Empty Tag??

[jimi_l]

Ok first off DONT LAUGH(please)
This tag I have heard so much about-
<TD></TD>
I have many,can I just edit them out? Are they just leftovers from DW?
Yes I should know more HTML, please dont be too aghast. Im sure I could find out on the internet or even in my HTML book(book?whats that??) but I thought here was easier.
Also should I dump the generated meta tags and just learn to do my own??
Thanks

[ihelpyou]

Well, I am no html guru by no means but I say you can delete them. There is nothing in between with starting and ending table tags. Okay by me to delete.

[Blue]

Doug is partially correct, however, rather than deleting them, you would be better off merging them. Allow me to explain.

I've looked at your source code and beleive that if you just go off and delete all your empty <td></td> tags, you will eventually discover that you have rearranged your page layout, and quite possibly, not the way you intended.

First, you need to understand the underlying structure of how tables work.

A table is made up of three basic elements:[list=1]
Cells
Rows
Columns
[/list=1] much like a spreadsheet.

The most basic element of a table is a cell ~ <td></td> (td technically stands for "table data", but you're better off to think of it as an individual cell); cells are grouped into rows ~ <tr></tr> ~ "table row"; rows are grouped together to produce an entire table ~ <table></table>. Hence a very basic table would look like this:<table>
<tr>
<td>text, space or image here.
</td>
</tr>
</table>

Hence, if you delete your cells (your empty <td></td> elements) you are rearranging the fundamental structure of your table.

Rather than deleting them, I would try merging them, and see if the outcome achieves the desired effect.

Also keep in mind that you can merge your tables in an almost infinite number of ways. In addition, you can specify the width and height of your tables, rows and cells. There are numerous topics of discussion on this subject out on the net.

Tables present the web designer an excellent medium to create complex page layouts and it is my advice that you read up on this subject as well as experiment as much as you can. Look around at other designers table based layouts and you will quickly see the value in using tables.

Another method of creating complex layouts is to use CSS. Maybe Mel can step in here as I believe he has more knowledge on this subject than do I.

Hope this helps,

[ihelpyou]

Thanks for the good info Blue! :)

[bigDugan]

Blue is correct, if you just start deleting your <TD> tags, you'll probably end up screwing up our table.

<TD>'s are your columns, and are nested within your rows <TR> which are nested within your tables <TABLE>.

Each row within a table must have the same number of columns, or you'll get some strange results.

The reason you may have blank columns <td>'s is that they may be acting as a placeholder for that column so that your table will algin properly. Another solution, is to use the COLSPAN= modifier.

Let's say you have one row with 3 columns, but the next only has one:

<tr><td>1st Col</td><td>2nd Col</td><td>3rd Col</td></tr>

<tr><td colspan=3>only 1 col</td></tr>

OR you could code the last line:

<tr><td> </td>only 1 col</td><td> </td></tr>

I prefer to use the colspan modifer.

But why sit here and try to reinvent the wheel, here's a link to table tutorials (http://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutors/tbl.html) on the HTMLGoodies website.

I'm sure you'll find everything you wanted to know about tables and more there!

[Mel]

Hi Jimi_i

Blue has suggested that I step in here with some advice on CSS (cascading Style sheets) but until we get some more standardization among browsers, I would still recommend that you use tables for your basic page layout. The reason is that when you use the layer commands they don't always work the same way in different browsers, and the results can sometimes be a mess. Hopefully When everyone starts using Netscape 6 and IE 6 wwe will have some conformance to the CSS spec and we can use CSS to its full ability.

But once you get you page laid out then CSS can do great things for you, in controlling the formatting of your text and links, and is especially useful as you can change the entire appearance of your site by changing a line in your CSS file.

There are also some great SEO tricks you can get with CSS, but for now lets just get your page laid out.

[jimi_l]

Right on guys,thanks for all the great tips and links.
I will contine to educate myself with all the advice.

BTW wanna see somthing kinda strange? I went to look for my site at Northern lights and heres what I found

http://northernlight.com/nlquery.fcg?ho=curly&po=5123&qr=web+design%2Cweb+page+authoring%2Csite+creation%2Cbusiness+web+page%2Chosting%2CISP%2Cweb+site+construction&cb=0&cc=for+-Web+site+design&cl=1&clsub_1_0=20379&cn_1=Web+site+design&nth=15&tq=A7247081e07b3b6d16b1&tr=A434760e80443b6d16a8

The ENTIRE catogory is wrapped up by CNET,page after page!!
I wrote them and they replied they would look into it.
sheesh-
no wonder I cant get in:)

[Mel]

Hi Jim:

There is really nothing wrong with Cnets pages, its just that you are in a very competitive category and Cnet has loads of well built pages which are right on target for these queries, and their link popularity is way up there.

But take heart - out of the first 12 results Cnet only has two, so there are 10 more first page slots open. It may take a while before you can get your link pop and page content up there in order to compete, but those first page slots are where the great majority of the traffic comes from.