Basic Text Formatting in HTML

Content

What is the basic structure of a text?

Unlike in text processing systems, in HTML you have to type formats such as italics and bold. This applies also to making paragraphs and lists. HTML ignores blank lines, you have to use the tags instead. Every paragraph should be enclosed between <P> and the corresponding </P> tag. Example

You write this: And so will it look:
<P>This is the text of the paragraph One</P>
<P>There is a blank line between the first and the second paragraph</P>

This is the text of the paragraph One

There is a blank line between the first and the second paragraph

<P>Many linebreaks<BR>within<BR>a paragraph</P>

Many linebreaks
within
a paragraph

<P ALIGN=CENTER>Centered paragraph</P>

Centered paragraph

<H1>Big header</H1>

Big header

<H2>Smaller</H2>

Smaller

<H3 ALIGN=CENTER>Even smaller</H3>

Even smaller and centered

How to make lists?

Bullet lists are enclosed between <UL> and </UL>, while number lists need <OL> and </OL>. In both cases, each list entry is enclosed by <LI> and </LI>. Example

You write this: And so will it look:
<UL><LI>First entry</LI>
<LI>Second entry</LI></UL>
  • First entry

  • Second entry

In general, all HTML tags come in pairs, an opening tag and the corresponding closing tag prefixed with a slash (/).

How to use bold and italics?

You can use simple HTML commands such as <B> and <I> to set your text bold and italics. Simply preceed the passage with a <B> or <I> and close it afterwards with a corresponding </B> or </I>, respectively. Example:

You write this: And so will it look:
this is a <B>bold</B> claim this is a bold claim
it is called <I>HTML</I> it is called HTML

How to link to other documents?

Use the anchor tag. Example

You write this: And so will it look:
This is an absolute link to <A HREF=http://www.google.com>google</A> This is an absolute link to google
This is a relative link to the <A HREF=../index.shtml>welcome page</A> This is a relative link to the welcome page

How to add an image?

Use the img tag. As with links, you can us either absolute or relative URLs. Example

You write this: And so will it look:
This is the <IMG SRC=http://www.google.com/logos/Logo_40wht.gif> image This is the image

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