Dear Dr. Website®: I have designed a page with white text on a black background -- but I would like to be able to print it as black text on a white background.
Can I use a JavaScript tag to specify the font, print color, etc.?
Although we must admit it took us a while to get it to work,
it's actually quite simple:
<A HREF="#" onClick="document.bgColor='white';document.fgColor='black'">
Change it to white</A>
This lets the user change the background and font colors by clicking on the link. This method works quite well.
Dear Dr. Website®: What are the requirements and experience that are necessary to become a Webmaster?
Also, what are the absolute minimum qualifications and/or programming knowledge required to become a Webmaster?
The term "Webmaster" used to simply mean the individual
who was in charge of a company's Web server administration, designing Web pages, writing CGI scripts, setting up FTP accounts, and performing various other Web-related tasks. However, the definition has greatly changed over the past couple of years.
Now, many of the tasks that were previously assigned to the Webmaster have fallen to individuals in charge of specific areas within an organization.
For example, in many of today's corporations, there is an individual who is in charge of Web server administration. Another person handles database development, another staffer (or several staffers) designs Web sites, another is in charge of writing the content, and yet another 10 individuals are charged with additional tasks.
In selecting a course of study, you will probably want to focus your career goals on a specific area and then educate yourself in that area.
Potential study topics could include HTML and DHTML, JavaScript, Java, Perl, XML, Web server administration, Java servlets, shopping carts, graphic design, and Web design -- and bear in mind that this list is certainly not exhaustive.
As for qualifications and programming knowledge, these would depend on your specific area of study, and for whom you plan to work.
Large companies tend to have a department of developers, while smaller Mom-and-Pop outfits may still rely on one individual for all of the above tasks.
Although a computer-related bachelor's degree would never hurt, keep in mind that the area of Web development is still under-represented in most colleges, and at this point experience is perhaps the best teacher.
Dear Dr. Website®: Where can I find information about adding a search engine so that visitors may search my site?
There are many search engines available
that you can use on your Web site. You'll need to choose between a Java, JavaScript, Perl, or other language-based search. Many such tools can be found at ScriptSearch.com.
You may also want to check out Excite for Web Servers (EWS), a free search tool from Excite.
In addition, most top search engines will provide you with the code to add a search form on any of your HTML pages that goes directly to their pages.
With a bit of HTML tweaking, you can generally force their search results to include only your own pages, and to open up a separate window as well. Of course, your site has to be indexed by them for this to work...you have submitted your site to all the top search engines, right?
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