Requirements for Using an External Cascading Style Sheet

When you use an external cascading style sheet (CSS) to format a report, be aware of the following requirements:

• Generate HTML report output. You can use an external cascading style sheet to format any report that you generate as HTML, whether you save the report output in a file or send it directly to a web browser. You cannot use an external CSS for a report generated in a different format, such as PDF or Excel.

  If you wish to use an external CSS with a report that you will sometimes generate as HTML and sometimes as a different format, such as PDF, see Using External Cascading Style Sheets With Non-HTML Reports.

• If you are not generating an internal cascading style sheet, do not specify external CSS classes (CLASS=) and native WebFOCUS StyleSheet attributes in the same WebFOCUS StyleSheet (other than the exceptions noted in the next paragraph). Doing so could create formatting conflicts.

  Exceptions. Even when specifying external CSS classes, you should use native WebFOCUS StyleSheet attributes to:

  • Create hyperlinks (using the FOCEXEC, JAVASCRIPT, and URL attributes). However, if you wish to format a hyperlink, you should do so using the cascading style sheet.
  • Make a WebFOCUS StyleSheet declaration conditional (using the WHEN attribute).
  • Embed an image (using the IMAGE attribute). However, if you wish to format the image (for example, to position it), you should do so using the cascading style sheet.

  For more information, see Combining an External CSS With Other Formatting Methods.

• Do not specify the same formatting using TABLE/GRAPH and CSS. You can use TABLE language (or GRAPH language) formatting instructions, such as HEADING CENTER, PAGE-BREAK, and spot markers (for example, </3). However, you should not apply both a TABLE (or GRAPH) language instruction, and an external cascading style sheet rule, to perform the same formatting on the same report component. For more information, see Combining an External CSS With Other Formatting Methods.
• SET STYLEMODE. If you wish to use cascading style sheets to format a report in the usual way, you can set STYLEMODE to FULL (the default) or PAGED. If you set it to FIXED and link to an external cascading style sheet, the report will inherit formatting from the BODY and PRE elements, but you will not be able to format the report using classes and the TD element.
• Use a cascading style sheet-enabled web browser. Each user who wishes to display a report formatted using a cascading style sheet must have a web browser that supports CSS. All versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer that are certified for use with WebFOCUS support cascading style sheets.

  Note that how a cascading style sheet rule formats your report is determined entirely by the support of your web browser and implementation of cascading style sheets, not by WebFOCUS. Some web browsers may not fully support the latest CSS version, or may implement a CSS feature in different ways.

• Do not override the cascading style sheet specified for the report. If a browser has been customized to ignore cascading style sheets or to employ the personal cascading style sheet of the user, and the user wishes to view reports as they were intended to be seen (with the specified cascading style sheet), the user must reset his or her browser to accept the cascading style sheet of each document.

  For instructions about checking or changing a browser setting, see the browser Help. For information about how conflicts between CSS rules are resolved (for example, between a rule specified in a CSS document and a rule specified in the reader web browser CSS), see your third-party CSS documentation.

Usage Notes for External Cascading Style Sheets With SET HTMLCSS ON