CSS: The Missing Manual

Using Background Property Shorthand

As you can see from the examples above, to really take control of background images you need to harness the power of several different background properties. But typing out background-image, background-attachment, and so on again and again can really take its toll on your hands. But there's an easier way—the background shorthand property.

You can actually bundle all the background properties (including the background-color property you learned about last chapter) into a single line of streamlined CSS. Simply type background followed by the values for background-color, background-image, background-attachment, and background-position. The following style sets the background to white, and adds a non-repeating fixed background image smack dab in the middle of the page:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION: Finding Free Imagery

I'm not an artist. I can't draw, can't paint, don't even own a digital camera. Where can I find artwork for my site?

Thank goodness for the Web. It's the one-stop shop for creative geniuses who couldn't paint themselves into a corner if they tried. There are plenty of pay-to-download sites for stock photos and illustrations, but there are also quite a few completely free options. For photos, check out Morgue File (http://www.morguefile.com), which despite the grisly name has many wonderful photos supplied free of charge by people who love to take pictures. The Creative Commons site provides options as well: http://creativecommons.org/image/ ...