Adding spacers or transparent GIFs

Spacers are Netscape elements used for creating horizontal space between text and objects. Because spacers are ignored by Internet Explorer browsers, you may want to use transparent GIF images instead for creating space on your page. (If you're using a layout grid, you don't need to use either.) Transparent GIF images are small, download quickly, and can be resized to fill any space. You can also create nonbreaking spaces within text.

To use a transparent GIF image for spacing:

1. Create a small (1x1 pixels) transparent GIF image in your image editing software and drag it into the Files tab of your site window.
2. Drag the transparent GIF image from the site window to the desired location in the text. (See Specifying the destination URL for a link.)
3. In the document window, drag the image's selection handles or use the Image Inspector to resize the image. You can also use the Image Inspector to align the transparent image horizontally and vertically within the text. If you have trouble selecting the image on the page, click the <img> tag in the markup tree bar at the bottom of the document window. (See Repositioning, aligning, or distributing objects.)

You can save the resized transparent GIF image for reuse on other pages by dragging it into the Library set of the Objects palette or the Library tab of the site window. (See Using library objects.)

To create a nonbreaking space:

Press Shift + spacebar (Windows) or Option + spacebar (Mac OS).

To use a Netscape spacer element for spacing:

1. Drag the Horizontal Spacer icon from the Basic set in the Objects palette to the desired location in the text.
2. In the Spacer Inspector, select a Horizontal, Vertical, or Block resizing option. (Block allows you to resize the spacer both horizontally and vertically.)
3. Select the spacer and drag its handles to resize it.
4. To align a block spacer in relation to the text, select it and choose an option from the Alignment pop-up menu in the Spacer Inspector.

Note: Spacers are based on a Netscape-specific element that is recognized by Netscape Navigator 3.0 and later. They are ignored by Microsoft Internet Explorer.