FrontPage Tips for Newbies
Article ID: KB101583
This is a collection of past tips featured in our
monthly newsletter.
I am using a template with a Swish movie. I modified the .swi
but the changes are not showing up on my web site. What's wrong?
The movie that is embedded in the web page is an ".swf" file. You
will need to go to File > Export > SWF and export your changes into
the .swf format. Replace your existing movie in the web.
We have a tutorial in
our support area on how to edit Swish movies that come in a template
if you'd like to learn more.
PixelMill Newsletter, Volume 3 - Issue 3 : 3/01/2003
How do I make content on all my pages that will update from one
place?
Create an include page. First, take the content that you want to
put on all pages. For best results, this should be a paragraph, a
table, or some other "block" of information. Copy this content from
one of your pages.
Next, create a new blank page. Paste the content into this blank
page. Save your page and name it something like "include_logo.htm"
so that you can easily reference it.
Now, go back to your other web pages. Insert your cursor in the
area that you want to insert your included content. Go up to Insert
> Web Component, and click on Included Content, then click Page and
Finish. Browse to your new include page and click OK. You may need
to delete the extra space after the inserted include page.
Repeat this for your other pages. You may now edit your include
page and automatically update all your other pages!
PixelMill Newsletter, Volume 3 - Issue 2 : 2/01/2003
How do I make a link that jumps down to a different area of the page?
FrontPage contains a feature that helps you to easily make
"bookmarks."
- First, create a bookmark in your document (where you want to
"jump to"): Insert your cursor at the place you want to jump to,
and go to Insert > Bookmark (or hit Ctrl-G).
- Type in a placeholder name for your bookmark - for example,
"form," "heading," "events," etc.
- Now, make the link. Insert a link as usual, but in the
Hyperlink Dialog box, choose "Place in this document." You will
see the bookmark you created listed there. Go ahead and choose
it, then click OK.
PixelMill Newsletter, Volume 2 - Issue 12 : 12/01/2002
How do I make a link open in a new window?
There are a few ways you can do this. Here's the easiest:
1. Create a hyperlink as usual, but leave the hyperlink dialog
box open (or put your cursor on the link and hit Ctrl-K to open the
dialog box).
2. Click the "Target Frame" button.
3. Choose New Window. Click OK, then OK again to apply the new
settings.
The link will now open a new browser window!
PixelMill Newsletter, Volume 2 - Issue 11 : 11/01/2002
How do I carriage return one line, instead of two?
By now you've probably realized that as you type and insert
carriage returns (hitting the "Enter" key), FrontPage automatically
puts a "double space" between your paragraphs.
If you're new to the world of web design, this is probably a
little unexpected for you. Word processors only put "single spaces"
between carriage returns -- why does FrontPage put "double spaces"?
Well, it's not just FrontPage -- it's just how the web works, and
you'll have to accept it. Web browsers will always put a "double
space" between your paragraphs (unless you get really advanced and
use stylesheets).
If you want to insert a single line break, like this, you can
easily do this in FrontPage by typing Shift-Enter (or going to
Insert > Line Break).
PixelMill Newsletter, Volume 2 - Issue 10 : 10/01/2002
Fonts for Newbies
Themes usually come with fonts defined for you, but sometimes you
may try to make a heading or paragraph a little "fancier" by
changing the font from, say, Arial to Brush Script:
RED ALERT!!! Before you start jazzing up your
site with cool fonts, you need to understand some basic information
about web site fonts.
The font that you define on your web site can be seen by someone
else only if they have that same font on their own system.
Most people have basic fonts like Times New Roman, Courier (the
"typewriter-looking" font), Arial, and Verdana on their system...
which is why you see those fonts used on almost every web site that
you see! Most P.C. users will also have fonts like Impact, Comic,
Brush Script, and Trebuchet. BUT many Mac Users may
not have those fonts on their systems.
If someone looking at your web site doesn't have those fonts, the
text will revert to their browser's default font (usually Times or
Times New Roman). This means that your fancy text effects will be
for naught.
If you really want special text using cool fonts, your best bet
is to create an image using a photo editor like
Photoshop or Photo Draw. (That's what we did for the "Arial/Brush
Script" image.) This way, everyone can see your fancy font no matter
what fonts are on their own system. And for the rest of your text,
you'll want to stay with the safe fonts... Times New Roman, Courier,
Arial, and Verdana.
PixelMill Newsletter, Volume 2 - Issue 8 : 8/01/2003
"Help! My page is messed up!!"
Many times we'll get emails or phone calls from frantic customers
who think they have somehow messed up a page layout so that it is
too wide, or no longer resizes with the browser window, or has
broken tables, or... you get the idea.
All is not lost! First, assess your situation:
Is a) every page in the web site "messed up" (with the
same problem), or b) only one or a few pages "messed up?"
If your answer was A, then there may be something inherently
wrong with the web template or with the way you were using it. The
easiest way to figure out what is going on is to create a new web
using the web template. Without making any changes, go to File >
Preview in Browser and preview the web site in an actual browser.
See if the problem exists. If it does, then contact PixelMill and
let us know about the problem! If it doesn't, then begin pasting
content from your existing web site into your new web site. Save
often and preview your pages often to make sure that they look the
way you want them to. By working in small steps and previewing after
every save, you can pinpoint the problems and resolve them as you go
along.
If you answer was B, then it's easy to fix! First, open an
existing page that looks the way you want it to. Then, go to File >
Save As and save a copy of the page. Now, open the page that is
"messed up" and copy the content. Go into your new page and paste
your old content into the new page. Save your file and preview it.
If the page looks fine, great! Go to File > Save As again and
replace your old page. If the page looks "messed up" again, then
there's probably something going on with your content that is
breaking the page. Try to paste in small amounts of your content,
save, and preview, to see exactly what is causing your page to
break.
A rule of thumb is that it's always easier to start over than to
try to figure out what is wrong, especially when there are broken
tables involved.
These are exactly the same methods that we use to fix web sites
-- and now you have the power to do it yourself! As always,
PixelMill Support is at your service if you continue to run into
problems.
PixelMill Newsletter, Volume 2 - Issue 7 : 7/01/2002
Server Issues
If your web looks fine in FrontPage, but either acts differently
or has some components that don't work on the server, then you are
probably running into server issues.
Listed here are some common server issues:
Your local web looks fine, but the web on your server is missing
navigation bars or the theme doesn't seem to be applying correctly.
Your "live" web looks fine in FrontPage, but not in a browser. You
used the FrontPage image editing tools to overlay text on some
images, and they look corrupted or don't exist after publishing to
your live web. When you try to create a new web directly on the
server, or when you try to publish, you get an error. First, get a
local web (a web on your computer) to look the way you want it to,
making sure that navigation bars, etc., are working properly.
From that point, publish to your server. If your web on the
server is having issues, then you'll know that it's a problem with
the server.
At this point, you will need to contact your ISP. In most cases,
having them reapply the FrontPage extensions to your web and
republishing your web (being sure to replace all files) will fix it.
(Note: The extensions are applied separately to each domain. Even if
you have a different web on the same server that works fine, it's
possible that you need to reapply the extensions on the web that has
problems.)
If you are getting an error when you try to publish or create a
new web directly on the server, you may be running into
"permissions" problems. Contact your ISP and make sure that you have
access to the necessary folders. For example, if you're getting an
error that you "cannot create file ... myweb\_vti_pvt\page.cnf",
make sure that you have permissions for the _vti_pvt folder.
Some FrontPage server issues can be a little trickier.
Occasionally you may have to ask your ISP to completely delete
everything from your folder on the server, then try republishing.
This often happens if you are having problems with navigation bar
images being corrupted or images that you've overlayed with text
being corrupted.
PixelMill Newsletter, Volume 2 - Issue 6 : 6/01/2002
Preview your web in a browser
While FrontPage's "Preview" pane is quick and convenient, some
aspects of your site may not display properly. Before you panic and
think that you messed something up (or that the artist messed
something up), preview your site in a browser to make sure that the
problem really exists.
Go to File > Preview in Browser and choose the browser you want
to use to view your web site.
FrontPage will automatically put Internet Explorer in your list
of browsers to choose from. If you want to add more, click the "Add"
button and browse to the program file of other browsers (for
example, various versions of Netscape, Opera, etc.).
Note that some FrontPage components will not work off of your
hard drive. Submitting forms, for example, requires that your web
site is on a server.
PixelMill Newsletter, Volume 2 - Issue 5 : 5/01/2002
Open your web live off the server
This is useful when you want to make a change on your web site
without going through the publishing process, or if you want to
publish a copy of your live web site onto a computer.
A warning...
All changes that you make to your "live" site will immediately be
displayed to everyone who goes to your web site. If you are
experimenting or want to try something out, it's best to work with
your "local copy" (the version of your web site that is on your
computer).
Quick how to:
Go to File > Open Web. Type in your url. Click OK. FrontPage will
ask for your username and password. Enter those and click OK, and
FrontPage will open your web live.
PixelMill Newsletter, Volume 2 - Issue 4 : 4/01/2002
Publish a Work-in-Progress to a Subweb
Did you know that you can publish your work-in-progress site to
the web without overwriting your existing web? You can do this by
publishing your web to a subweb of your existing web.
For example, let's say that you have your web site at
www.pixelmill.com and are working on a site redesign. Your new site
is still on your computer, but you want to call up your mother's
uncle's cousins and have them look on it online. Well, all you have
to do is publish your site to www.pixelmill.com/new and give them
the url!
This is a great way to publish a live, working example of your
web site, without overwriting your existing site.
Quick how to:
Go to File > Publish Web. Type in your url followed by a forward
slash and a new folder name. Click OK for FrontPage to publish.
FrontPage may ask you questions like "A new folder doesn't exist
yet. Make the new folder?" or "Make the folder into a web?" Click
OK. FrontPage will now publish a copy of your web to that new
location!
PixelMill Newsletter, Volume 2 - Issue 3 : 3/01/2003
File Names and Page Titles
Using Navigation View to rename your pages? Don't forget to
rename the actual filename in your folder list! You can do both at
the same time by going to Folder View; or, rename your page title in
Navigation View and then rename the corresponding page in your
Folder List.
When you save or rename your pages, you will need to change the
file name as well as the page title.
The page title may have spaces in it, and it will show up
in your navigation buttons and banners as well as in the Title bar
of the browser.
The file name ends in an .htm or .html extension and shows
up in your Folder List. It's best to use all lowercase letters; also
make sure that there are no spaces -- you can use hypens or
underscores instead. You will probably want to name it similar to
your Page Title so that you can easily tell what page it is.
Example:
Page Title: "All About Me"
Good File Names: allaboutme.htm; all_about_me.htm; about.htm
Bad File Names: all about me.htm; About Me.htm
PixelMill Newsletter, Volume 2 - Issue 2 : 2/01/2002
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