=> 1. News From the Net => 2. Feature Article-"How's Your Sense of Style?" => 3. Webmaster Resources => 4. Promotional Resources => 5. Other Ezines of Interest => 6. Just for Fun or Useful => 7.E Books and Things of Interest to Publishers => 8. Freeware and Shareware to Download => 9.Subscribe/Remove Information *************************************** Hi Kids, Happy Halloween! The "boys" Halloween picture came out really cute take a look at them in full costume http://www.merlesworld.com/halloween2004.jpg Cleaning sucks! I've been up to my ears in rags and buckets all week. Little did I know 2 days after my last ezine to you the house would catch on fire. It started between the walls due to the fire in the fireplace. My house is like 50 years old and I guess the construction of the fireplace wasn't right as they had 2x4's right up against the bricks inside. Not smart. We have had fires for over 5 years of living here with no problems, but I guess it finally decided to ignite. My home office is trashed, the living room unlivable for now, but it could have been much worse. All of my belongings from the office and my living room are packed up in boxes in the garage. If I have to find something it's like playing a bad game of "go fish". Translation: It's not fun. The smoke damage and dust went everywhere so my "significant other" and I had to go through every room in the house and take out the contents and clean top to bottom. Yes, we have house insurance and you think they would have done this for us but all they did so far was come and clean the contents and pack it up for the garage. They said they won't come back now until demolition of the walls and the construction is done. Makes sense I guess but forcing us to live in all this debris does not. Cleaning with "Jim" (boyfriend) is not easy. He fancies himself a boss and likes to bark out orders all day. If he catches me on the computer or checking email it's off with my head. Sheeeezzz, can't wait for him to go back to work tomorrow. He has been doing a lot of the work so I shouldn't complain, but who died and left him in charge. I'd really like to see you over at the discussion board. Please give me your thoughts at http://www.merlesworld.com/webbbs/ Don't forget to bookmark the Blog. You'll want to pay an occasional visit for extra goodies I find. http://merlesworld.blogspot.com/ This week's winner for a free ad is...Brian Smith. For your own chance to win fill in the survey. You'll find the link at the very bottom of this ezine. A winner is pulled twice a month. Enter now. Thanks for joining me, let's get to the good stuff. If you have any comments you can send them to Me. Merle http://www.MerlesWorld.com http://www.EzineAdAuction.com http://www.MCPromotions.com

Icop and The Institute for Spam and Internet Public Policy
(ISIPP) create partnership.

http://www.trusted-email-sender.com/news.html

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First U.S. felony trial over sp~m begins
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6337242/
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New Google Desktop Exploit Discovered
http://tinyurl.com/649da
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Help with Google AdSense
http://tinyurl.com/4wddc
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Ebay/Paypal Buyer Credit
http://tinyurl.com/4ah83
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Supporters Try to Revive Sender ID
http://tinyurl.com/62tx5
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Yahoo, Adobe Team Up for New Web Services
http://tinyurl.com/593yw
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Netscape Announces Version 7.2
http://tinyurl.com/3lm3

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"How's Your Sense of Style?"

By Merle
http://www.MCPromotions.com

No, I'm not referring to your wardrobe here, but
to to cascading style sheets, also known as CSS.
Developed by the World Wide Web Consortium, it
allows webmasters to separate site layout from
the design. CSS is actually a standard for con-
trolling the appearance of your Web pages. It's
essentially a set of rules that, when linked to
or embedded in HTML pages, control their
appearance.

Right about now you're probably thinking "What's
so great about that?" The benefits are numerous
-- two of the biggest are:

1) Easy Site Updates: Global site updates will be
simpler when you can make all your changes in one
place to update the entire site. It's much better
than going through page after page of HTML code.
For example, say you have a site made in Times New
Roman font and your customer calls you up and tells
you he wants Verdana. Can you imagine scrolling
through 25 pages or more looking for every incident
of the <font> tag and changing it to Verdana? What
a nightmare. With CSS you would simply specify
the font in one location and the change would be
implemented site wide.

2) Faster Loading: Your HTML pages will load faster
due to cleaner code. All of the extraneous coding
will be in a style sheet, leaving less clutter and
faster downloading of the site.

So now that you've seen a few of the "benes" to
style sheets, let's learn more about them. Let's
clarify up front that while both Netscape and
Internet Explorer both support CSS from version
4.0 and higher, they don't exactly see eye to eye
on CSS and interpret some style properties
differently. You'll want to test your pages in
both browsers to check and correct any incon-
sistencies.

So what can you control with CSS? Things like
paragraphs <P>, Headings <H1><H2><H3>, borders,
table layouts, Fonts and font colors, text alignment,
pixel size, line height, letter spacing, word
spacing, font weights, page margins, and even
background images; and the way they work is a
big improvement over just plain old HTML. Are
you beginning to see the possibilities and just
how powerful this can be?

There are three ways to use CSS:

1) Inline: The CSS tags are applied to the
web page itself, to any body element you
choose. This is not the best method, as
you'll have to find each incidence in the
web site in order to make changes in the
future. Example of this:

(remove the periods before and after the span tag)

.<Span Style="background-color: yellow">Text Here
</Span>.

In the example above the text would be highlighted
yellow.

2) Embedded: The actual CSS code is part of the
HTML page placed between the <HEAD> tags on each
page. Again, placing the tags inside the pages
defeats the convenience of CSS and being able
to make global site changes from one document,
but some do like to use this method.

Example of embedded:

.<HEAD>
<STYLE TYPE= "text/css">
<!-->
H2 {font-size:small}
</STYLE>
<HEAD>.

3) Linked: In my opinion, the best method to use.
You place a link to the CSS between the <HEAD>
</HEAD> tags on your web pages. The link looks
like this:

<Link Rel="stylesheet" Type="text/css" Href=style.css>

The style sheet is a separate text document that
is saved with a .css extension like this: style.css.

So now that you know your three options for using
CSS, how do you write the code? Every style sheet
rule starts with a selector followed by braces. A
selector is any part of HTML coding like P, Font,
Body, etc.

Here's what it looks like in action:

.P {font-size: 12pt}.

The P above is the selector and the font
specification between the braces is the property.
This code says that all paragraphs will be 12 pt
font in size.

A rule can always have multiple properties.
Semicolons separate multiple properties, commas
are used to separate multiple selectors.

Example:

.P { color: black; background-color:white;
font-size=12pt }.

This code says you want all paragraphs black with a
white background and a 12 pt font. (Why anyone would
want that is beyond me; it's just an example so go
with it.)

You can always group more than one selector tag like
this if you want them all to look the same.

TD,H2,H1 { color: Red; background-color:pink }

This would make all table cells, and heading 1 and 2 tags
red with a pink background. Attractive don't you think?
Again, this is an exaggeration to prove a point (even
if it is gaudy).

Selectors are not case sensitive, so "P" is the same
as "p."

H2 { color: blue } this would make all heading 2 tags
blue in color.

As you can see from these examples, CSS is not that
hard to pick up and can really give you more control
over your website's appearance. For further information,
check out some of these informative sites and you'll
be a CSS pro in no time at all:

http://www.InternetBrothers.com/CSS_Basics.htm
http://www.users.f2s.com/faq/cssbasic.php3
http://tinyurl.com/5vz2z
http://tinyurl.com/466ag

There are also software programs you can download
that will make the creation of CSS so much easier:

TopStyle http://www.bradsoft.com/topstyle/index.asp
Dutch's CSS http://www.dutchthewiz.com/styles/Default.asp

In Part 2 of our discussion of CSS, we'll discuss
some fun things you can do with styles that will
dress up your website and have you looking like
a pro in no time at all.

**********************************************
Merle http://www.EzineAdAuction.com
"Where some of the BEST Deals in Ezine Ads are Made"
Buy & Sell Ezine Ads in a live auction setting!
Publishers sell off your excess inventory and Buyers
pick up some Fantastic bargains. Go now.
************************************************

Go Back Up

Level 10 Hit Counter

"A a top rated, free web counter statistics package.
It features a one-of-a-kind Flash rich media reporter
that quickly generates 100's of real-time graphical
web traffic reports." Free to download, and available
in two languages PHP/MYSQL or Perl.

http://www.leveltendesign.com/L10Apps/HC/download.php

--------

Webmaster Tools

A whole page of useful f-r-e-e software for
Webmasters.HTML Encryptor, a self extracting
article ebook with material you can use on
your site or in your ezine, a script tester,
HTML to JavaScripte Converter and more. If
you build sites there's something you can
use here.

http://webmastertools.sawpit.net/free.html

------

Javascript Banner Rotator Generator

Easy way to rotate banners on your website
Just type in your banners and paste the
code onto your webpage.

http://www.htmlbasix.com/banner.shtml

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***********************************
Useful Tips
***********************************

Yahoo Search Tip- Tracing Phone Calls

Getting strange phone calls to your home or business.
Just type the area code into Yahoo's search box and
it will tell you where the call is coming from.

Instant Press Release- Software

It allows anyone to write and professionally
format a press release in a matter of minutes
by simply filling in some blanks and answering
some questions. Totally F-R-E-E.

http://tinyurl.com/5udfb

-------

Join CB Clicks

Imagine... Your Clickbank® Affiliate ID on
Thousands of Pages All Over The World Making
You Big Money 24 Hours A Day 7 Days A Week -
One Hundred Percent Absolutely FREE!

http://tinyurl.com/4m3zl

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If you'd like to swap ads with this ezine please send your
requests to mailto:adswap@merlesworld.com Please include
your ezine name and the number of subscribers.
-------------------

ATTENTION: Small Online Biz Owners!

If you're trying to market your Website and are not
sure where to turn, subscribe to MC Promotions Press
Newsletter and get the information you need to be a
success online. Sure-Fire Promotion/Marketing Tips.
Sites that will help you. Little known advertising
tricks.....and much more. Start increasing traffic
to your site Now http://www.MCPromotionsPress.com

Go Back Up

Planet Feedback

Have a complaint, question or comment for a
company? PlanetFeedback helps you compose
letters and give those whom you feel need it
a piece of your mind. From insurance companies
to toy stores they have it all here.

http://planetfeedback.com/consumer/

------

National Geographic Printable Posters

Want something really cool? Print out life size
posters of animals and landscapes on your
printer and re-assemble them on your walls.
The photography is top notch of course.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/printaposter/

--------

LS Blogs

If you're not a big fan of Blogs you might want
to convert yourself. The popularity of Blogs is
not going away anytime soon. Check out this site
which has listings for Blog Directories, feeds,
software and more. It's everything you may not
want to know about Blogging.

http://www.lsblogs.com/

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Special Report

Free report on "How to Prosper With the
New Google". If you're trying to raise
your position in the search engines you'll
want to read this very important information
by a true online expert.

http://www.merlesworld.com/e-books/google-report.pdf

Go Back Up

GiftWiz- F-r-e-e Software

"No more tediously cutting and folding tiny
pieces of paper, writing names on them, and
throwing them in a hat to be drawn to see
who buys a gift for whom. GiftWiz automates
and simplifies the entire process of the
time-honored holiday tradition of drawing
names to exchange gifts while keeping it
fun and festive."

http://www.harmonyhollow.net/giftwiz.shtml

--------

Aid Submission Software

If you create software and would like to submit
it to over 300 online freeware and shareware
directories you need this software. Very
inexpensive for all the work it does for you.
Can download f-r-e-e to try it out first.

http://www.aidsoft.com/asg/

-----

Link Management Software

Duncan Carver recently released a brand new
f-r-e-e software package that makes it easy
to set up and maintain reciprocal links on
your website. You can download the software
here.

http://tinyurl.com/4jmgb

Go Back Up

Well, that wraps it up,once again thanks for joining me.
If you have any comments please send them to comments@merlesworld.com or visit the site.

For advertising rates for this ezine visit http://www.merlesworld.com/advertising.htm

Current subscriber base is over 3,400- My list is clean as all email addresses are removed the very first time they bounce.
Back issues can be reviewed here...http://www.MerlesMission.com

If you are not a subscriber and would like to be send mailto:subscribe@merlesworld.com

For great web hosting or if you're in need of a programmer contact mailto:DavidBlack@SiteDesignandHosting.com .He's wonderful and an expert at what he does. Tell him "Merle" sent ya.

P.S. I am currently in need of testimonials for this ezine.If you enjoy it please let me know. Send to mailto:testimonials@MerlesWorld.com
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I'm now offering my articles for syndication on your website All you have to do is paste SOME code where you want the article to appear and every 10 to 14 days when I update it on my end it will display a fresh article on web design/ maintenance on your site. Easy to do and gives you fresh content without any work whatsoever. For more info and to get to the code Click Here.

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Disclaimer: Merle's World does not accept any responsibility for any liabilities as resulting from any claims in this newsletter or by the advertisers in it. This newsletter is for informational purposes only. We respect your privacy and do not share our mailing list with anyone. All content provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Comments in this ezine are strictly the opinion of the publisher. Merle does not endorse, and is not responsible for, the above ads. Please use your own discretion when responding to ads in this ezine. Copyright 2001-2004 All Rights Reserved. View our Privacy Policy and our...Site Disclaimer

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