How do I edit the raw CSS text in Stylizer?

This is a feature that is requested by people who have not yet made the comfort adjustment to grid-based CSS editing. Our suggestion is to learn the hotkeys of Stylizer and learn the system. Once you achieve a certain level of familiarity, you'll find that grid-based CSS editing is superior to text-based CSS editing.

Aren't visual CSS editors for newbies?

Traditionally, yes. However, Stylizer does not work like a traditional visual CSS editor. It's a different system that operates on completely different principles, and is designed with productivity in mind, regardless of experience level.

Does Stylizer replace Firebug?

Stylizer's famous "point, click, edit" workflow eliminates the need to use Firebug's CSS inspection features as a standard part of your workflow.

Firebug remains a great tool for performing page diagnostics, network monitoring, and JavaScript debugging.

What's this Remote Control? How do I use this thing?

The Remote Control is not just a toolbar sitting atop each CSS rule in Stylizer. It provides a variety of special functions, and learning about it's capability can greatly accelerate your productivity.

Every button on the remote control that has an arrow in the icon is actually a size grip button. That means you can quickly click and drag the button to adjust the CSS property to which the button corresponds.

What save options are available in Stylizer?

Stylizer allows .CSS files to be saved through FTP, SFTP, FTP/SSL, a location on your file system, or a location on a network share.

Certain content management systems only allow custom CSS code to be entered into a text field in administrative portion of the web site. For users of these systems, there is a "save to clipboard" option. When this option is used, pressing the Ctrl/Cmd+S hotkey or the Save button will result in the raw style sheet text to instead being copied to the clipboard, for quickly pasting into the appropriate text field.

What desktop UI toolkit does Stylizer use?

Stylizer's interface system is a completely custom solution developed internally by Skybound. Skybound is currently not offering this platform to the public.

What is Multi-Click? Why does Skybound use this?

Multi-Click is a special interface operation developed by Skybound. It was designed for the purpose of extracting more functionality out of a standard two-button mouse.

To perform a Multi-Click, click and hold the left mouse button, then click the right mouse button.

Note that multi-click does not work with the Apple MightyMouse.

Will My Existing Stylizer License Key Work on my Mac?

Stylizer 5 license keys work on both the Mac and Windows versions of our software. Each key will activate a maximum of two copies of Stylizer; one on a laptop computer, and one on a desktop computer.

You can retrieve your existing license keys by logging into your account dashboard. From that page, you can also upgrade your existing Stylizer 4 license keys for a reduced price.

How can I make the 'Time for a Timeout' popups go away?

The short answer is that you'll need to buy the software. Although they can be a distraction, the purpose of these popups is to remind you that you are using demo software, and to encourage you to purchase the software if you find it useful.

How do I find out what version I'm using?

To find out what version of Stylizer you're using, click on the diamond icon in the top left corner of the Stylizer application window. Then choose About Stylizer. On OS X computers, click Stylizer > About Stylizer from the menu bar.

How do I enter my product key?

Stylizer automatically recognizes when a valid product key is on the clipboard.

Open Stylizer, then open the email you received when you first purchased Stylizer. In the email there is a product key. Copy this product key to the clipboard (select it and press Ctrl+C/Cmd+C), and Stylizer should automatically recognize the product key and register itself.

If this does not work: on Windows and Linux computers, click on the diamond in the top left corner of the Stylizer window, and choose About Stylizer (or press F1). On OS X computers, choose Stylizer > About Stylizer from the menu bar.

In the dialog that appears, click Set Product Key. Paste the product key into the text box, then press Set Product Key again.

How does the Skybound activation process differ from traditional systems?

When you activate a copy of Stylizer, the software sends us some anonymous information about your system configuration so that we can tell how many machines your license key is linked to. If you do not have regular access to the internet, this process will not pose you any problems. Simply connect to the internet once to activate the product, and it will work without an internet connection thereafter.

At this time, each Stylizer license allows for installation on one laptop and one desktop computer. This means that you don't have to re-activate the software when switching between them. While we have been asked by some customers to provide a "use-anywhere" version of the software that can be installed on a USB stick, we have found that in practice, it is hard to ensure that software that is used in such a manner is not pirated. As such, the activation system is here to stay.

If you do change hardware on a regular basis and find that the activation system is getting in your way, send us an email or leave a message on our forum, and we'll sort the issue out for you. Rest assured that we're not trying to screw you out of using a product that you purchased with your hard-earned money. We're simply trying to protect ourselves from large-scale piracy, something that would surely put us out of business.

Why does Stylizer tell me my product key is invalid?

This problem typically occurs when you're either trying to enter a Stylizer 3 product key into Stylizer 4 or 5. The most common solution is to log into your Skybound account.

Here is how you tell the version of Stylizer your product key fits:

• If the last 4 characters of your key are a dash followed by 3 letters and/or numbers, the key is for Stylizer 4 or 5.
• If the last 6 characters of your key are a dash followed by 5 letters and/or numbers, the key is for Stylizer 3.

Note that in your account, you're able to download the latest version of Stylizer that you've purchased.

Why does Stylizer say that it is temporarily activated?

The activation process for Stylizer consists of two phases. The first time you enter your product key, the program calls home and temporarily activates itself for one month. This is the first stage of the activation process.

When this initial activation period ends, the program automatically calls home and re-activates itself. This time, the activation will be permanent. This is the second stage of the activation process.

This behaviour allows Skybound to track initial vs. permanent activations. In that first one-month period, should you decide that you are unhappy with the program and wish to return it, we will refund your money. However, once Stylizer enters the second stage of the activation process, your purchase is considered to be final.

Will Stylizer work with my CMS?

Stylizer works with any content management system that allows CSS customization, whether the system is installed on your server, or remotely hosted on a server elsewhere.

However, there is one caveat that usually can be worked around. Some content management systems will use a server-side technology that merges multiple style sheets into one file. This is done to improve the speed of the web site. To use Stylizer to it's potential, this feature must be disabled while editing your web site.

How do I make Stylizer use a light-colored theme?

To change to the light theme (which is easier for some people to see, press Ctrl/Cmd + F10).

How do I get Stylizer to work with a proxy server?

The embedded Internet Explorer browser uses the same settings as your standalone Internet Explorer browser, so it shouldn't require any additional configuration.

The embedded Firefox browser can be configured using Firefox's about:config page. Here's how:

1. Make sure the current web browser is Firefox.
2. Navigate to about:config.
3. Click the "I'll be careful, I promise" button (if you promise to be careful).
4. Type proxy into the text box at the top.
5. Double click on network.proxy.type and enter the number 1.
6. Double click on network.proxy.http and enter the name or IP address of your proxy server.
7. Double click on network.proxy.http_port and enter the port number of your proxy server.

Since Stylizer downloads style sheets independently from the browser, if your proxy server requires a password, you will be asked to enter the password a second time to download them.

What causes the Cleanser dialog to appear?

The Stylizer grid is an error-free CSS development environment. It doesn't allow you to make an error, and it won't allow you to work with CSS that contains errors. However, in the practical world of web site design, there are times when you must work with error-ridden CSS. The Cleanser feature provides a quick way to track down and rectify these errors, so that it may be loaded into Stylizer.

Most commonly, the dialog appears when a style sheet is loaded that contains errors that Stylizer cannot automatically fix on it's own. Or it can appear if error-ridden CSS is pasted into the grid from an external source (say, from a web site or a text editor).

The Cleanser dialog points out the locations of the errors in your CSS, and lets you fix the errors, so that the CSS can be loaded into Stylizer.

How do I revert my changes back to what's on server?

To discard your existing changes, and revert the style sheet that's stored on the server, click on the arrow beside the Undo button and then choose Reload. Alternatively, you can use press Alt/Option + F5

How do I re-order CSS rules and styles?

To re-order CSS rules and styles in your stylesheet, click on the rule or the property or value cell of the style you want to move, and then the use Ctrl/Cmd+Up Arrow to move the row up, or Ctrl/Cmd+Down Arrow to move the row down.

How do I insert new CSS rules and styles with the mouse?

To insert a new CSS rule or a new CSS style to the style sheet, perform a multi-click in the place in your style sheet where you want to insert the new row.

How do I adjust horizontal/vertical parts of padding/margin simultaneously?

With Stylizer, it's possible to adjust the two opposing sides of padding or margin on an element simultaneously, using the Remote Control.

While holding the Ctrl/Cmd key, move your mouse over one of the sub-buttons on the margin or padding button in the remote control. You should see the opposing side of the button highlight. Now click and drag the button, and both sides should move in unison.

How do I make an element semi-transparent?

Using transparency on the web without Stylizer is a complex process, but Stylizer makes it relatively straight forward. Simply add a shortcut property to the desired rule called +opacity, followed by a percentage value.

In the underlying CSS file, Stylizer generates the CSS code required to make the opacity work in a similar fashion across all browsers.

How do I use the CSS3 border-radius property in Stylizer?

The CSS3 border-radius property. Unfortunately, using it across supporting browsers requires working with different implementations and multiple lines of code.

Simply add a shortcut property to the desired rule called +border-radius, followed by a pixel amount.

In the underlying CSS file, Stylizer generates the CSS code required to account for the different implementation styles of the border-radius property.