Web Authoring with FrontPage Express

FrontPage Express is a Web page editor with a graphical user interface that gives you full access to Hypertext Markup Language (HTML 3.2). When you work with FrontPage Express, you are in a WYSIWYG ("what you see is what you get") view mode, which gives you a clear picture of how your pages are going to appear.

FrontPage Express takes you step by step through the process of creating Web pages, and it is also a tool for editing existing HTML documents. When you have FrontPage Express installed, start it by clicking the Edit button on the Internet Explorer browsing window toolbar to start editing the page you are viewing. Then you can use the Microsoft Web Publishing Wizard to post the modified page back to the server.

FrontPage Express offers many of the features of Microsoft FrontPage 97 Editor, in a smaller package. If you need the added features of FrontPage Editor and FrontPage Explorer, it is easy to upgrade to FrontPage 97 or FrontPage 98 without having to learn a new software package.

Key Features of FrontPage Express

FrontPage Express includes all the features of the FrontPage 97 editor except for the following: editing frames, image maps, and proofing tools; support of Advanced Server Pages; Preview In Browser; most of the FrontPage WebBot® components, and the site management features. Some of the key features included in FrontPage Express are the Include, Search, and Timestamp WebBot components; capabilities for editing tables, forms, plug-ins, Java applets, JavaScript; and some of the FrontPage page templates and wizards.

Note

FrontPage WebBot components are referred to simply as FrontPage components in FrontPage 97 and FrontPage 98.

Some of the FrontPage Express features are explained in the following paragraphs:

Personal Home Page Wizard.

This wizard takes you step by step through the process of creating a personal home page. For more details about this wizard, see "Customizing Your Start Page with the Personal Home Page Wizard" earlier in the chapter.

Table creation and editing.

Generating tables is easy with the Insert Table feature. Once you insert a table into a Web page, you can edit the entire table or individual cells.

Forms.

You can add forms to your Web page that can be filled out and submitted to your Web site. Your forms can include text boxes, check boxes, drop-down menus, images, and more.

Page templates and wizards.

If you are connected to a server running the FrontPage Server Extensions, you can also use forms-related wizards and templates that let you create the following items without having to write any code:

A form, by selecting the types of information you need to collect.
A page to acknowledge that you have received a user’s input.
A survey to collect information from readers and store it on your Web server.

You do not have to be connected to a server running the FrontPage Server Extensions to use these features. However, in that case you do not have the advantage of having the HTML code written for you.

FrontPage Express supports major Internet technologies, such as Java applets, JavaScript, plug-ins, and ActiveX to make your pages more engaging.

WebBot Components

FrontPage Express WebBot components are dynamic objects you can insert on your Web pages. They provide complex functionality that would otherwise require you to write scripts. WebBot components require the FrontPage Server Extensions to be installed on the Web server in order to function properly.

FrontPage Express offers three WebBot components:

The Include component lets you insert the body of another HTML page into the current page. This is useful for serial elements, such as headers and footers that appear on multiple pages. Instead of having to edit every instance of a serial element, you simply edit the included file once.
The Search component builds an index of the current Web site’s content so that it can be searched.
The Time Stamp component automatically inserts the date and time of the last update to a page.

Most WebBot components are added to a page using the WebBot Component command on the Insert menu in the FrontPage Express editor. When you insert a WebBot component, dialog boxes help you configure it. A graphical representation of the WebBot component is then visible in the editor at that position in the page. The HTML that a WebBot component generates depends on conditions in your FrontPage Web at the time the WebBot component is activated. For example, a WebBot Search component is associated with a search form that FrontPage Express creates. When a user enters a word to search for and submits the form, the WebBot Search component searches the FrontPage Web and generates an HTML list of hyperlinks to all the pages in the FrontPage Web that contain the word. The WebBot component supplies this HTML list to the Web browser, which automatically displays it to the user.

When you view a page that includes a WebBot component, the interactive or programming properties of it are available. The WebBot components themselves are stored in a page using a specially formatted HTML comment, although the FrontPage Express author does not typically see this representation.

Installing and Configuring FrontPage Express

The FrontPage Express component of Internet Explorer is selected by default in the full installation of Windows 98. If you do not wish to install it, you can easily deselect it. You can install it at a later time using the Add/Remove Programs option in Control Panel.

To install FrontPage Express if it was not installed with Windows 98

In Control Panel, click Add/Remove Programs.
Click the Windows Setup tab.
Click Internet Tools, and then click Details.
Select the Microsoft FrontPage Express check box, click OK, and you will be guided through the installation process.

You can also install FrontPage Express from the Internet Explorer Add-Ons Page on the Web at http://www.microsoft.com/ie/ie40/download/addon.htm.

Benefits of Web Authoring

Writing your own Web pages offers two main benefits:

Fast Web page development.

With FrontPage Express, you do not need to learn HTML, because the application has a graphical user interface. FrontPage Express even lets novices insert Java applets, ActiveX controls, or scripts without knowing any programming. For those who still like to edit HTML directly, FrontPage Express offers a new color-coded HTML editing mode.

Tight suite integration.

As mentioned earlier, when you have FrontPage Express installed, the Edit button on the Internet Explorer browsing window toolbar allows you to edit the currently viewed page.

How Web Authoring Works

While you are browsing any Web page, you can click the Edit button on the Internet Explorer browsing window toolbar to open FrontPage Express with all of the tables, controls, and pictures displayed inside the editor. FrontPage Express makes it easy to download pages from the Web locally because it lets you save an entire Web page (pictures included) in a single step.

Most WebBot components are added to a page using the WebBot Component command on the Insert menu in the FrontPage Express editor. When you insert a WebBot component, a graphical representation of the WebBot component is then visible in the editor at that position in the page. A few of the WebBot components are specifically associated with forms and can be reached through the Form Properties dialog box rather than the Insert WebBot Component command.

Publishing Web Pages with Personal Web Server

Microsoft Personal Web Server (PWS) version 4.0 is the answer to your personal information sharing and Web development needs. PWS is a desktop Web server that performs Web site setup, creates a personalized home page automatically, and allows drag-and-drop publishing of documents.

On the corporate intranet, Personal Web Server can be used to share documents in their native format quickly; or you can convert documents to HTML and then use PWS to share them across different operating systems.

Because Personal Web Server supports Advanced Server Pages, it can be used as a development and testing platform for Web sites. You can create your site in the office or at home and test it by using Personal Web Server before hosting it on the corporate server or an Internet service provider.

Installing Personal Web Server

Personal Web Server is included on your Windows 98 compact disc. You can install it using the Add/Remove Programs option in Control Panel.

To install Personal Web Server

In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.
Click Install, and insert the Windows 98 compact disc.
Browse to \add-ons\pws.
Double-click the PWS application icon and follow the instructions on your screen.
When you are finished, restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

After installation, PWS appears as an item on your Program menu and includes four components: FrontPage Server Administrator, Personal Web Manager, Personal Web Server Set up, and Personal Web Server Documentation.

Using Personal Web Server

You can use Personal Web Server to create and maintain a Web site in addition to using features, such as the guest book and message drop box.

PWS online Help shows you how to do the following:

Create a Web page without learning HTML.
Create a Web page with a text editor.
Make documents available on your site.
Add links on the home page to documents on your hard disk or the Internet.
View and edit your guest book.
View and delete your drop box messages.
Add new publishing directories.
Track activity on or performance of your site.

Posting a Web Site with the Web Publishing Wizard

The Internet Explorer Web Publishing Wizard allows you to post your own Web site to a server. The Web Publishing Wizard allows you to publish Web pages on the Internet or an intranet by automating the process of copying files from your computer to a Web server or an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

The Web Publishing Wizard can automatically post to a variety of Web servers and offers support for standard protocols, such as FTP, universal naming convention (UNC), HTTP Post; third-party services, such as America Online, America Online Primehost, and SPRYNET Primehost; and system-independent protocols, such as CRS and FrontPage Extended Web.

The Web Publishing Wizard can post to local ISPs, IIS, intranet servers on your local area network, and FrontPage. It supports the following languages: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish.

ISPs that have their own protocol schemes for uploading files to their Web servers can write a custom WebPost provider dynamic-link library (DLL) and distribute it from the Microsoft Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/software/webpost/.

If you want details about this procedure, send e-mail to WebPost@lists.msn.com expressing your interest in writing a provider DLL. Code for a sample WebPost provider is included in the ActiveX SDK.

The Web Publishing Wizard connects to the ISP, determines the protocol needed to copy the files, and then uploads the files to the appropriate directory on the ISP computer. Before publishing a Web site with the Web Publishing Wizard, you will need to have the following information:

The local path to the Web content you want to publish (such as C:\webfiles).
The protocol used by the ISP to upload files. You can choose from FTP, HTTP Post, or CRS (FTP is the most commonly used protocol).
The URL that files are to be uploaded to (for example, ftp.my_isp.com if the ISP requires users to post files via FTP).
The URL for your root on the Web server. This is often the URL for the ISP, plus the username (http://www.my_isp.com/username).
The username and password for the account.

The Web Publishing Wizard will guide you through the steps of connecting to your ISP or intranet site and will automatically upload Web files from a directory you specify. Because it saves all of the information that you enter, you will not be asked to enter it during subsequent publishing efforts, making subsequent publishing efforts quick and convenient.

To begin publishing on the Internet with the Web Publishing Wizard

Create a Web page using FrontPage Express or your favorite authoring tool.
Sign up for an account with an ISP.
Use the Web Publishing Wizard to copy the Web pages to the Internet.

Other Tools for Authors and Developers

Internet Explorer provides new technology that you can use to increase interactivity for your customers without slowing down server performance. Internet Explorer includes the following technologies to help you create Web pages and applications:

ActiveX scripting.

Lets ActiveX controls talk to one another and to other Web programs.

ActiveX technology.

Helps you create Web-based software components using your existing knowledge and code base.

Dynamic HTML.

Gives you design options and control, as well as the ability to add a new dimension of interactivity without slowing performance in the process.

Java with AFC.

Provides a powerful set of building blocks for developing Java applets and other Internet applications. Application Foundation Classes (AFCs) deliver a rich suite of graphics as well as user interface and multimedia capabilities to authors who use Java in their Web pages.

Upgrading to FrontPage

When you install FrontPage 97 or FrontPage 98 on a computer that has FrontPage Express installed, the Edit command on the Internet Explorer browsing window toolbar and the Internet Shortcuts from the Windows 98 desktop use FrontPage 97/98 as the default editor. In other words, the most recently installed HTML editor takes precedence over any previously installed HTML editors.

Using the Registry to Change the Default Editor

You can also edit the Windows 98 registry to set a different default HTML editor in Windows 98.

The registry key that needs to be changed is:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\htmlfile\shell\edit\command

The value for FrontPage Express is: "C:\Program Files\FPXpress\bin\fpexpress.exe %1."

This value can be changed to: "C:\Windows\Notepad.exe %1" for Notepad or "C:\Program Files\Microsoft FrontPage\bin\fpeditor.exe %1" for FrontPage 97 or FrontPage 98.

Warning

Changing the registry by using a registry editor can have unforeseen effects that can prevent you from starting your system. In some cases, you might need to reinstall Windows 98. Wherever possible, use programs, such as Control Panel or System Policy Editor, to configure Windows 98.