How to Use HTML Code to Optimize Your Factoidz Articles Part 1

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How to Use HTML Code to Optimize Your Factoidz Articles Part 1

Updated April 24, 2010
3 minute read

This Factoidz series is intended to be a beginners guide to HTML use in Factoidz articles.

I've written other more advanced articles related to HTML use in Factoidz articles.

When an interlocutor presents a message to someone, it is expected that such a message respects certain important context-based conventions. The Philosopher of language H. P. Grice suggests that when two or more people converse, they choose to respect (or not) a 'cooperative principle.' More to the point, the manner by which something is said can be just as important as what is said. Hence, one of the most important aspects of a communication, with 'content,' is 'form.' In the case of a written document, 'form' can imply anything from organising ideas into logical sections or paragraphs, to changing typography for better legibility, or changing the way a word is articulated. Such behaviours are clearly context-based, as one will choose to organise his ideas differently if he is addressing himself to a close friend or trying to convince or seduce an  unknown correspondant. In this view, I suggest that even the Factoidz writer is faced with such formal decisions when he is writing an article. By using the 'preview article' button before submitting a work, one often wishes to see if the body of his text can easily be distinguished from the advertisements which surround it, and make sure things are not too jumbled. Sometimes, everything simply fits into place without any effort. But sometimes, the writer is dissatisfied by the way things appear on-page.

Rather than truncating parts of my text or abusively using the spacebar, one method I use to get around this issue is simple HTML commands. While the actual text box itself does come equipped with useful command buttons, such as buttons to add or remove links, make text bold or italic, or add an image, many other commands not included in this box exist, such as underlining a text or changing its colour. This article is meant to be an introduction to using HTML to write one's Factoidz.

The first step in inserting HTML code into one's Factoidz article consists in clicking on the 'Source' button. In doing so, any written text will loose its formatting and be displayed in code. It is important to remember that code must be placed both before and after the text or element one wishes to modify; the first tag (consisting of a command containd within two angle brackets; <x>) activates the effect and the second deactivates it (the deactivation command is represented by a solidus; </x>). One can easily revert back to the WYSIWYG display by clicking on the 'Source' button a second time.

The following table represents the HTML codes and their corresponding effects. The blue effects concern basic text commands, the red concern more elaborate font commands, and the green concern paragraph commands. It is possible to select, copy and past elements from the 'Code' column into the HTML section of a writer's article. One must keep in mind that this is simply a practical reference, which by no means approaches HTML from a critical point of view; simply put, most people would probably agree that elements here work, even if some of them may present technical issues.

A note of caution: before proceding any further, I strongly recommend that the writer experiment on a scrap article, and save his work often. Modifying directly HTML in this way could result in unwanted errors if something is done wrong. I don't want to be responsible for any Factoidz writers loosing their material.

Effect Code

Underlining

(this can also be achieved by using the conventional Ctrl+U shortcut)

<u>text</u>

Striking

(may be useful for correcting things)

<strike>text</strike>

Highlighting

<span style="background-color:yellow">text</span>

Custom Font Face

(click here for a list of font faces)

<font face="impact">text</font>

Custom Font Size

<font size="9">text</font>

Custom Font Colour

(click both here and here  for lists of font colours)

<font color="red">text</font>

Align text right

<p align="right">text</p>

Align text centre

<p align="center">text</p>

Justify text alignment (this is how most of my articles are aligned)

<p align="justify">text</p>

This article will hopefully have helped some in conceiving more tastful and especially better organised Factoidz articles. For those who wish to read more in-depth tutorials regarding HTML, I have published an article entitled 'How to Use HTML tables to Optimize your Factoidz Articles.'