Text Formatting
Headings
Headings should be used to briefly describe the topic of the text that follows. They are not meant to be used to emphasize or contrast important phrases of text. There are six levels of headings defined. However, please note that the first two are reserved for the the PCC logo in the header and the page heading (section 2). Please do not use Heading 1 or Heading 2 anywhere in the body of your page.
The heading styles are located in the formatting toolbar as shown below.
Heading 3
This is the largest heading you can use. Use this to define the main sections of your page.
Heading 4
Use this heading to describe sub-divisions of the sections under a Heading 3.
Heading 5
This offers yet one more level of sub-division. Use this below a Heading 4.
Heading 6
This is the final level of division available.
If you find that you need more than the four levels of division offered here, you should consider reordering the content of your page. Too many divisions can be confusing.
Text Styles
Also in the formatting toolbar (see the graphic in the "Headings" topic above) are styles that can be applied to text. Fineprint makes text appropriate for use at the bottom of the page, or other areas where fineprint is necessary.
As a general rule, don't use underline in any of your text. Words that are underlined can easily be confused with hyperlinks and can confuse visitors. If emphasis is needed, instead make use of bold (B button) and italic (I button).
You'll notice while editing your page that you cannot change the size and color of your text except by placing styles on it. This keeps the look of all PCC pages as uniform as possible.
Lists
Formatting information into a list is an easy way to display large amounts of information in a more easily digestible format. There are several types of lists you can create.
- Unordered list: Creates bullet points in front of list items.
- Ordered list: Creates number points in front of list items and should only be used when the order of the content matters.
- You can also add sub-levels such as this one by pressing the Tab key.
- To return to the upper-level bulleting, press Shift+Tab.
- To change the numbering style (e.g., roman numerals, alphabetical characters), highlight the list items to be changed and right-click on them. From the menu that appears, go to "List", then choose "Properties" on the next sub-menu. A screen will open up with various numbering options. Make sure to choose the options for the "Selected Item" only. Otherwise you'll affect the whole list.
- Definition lists:
- Create a means of displaying term/definition pairs (like this).
Tables
Tables should only be used to display tabular data! What is tabular data? It's information that has to be laid out in columns and rows such as a bus schedule. The column headings might have stop locations, while the cells below might have times. Tables should not be used for changing the general layout of your page (e.g., putting graphics inside cells so that they align with text), or for creating text columns.
If you do use a table in your site, there is no need to specify a table width or alignment, border thickness or cell colors when you insert it. We advise you to be careful when using tables; too many columns can create problems with the PCC template and cause text to flow off of the viewer's screen.
If you have any questions about tables, would like a customized table, or want your table to match the PCC standard tables seen throughout the rest of the site (and can't be created in Contribute), contact the web team!
Additional Styles
There are also additional styles that are widely used across the PCC site, but unfortunately cannot be created using Contribute. If you have a need for one of these additional elements, please contact the web team to set it up for you.