About Arbortext Styler > Creating a Basic Stylesheet > Applying Styles
  
Applying Styles
The first step in creating a stylesheet is to apply styles to those elements whose styles were not automatically determined by the .dcf file.
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You must apply a style to an element before you can add contexts or conditions.
Mapping elements to appropriate styles allows you to quickly create a simple stylesheet. For some styles, you will be presented with another dialog box to provide additional formatting properties.
To apply styles:
1. In the Elements list, select the element you want to style.
2. Select a style for the element from the Style list, via the Edit > Style menu option. If you are unsure which style to apply, select the Style Helper button. This opens the Style Helper wizard, which walks you through the process of selecting a style. Once you have applied a style, you can modify its formatting properties.
The following table describes the predefined styles available in Arbortext Styler.
Predefined Styles
Style
Description
Requires additional details?
Block
The most basic Block style, this style applies to an element that is preceded and followed by a line break. Blocks can contain text, elements, text and elements, or they can be empty elements. They can be contain other blocks, or they can be more similar to paragraphs.
No
Cross Reference
An element whose content is automatically generated based on a reference to another element.
Custom Table
A set of elements that together define a custom table. Elements include a table identifier, row identifier, optional header row identifiers, and optional cell identifiers.
Definition List
An element that wraps a list of terms and their definitions.
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You may be able to achieve the side by side appearance of a definition list by configuring side by side alignment for an element styled as Block. Please refer to Side by Side Alignment for further information.
Definition List Item
An element that contains a term in a definition list.
Division
Hierarchically nested elements that contain titles, such as chapters or sections. Arbortext Styler supports up to nine division levels.
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Refer to Assigning division levels in your stylesheet for more information on the Division style.
Document
Identifies the top-level element in a document.
Assign the Document style to an element when the element will always be used as the top level element in documents.
If the element sometimes is the top level element, and sometimes is not, then it is preferable not to assign the Document style but instead to define a context to be used when the element does occur at the top level. Assign the At top level of document option to the context. See Context Dialog Box for further information.
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It is important that the top level element in the document instance is either given the Document style or has a context where At top level of document is checked. If the outermost element of a document instance is styled in this way, publishing may fail.
No
Footnote
An element that is associated with a footnote. This element may contain the text for the footnote or may be a reference to another element that contains the footnote text.
Formal Block
An element that may contain a title or a caption, where those titles can be cross-referenced, or appear in a table of contents. These elements differ from divisions because they can be used at different levels in the document hierarchy. Formal Block elements are commonly used to wrap figures or tables and their associated titles or captions.
No
Graphic
An element that represents a graphic. Initially, Arbortext Styler applies this style if the element is configured as a graphic in the .dcf file. Changes made to a Graphic element in Arbortext Styler override the settings in the .dcf file.
Hidden
An element whose content is not displayed. The content of a hidden element may be inserted elsewhere in the document if another element's generated text references it.
No
Index
An element that automatically generates an index.
Index Term (Attribute Model)
An element in a document whose document type provides a single indexing element with several attributes that are used to specify index terms. If the element has content, it may be formatted inline or hidden.
Index Term (Element Model)
An element in a document whose document type allows for several elements to act as indexing elements. The element's content may be formatted inline or hidden.
Index Term (Nesting Element Model)
An element in a document whose document type allows for several nested elements to act as indexing elements. The element's content may be formatted inline or hidden.
Inline
The most basic inline style, this style applies to an element that does not contain a line break between it and the preceding and following elements.
No
Link
A link to a target that is specified by an attribute. An element must have a CDATA, IDREF, or IDREFS attribute to be a link.
Initially, Arbortext Styler applies this style if the element is configured as a link in the .dcf file. Changes made to a Link element in Arbortext Styler override the settings in the .dcf file.
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You cannot assign this style to a User Formatting Element.
Link Target
An element that serves as the destination of a link. An element must have an id attribute if you want to format it as Link Target. If the selected element does not have an id attribute, the Link Target option will be unavailable.
Initially, Arbortext Styler applies this style if the element is configured as a link target in the .dcf file. Changes made to a Link Target element in Arbortext Styler override the settings in the .dcf file.
List - Bulleted
An element that wraps a set of list items to form a bulleted list. Nested bulleted list elements are formatted appropriately to differentiate various levels.
No
List - Numbered
An element that wraps a set of list items to form a numbered or ordered list. Nested numbered list elements are formatted appropriately to differentiate various levels.
No
List Item
An element that is included in numbered or bulleted lists. This style is also applied to elements that wrap term-definition pairs in definition lists.
No
No Style
An element that does not affect formatting.
No
Paragraph
A block element that can contain text.
Initially, Arbortext Styler applies this style if the element is configured as a paragraph in the .dcf file. Changes made to a Paragraph element in Arbortext Styler override the settings in the .dcf file.
No
Preformatted
An element whose individual spaces and line breaks are preserved. By default, text within Preformatted elements displays in a monospaced font.
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If an element configured in the DTD or schema to have the xml:space=”preserve” attribute set is added to the stylesheet during either a New Stylesheet operation, or by choosing Insert > Add Elements from document or Doctype, its style will be set automatically to Preformatted. Arbortext Styler will not allow the style to be changed. When an element’s style is Preformatted, it will also have a value of Preformatted in the Alignment field on the Indent tab and you will not be able to change this setting.
No
Table of Contents
An element that automatically generates a table of contents.
Title
A title or caption. Typically, a title element is used in many different contexts, although it is possible to have more than one title element.
Titles in division or formal block elements can be cross-referenced, or appear in a table of contents.
No
Unstyled
No style has been applied to the element. If you do not want an element to affect formatting, change its style from Unstyled to No Style.
No