<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC...

T

Tat

I have been looking at a LOT of websites, and their source, trying to figure
out exactly what I need to do on my pages, since I noticed the information in
the pages lfrom Front Page ooks completely different than all the others I
have seen.
This is what the top of my automotive page looks like:

<html>

<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en-us">
<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 6.0">
<meta name="ProgId" content="FrontPage.Editor.Document">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1252">
<title>Automotive, Cars, Trucks, Motorcycles, Tools, Parts, &
Accessories</title>
<meta name="Microsoft Theme" content="copy-of-slate 1011, default">
<meta name="Microsoft Border" content="tb, default">
</head>

<body>
<table border="0" width="820" height="145">

I have noticed almost every page I view on the web has some variation of
this at the very top of the pages:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>

I haven't found any information yet about DOCTYPE in the books and articles
I've read yet regarding what it is and if I need it. Would someone mind
telling me what all that is, and what I need to add to or remove from the
<head> section of my pages, if anything, to make sure it appears in a search
engine when I publish it?

It is going to be a site where customers will click on the merchandise
and/orsuppliers links I have and buy the products advertised (hopefully).

I have been reading everything I can get my hands on about HTML and web
sites, and I hate to ask so many questions, and sound so ignorant about it
all, but I am VERY new to this, and trying to learn as much as I can as fast
as I can.
I do appreciate all the help I have received thus far, and hopefully, I may
be able to help someone else some day.
 
S

Steve Easton

Well, now you're getting into new territory.
You really need to have a doctype in your pages because it effects how the
page displays in the browser.
Pages without doctypes display in "quirks mode" which means they may not
render correctly.
 
T

Tat

Thank you Steve.

I have the feeling there's going to be a LOT of new territory I still have
to explore. I think I remember reading about quirks somewhere in this forum,
or somewhere recently. I've been reading so much the last few days, I'm not
exactly sure where I read it.
Any suggestions, sites to visit, or information about how I go about putting
a DOCTYPE on my pages?
Rember, I'm the one that quit my job & jumped into the deep end of this
thing head first, so if you can keep the answer at a 'web builder
kindergarten' level, I would appreciate it.

Thank you again.
 
T

Trevor L.

Tat said:
Thank you Steve.

I have the feeling there's going to be a LOT of new territory I still
have to explore. I think I remember reading about quirks somewhere
in this forum, or somewhere recently. I've been reading so much the
last few days, I'm not exactly sure where I read it.
Any suggestions, sites to visit, or information about how I go about
putting a DOCTYPE on my pages?
Rember, I'm the one that quit my job & jumped into the deep end of
this thing head first, so if you can keep the answer at a 'web builder
kindergarten' level, I would appreciate it.

Thank you again.
Click to expand...

These are the DOCTYPES for HTML4.01

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd">

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Frameset//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/frameset.dtd">

Paste one of these at the very top of your HTML document
 
T

Tat

Thank you Trevor.

I have just been searching the web and reading (A LOT) about DOCTYPE. In a
way, I'm even more confused than when I started, but at least I understand
what it does now. Now, if I can only figure out what HTML 4.01 is, if I'm
using it or not, and which tag I should use.
I'm starting to feel like I'm running through a forest in the dark and
waiting to slam into a tree at any second. LOL
Thanks again for the help.
 
T

Trevor L.

Tat said:
Thank you Trevor.

I have just been searching the web and reading (A LOT) about DOCTYPE.
In a way, I'm even more confused than when I started, but at least I
understand what it does now. Now, if I can only figure out what HTML
4.01 is, if I'm using it or not, and which tag I should use.
I'm starting to feel like I'm running through a forest in the dark and
waiting to slam into a tree at any second. LOL
Thanks again for the help.
Click to expand...

Well, may be I can throw some light on it (or maybe not)

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is read by the various browsers Internet
Explorer, Firefox, etc and renders pages on the web

There are various versions of HTML, each with various improvements and
different browsers may or may not support all the extras in the later
versions. A consortium named W3C (www consortium ) lays down the rules, but
they are not mandatory.

The latest (possibly even the final version) of HTML is 4.01. I say possibly
final because XHTML1.0 (Extensible HyperText Markup Language) is now
intended to replace it
What Is XHTML?
a.. XHTML stands for EXtensible HyperText Markup Language
b.. XHTML is aimed to replace HTML
c.. XHTML is almost identical to HTML 4.01
d.. XHTML is a stricter and cleaner version of HTML
e.. XHTML is HTML defined as an XML application
f.. XHTML is a W3C Recommendation
There is also XML
What is XML?
a.. XML stands for EXtensible Markup Language
b.. XML is a markup language much like HTML
c.. XML was designed to describe data
d.. XML tags are not predefined. You must define your own tags
e.. XML uses a Document Type Definition (DTD) or an XML Schema to describe
the data
f.. XML with a DTD or XML Schema is designed to be self-descriptive
g.. XML is a W3C Recommendation
I read that Windows Vista will support another language altogteher (I have
forgotten the alphabetical soup for this one - it may be XAML). I think it
is also an XML application - whatever that means !

Confused ??

Well, the best approach is to write code that meets HTML4.01 or XHTML1.0
standards
All modern browsers should have no problems with either of these.

My reference is
http://www.w3schools.com/
 
T

Tat

Thank you again.
I've been looking through the w3 schools site, and many others, all night.
From what I've figured out, since I just add text into the cells on MS FP
2003 , and don't edit the HTML page much, everything is compatable with
HTML4.01. The sites that do use XHTML use the same HTML commands, but have
the XHTML added in the DOCTYPE at the top of the page, and an additional
command clarifying the XHTML before the DOCTYPE, which automatically reverts
back to quirks mode, rendering the DOCTYPE useless... for now.
Sounds like a lot of things are changing, and I've dove in right in the
middle of it all.
Oh well, in a way, I guess now's the best time to learn if everything is
changing as fast as it appears to be.

My brain hurts.

Thanks again Trevor. You have been a great help these past couple of days.
 
T

Thomas A. Rowe

You do not need to have a DOCTYPE unless you want to validate your site or you want to avoid your
site using the browser quirk mode of rendering.

--
==============================================
Thomas A. Rowe (Microsoft MVP - FrontPage)
==============================================
If you feel your current issue is a results of installing
a Service Pack or security update, please contact
Microsoft Product Support Services:
http://support.microsoft.com
If the problem can be shown to have been caused by a
security update, then there is usually no charge for the call.
==============================================
 
K

Kathleen Anderson [MVP - FrontPage]

Trevor L. said:
These are the DOCTYPES for HTML4.01

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd">

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Frameset//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/frameset.dtd">

Paste one of these at the very top of your HTML document
Click to expand...

And here's how to make sure it's in all the new pages that you create:
http://www.spiderwebwoman.com/tutorials/doctypesolution.asp


--

~ Kathleen Anderson
Microsoft MVP - FrontPage
Spider Web Woman Designs
web: http://www.spiderwebwoman.com/resources/
FrontPage Support: http://www.frontpagemvps.com/
 
T

Thomas A. Rowe

I personally prefer to let browsers render in Quirks mode.

--
==============================================
Thomas A. Rowe (Microsoft MVP - FrontPage)
==============================================
If you feel your current issue is a results of installing
a Service Pack or security update, please contact
Microsoft Product Support Services:
http://support.microsoft.com
If the problem can be shown to have been caused by a
security update, then there is usually no charge for the call.
==============================================
 
P

P@tty Ayers

True. Put another way: you NEED a doctype if you are at all concerned with
writing standards-compliant code, or if you would like browsers to render
your code the way it was intended.
 
T

Tat

Thank you Kathleen, Thomas, Murray, and Patty
I apologise for not replying and thanking you all earlier, but I took a
crash course in XHTML, DOCTYPE, chaarset, and some Javascript all night, so I
was sleeping when you all wrote.
Between the excelent help I have recieved here, and the all-nighter, I have
a better understanding of the DOCTYPE now.
Although the site I am building seems to be compiant with most of the XHTML
rules, some of the single commands like <br> I entered manually or using the
FP drop down window in code mode are not.
I think for now I'll publish the site without the DOCTYPE until I can make
time and go back and convert it to XHTML.
I appreciate all the feedback I have gotten from everyone. You have all
helped me out a great deal, and hopefully, as I learn more, I can return the
favor and help someone else some day.
I'm sure there are many more questions I will have as I continue learning
about web sites and FP, and hopefully I will get the same helpful replys I
have been given thus far.
Thank you all again.
 
T

Trevor L.

Tat said:
Although the site I am building seems to be compiant with most of the
XHTML rules, some of the single commands like <br> I entered manually
or using the FP drop down window in code mode are not.
Click to expand...

To correct this, use <br />
 

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