Working with Text Objects, Headers, and Footers

The text formatting tools in the Edit Text, Edit Header, and Edit Footer dialog boxes can be affected by your browser. Here is some information for working with text objects, headers, and footers:

Restoring the default background color

Once a block of text has been given a background color, if you select all or part of it and choose automatic (or if you select the transparent color in the drop-down palette), the background color does not change. Instead, apply the actual background color (white).

Inserting text before or after a single dynamic item using the mouse

If there is no text preceding a dynamic item in a paragraph, then clicking in front of the gray box selects the whole box instead of putting the caret in front of it. The same behavior happens if there is no text after a dynamic item. Instead, press the left or right arrow keys.

Receiving an error message that selected text cannot be made into a link

You might see this message if you select all of the text in a paragraph and then click

. To work around this issue, type an extra space at the end of the paragraph and then do not include the extra space when you select the text for the hyperlink. This same error can occur if the selected text is immediately adjacent to a dynamic item. Always type at least one space after a dynamic item before you insert another one.

Using SHIFT+TAB does not shift the focus out of the edit box

Use the Tab key to navigate instead.

Choosing a new foreground or background color seems to do nothing when the cursor is blinking

When you change the style while you are at an insertion point, there will be no visible effect until you type a character. Note that if you move the insertion point (for example, using the mouse or arrow key) before typing a character, then the pending style change is automatically canceled.

Changing the color of a new empty line does not work

When you press ENTER at the end of a line of colored text, the next line is the same color because you have created a new paragraph. You can change the color of individual paragraphs, but the paragraph must have at least one character so that you can select it. Be sure to select the entire paragraph. You can use SHIFT+END to do this. You can remove empty paragraphs at the end of the text by using the arrow keys to navigate to the end of the paragraph and then press Backspace.

Receiving an error message that the format change cannot be made to more than one paragraph

Pressing ENTER creates a new paragraph. You cannot apply a style change across paragraphs. However, you can select each paragraph and apply the same style to each one.

Receiving an error message that a dynamic item cannot be inserted while another dynamic item is selected

You cannot have one dynamic item immediately adjacent to another dynamic item. Instead, type a space between the existing dynamic item and where you want to insert another dynamic item.

Clicking a dynamic item shows vertical gray bands at the ends of the dynamic item

This is how the browser displays reverse-video selection for the particular HTML that is used to represent the dynamic item.