Confused by some style import problems

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JoeWeinmunson
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Posts: 22
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2018 12:05 pm

Confused by some style import problems

Post by JoeWeinmunson »

It's my first full day working in Flare. I've mostly succeeded in importing our .CHM file but I'm running into some style problems.

Code: Select all

CSS: C:\Users\litlf\Documents\My Projects\Trash Flow Help file\Content\BillTo_Account.html: CSS: Invalid float: middle
CSS: C:\Users\litlf\Documents\My Projects\Trash Flow Help file\Content\BillTo_Account.html: CSS: Invalid font-style: bold
Unlike in the sample project used in the Flare tutorial, I don't yet have a separate "Resources" folder so the one CSS file is just in the "Content" folder. I think I understand what the above messages are trying to tell me, but for the life of me I can't tell how to edit the classes. If there's something wrong with the bold style here, what am I supposed to do to change it?
classConfusion.png
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Nita Beck
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Posts: 3667
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:57 am
Location: Pittsford, NY

Re: Confused by some style import problems

Post by Nita Beck »

Welcome to the forums, Joe! :)

I don’t think the issue is in your stylesheet. Rather, Flare has found two invalid CSS attributes in the BillTo_Accounts.html file. The first is that “middle” is not a valid value for the “float” attribute. The second is that “bold” is not a valid value for the “font-style” attribute.

At a minimum, you can go into the Text Editor for that topic and fix these bits of code by hand, perhaps by removing it outright. (That’s what I’d do, as I suspect that this code represents inline formatting, and a best practice is to minimize the use of inline formatting to the greatest extent possible.)

To learn more about what values are valid for “float” and for “font-style”, see the following. Also check out “font-weight,” which does accept “bold” as a valid value.

https://www.w3schools.com/cssref/pr_class_float.asp
http://www.w3schools.com/cssref/pr_font_font-style.asp
https://https://www.w3schools.com/cssre ... weight.asp

I hope this helps.
Nita
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RETIRED, but still fond of all the Flare friends I've made. See you around now and then!
JoeWeinmunson
Propeller Head
Posts: 22
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2018 12:05 pm

Re: Confused by some style import problems

Post by JoeWeinmunson »

Thank you, I was able to find the CSS problems and fix them. Having said that, not everyone who needs to use Flare at our company has a firm grasp on CSS and XML. On a purely mechanical level, isn't there some way to edit a stylesheet in Flare without using the text editor? If you look at the screenshot above I could not find a single way to alter the stylesheet other than to switch to the text editor.
JoeWeinmunson
Propeller Head
Posts: 22
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2018 12:05 pm

Re: Confused by some style import problems

Post by JoeWeinmunson »

OK, I was able to identify the problem styles and fix that. Thanks! For the future, how can I do that without needing to manually edit the stylesheet in the text editor? I ask because some of our users here are not experts in CSS and XML. If you look at the Flare screenshot in my above post, I absolutely could not figure out how to use the Flare interface to add a new style or change an existing one.
Nita Beck
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Posts: 3667
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:57 am
Location: Pittsford, NY

Re: Confused by some style import problems

Post by Nita Beck »

JoeWeinmunson wrote:OK, I was able to identify the problem styles and fix that. Thanks! For the future, how can I do that without needing to manually edit the stylesheet in the text editor? I ask because some of our users here are not experts in CSS and XML. If you look at the Flare screenshot in my above post, I absolutely could not figure out how to use the Flare interface to add a new style or change an existing one.
A couple of things:

The manual edits I suggested you make in the text editor were not in a stylesheet. They were in that one topic for which Flare threw up errors. The stylesheet itself had nothing to do with the errors you needed to fix. That's why I didn't offer any advice about how to use the Stylesheet Editor, because I wasn't telling you to go there.

Without meaning to express one iota of disrespect, to use Flare properly and creatively, one absolutely needs to understand CSS, HTML, and, to a certain extent, XML. Flare isn't a word processor. Even occasional and new users of Flare need to learn the basics of CSS in particular.

In Flare's Help, you could start here to learn the basics about stylesheets and working with the Stylesheet Editor:
https://help.madcapsoftware.com/flare20 ... sheets.htm
https://help.madcapsoftware.com/flare20 ... sheets.htm -- This one covers the Stylesheet Editor.

Additionally, perhaps have your users work their way through some of the free MadCap webinars on CSS. Some are basic, some advanced:

https://www.madcapsoftware.com/webinars ... -overview/
https://www.madcapsoftware.com/webinars ... nd-beyond/
https://www.madcapsoftware.com/webinars ... -3-images/
https://www.madcapsoftware.com/webinars ... ow-part-1/
https://www.madcapsoftware.com/webinars ... cap-flare/

Finally, depending on how recently your company's licenses of Flare were purchased, you might be able to take advantage of MadCap's FREE online training for new users. You'd need to speak with your sales rep to see if your licenses qualify.

I am sincerely trying to help, not to overwhelm or appear smug.
Nita
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RETIRED, but still fond of all the Flare friends I've made. See you around now and then!
JoeWeinmunson
Propeller Head
Posts: 22
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2018 12:05 pm

Re: Confused by some style import problems

Post by JoeWeinmunson »

OK thank you, I understand. Let me go through those tutorials about working with the stylesheet editor and if I run into any problems I will deal with it that way. Thanks for your help.
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