Changing Styles With Find and Replace in Expression Web

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Changing Styles With Find and Replace in Expression Web

donna130

1:42 am on Jun 22, 2011 (gmt 0)

Need your help on a FIND & REPLACE using Expression Web.

I switched from Frontpage to Expression Web. Since I'm new to CSS, I see that when you format some text (say make it purple), it calls it a specific "style" (as you know) and puts that particular numbered style up in the header. That's cool and makes sense for code efficiency 'n stuff; however, I need a way (like Frontpage allows) where you can highlight a section of formatted text (in Design mode) and do a FIND & REPLACE ...so that the styles associated with that selected section of text (which code is in the header and not the body)are also replaced.

What's the simplest/smartest way to do this?

Thanks for helping out.

alt131

11:55 am on Jun 22, 2011 (gmt 0)

Hi Donna, I'm not familiar enough with either frontpage or Expression web to answer this question directly. However maybe these suggestions will help.

A search on "find and replace" suggests the find/replace dialogue allows you to create reasonably complex queries that might do what you want.

Another is not to think in terms of find/replace, but in terms of changing styles, and search around that theme.

There also seems to be lots of sources dedicated to Expression web, as well as a lot designed to help Frontpage users adjust. A search on "changing from frontpage to expression web" brought up a Microsoft tutorial [expression.microsoft.com] that talked about changing styles after selecting text (about 1/2 way down that page) - and it "made sense" to me as a technique suitable for what you want - although it didn't use the search/replace. AS my search term wasn't very well formed, something better worded may lead you to a better source of information.

Not an ideal response, but hopefully gives you ideas that might lead to the answer you need.

donna130

6:59 pm on Jun 22, 2011 (gmt 0)

Thanks for your effort. Yes, I see this is not a question that matches your skills. Will watch for additional responses here from individuals who publish with Microsoft's Expression Web. And yes I have already read that & numerous other tutorials. The issue remains unresolved.

Marshall

4:04 am on Aug 23, 2011 (gmt 0)

Hi Donna,

Search and Replace is not appropriate for use in "Design" view insofar as changing CSS. If you highlight text in Design view, you'll notice on the Tools Bar what CSS is applied to that area. There are 3 drop down menus for this: Type of area, e.g. Paragraph, H1, H2, etc, Font Family, and Font Size. You can change your styles using these drop downs.

You can also display the CSS using the CSS Properties window. Click on "Task Panes" then select CSS Properties. It will probably appear below your "Folders" pane, but you can drag/move it with your cursor to where ever is comfortable.

Your other choice is go into Code View and find the specific CSS you are looking for in the <head> then search for it using the find feature. You can also use the split view which will show you the applicable code as you highlight the text.

Hope this helps,
Marshall

donna130

10:35 am on Aug 23, 2011 (gmt 0)

Marshall, While I've carefully read your response and appreciate, it still doesn't provide an answer to the straightforward question, which is "If Expression is so good, and Frontpage is "so bad", then how can you do that same thing we used to do in Frontpage with Expression, namely, highlighting a formatted paragraph (which in turn highlights the code), and doing a find and replace (on either the design or the code it represents)? It's particularly important since Expressions (and most modern web editors use CSS / styles sections in the headers which are held in separate areas. Seems to me (I'm a beginner!) that there should be a SIMPLE SOLUTION where, when you highlight formatted text in Expression Web, it highlights the accompanying code NO MATTER WHERE THAT CODE IS, ie it also highlights the relevant styles in the header so that you CAN do a replacement.

Whoever has this solution will certainly be a genius in my eyes. Until then, Expression, while it, indeed, has made my pages load faster, has made my edits a heck of a lot harder, if not impossible. I want to be able to find & replace small sections of formatted code like i used to / can in Frontpage. CAN ANYONE SHARE WITH ME HOW THEY DO THIS?

Thank you.

Marshall

12:12 pm on Aug 23, 2011 (gmt 0)

Donna,

Maybe I misunderstood. The Find and Replace features themselves are under the EDIT button, or use CRTL+F for FIND and CRTL+H for REPLACE. If that does not answer your question, then I am truly at a loss as to what exactly you are asking.

Marshall

donna130

9:26 pm on Aug 23, 2011 (gmt 0)

That's a silly response. If I just wrote all that, unless you're being "cheeky", you know I know those simple things. The question is not so simple-minded as "where's the find & replace?" Are you kidding?
If you're writing those types of things, just don't write back, thanks. Leave it open for others to answer.

Marshall

11:42 pm on Aug 23, 2011 (gmt 0)

Your only other choice is look at the code view then click on the "class" for the text, e.g. class="style1" and it will take you to the CSS like a hyperlink, assuming it is connected to the page either via embedded or separate style sheet attached to the page.

donna130

3:26 am on Aug 24, 2011 (gmt 0)

No offense, Marshall, but how does that have anything to do with my question? Can you paraphrase what you think I'm trying to do, and then tell me how your last answer addresses that? What you say is true and "a fact", but like "trees are green", it has nothing to do with my question posed.

ColinG

4:57 pm on Dec 15, 2011 (gmt 0)

Rather than trying to use the Expressions search and replace, I would look to an edit program such as Ultraedit. Close Expressions, save a zipped copy of the web and then use Ultraedit to search and replace across the entire site.

You can also use Ultraedit to search for all instances of a term such as "<font" to see where fonts are specified and develop a strategy and replacement for the fonts.

This is also useful when looking to move towards HTML5 to find all the examples of tables, fonts and other formatting that should/can be moved to css and finally at some time to HTML5.

donna130

11:47 pm on Dec 15, 2011 (gmt 0)

yeah, that's also no good Colin. It has nothing to do with my question. Good luck with your program