Proper CSS Selectors -- "style" vs "auto-style" [topic edited for clarity]

[P. Thao]

When using dreamweaver, what is the different between "style" and "auto style"?  I have used both when creating font/color/size etc. and there seems to be no difference.  Maybe I should ask the question " When should I use "style" vs "auto-style" "

[Jon Fritz]

I'm trying to figure out the context of "auto-style" here, I'm guessing it's just some part of DW's interface itself, because there's nothing in the CSS spec dealing with anything called "auto style".

Where are you seeing that while working with DW?

[P. Thao]

 Here is an image of what I am seeing.  This was a pre-made list when switching from microsoft Expressions to dreamweaver.   All the styles and auto-styles were pre-made.  I have figured out how to make my own but just need to know if there is a difference between the two such as use "style" when doing this and "auto-style" when doing that.

[P. Thao]

The above image is only of an example file.  The color, font, size, etc does not make a difference, i have found that you can create "style" and "auto-style" either way.

[BenPleysier]

Have a look at this CSS tutorial to learn more about CSS.

[Nancy OShea · Accepted solution]

The topic of this discussion should be changed to Proper CSS Selectors.

Avoid using vague style1, 2, 3, or auto-style1, 2, 3 as permanent CSS selector names.  They're meaningless placeholders that give no clue to what their intended purpose is. 

Best advice, create re-usable .classes that actually mean something. 

EXAMPLES OF RE-USABLE CLASSES:

   .call-to-action {color:pink; background-color:navy}

  .danger {color: red}

  .success {color:green}

  .info {color:darkturquoise}

  .navbar {....}

  .modal-dialoge {....}

  and so on....

Good riddance to FrontPage & Expressions Web. MS pulled them off the shelf for a reason.

Microsoft Word creates unwanted 'Junk Code.'  For best results, use MS Word for word processing only but don't use it to generate HTML or CSS code. If you must use a Microsoft environment for web authoring, get Visual Studio Code.  It's a standards-based code editor that's infinitely better-suited for this than Word.  And VS Code is free for Windows, Mac or Linux users.

If you absolutely must copy & paste content from MS Word or other apps into Dreamweaver, use Edit > Paste Special > Text Only or Text and Structure.  This ensures that no 'Junk Code' ever reaches your web document.  Style your content to suit with Dreamweaver.

Hope that helps.

[P. Thao]

Thank you Nancy, this is very helpful

[Nancy OShea]

You're welcome.  😊