bullets in a bulleted list. Table 10.2 describes the attributes that you can add to a bulleted list. Remember, though, that some browsers display the bullets differently. For example, some browsers render disc bullets as squares, and others render them as circles. Square bullets are usually rendered as filled squares. Circle bullets are rendered as unfilled squares in some browsers.

The default for a bulleted list is a circular bullet. The default for indented items in a nested bulleted list is a square bullet.

To add extended attributes to a bulleted list:

1. Position the insertion point within the first item in the bulleted list that you want to change, or select the line.
2. Right-click and choose List Properties from the pop-up menu. The List Properties dialog box appears.
3. Click the Extended button in the List Properties dialog box. The Extended Attributes dialog box appears.
4. Click the Add button to add an attribute. The Set Attribute Value dialog box appears.
5. Enter one of the attribute name-value pairs shown in Table 10.2. Where an attribute value is given, check the Specify Value checkbox (checked by default) in the Set Attribute Value dialog box.
6. Click OK to exit the Set Attribute Value, Extended Attributes, and List Properties dialog boxes.

Using a Definition List

Use definition lists to present a term and its definition, such as in a glossary. You also use definition lists to provide a list of items when you want to include a description for each one. Generally, the definition term is aligned with the left margin of the page, and its definition is indented.

Figure 10.6 shows examples of definition lists. The top list is a traditional definition list; the terms and definitions appear single-spaced with no white space between them. The proper way to build a definition list is as follows:

Figure 10.6 : Text formatting added.

1. Place the insertion point on the line before which you want to start the definition list.
2. Choose Insert | Definition | Term. The insertion point moves to the beginning of the next line.
3. Enter the term. For example:
   Home Page
4. Choose Insert | Definition | Definition to place the definition on the next line. The insertion point moves to the next line and is indented by one level.
5. Enter a definition for the term. For example,
   The page on your web where it all begins.
6. Repeat steps 2 through 5 to add additional items.
7. Press Enter twice to end the list.

In the bottom list shown in Figure 10.6, definition list commands create a hot list, but additional white space is added between the items. Each term and definition is actually a single definition list in itself. You can create a similar hot list, without typing any URLs.

1. Open the FrontPage Editor and create a page on which your links will appear.
2. Open your browser to navigate through the Web while you edit your pages.

1. When you navigate to a page that you like, return to the page that you are editing and use Insert | Definition | Term to enter the page title as a term.
2. Choose Insert | Definition | Definition, or press Enter and choose Definition from the Style Bar.
3. Highlight the page URL that appears in your navigator. (This is the Address field in Internet Explorer or the Location field in Netscape 2.0.) Press Ctrl+C to copy the URL to your clipboard.
4. Paste the URL into the definition line on your page in the FrontPage Editor.
5. Press Enter to add more description for this page if you like.
6. Select the term line and create a link to the World Wide Web. Paste the URL from your clipboard into the Edit Link dialog box.
7. To create the term and definition for the next pages, position the insertion point at the end of the last line in the present definition.
8. Press the Decrease Indent button twice, and choose Defined Term from the style bar. Extra space appears between your terms and definitions, as in Figure 10.6.

In Figure 10.6, some text formatting has been added. Bold format is used for the page titles, and italic format is used for the URL in the page's definition.

Creating Directory and Menu Lists

FrontPage supports two more types of lists: directory lists and menu lists. They were intended for programmers and are not used very often any more. Many browsers do not support them well. Directory lists were typically used to list the contents of a directory. Similarly, menu lists were used to display the contents of a menu or short items of twenty characters or less.

To create a directory or menu list:

1. Place the insertion point at the end of the line after which you want to create the list.
2. Choose Insert | List | Directory or Insert | List | Menu.
3. Enter a list item.
4. Press Enter to add additional items.
5. Press Enter twice to end the list.

Editing Lists

You can easily change one type of list to another, insert new items in a list, or delete list items all together.

Changing the List Type

If you change your mind about how you want to present your lists, you can change the list type easily. Numbered lists convert to bulleted lists with no problem. When you change from any other type of list to a definition list, though, all the list items become formatted as definitions-not as terms. You need to format the terms individually. If you reformat a nested list, the levels are retained when you reformat them. In some cases, you might need to reformat the inner levels first and work your way back to the first level.

To change the list type:

1. Select the list whose type you want to change.
2. Choose Edit | Properties, or right-click to open the List Properties dialog box.
3. Select the new format for the list in the List Format field. Click OK.

Deleting Lists or List Items

To delete a list or a list item from a page:

1. Select the list or list item that you want to delete. To select a list, move the pointer to the selection bar next to the list and double-click; the entire list is selected. To select a list item, place the pointer over the number or bullet of the item and double-click; the item is selected.
2. Choose Edit | Clear, or press the Delete key.

Inserting List Items

To insert list items, just place the insertion point where you want to insert the new item and press Enter. A new number, bullet, or term is started for you. Enter the new list item as you normally would.

Workshop Wrap-Up

Organizing your information in lists is easy. The hardest part is thinking of the information that you want to include. Keep in mind that lists can appear differently in your visitors' browsers. While you develop your site, have a few different browsers on hand to check the appearance of your pages.

Chapter Summary

In this chapter, you learned how to format information in different types of lists. You learned how to add extended attributes to change the appearance of your lists. You also learned an easy way to develop hot lists without typing any URLs.

Next Steps

In Chapter 11, "Sprucing Up Your Pages," you learn how to create your own style sheets and how to add images and animation to your pages. You learn how to make images appear as though they float on your pages by using transparent GIFs. Read on to learn how to use color and images effectively. You even get tips on how to create your own images.

Q&A