adding "span class" tag in DW - not just "class" tag

[johnnygphotography]

I always struggle when using Dreamweaver MX 2004 to get this result in adding the span class:

<span class="nav"><a href="http://ABCZYX.com" target="_blank">ABCD</a></span>

I normally end up getting the class automatically wrapped up inside the <a href> tag like this:

<a href="http://www.ABCZYX.com" target="_blank" class="nav">ABCD</a>

In this example, the class won't work because the paragraph already has a class assigned to it. I think the paragraph class overrides the effects of the link "nav" class because the link still shows underlined and normal "link" blue rather than the no underline/light blue colored links that are part of the style.

Now. when I manually add the span class to the coding, it does allow me to see the formatting/class I just added without problems.

Is adding the span class manually the only way to get it in the coding so I can see the style?

Is there an easier way to isolate text/links that are already part of a class and give them their own span class?

Maybe it's cause I didn't do too well in class that I'm not getting it, nonetheless, I appreciate any direction given...

[wige]

I take it the style rule you are applying is like the following:

.nav a

This causes the rules to be applied to a link contained in a span of class "nav". If your rule was for .nav, it wouldn't be inherited reliably. You should be able to get it to work using the a href="" class="" method by changing the style rule to:

a.nav

This would apply to any link of class "nav" and should give the desired results without the link needing to be wrapped in a span.

[seopo]

If you use dreamweaver work in a split pane view for design/code. You'll see this error quicker and can easily drag/drop or cut/paste you class to the right place. Not 100% ideal but probably work better for you