The size attribute

The value of the size attribute must be one of the virtual font sizes (1-7) described earlier, defined as an absolute size for the enclosed text or preceded by a plus or minus sign (+ or -) to define a relative font size that the browser adds to or subtracts from the base font size (see the <basefont> tag above). The browsers automatically round the size to 1 or 7 if the calculated value exceeds either boundary.

In general, use absolute size values when you want the rendered text to be an extreme size, either very large or very small, or when you want an entire paragraph of text to be a specific size.

For example, using the largest font for the first character of a paragraph makes for a crude form of illustrated manuscript (see Figure 4.14):

<p>
<font size=7>C</font>all me Ishmael.

Also, use an absolute font when inserting a delightfully unreadable bit of "fine" print--boilerplate or legalese--at the bottom of your documents (see Figure 4.15):

<p>
<font size=1>
All rights reserved. Unauthorized redistribution of this document is 
prohibited. Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors, not the 
Internet Service Provider.

Except for the extremes, use relative font sizes to render text in a size different than the surrounding text, to emphasize a word or phrase, for example (see Figure 4.16):

<p>
Make sure you <font size=+1>always</font> sign and date the form!

If your relative size change results in a size greater than seven, the browser uses font 7. Similarly, font sizes less than one are rendered with font 1.

Notice that specifying size=+1 or size=-1 is identical in effect to the <big> and <small> respectively. However, nested relative changes to the font size are not cumulative as they are for the alternate tags. Each <font> tag is relative to the base font size, not the current font size. [the section called "The <big> Tag"] For example (see Figure 4.17):

<p>
The ghost moaned, "oo<font size=+1>oo<font size=+2>oo<font 
size=+3>oo</font>oo</font>oo</font>oo."

Contrast this with the <big> tag, which increases the size one level as you nest the tags.

The color attribute

The color attribute for the <font> tag sets the color of the enclosed text. The value of the attribute may be expressed in either of two ways: as the red, green, and blue (RGB) components of the desired color or as a standard color name. Enclosing quotes are recommended, but not required.

The RGB color value, denoted by a preceding pound sign, is a six-digit hexadecimal number. The first two digits are the red component, from 00 (no red) to FF (bright red). Similarly, the next two digits are the green component and the last two digits are the blue component. Black is the absence of color, #000000; white is all colors, #FFFFFF.

For example, to create basic yellow text, you might use:

Here comes the <font color="#FFFF00">sun</font>!

Alternatively, you may set the enclosed font color using any one of the many standard color names. See Appendix F, Color Names and Values, for a list of common ones. For instance, you could also have made the above sample text yellow with the following source:

Here comes the <font color=yellow>sun</font>!

The face attribute

Internet Explorer and Netscape let you change the font style in a text passage with the face attribute for the <font> tag.[2]

[2] For the HTML purist, for the once-powerful user, who had ultimate control over their browser, this is egregious, indeed. Form over function; look over content--what next? Embedded video commercials you can't stop?

The quote-enclosed value of face is one or more display font names separated with commas.

The font face displayed by the browser depends on which fonts are available on the individual user's system. The browser parses the list of font names, one after the other, until it matches one with a font name supported by the user's system. If none match, the text display defaults to the font style set by the user in their browser's preferences. For example:

This text is in the default font. But, 
<font face="Braggadocio, Machine, Zapf Dingbats">
heaven only knows</font>
what font face is this one?

If the Internet Explorer user has the Braggadocio, Machine, or none of the listed font typefaces installed in their system, they will be able to read the "heaven only knows" message in the respective or default font style. Otherwise, the message will be garbled because the Zapf Dingbats font contains symbols, not letters. Of course, the alternative is true, too; you may intend that the message be a symbol-encoded secret.