Creating Custom CSS Styles

The CSS palette in Dreamweaver uses the same icon as HTML styles to create a new CSS style.

To create a new custom style, give it a name (custom style names must begin with a period, but if you forget to add the period Dreamweaver will do it for you).

After you name a new style, specify whether you are defining your style in a style sheet file or in this document only. If you have previously created a common CSS file for your site, your style sheet name will show up in the pulldown menu. If you haven't created a common style sheet file, do so now.

If you are creating a custom style that will only be available in the current document, select the "This Document Only" option. Once you click OK, Dreamweaver will take you to the style definition dialog box. Here you select your formatting options from the extensive menu.

Note that style formatting options identified with an asterisk do not preview in Dreamweaver, but they will preview in your Web browser (F12 key).

It is always important with CSS styles to test your pages on as many different Web browsers as possible. Internet Explorer is capable of handing many styles that Netscape 4.x does not. Netscape 6 (and higher) as well as Mozilla have greatly improved support for CSS.