So, You Want Text Commands, Huh?

Joe Burns

Use these to jump around or read it all...

[ABBR]
[ACRONYM]
[ADDRESS]
[B]
[BASEFONT]
[BDO]
[BIG]
[BLINK]
[BLOCKQUOTE]
[CITE]
[CODE]
[COMMENT]
[DEL]
[DFN]
[DIV]
[EM]
[FONT COLOR]
[FONT FACE]
[FONTSIZE]>
[H#]
[I]
[INS]
[KBD]
[LISTING]
[MULTICOL] [NOBR]
[PLAINTEXT]
[PRE]
[Q]
[S]
[SAMP]
[SPAN]
[STRONG]
[SUB]
[SUP]
[TT]
[U]
[VAR]
[WBR]
[XMP]

I get letters from new users all the time asking if there are any other commands for manipulating text other than <B> and <I>. I usually tell them "no" and go on.
I'm kidding, of course. These 40 commands have been listed in the Goodies HTML Reference since it was posted, but they're way at the end, and tough to find. So, in my continuing effort to continue writing introductory material, I thought I'd throw this little deal together. I've made links to as many other pages as cover these commands in greater detail.

Command Name	Usage	Example

ABBR	<ABBR>The Altered Text</ABBR>	The Altered Text
This is a new command in HTML 4.0. Your browser may not support it yet.
ACRONYM	<ACRONYM>The Altered Text</ACRONYM>	The Altered Text
This is a new command in HTML 4.0. Your browser may not support it yet.
ADDRESS	<ADDRESS>The Altered Text</ADDRESS>	The Altered Text
B	<B>The Altered Text</B>	The Altered Text
BASEFONT	<BASEFONT COLOR="red">The Altered Text</BASEFONT>	The Altered Text
This works like the more popular font commands, except the basefont command also accepts Style Sheet commands.
BDO	<BDO DIR="rtl">The Altered Text</BDO>	The Altered Text
This is a new command in HTML 4.0. Your browser may not support it yet. The BDO command is used to denote direction. See the DIR command above? RTL means right to left. LTR means the opposite.
BIG	<BIG>The Altered Text</BIG>	The Altered Text
BLINK	<BLINK>The Altered Text</BLINK>	The Altered Text
This command is only supported by Netscape. Hopefully they'll drop it soon too.
BLOCKQUOTE	<BLOCKQUOTE>The Altered Text</BLOCKQUOTE>	The Altered Text
Actually, this command surrounds text and indents it as a whole.
CITE	<CITE>The Altered Text</CITE>	The Altered Text
CODE	<CODE>The Altered Text</CODE>	The Altered Text
COMMENT	<COMMENT>The Altered Text</COMMENT>	The Altered Text
Actually - nothing appears on the page. You see, this is a comment. You'll find surrounding text with the <!-- and --> commands will get the same effect, text in the code that doesn't show up on the page.
DEL	<DEL>The Altered Text</DEL>	~~The Altered Text~~
This is a new command in HTML 4.0. Your browser may not support it yet. It stands for "DELeted" text. You should get a strike-through effect.
DFN	<DFN>The Altered Text</DFN>	The Altered Text
"DFN" stands for "definition".
DIV	<DIV>The Altered Text</DIV>	The Altered Text
DIV stands for division. This sets apart a section of the page so that it can be altered, usually with Style Sheet commands. You should also take a look at the Class and ID tutorial as well as the Layering tutorials for more exciting exploits of the DIV command.
EM	<EM>The Altered Text</EM>	The Altered Text
"EM" stands for "Emphasis".
FONT COLOR	<FONT COLOR="red">The Altered Text</FONT>	The Altered Text
For more, see the Text Tutorial.
FONT SIZE	<FONT SIZE="+1">The Altered Text</FONT>	The Altered Text
For more, see Primer Number 3. Hey! That rhymes!
FONT FACE	<FONT FACE="arial">The Altered Text</FONT>	The Altered Text
For more, see the Text Font Tutorial. That doesn't rhyme.
H#	<H#>The Altered Text</H#>	The Altered Text
There are six levels of this command. H4 is above. For more - see Primer Number 3
I	<I>The Altered Text</I>	The Altered Text
INS	<INS>The Altered Text</INS>	The Altered Text
This is a new command in HTML 4.0. Your browser may not support it yet. It means Inserted text. You should get an underline effect with it.
KBD	<KBD>The Altered Text</KBD>	`The Altered Text`
"KBD" stands for "Keyboard".
LISTING	<LISTING>The Altered Text</LISTING>	The Altered Text
I wouldn't slap this on a brain cell just yet. When HTML 4.0 becomes standard, this will be a dead command. Use <PRE> instead.
MULTICOL	<MULTICOL>The Altered Text</MULTICOL>	No example
This sets text apart in multiple columns in Netscape only.
NOBR	<NOBR>The Altered Text</NOBR>	The Altered Text
"NOBR" stands for "No Break". When you surround text with this command, it does not wrap at the end of the line but rather just just keeps rolling right off the right side of the screen.
PLAINTEXT	<PLAINTEXT>The Altered Text</PLAINTEXT>	The Altered Text
No need to know this one cold either. When HTML 4.0 becomes standard, this will be a dead command. Use <PRE> instead.
PRE	<PRE>The Altered Text</PRE>	The Altered Text
Use PRE more for format than to alter text. Surrounding text with the command keeps it in the same format and shape as it appears on the document page.
Q	<Q>The Altered Text</Q>	The Altered Text
This is a new command in HTML 4.0. Your browser may not support it yet. It will be a replacement for the blockquote command. Plus it will have the same properties available as the new Span command.
S	<S>The Altered Text</S>	~~The Altered Text~~
"S" stands for "Strike-through".
SAMP	<SAMP>The Altered Text</SAMP>	`The Altered Text`
"SAMP" stands for "Sample".
SMALL	<SMALL>The Altered Text</SMALL>	The Altered Text
This renders text one size smaller.
SPAN	<SPAN>The Altered Text</SPAN>	The Altered Text
the SPAN command works a lot like the DIV command. You can set all sorts of parameters when you use it. For instance - if you are using a version 4.0 browser, lay your mouse pointer on the altered text example above for a second. For more - see the HTML 4.0 tutorial.
STRONG	<STRONG>The Altered Text</STRONG>	The Altered Text
SUB	The <SUB>Altered</SUB> Text	The _Altered Text
SUP	The <SUP>Altered</SUP> Text	The ^Altered Text
TT	<TT>The Altered Text</TT>	`The Altered Text`
"TT" stands for "Typewriter Text"
U	<U>The Altered Text</U>	The Altered Text
VAR	<VAR>The Altered Text</VAR>	`The Altered Text`
"VAR" stands for "Variable". Text is a small fixed-width font.
WBR	<NOBR>The Altered<WBR>Text</NOBR>	The Altered Text
Placing the WBR command allows No-Break text to wrap at that point if it needs to.
XMP	<XMP>The Altered Text</XMP>
This is also a dead command when HTML 4.0 comes to pass.