Types of Styles in Flare

There are several categories of styles that you can apply to content. To filter the list of styles shown, use the drop-down list in the upper-left of the Stylesheet Editor.

For steps on applying styles, see Applying Styles to Content. Following are explanations of the basic types of styles. For more information about the MadCap-specific styles you might see when using this filter, see MadCap-Specific Styles and Properties.

All Styles

This lists all of the styles in the Stylesheet Editor.

Auto-numbered Styles

Auto-numbered Styles

These are styles to which an autonumber format has been applied. See Autonumbers and Creating Autonumbers for Styles.

Example You might select the h1 style and modify its mc-autonumber-format property, choosing a format such as {n+}. If you then select Auto-numbered Styles from this drop-down in the Stylesheet Editor, the h1 style will be listed.

Topic Styles

Topic Styles

This lists the html style and its classes, which are used to affect entire topics. You might associate a class with a topic if you are generating DITA output and need to specify a topic type such as "task" or "reference" on it. See Setting the HTML Style for Topics.

Paragraph Styles

Paragraph Styles

Main Paragraph Styles

  • p Regular paragraphs

    Example You might select a style class called "p.Body" that you have created and modify its font-size property to enlarge the body text in your topics.

  • div Containers that can be used for various purposes (see Creating Divs and Other Tag Groups)
  • h1 - h6 Headings

MadCap-Specific Paragraph Styles

  • MadCap|relationshipsHeading Modifies the look of headings used in relationship links. There are three classes of this style that you can edit. If you edit the main MadCap|relationshipsHeading style, the look of all of the classes are affected. However, you can also edit the look of each class if you want.See Editing Relationship Link Styles.
  • MadCap|slideshowBullet Modifies the look of the series of dots (or "bullets") used to navigate to specific slides in a slideshow. Keep in mind that if you choose to include thumbnail images, the MadCap|slideThumbnail style will be used instead.See Editing Slideshow Styles.
  • MadCap|slideshowCaption Modifies the look of the caption at the bottom of the slide in a slideshow.See Editing Slideshow Styles.

Additional Paragraph Styles

The other paragraph styles that you might see in the Stylesheet Editor are used for standard html tags. For details on each of these, see w3.org.

Footnote Styles

Footnote Styles

These are applied to footnotes inserted into content. Footnotes are commonly used if you are producing print-based output. MadCap|footnotesBlock affects the area that holds a collection of footnotes. See Footnotes and Endnotes and Editing Footnotes.

  • MadCap|endnoteBlock Modifies the container (or block) holding individual endnote comments. For example, use this if you want to add a border around each endnote comment created from an Endnotes proxy.
  • MadCap|endnotesBlock Modifies the container (or block) holding all endnote comments. For example, use this if you want to add a border around the collection of all endnote comments created from an Endnotes proxy.
  • MadCap|endnotesProxy Modifies the appearance of the text portion of the Endnotes proxy. See Creating an Endnotes Proxy.
  • MadCap|footnote Modifies both the footnote number (or symbol) where it is inserted in the topic, as well as the number and accompanying comment text (at the bottom of the page, or wherever else you specify its location).
  • MadCap|footnoteBlock Modifies the container (or block) holding individual footnote comments. For example, use this if you want to add a border around each footnote comment on a page.
  • MadCap|footnotesBlock Modifies the container (or block) holding all footnote comments. For example, use this if you want to add a border around the collection of all footnote comments on a page.

Example You might select MadCap|footnote and modify its mc-footnote-number property in order to restart the numbering for footnotes at each chapter (as opposed to each book, page, or section). You might select MadCap|footnotesBlock and modify its border property in order to add a border above the footnote area on the page.

Heading Styles

Heading Styles

These are styles that are applied to content intended to serve as headings above sections of content.

Example You might select the h2 style and modify its font-family property in order to display second-level headings in an Arial font.

Character Styles

Character Styles

These are styles that are applied to selected text within a paragraph, rather than the entire paragraph.

Main Span Style(s)

You are likely to create classes under the generic span style in order to create your own custom character formatting. See Creating Selectors.

Example You might select the span style and create a class under it named "code" (span.code). Then you might set its font-family property to Courier New in order to display text that represents programming code.

MadCap-Specific Character Styles

  • MadCap|annotation Modifies the look of content to which an annotation (i.e., internal topic comment) points. For example, you might want annotated text to be displayed in the XML Editor with red font and a yellow background. This does not change the text as it will be shown in the output, but rather only as it is displayed in the XML Editor for authors. When an annotation is inserted in a content file, the MadCap:annotation tag includes the comment's creation date, user name and initials (as set in the File > Options dialog, Review tab) of the person who created or edited it, and the comment text. See Editing Annotations.
  • MadCap|codeSnippet Modifies the look of the entire code snippet block that has been inserted in the XML Editor. See Editing the Styles for Code Snippets.
  • MadCap|codeSnippetBody Modifies the look of the code snippet text, as well as the line numbers and vertical border to the right of the numbers. See Editing the Styles for Code Snippets.
  • MadCap|codeSnippetCaption Modifies the look of the caption used for the code snippet. See Editing the Styles for Code Snippets.
  • MadCap|codeSnippetCopyButton Modifies the look of the copy button link that can be added to code snippets for HTML5 output. If you want to change the word "Copy" to something else, you can edit the mc-label property. See Editing the Styles for Code Snippets.
  • MadCap|concept Modifies the look of concepts that have been inserted in the XML Editor (when markers are turned on). This does not affect the output. See Editing Concepts.
  • MadCap|conditionalText Modifies the look of content in the XML Editor that has a condition tag applied to it. For example, you might want conditioned content to stand out with a larger font so you can easily spot it while editing content. This does not affect the output. See Conditions.
  • MadCap|correctFeedback Modifies the appearance of content that is shown as feedback when the eLearning question is answered correctly. See Feedback for eLearning.
  • MadCap|equation Modifies the appearance of all equations. See Editing Equations.
  • MadCap|incorrectFeedback Modifies the appearance of content that is shown as feedback when the eLearning question is answered incorrectly. See Feedback for eLearning.
  • MadCap|keyword Modifies the look of index keywords that have been inserted in the XML Editor (when markers are turned on). This does not affect the output. See Editing Index Keywords.
  • MadCap|multipleChoice Modifies the look of question sections that have been inserted in the XML Editor. This consists of the MadCap|question, MadCap|multipleChoiceItem, MadCap|correctFeedback, MadCap|incorrectFeedback, and MadCap|submitQuestionButton sections. See Questions and Answers.
  • MadCap|multipleChoiceItem Modifies the look of the answer in the XML Editor that has been inserted within the MadCap|multipleChoice section. See Questions and Answers.
  • MadCap|namedDestination This style does not have any relevant style properties. Named destinations are used in PDF output to label certain locations in the document. These locations can then be linked to directly from another PDF document. See Creating Named Destinations.
  • MadCap|qrCode Modifies the appearance of all QR codes. See Editing QR Codes.
  • MadCap|relationshipsItem Modifies the look of link items created from a relationships table. See Editing Relationship Link Styles.
  • MadCap|section This style displays in the interface due to Flare's schema. However, it doesn't have a function, so you can ignore it.
  • MadCap|slideThumbnail Modifies the look of the thumbnail image area at the bottom of the slide. See Editing Slideshow Styles.
  • MadCap|submitQuestionButton Modifies the look of the submit button that is shown to end the test for HTML5 output. See Feedback for eLearning.

Additional Character Styles

The other character styles that you might see in the Stylesheet Editor are used for standard html tags. For details on each of these, see w3.org.

Table Styles

Table Styles

These are styles that are applied to tables and the content within them. See Editing Table Styles in Regular Stylesheets.

  • caption Modifies the table caption, which is a short title or description of the table's purpose. When inserting or editing a table, you can add a caption above or below the table.
  • col Groups together attribute specifications for table columns. The <col> elements are empty and serve only as a support for attributes. They may appear inside or outside an explicit column group (i.e., <colgroup> element).
  • colgroup Groups columns together structurally. The number of columns in the column group may be specified by using the element's <span> tag or by the <col> element, which represents one or more columns in the group.
  • table Modifies an entire table. It contains all other elements that specify caption, rows, content, and formatting.
  • tbody Modifies the main rows in a table (i.e., not the header or footer rows). Each <tbody> tag must have at least one <tr> tag within it, which is used to represent a single row.

  • td Modifies the data (or content) in the primary cells of a table. When you press ENTER after the first paragraph in a table cell, a paragraph <p> tag is added inside each <td> tag in that cell.

  • tfoot Modifies a footer row in a table. When a table requires multiple pages in print layouts and outputs, the footer row is placed at the bottom of the last page. Each <tfoot> tag must have at least one <tr> tag within it, which is used to represent a single row.

  • th Modifies the header content in a table. Why not just use the <td> tag for header content as well? First, by having different tags, you can more easily dictate one look for the header text (e.g., bold font) and a different look for the main content in the table (e.g., normal font). Second, using separate tags greatly assists users with visual disabilities, making it possible for multi-modal wireless browsers with limited display capabilities (e.g., Web-enabled pagers and phones) to handle tables. When you press ENTER after the first paragraph in a table cell, a paragraph <p> tag is added inside each <th> tag in that cell.

    Example You might select the th style and modify its color property in order to display the table header row text in green.

  • thead Modifies a header row in a table. When a table requires multiple pages in output, the header row is repeated by default at the top of each page. Each <thead> tag must have at least one <tr> tag within it, which is used to represent a single row.
  • tr Modifies single rows that are contained within <tbody>, <tfoot>, and <thead> tags.

Note These styles are not to be confused with the separate special table stylesheets that you can create. However, you can use both table stylesheets and these standard table styles from a regular stylesheet in order to design the look of your tables and their content.

Warning When controlling the look of tables, be aware of conflicts that can arise when you are using standard table styles (e.g., tr, td) from a regular stylesheet and you are also inserting proxies in the project. For example, if you set the text-indent property on the td style, it could affect the indentation of a generated table of contents or mini-toc.

List Styles

List Styles

These are styles applied to bulleted or numbered lists. See Lists and Editing List Styles.

  • (Custom Lists) Modifies styles associated with custom list formats. See Creating Custom List Formats.

  • li Modifies individual list items.

  • ol Modifies an entire numbered ("ordered") list, such as a set of steps in a procedure.

  • ul Modifies an entire bulleted ("unordered") list.

    Example You might select the ul style and create a class under it named "indented." Then you might set its margin-left property to 15px so that bulleted lists using that style are indented 15 pixels from the left edge.

  • dl Modifies a definition list.

  • dt Modifies terms in a definition list.

  • dd Modifies definitions in a definition list.

Link Styles

Link Styles

These are styles that are applied to content that contains a link, such as a hyperlink or cross-reference. See Links.

Main Hyperlink (a) Style

The "a" style is used to modify standard links, such as text hyperlinks. See Editing Text Hyperlinks.

MadCap|xref Style

The MadCap|xref style is used to modify the look and format in cross-references. This is the main style used for basic cross-references that you create. See Cross-References and Editing Cross-Reference Style Formats.

Example You might select the MadCap|xref style and modify its mc-format property to change the text displayed in cross-references (e.g., "see page…").

In addition to creating your own custom classes of the main MadCap|xref style, you can also edit the following classes to control the look of page numbers in various places for print-based output.

Other MadCap-Specific Link Styles

  • MadCap|conceptLink Modifies the look (e.g., font, color, wording) of a concept (See Also) link heading. When you do this, the style changes for all concept links in any topics in your project. See Editing Concept Links.
  • MadCap|conceptLinkControlList Modifies the look of the entire list (<ul> element) when concept links are displayed in a list, rather than in a popup.
  • MadCap|conceptLinkControlListItem Modifies the look of individual items in the list (<li> elements) when concept links are displayed in a list, rather than in a popup.
  • MadCap|conceptLinkControlListItemLink Modifies the look of links in the list (<a> elements) when concept links are displayed in a list, rather than in a popup.
  • MadCap|helpControlList Modifies the look of the entire list (<ul> element) when Help control links are displayed in a list, rather than in a popup. This is a general style that controls all three types of Help control links—concept, keyword, and related topics. Alternatively, you can set properties on each specific style—MadCap|conceptLinkControlList, MadCap|keywordLinkControlList, or MadCap|relatedTopicsControlList. See Editing Concept Links, Editing Keyword Links, and Editing Related Topics Links.
  • MadCap|helpControlListItem Modifies the look of individual items in the list (<li> elements) when Help control links are displayed in a list, rather than in a popup. This is a general style that controls all three types of Help control links—concept, keyword, and related topics. Alternatively, you can set properties on each specific style—MadCap|conceptLinkControlListItem, MadCap|keywordLinkControlListItem, or MadCap|relatedTopicsControlListItem.
  • MadCap|helpControlListItemLink Modifies the look of links in the list (<a> elements) when Help control links are displayed in a list, rather than in a popup. This is a general style that controls all three types of Help control links—concept, keyword, and related topics. Alternatively, you can set properties on each specific style—MadCap|conceptLinkControlListItemLink, MadCap|keywordLinkControlListItemLink, or MadCap|relatedTopicsControlListItemLink.
  • MadCap|keywordLink Modifies the look (e.g., font, color, wording) of a keyword link heading. When you do this, the style changes for all keyword links in any topics in your project. See Editing Keyword Links.
  • MadCap|keywordLinkControlList Modifies the look of the entire list (<ul> element) when keyword links are displayed in a list, rather than in a popup.
  • MadCap|keywordLinkControlListItem Modifies the look of individual items in the list (<li> elements) when keyword links are displayed in a list, rather than in a popup.
  • MadCap|keywordLinkControlListItemLink Modifies the look of links in the list (<a> elements) when keyword links are displayed in a list, rather than in a popup.
  • MadCap|relatedTopics Modifies the look (e.g., font, color, wording) of a related topics link heading. When you do this, the style changes for all related topics links in any topics in your project. See Editing Related Topics Links.
  • MadCap|relatedTopicsControlList Modifies the look of the entire list (<ul> element) when related topics are displayed in a list, rather than in a popup.
  • MadCap|relatedTopicsControlListItem Modifies the look of individual items in the list (<li> elements) when related topics are displayed in a list, rather than in a popup.
  • MadCap|relatedTopicsControlListItemLink Modifies the look of links in the list (<a> elements) when related topics are displayed in a list, rather than in a popup.
  • MadCap|shortcut Modifies the look (e.g., font, color) of a shortcut control link. When you edit the style for a shortcut control, the style changes for all shortcut controls in any topics in your project. See Editing Shortcut Controls.

Image Styles

Image Styles

These are styles applied to images and objects that you inserted into content files. See Images and Editing Images.

  • img Main style used to control the look of images (e.g., resize automatically).

    Example You might create a class under the img style, name it "Thumbnail" (img.Thumbnail), and modify its mc-thumbnail property. This lets you specify that images using that tag should be shown as small thumbnails until the end user either clicks or hovers over the thumbnail to see the large version.

  • MadCap|model3D Modifies the look of 3D models. See 3D Models.
  • object Modifies embedded objects, such as multimedia.

Dynamic Effects Styles

Dynamic Effects Styles

These are styles that are applied to content used in Dynamic HTML effects (e.g., drop-downs, popups).

  • MadCap|dropDown Modifies the entire container holding a drop-down effect, including the image that is shown when a drop-down effect is open or closed. See Editing Drop-Down Effects.

    Example You might select the MadCap|dropDown style and modify its mc-open-image and mc-closed-image properties in order to change or remove the image, such as an arrow, displayed next to drop-down effects.

  • MadCap|dropDownBody Modifies content displayed when users open a drop-down effect.
  • MadCap|dropDownHead Modifies the text in the first paragraph of a drop-down effect (i.e., the paragraph where the drop-down link is located).
  • MadCap|dropDownHotspot Modifies the specific text that you select in the first paragraph of a drop-down effect to serve as the link for opening the drop-down body. If you do not select specific text in the first paragraph to serve as the hotspot, the entire first paragraph is used as the hotspot.
  • MadCap|expanding Modifies the entire container holding an expanding text effect, including the image that is shown when an expanding text effect is open or closed. See Editing Expanding Text.
  • MadCap|expandingBody Modifies the expanded text portion of an expanding text effect (i.e., the area that is displayed or hidden when users click the hotspot link).
  • MadCap|expandingHead Modifies the hotspot portion of an expanding text effect.
  • MadCap|glossaryTerm Modifies the look of glossary term links. See Editing the Look of a Glossary.
  • MadCap|helpControlMenu Modifies the look of links (i.e., menu items) that users see when they click a concept link, keyword link, or related topics control. This style is grouped with the "Dynamic Effects Styles" (which you can select from the drop-down list in the upper-left corner of the Stylesheet Editor). This particular style controls the entire list when you are using the popup menu method for displaying Help control links. See Editing Concept Links, Editing Keyword Links, and Editing Related Topics Links.
  • MadCap|helpControlMenuItem Modifies the look of links (i.e., menu items) that users see when they click a concept link, keyword link, or related topics control. This style is grouped with the "Dynamic Effects Styles" (which you can select from the drop-down list in the upper-left corner of the Stylesheet Editor). This particular style controls the individual list items when you are using the popup menu method for displaying Help control links.
  • MadCap|microContent Related to micro content that you create. However, in this version, modifying the style will have no effect on the output. See Micro Content.
  • MadCap|popup Modifies the look of the container holding a text popup link. For example, you can modify this style to place a border around the link. See Editing Text Popups.
  • MadCap|popupBody Modifies the popup text portion of an popup text effect (i.e., the area that is displayed or hidden when users click the hotspot link).
  • MadCap|popupHead Modifies the hotspot portion of a popup text effect.
  • MadCap|toggler Modifies the hotspot portion of a toggler. See Editing Togglers.

Reusable Content Styles

Reusable Content Styles

These are styles that are applied to reusable content, such as snippets, variables, or proxies.

  • MadCap|bodyProxy Modifies the look of the "container" holding topic content. For example, you might edit this style to add a border around all topic content. See Adding and Editing Body Proxies for Print Output.

  • MadCap|breadcrumbsProxy Modifies the look of breadcrumbs in online output. See Editing the Look of Breadcrumbs.

    Example You might select the MadCap|breadcrumbsProxy style and modify its border-bottom property. This lets you set the color and width of the bottom border for the "You are here" breadcrumbs feature that can be displayed at the top of topics.

  • MadCap|centralAccountProxy This style displays in the interface due to Flare's schema. However, it doesn't have a function, so you can ignore it. To control the look of the Central account link added via a proxy, you can use a skin component. See MadCap Central and Flare, Private Outputs on MadCap Central, and Central Account Link Skin Component.
  • MadCap|conceptsProxy Modifies the look of the "container" holding a generated list of concepts. See Editing the Look of a List of Concepts.
  • MadCap|eLearningToolbarProxy Modifies the look of the container holding the eLearning Toolbar for adding navigation buttons to topics. See Adding an eLearning Toolbar Proxy.
  • MadCap|faqProxy Modifies the FAQ proxy container holding micro content.
  • MadCap|glossaryProxy Modifies the look of the "container" holding a generated glossary. See Editing the Look of a Glossary.
  • MadCap|indexProxy Modifies the look of the "container" holding a generated index for print-based output. See Editing the Look of Your Print Index.
  • MadCap|knowledgeProxy Modifies the Knowledge proxy container holding micro content.
  • MadCap|listOfProxy Modifies the look of the "container" holding a generated list of elements. See Editing the Look of a List of Elements.
  • MadCap|menuProxy Modifies the look of a menu. See Creating a Topic Menu.
  • MadCap|miniTocProxy Modifies the look of the "container" holding a generated mini-TOC. See Editing the Look of a Mini-TOC.
  • MadCap|pageFooter Modifies the look of the content contained in a page footer used in template pages for Microsoft Word output. See Adding Page Header and Footer Proxies.
  • MadCap|pageHeader Modifies the look of the content contained in a page header used in template pages for Microsoft Word output. See Adding Page Header and Footer Proxies.
  • MadCap|promotionProxy Modifies the Promotion proxy container holding micro content.
  • MadCap|relationshipsProxy Modifies the look of the "container" holding the content from a generated relationships table. See Editing Relationship Link Styles.
  • MadCap|searchBarProxy Modifies the look of search bar. See Creating a Search Bar.
  • MadCap|searchResultsProxy Modifies the look of a custom search results page. See Creating Search Results.
  • MadCap|snippetBlock Modifies the look of block snippets that have been inserted in the XML Editor. If you insert a snippet on a blank line in a topic, it is inserted as a block snippet (as opposed to a text snippet) and takes up all of the room so that no other content can be added. See Editing Snippets.
  • MadCap|snippetText Modifies the look of text snippets that have been inserted in the XML Editor. If you insert a snippet on a line where other content exists, it is inserted as a text snippet, as opposed to a block snippet. See Editing Snippets.
  • MadCap|testResultsProxy Modifies the look of the container holding the Test Results when customizing the eLearning test results pages. See Customizing a Results Page.
  • MadCap|tocProxy Modifies the look of the "container" holding a generated TOC for print-based output. See Editing the Look of a Print TOC.
  • MadCap|topicToolbarProxy Modifies the look of the "container" holding a generated topic toolbar. For HTML5 outputs, the Topic Toolbar proxy will use whatever settings are specified in a Topic Toolbar skin component (if you have added one to your project), overriding any buttons you may have selected directly in the proxy. If you have not associated a Topic Toolbar skin component with the proxy, Flare will just use the first one it finds in your project. However, for outputs using Standard and Mobile skins, the settings in the proxy take precedence over anything you may have set on the Toolbar tab in the Skin Editor. See Inserting and Editing a Topic Toolbar Proxy and Using a Style to Edit the Look of Topic Toolbars.
  • MadCap|variable Modifies the look of variables in the XML Editor and in generated output files. See Styled Variables and Editing Variables.

Generated Content Styles

These are styles that are applied to content that is created when you generate output, such as glossaries, indexes, or tables of contents (TOCs).

Example You might select the TOC1 class under the p style (p.TOC1) and modify its mc-leader-format property. This lets you set the leader format, such as dots, to be displayed after the first-level headings in the generated TOC for print-based output.

Controls/Form Styles

These are styles that are applied to content within controls, such as buttons, or forms.

Example You might select the form style and modify its text-align property in order to center a form that you add in a topic.