Cascading Style Sheets
What is a Cascading Style Sheet?
A Cascading Style Sheet is the rulebook that tells a browser how to display a webpage. It specifically describes how each type of text-- headers, normal text, and so on-- appears. The font used, the font size, and the color of the text are defined; the background color is defined; the color and appearance of links are also defined.
The APH Web Site stylesheet has the following features for users with low-vision or visual impairments:
- Font style of Verdana, Arial or Sans-Serif for ease of reading
- No Font Size specifications to allow user adjustment
- Contrasting colors
You may over-ride the APH web stylesheet by creating one of your own. The following information will assist you.
How to create a Cascading Style Sheet
APH's Keith Creasy wrote an excellent introduction to Style Sheets in the Spring/Summer issue of APH Technology Update. Here, from that article, are the steps to creating your own style sheet:
Creating a Style Sheet
By Keith Creasy
To create a simple style sheet, open "Word Pad" or similar text editor from the Windows accessories menu and enter the following text:
body { color: yellow; background: blue; font-family: Verdana; }
p { font-size: 24px; }
h1 { font-size: 48px; color: white; }
h2 { font-size: 42px; }
The first word of the text listed above, "body," refers to the tag that defines the entire body of the HTML (Web) document. In style-sheet terms this is called the "selector." After the selector comes a set of opening and closing braces where the "rules" for the style selector are specified. Here, I've used three rules: one for the font family, one for the background color, and one for the text color. I also define a font size for the level one headings, H1, and the level 2 headings, H2.
Once the text has been entered, save it as "C:\MYSTYLE.CSS" and close Word Pad. To activate your new styles, you'll need to make changes to your browser settings.
How to adjust your browser to use your CSS
Internet Explorer
- Press ALT+T within Internet Explorer to bring up the "Tools" menu.
- Choose "Internet Options" from the Tools menu and press the enter key.
- Tab down to the option "Accessibility Options" and press the enter key.
- Be sure to check the items Ignore colors specified on web pages","Ignore font styles specified on web pages", and "Ignore font sizes specified on web pages".
- Next, tab to the button that selects whether to use a personal style sheet and press the space bar to check it.
- Tab to the next field in which you can enter the name of the style sheet file, "c:\mystyle.css".
- Select OK to get out of the menus.
Netscape
Navigator (version 4.0 and earlier) does not allow you to use your own style sheet.
Opera
- Select "Preferences" from the "File" menu.
- Highlight "Documents" from the category display on the right of the dialog box to access the proper control panel.
- Find the "Presentation modes" section of the control panel in the center of the dialog box and deselect all of the check boxes under the "Document" column.
- In the lower right corner of the dialog box is a text area marked "User CSS". Type (or use the "…" button to browse) the location of your style sheet file.
- Click "OK" to return to your browser.