C O O L P A G E H E L P . C O M - The Official Help Website for Cool Page Users

What is the HTML Object Tool?

The HTML Object Tool is a feature of Cool Page that enables you to insert snippets of HTML code on your pages. By snippets is meant small pieces of HTML code such as java scripts, java applets, shockwave flash, banner ads, forms and other similar small pieces of code. The tool is not designed to handle whole pages of code such the entire source code of someone else's webpage.

Note: There are many such items (Counters, Javascripts, Java applets, etc.) included in the Objects Window or in add-on packages for Cool Page which get installed into the Objects Window (PlugIns). It is much easier to drag the items from the Objects Window to your web page, than attempt to use HTML Object. We advise beginners to use the Objects Window instead of HTML Object.

Since HTML Object is so powerful, it can also be easily abused and misused. Because HTML is a vast and complex science, Cool Page Customer Support will not advise on the use of this tool beyond the help here and in the Cool Page User Manual.

HTML Object Tool Instructions

1. Click the Insert Menu at the top of the Cool Page window.

2. Click HTML Object.. in the menu.

4. If your snippet of code has references to other files such as image files (.gif and .jpg), shockwave (.swf), sounds files (.au and.wav or .mid) etc, click the Browse... button on the HTML Object Properties window and select the files mentioned in the code. This will ensure that your needed files get uploaded during Publishing. Failure to Browse... and select referenced files will prevent your code snippet from functioning.

note: If the snippet of code you are using is non standard or incorrect,
Cool Page will not automatically correct it.

5. Size the HTML Object. This is done by clicking on the General Tab of the HTML Object Properties window.

Very often the snippet of code will refer to dimensions (width and height) of a file or object, or in the case of some web forms, a reference to Rows and Columns. Rows and Columns are dimensions. (# of characters in a row or column)

In the case of image files, set the dimensions (width and height) of the HTML Object to the size of the image file referenced in the code or size it just slightly larger.

In the case of forms (Rows & Columns), you should guess at the size of the HTML snippet in action (as it would appear on a webpage), preview your page in your browser and then adjust the size of the HTML Object as needed. Then set the dimensions of the HTML Object slightly larger than the actual size of the form.

RULE: IF THE CODE SNIPPET REFERS TO DIMENSIONS, SIZE THE HTML OBJECT TO THE SPECIFIED WIDTH AND HEIGHT OR SLIGHTLY LARGER.

note - Some HTML Objects will not function when Previewing. In this case you must use Export and then preview the page in your browser or use Publish and view the page on your website.

Troubleshooting HTML Objects

Facts:

If the code snippet used in your HTML Object does not work or if your page does not display correctly, the code being used in the HTML Object is non-standard, the HTML Object is incorrectly sized, one HTML Object on the page interferes with another HTML Object or the web browser itself may be damaged or misconfigured.

Incorrect use of the HTML Object Tool can cause your page to become misaligned and also corrupt other objects on the page.

The number one cause of page mis-alignment is faulty or bad html code that is being used in inserted HTML Objects, or too many HTML Objects being used on the page.

note: Page misalignment can also be caused by Non-Web Safe Fonts.

Some examples are the use of web ring links, banner ads, other advertising, counters and guestbook links. The code used is often supplied by the service provider and it is not always standard html code.

Solutions:

1. To determine which HTML Object is causing the page to mis-align, try removing the HTML Objects one by one, until the page displays correctly. Then don't use the one that is faulty.

2. If you have too many HTML Objects on the page, split your page into separate pages or remove some of the clutter.

3. Another cause of this same problem can be traced to poorly written or non standard java scripts, such as the ones used for drop down menus, time/date displays, scrolling text, etc. The solution here is to choose your scripts and then test them on your page to see if they work as claimed.

4. The common web browsers (Internet Explorer and Netscape) use different methods of displaying certain specialized code such as java or javascript. A snippet of code that displays correctly in Internet Explorer may not display correctly in Netscape. Pages made with Cool Page will display correctly in all web browsers, an exception being the abuse or mis-use of HTML Objects or non-standard/faulty code snippets. Test your webpages in different browsers.

5. See the FAQ's at coolpage.com.

6. If you have a large audience of Netscape 4.x viewers, use only one HTML Object per page and set the Layer Number of the HTML Object to the largest allowed number by Cool Page. If the code used in this HTML Object is standard then the page will display correctly.