NWE Help: Web: Authoring: Mozilla Composer: Modes

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Now that we've covered the basics of saving and opening documents, we need to move on to other day-to-day uses of Composer.

There are three basic types of editing in Composer:

• HTML Source: A completely code view, where you type all of the code
• HTML Tags: A highlighted code view, where the tags are listed, but the writer doesn't write the code
• Normal: A completely WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) view where the writer doesn't write any of the code

The easiest way to tell the difference between the three modes is to compare these screenshots.

HTML Source: Code mode

HTML Tags: Highlighted Mode

WYSIWYG: Normal Mode

In HTML Code View:

1. All text is black.
2. You can type out HTML tags and regular text like you were using a text editor such as Pico or emacs.
3. Your HTML syntax is not checked.

In HTML Tag helper mode:

1. Your documents are basically in a WYSIWYG view.
2. You can apply formatting tags easily by selecting text with the mouse and pressing one of the format buttons on the second toolbar.
3. Menu choices help add sophisticated HTML markup such as tables, forms, and image maps.
4. Your HTML is monitored and checked for errors.
5. You still see the code, but you can't really manipulate it.

In Normal Mode:

1. The text and images that are on the page are essentially what will be on your webpage. (WYSIWYG)
2. You can apply formatting tags easily by selecting text with the mouse and pressing one of the format buttons on the second toolbar.
3. Menu choices help add sophisticated HTML markup such as tables, forms, and image maps.
4. Your HTML is monitored and checked for errors.
5. You still see the code, but you can't really manipulate it.
6. You will have no interaction with the actual code.