| Using HTML you can create text
in colors and in different sizes, as in the title of this page above. However, there are
limitations. If the viewers of your web page don't have the fancy font installed on their
computers that you used to create the text, another font will be substituted. You lose
control over the appearance of your web page, and its appearance may not be what you
intended. With text images you can
apply 3D effects such as drop shadows that make your web page look more professional. Keep
in mind that images take longer to download than text, so use text images wisely.
Creating Text
 From the Start menu
select Programs, then Microsoft Image Composer to open Image Composer.
From the Toolbox on the
left, select the Text button, labeled with an A.
Choose a Font from the
dropdown list. Select the Italic Style. Select a size of 36. Make sure the Smoothing box
is checked.
Click the Color box to
choose a color for the text.
Click the Center button
to center the text inside the text box.
Move your mouse pointer
into the Composition Guide and click and drag your mouse to create a text box. Type
"Visitor Center". Press Enter and type "History of the Crusades".
If your text box isn't
large enough, use the mouse pointer to drag the right side of the box to make it bigger.
When you have finished,
click outside the text box to see how the text looks. Notice that the jagged edges of
italic text have been smoothed away.
Size your text by
dragging the box outward or inward.
Applying Effects to
the Text
If it is not already
selected, click your text once to select it and display the sizing handles.
Click the Effects button
on the Toolbox to display the effects option box.
There are two tabs,
Effects and Details. You can select an Effect by clicking on the parot head of your
choice, then click Details to see optional settings for that Effect.
Find and select the
Effect called Drop Shadow. Click the Details tab.
The Green boxes select
the direction of the shadow. Select the box in the lower left corner (Southwest). Select a
Distance of 6. Move the Soft - Hard slider so that it is slightly above Hard.
Click the Color box to
select a color for the drop shadow. Move the Red, Green and Blue sliders to the middle of
the bar. This produces a gray drop shadow. Click Apply.
Leave the Effects box
open and try some different settings and effects. When you are finished, close the Effects
box.
Change the size of the
Composition Guide so that it is just large enough to hold your text box.
From the File menu, click
Save As, and sav
e as a gif file on your diskette.
Open history.html with
the FrontPage 98 editor and insert your text image at the top. Remove the title text at
the top.
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