Instructions for Client Site maintenance: By Sam Pfanstiel (c) 1998 FamilyConnect FrontPage 98: Intro: Properly installed, FrontPage 98 Explorer (this is the icon with the compass and scroll) utilizes an interface very similar to Windows Explorer (this is the icon with the folder and magnifying glass -- the hard drive maintenance program that comes with Windows 95/98/NT). If you do not already know how to use this program, become acquainted with how to drag-and-drop files, folders, and double-click files in order to open them. If you know how to do these things, FrontPage 98 Explorer will not be a problem. From FrontPage Explorer, you will eventually be able to open FrontPage Editor. (This is the icon with the red feather and scroll). This program operates very much like Word 97 or other text editors, and you may be able to add text without problems. From this program you may also create tables, hyperlinks, add images and create forms which may be viewed and used on the Internet. (WARNING: Take extreme caution when editing a file you did not create. Deletion of certain words may also delete underlying code which may make a page inoperable. When editing ANY page, it is ALWAYS a good idea to make a backup of the page first. Do this from FrontPage Explorer by dragging the file with the right mouse button to another area in the same folder or backup folder and selecting copy here. This will create an identical file named filename_copy(1).htm which may be used as a backup in the case of an emergency.) Begin: To begin using FrontPage 98, you must of course install the program on your hard drive and be online with your Internet Service Provider. The VERY first time you run the program, a dialog box will inform you that FrontPage is scanning your computer for a computer name. This is the network name that your computer is identified as. This may be your last name, or a description of your computer or something. Just accept whatever the computer finds. Once FrontPage is loaded correctly you should see a dialog box that says, "Getting Started" with options to either "Open an Existing FrontPage Web" or "Create a New FrontPage Web". Select "Open Existing" and click the "More Webs..." button (after the first time you will not have to do this, since every previously opened web will appear in the box in the first window). Under "Select a Web Server or Disk Location" type "www.yoursite.org" and click on "List Webs." After a few moments you will see all the individual webs which exist at that particular location. There should only initially be one web at your domain, usually called so select it and press "OK". (You can add additional webs, but it's usually easier to just add subdirectories). At this point, you will be prompted for your username and password. Enter the administration username that you were given in order to have access to the site from FrontPage. Your username is usually your domain minus the www and the .com (So "www.yoursite.com" would have a username of "yoursite") FrontPage will load the entire root directory, so this may take a few moments. Once the folders appear you are ready to begin. Explorer Basics: Explorer has many functions and uses and it would be advisable to read the help file or instructions included with FrontPage (or purchase a book that will assist you). However, these are the basics that I perceive you may need with maintaining your site. Do not worry about the side bar on the left. The only view you will need (or use) is the folders view. Two hotlinks at the top of the screen are useful. The FrontPage Editor icon (scroll with red feather) will open FrontPage Editor without a file, so you can create new pages or framesets. The next icon is for Microsoft Image Editor. I do not like Image Editor, but it does perform many basic functions, such as cropping, resizing, drawing, and includes many nice filters. OPENING FILES: To open a HTM, HTML, or ASP file in the FrontPage Editor, simply double-click the file. FrontPage Editor will then be loaded, and the file will be opened in the editor. MOVING FILES: As mentioned above, dragging and dropping files is quite easy with FrontPage Explorer. I would not, however, recommend doing this haphazardly. Fortunately FrontPage keeps track of most HTML links between pages within the web and will rewrite these pages every time you move a file (this is why it takes a while every time). However, FrontPage does not rewrite JavaScript links and links from external websites when you move a file, so take extreme caution when moving files. If you move a file to a location where the same named file exists, you will be prompted to overwrite the file or cancel moving that file. If you do NOT overwrite the existing file, that file will not be moved, and you can proceed to rename and move it or, or leave it be. RENAMING FILES: To rename a file, simply click once on the file. After a moment a cursor will appear in the filename and you can type a new name. If you change the file extension, the file may become unusable. If you change the name to the name of a preexisting file, FrontPage will prompt you if you want to overwrrite that file. Case is unimportant except where neatness is concerned. DELETING FILES: To delete a file or group of files, highlight the file (or use the shift key and mouse click, or CTRL key and mouse click to select multiple files) and press the delete key. You will be prompted to delete the batch of files. As always, use extreme caution when deleting or changing any file of which you do not know its useage. IMPORTING FILES: Here's one you will definitely need to add images to the web. The easiest way to import files is to simply drag-and-drop the filename from your Windows Explorer into the FrontPage Explorer. You can do this with one file, multiple files, or entire folders. Remember that everytime you drag a file, FrontPage will proceed to import it (upload it to the server, etc.), so allow a few moments for each file. Dragging large quantities of files is quicker, as it eliminated the middle steps. EXPORTING FILES: Much harder than importing files (I don't know why they don't make it as easy as importing). Here you must select the file (only ONE file) and click on the File, Export option menu. Upon doing so, you will be prompted for a location on your hard drive to place the file. Click OK to download the file. Editor Basics: Once you open a file into FrontPage Editor you will see the file in NORMAL view. You can change to HTML or PREVIEW view, but PREVIEW view doesn't work as well as simply previewing the file in your web browser (you have to save the file either way). Most of your work will be in NORMAL view, since HTML view is quite confusing unless you know something about HTML language. Practice: This will be your best tool for editing in the future. Open a new page (or create one by selecting File, New, and Normal Page from the wizards box), and try every type of feature that FrontPage Editor allows you to do. You can see all of the shortcut taskbar buttons by selecting View, and checking all the Toolbar selections. Then try these buttons to see what they do. WORD PROCESSING: Like any word processor you can type directly onto a blank page to create text. * The only difference is that if you press ENTER, you will skip a line before the next paragraph. In order to not skip a line, insert a hard return by pressing SHIFT-ENTER. The best way to keep track of these is to turn on "view non-printing symbols" by clicking the (¶ ) button. This will show you where you pressed ENTER, and where you pressed SHIFT-ENTER. * You can change the font type, size and color by selecting the text after you type it and click the font pull-down menu, the point size pull-down menu, or the color button (icon has the letter A with a palette). * You can justify text by selecting the justification buttons (one with lines aligned left, one centered, and one right). * You can make text bold by clicking the B button, Italicized with the I or Underlined with the U. Bullets are easily added with the bullet button (press again to return to regular text). TABLES: The one truly unique thing about the web and good design is to make good usage of tables. These can take a while to get to know well, but you can learn to use tables with a little practice and observations. * Create a table by dragging the grid icon down and selecting the number of rows and columns you desire. * Move between the cells with the TAB key. Type or insert pictures in the cells like normal. * Select cells by placing the cursor in one cell and dragging across several rows or columns. You may also select one cell by placing the cursor in a cell and choosing Table, Select Cell from the menu. * Edit cell properties by clicking the right mouse button on a cell and selecting Cell Properties. This will allow you to change the background color, height and width of one cell to another in either pixels or percent of the screen, or vertical justification of text in the cell. (You can also do this by pressing the buttons with two lines aligned top, middle, and bottom, respectively.) * Edit table properties in similar manner, except the settings will be throughout the table. You can also change alignment, border size, and spacing from this menu. Padding is the size of the border, and spacing is the distance from border to text. Setting the border to "0" will render the table invisible (it will appear as a dotted line in the editor, but invisible in the browser), and thus can you align text easily. Never use TABs or SPACEs to align text, always use tables or INDENTS (the buttons with the arrows pointing toward or away from horizontal bar graph looking paragraphs). HYPERLINKS: Easily done in FrontPage, simply select the text you wish to hyperlink to another page and click on the icon resembling a globe with the chain (link). The menu that you will see will allow you to select a page from the current web, or type in a hyperlink to another location on the Internet. IMAGES: To insert an image at the location of the cursor, click on the picture button (a yellow landscape with a blue arrow pointing at it). This will prompt you for the image in the current web you wish to insert. After you select the image, you will have the opportunity to choose a hyperlink location when people click on the image. You can also type alternate text (what will appear before the image loads, and if someone rests the mouse pointer on the image). If you do choose a hyperlink destination, the image will by default have a blue border placed around it. To prevent this, choose the Appearance tab and change Border Thickness to "0" (By default there is NO entry here - you must type a ZERO for the border to be erased). From this menu you can also manually change the size of a picture or change its text alignment. * TIP: Here you can shortcut the IMPORT FILE process explained above under FrontPage Explorer: If the image to be inserted is on your hard drive, select the Windows Explorer icon from the lower right side of the dialogue box when prompted for the file. Now you can choose the image from your hard drive and insert it directly. However, when you save the page, FrontPage will prompt you for where to upload the image. Be careful not to overwrite an existing image, and try to keep the web organized by placing all images in the correct folders (images, pictures (for bookstore), etc.) * You can also change the size of the picture you insert by clicking on the picture once in the editor and dragging the corner and side pips. A rectangle outline will show how large the picture will be. When satisfied, release the mouse button. If you wish to resample the image to this size, click on the button with the yellow landscape and four arrows pointing at the corners. (Resampling doesn't just resize the miage, but shrinks the actual image rather than just the way the browser displays it - this will reduce the size of the image and make it clearer - be careful with transparent and animated GIFs, or if the image is used elsewhere in the web.) * You can turn images 90 or 180 degrees with the triangle buttons. These are self-explanatory. UNDO: This is a wonderful gift from God and deserves its own section. See the Curvy blue arrow pointing to the left? That's undo (Also CTRL-Z). Use this often, it will save your behind. Unlike older programs, this remembers all the moves you made back to square one (or the last save). If you just undid something, the right pointing arrow will REDO it. Pull down the arrow to review the steps you've made and undo steps in bulk. Conclusion: That's about it for FrontPage 98. It's relatively simple, really. The more you use it the better you'll get and the more readily you'll be able to recognize mistakes and correct them. The idea behind web publishing is to design an effective site using the fewest amount of "ideas" or, more exactly, lines of code. Text is cheap. Lots of tables get expensive, but are important for layout. Graphics are REALLY expensive (relatively), but are most important. A good graphics editor is as important as FrontPage, but that's something I don't know much about. Happy designing!