Article Title: How to create lists in HTML and control the way they look
Author: Milana  Nastetskaya
Contact Author: milana@instantwebanswers.com
Publishing Guidelines: May be freely published with resource box
Web Address: http://www.instantwebanswers.com
Word Count: 726
 

You make lists every day - shopping lists, "things to do"
lists, people to call lists.  Indeed, lists are a very important
part of our lives. That's why when HTML was developed, its
programmers just couldn't help it - they created a way to
add a list to a web page.

There are three kinds of lists that you can create:

- Unordered
- Ordered
- Definitions

Oops, another list right there! :-)

1) Here is the HTML code for creating Unordered list:

<UL>
<LI>Sour cream
<LI>Spagetti
<LI>Pancakes
</UL>

The above code will simply create a list of bulleted items
(bullets are small dots next to each item - sort of a check
mark).

2) When it is important for you to list items in a particular
order, create a numbered - or Ordered - list:

<OL>
<LI>Mix the batter
<LI>Put it in the oven
<LI>Bake for 20 minutes
</OL>

Obviously, order of items is important here (you don't want
to bake the batter that hasn't been mixed yet :-)

Finally, the Definition lists.  They are most often used when
you have a list of items to be defined or explained. Use
<DL> and </DL> to start and end your list. <DT> will stand
for "term" and <DD> will stand for "definition".  Using the
previous cake baking topic, here is an example of a
Definition list:

<DL>
<DT>Mix the batter:
<DD>Make sure to mix it until well blended or the
cake will be lumpy

<DT>Put it in the oven:
<DD>You may need to rotate it middle of the
baking cycle

<DT>Bake for 20 minutes:
<DD>Baking time may vary. Start checking in
about 15 minutes.
</DL>

When you're creating a complex list, with sub-items, you
may use nested lists (list inside another list) and mix
different kinds of lists together. Experiment with different
combinations of lists to see what is the best way for you
to organize items on your web page.

And here is the  frosting!  Hey, I bet even experienced
webmasters might have missed the real flexibility of lists.

Every Ordered list begins counting with "1" by default.
Every time  you  create a list, it  automatically display "1"
as the first  item.  But what if you don't  want a  list  to
start  with "1"?  Is it possible for you to control what number
it starts counting at?

Let's say you are explaining different features of a product
on your web page. You list the first 3 features, but then
would like to stop for a moment and talk a little more about
the 3rd feature. You have to end the list by using the </OL>
tag.  Then you will add the extra explanation about it in the
next 2-3 paragraphs.

Now, you want to continue with your list. Oops! But you
already closed it. If you start a new list, it will automatically
begin with "1" again. But you need it to start with "4", right?

Here is what you do:

<ol>
<li value="4">This item will be number 4
<li>The next one will be 5 and so on.
</ol>

All I did was add the word "value" and gave it a number.
That number will start your list,  and all the following list
items will be counted from there.

And here is the sprinkles on the frosting.  And this will
REALLY blow you off!

In an Unordered list bullets look different in each browser.
If you would like to have control over how bullets look on
your web site, you can specify their type (options are -
square, circle, and disc):

<ul>
   <li type=disc>This item has a black circle bullet
   <li type=circle>The next one has empty circle as a bullet
   <li type=square>The last one looks like a square
</ul>

So there you have it. Three types of lists that you can mix,
match, combine and completely control with enough practice
and experimentation. Use them often. Especially when you
have long web pages filled with text. Be easy on your readers'
eyes and they will be more likely to read what you have to say.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Milana Nastetskaya is a full time web developer and
the author of two books: "Create Your First
Business Web Site in 10 days", "65 Instant Web
Design Answers".
http://www.firstbusinesswebsite.com
http://www.instantwebanswers.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~