HOW TO USE BORDERED BACKGROUNDS

The actual width of a displayed page is different for WebTV users and PC users. A page displayed on WebTV has a "pixel width" of approximately 550, while the average PC user has theirs set between 600 and 800. All of my bordered backgrounds are 800 pixels wide so the border image will not "tile", even on most PC monitors. Whenever I make a new set, I barge my way into a computer using freind's home and make sure it looks acceptable on a PC. If not, I "tweak" it on their computer then make sure it still looks all right on WebTV. I'm running out of freinds, but those are the lengths I go to in order to deliver a quality product.<GAG!>

When using a background that has an image or design along the side of the page, you must ensure that your text and images don't overlap that design. The best way to do this is by using a table and a "clear" gif that's the width of the border. The following code should be placed on your page after the opening body tag:

<table width="100%" height="100%" cellpadding="3" border="0">
<tr>
<td align="center">
<img src="URLofClearGif" width="100">
</td>
<td align="center">
All of your text, images, etc. go into this table data cell. As an added "bonus", because we used the td attribute "align='center'", everything in this cell will automatically be centered!
</td>
</tr>
</table>

I have a clear gif for you to use. Remember, NO LINKING! Click here to transload it. You won't see it, but trust me, it's there!

FOR WEBTV PAGEBUILDER PAGES

You must place these graphics on a published PageBuilder page. Use the WebScissors link provided on each graphics page to upload the pieces of the set you've chosen to your PageBuilder Scrapbook. Don't forget to upload the clear gif. Your highlight box will surround a small "empty" square near the top of the page. That's the clear gif. Now create a new page and title it anything you choose (for example "bgset"). Choose the Grey background. Click "Add an Item", then click "Picture", then Scrapbook". Click on a piece of the set to add it to the "bgset" page. Do this for each piece in the set until they have all been placed on the page. Remember, you need to include the clear gif too. When you see your highlight box surround something that doesn't seem to be there, that's the clear gif! Now click "Publish" and continue the steps on the following pages to publish your "bgset" page.
Get the URLs for your graphics. Go to the StarBlvd TranScriber at http://transload.starblvd.net/ts.shtml and type the name of the page containing the graphics into the text box. Using the example page name above it would be http://community.webtv.net/yourusername/bgset. Then click the "Extract" button. The next page will show you each of the images on that page with the URL written just above it. Copy down this information as you will use these URLs to "build" your page.
Build the page. Click "Create" on the sidebar to begin building your new page. Choose the "Grey" background. Click "Add an Item", then click "Text". Type the following code in the textbox:
<body background="URLofBackgroundImage" text="color" link="color" vlink="color">
(Instead of "URLofBackgroundImage" you will use the actual URL of your image and instead of "color" you will substitute the colors you want for text, links, and visited links, leaving the quotation marks in place.)
Click "Done". Now click "Add an Item" and "Text" again. In this textbox you will use the table code given above preceeded by </table>. Using the </table> tag will close the table that PageBuilder has already begun for you, and let you use your own table.
Things to Remember...
1. You're only using two "Add Text" items. The first one will hold your background and the second one will contain the rest of your page. There may be other ways to do it, but after experimenting, this is what works best for me.
2. Use the entire URL of the images (starting with http://).
3. You may not see your background until you actually publish your page.
4. Don't forget the clear gif!

Most of these bordered backgrounds have border designs that are 100 pixels wide. A few of them are a little wider. If using the width of "100" that I have in the code above results in text overlapping into the border, go back into your page editor and increase the width of the gif until it's visually pleasing to you.

Enjoy!

My thanks to Beth Candy, the Undisputed "Queen-of-PageBuilder", for her assistance!

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