ProductsStyleVisionCSS and JavaScript

Altova StyleVision® 2008 includes support for CSS styles, JavaScript functions, and a JavaScript editor to help you visually design advanced Web pages based on XML and database source data.

CSS styles

StyleVision includes full support for CSS (Cascading Stylesheets), a stylesheet language for adding style and presentation to HTML documents. CSS provides several advantages, including precise visual styling capabilities, cross-browser compatibility, the ability to make changes that affect multiple elements in a single step, and much more.

StyleVision provides built-in CSS style rules, which can be applied globally or to individual elements. You may also import external CSS documents to leverage previous work. Global and imported CSS rules are available in the StyleVision Style Repository window, where you can edit style values by typing them in directly or selecting them from drop-down menus and entry helper dialog boxes.

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When styles are defined locally, the style rules are applied directly to the component you have selected in your design. These local rules have precedence over both global style rules and style rules in external CSS stylesheets that apply to that component.

The Styles entry helper window makes it easy to define local style rules by either entering values directly or selecting them from drop-down menus and entry helper dialogs. Simply select the component you wish to style on the design pane or from the Design Tree window, and the Style window will display the available options for that element as well as its related component types. For instance, if an element you select is part of a table, the table and its related components will be listed under the selected element. This way, you can define styling for a single component or for all instances of that type of component in one view.

Writing and applying JavaScript functions

JavaScript is a scripting language that adds interactivity to HTML Web pages. JavaScript code can be inserted in HTML pages to, for example, detect the browser being used to view the page, change the appearance of a page (e.g., change an image upon mouseover), store and retrieve cookies on a user’s machine, validate data entered into forms, and more.

StyleVision includes full support for JavaScript functions and even has a built-in JavaScript editor for defining the functions used in your designs. Available on the Design tab, the JavaScript editor includes useful editing features such as line numbers, syntax coloring, and source folding to help you define and organize your JavaScript commands quickly and easily.

Each JavaScript function that you define using the JavaScript editor is listed under Scripts in the Design Tree window, and you can assign functions to design components via the Event tab in the Properties window.

JavaScript support in StyleVision allows you to create more robust HTML designs, which, along with CSS support, makes StyleVision a real asset for serious Web developers.

See how CSS and JavaScript enhance visual stylesheet design in StyleVision® 2008 to help you easily create advanced, eye-catching Web pages for your XML and database data. Download a free 30-day trial of StyleVision.