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Local Style Sheets

"See you later, alligator,
After 'while, crocodile;
Can't you see you're in my way now,
Don't you know you cramp my style?" (R. Guidry: See You Later Alligator)

Problem: I'd like even more control over how I view web pages

Some web browsers allow users the option to use Local Style Sheets. These are files that contain instructions about how to display the various bits of a web page. For example, what size should the main heading be? What colour should it be displayed in? etc.

Whilst there is no doubt that local style sheets offer users even more control over how they view web pages, creating such files is a fairly technical business that is not for the faint-of-heart.

However, fear not! You will find a selection of style sheet files available for download further down this page.

Instructions

1. In each case, copy all of the text on the page that appears when you select one of the links below, then select the CTRL and C keys simultaneously. This will copy the text.
2. Open Notepad or another text editor. Do not use something like Word. It's not suitable.
3. Select the CTRL and V keys simultaneously. This will paste the text into Notepad.
4. Save the file in a suitable directory. I suggest creating a directory, or folder, specifically for this purpose called "MyStyle". Ensure that you name the file "your_name.css" . The ".css" bit is very important.
   Example: Save a file for large text as big-text.css.
5. Now follow the instructions for your particular web browser to "activate" your new, local, style sheet.

Internet Explorer

Select "Tools - Internet Options - General - Accessibility" in Internet Explorer 5.0 or above or View - Internet Options - General - Accessibility in Internet Explorer 4. At the foot of the "Accessibility" tab, there is an option entitled "User Style Sheet". Tick the box labelled "Format documents using my style sheet" and then navigate to, and select your new style sheet using the Browse button and then select "OK". Select "OK" again to save your preferences and exit the "Internet Options" page. Close Internet Explorer and then re-open it again. Your new style sheet should now be active.

Opera 5 or above

Select the "Author Mode" button to switch between User and Author mode. You should see an arrow at the right-hand side of this button. Selecting that arrow will reveal a drop-down list of the available local style sheets you can apply in User Mode. You can apply as many or as few at once as you wish. You can add more local style sheets to this list but this involves some fairly advanced file editing that is far better explained on _the main Opera web site

Available Style Sheets

Big Text: Enlarged text - no colour changes

This simply doubles the size of all text on a web page. When using this style sheet within Internet Explorer, ensure that the Accessibility Option labelled "Ignore font sizes specified on web pages" is selected.

High Contrast: Yellow on black

This increases the size of all text on a web page by 50%. The page background is set to black and the general text set to yellow. When using this style sheet within Internet Explorer, ensure that all of the Accessibility Option tickboxes have been selected so that web page font sizes, styles and colours are ignored.

Low Contrast 1: Dark red on pale yellow

This alters the default page background pale yellow and the general text to dark red - a colour combination that may be suitable for people with dyslexia. When using this style sheet within Internet Explorer, ensure that the Accessibility Option labelled "Ignore colors specified on web pages" is selected.

Low Contrast 2: Pale green on black

This alters the default page background to black and the general text to pale green - a colour combination that may be suitable for people who suffer from colour blindness. When using this style sheet within Internet Explorer, ensure that the Accessibility Option labelled "Ignore colors specified on web pages" is selected.

Text Only: Dark grey on white

This alters the default page background to white and the text to a very dark grey whilst all images are rendered invisible. This may be of use to anyone using screen reader software on top of internet Explorer. When using this style sheet within Internet Explorer, ensure that the Accessibility Option labelled "Ignore colors specified on web pages" is selected.

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