div tag and inserting tables

[Arlene]

I often create pages in FP 03 in which I have several independent tables with
text or whatever inside each one. When I got to move a table from one place
to the other, I use the table tag selector to cleanly select the table, cut
it, select the table just above where I want to insert it using the table tag
selector, press the left arrow to deselect the table, and then paste in the
new table. When I do that, I see new dotted lines that extend outside of the
original table borders for both tables. What are these lines, what is the div
tag, and do these extended dotted lines have any significance? I don't know
html. Thanks in advance.

Arlene

 

[Murray]

What are these lines

No idea. If you save, close, reopen the page, do you still see them?

what is the div
tag

Where did a div tag get involved here? This is the first mention of it in
the post.

and do these extended dotted lines have any significance?

I doubt it....

 

[Arlene]

I mention the div tag in my subject line. A picture would make this easier. I
posted some screen shots at http://caot.lacitycollege.edu/Keyboarding/div.htm
for reference. Thanks.

Arlene

 

[Murray]

I mention the div tag in my subject line

Yes, but a div tag has nothing to do with anything you did as described in
the body of the post. Or was it just an unrelated question?

But I see from your picture what you are asking.

A <div> tag is a universal HTML container. You can put anything else into a
div, and manage the entire thing as a unit. But to appreciate the value of
this, you would need to learn some HTML. I take it that you are not so
interested in doing that?

 

[Arlene]

If it will help me understand what the tag does and what the purpose of the
dotted lines that appear outside the table boundaries, I would.

 

[Murray]

A div tag (<div>) is one of the 'block tag' elements in HTML. There are
also 'inline tags'.

A block tag is one that can contain any other structural tag (usually - with
a few exceptions), e.g., <div>, <table>, <p>, etc., while an inline tag is
one that cannot contain other structural tags, e.g., <img>, <span>, etc.. A
block tag fills the width of its container, and as a result, sits on a full
horizontal line forcing adjacent elements to the previous and the next line,
respectively. Some interpret this as an automatic carriage return - it is
not. An inline tag simply sits on a line, without restriction for other
inline tags before or after. This allows you to have multiple images on the
same text line, but not multiple tables, or paragraphs.

The dotted lines that you see outside the table boundaries indicate the
'borders' of the surrounding div tag - note that it is filling the entire
width of the available space, and that it is forcing adjacent content to a
new line before and after.

Does that help?

 

[Arlene]

It does help, thank you, but can you tell me this--do I need to be concerned
about it and does it affect the placement of the table(s) inside of it in any
way?

 

[Murray]

You do not need to be actively concerned about it if your goal is to use FP
without learning any HTML. If you want to learn HTML, then it is one
essential piece to the puzzle. And, the div will not affect the placement
of the table within....