Microsoft FrontPage

[Loopy Lou]

Hi Guys,

I have the opportunity to be trained on MS FrontPage through my work. I will want to build my own website (or adapt an existing one) when I move to France, so I was wondering if this is worth going for? Also, I have a new Mac at home and wonder if this software will work for me on that?

Thanks for your help with this query.

A bientot,

Loopy Lou

[Sue Dyer]

I have used FrontPage for years to do sites with. I know it doesn't have many fans on this site but I don't know HTML and find FP fairly easy to use. If you can use Word you can probably use FP.

One bugbear people have with it is it comes with "themes" which are like templates. Most newbies use the standard themes and it experienced users can spot a FP site a mile off. However, you can tweak the themes and make your own up. I made this theme up for my friend based on his CD cover making the top banner and the navigation buttons all match in. http://www.bobcollum.freeola.com/news.htm . This site a friend just wanted a basic website (and he hasn't give me much info for it) I don't want to spend a lot of time on it so that does look "Front Page'ish" apart from the side buttons which I customised. http://www.salmoninnbelford.co.uk/

I know people will sing Dreamweaver's praises but if work will only pay for FP then that's no good to you. I'd give it a go. You'll obviously have to buy the Mac version if you go for it but it does come as part of Microsoft Office.

I'm actually dipping my toe into the Dreamweaver waters and starting a course next Thursday so I might be yelling for help to the sites experts!! Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[reddevil]

As far as I know, there is only Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia Dreamweaver to choose from for making webpages for beginners. As Soo said, it takes a while to learn (but so did Word and Excel in the early days). there are pros and cons on both options so just choose one and start building - good luck.

Soo - I have just ordered a Dreamweaver interactive learning CD so we might be at the same stage and ask the same questions!!

[Sue Dyer]

Ah, thanks Reddevil. I can see a few PM's flying around

As I say I've used FP for years and have usually managed to get it to do what I wanted. I just fancy moving on a stage. Can any of our web experts tell me if I will struggle doing a basic DW course without HTML knowledge? The most I have ever done with it is to copy code and paste it into the HMTL page.

I did download an evaluation copy and went "eeek" so I'm hoping the course may put me straight. I can usually instinctively use most software but DW ....

[Loopy Lou]

Thanks for your replies, folks. I am a complete novice with regard to creating webpages, but no doubt I'll learn. After all, when I trained as a secretary in pre-history, I learned on a manual typewriter! There was no email, no fax, no photocopiers, telex was about all we had then and gestetner machines for duplication (very dirty job!). So, if I have taken rather well to computers, email, internet, etc. it does prove that there is some fuctioning grey matter in the old bag yet!!

I might even be able to persuade my son and daughter-in-law who both work with computers at a much higher level than most people (they run important bits of Cambridge University's IT systems), to help me create a good website. Getting good hits and being high up in search engines are total mysteries to me at this stage. I learn by doing, so let's hope that works for me.

In the fullness of time I will be shrieking for help!!

Merci mille fois!

Loopy

[Sue Dyer]

Ah, Loopy Lou, you've brought back memories of using carbon paper, sometimes if you needed a couple of copies and had layers of paper/carbon in the typewriter you had to clunk really hard to get the copies to show up.

I do find a lot of "old school" typists though use a computer as a typewriter and not a word processor! I've worked with people who have changed the name and address on 50 odd letters as it is "easier" than doing a mail merge. (meaning they didn't know how to do one!) Anyway, if you've managed the change like myself from prehistoric office equipment to date you should have no problem with FP!!

[reddevil]

I might even be able to persuade my son and daughter-in-law.....to help me create a good website. Getting good hits and being high up in search engines are total mysteries to me at this stage. I learn by doing, so let's hope that works for me.

In the fullness of time I will be shrieking for help!!

LL, brace yourself coz web-designing, web-building and getting good rankings int he search engine are life-long learning experiences. Good Luck.

Soo - is there any reason, apart fromn lack of time, why you haven't or don;t want to learn html coding? The basics aren't so difficult and it definately helps me when adjusting my website.

[Sue Dyer]

Soo - is there any reason, apart fromn lack of time, why you haven't or don;t want to learn html coding? The basics aren't so difficult and it definately helps me when adjusting my website

Just because I don't know where to start! If someone could recommend a good site/book etc for a totaly beginner then I'd give it a go. I did buy a book "HTML 4 in easy lessons" but never got beyond a page or two of it. Is that terribly outdated now?

[Alan Knighting]

Sue,

Go to the following site, it should help with the learning process:-

http://www.w3schools.com/default.asp

Alan

[reddevil]

Soo,
I wish I could remember the name of the site where I learnt....I did a quick search and came up with the following link which seems quite basic - give it a go anyway and let us know how you get on.

htmlgoodies.com/primers/html/article.php/3478141

[paolo]

As well as various places on the web, I read a good book called 'Web Design in a Nutshell' - tells you all you need to know about html.

[mpprh]

Hi

All my software is in French, so I have a pretty steep learning curve.

I started with Front Page 2000. The limitation was that "shared borders" was the same for every page. Then I had problems because if the PC crashes during the very long save process (which my old one often did !) you have to recreate every page (400+ !) . I then played with Frontpage 2003 and , although I didn't persevere for too long, it didn't do what I wanted.

Then I played with Dreamweaver MX2004. I could use different templates for different pages, which I needed. It is a bit slow to learn, but I'm happy with it now.

I also tried Net Objects Fusion because it was in English (comes free with Netfirms hosting : http://www.netfirms.com ) but didn't really get on with it.

There are things in DW that I wish Frontpage offered, and vice versa.

For both DW and FP, odd problems require sorting in the HTML code, so you can't rely on using the WYSIWYG facility 100%.

The benefit of using DW or FP is that there are loads of user forums in English that can sort out those really tricky problems.

Hope that helps

Peter

[Sue Dyer]

Thanks for all of the tips folks. It is my day off so after my usual Friday clean up I'll clear an hour or so to play around.

I guess it may be lazyness, I've thought, why bother learning it if FP does it for me but I understand that is limiting.

What does Fireworks do? What I want to do is create menus at the side that pull out when you hover on them, is that Flash?

So many questions....!

Have a nice weekend everyone

[Alan Knighting]

Sue,

What does Fireworks do? What I want to do is create menus at the side that pull out when you hover on them, is that Flash?

Fireworks is for graphic design such as interactive buttons and pop-up meus.

Whatever HTML editor you use, to do that sort of thing really well you should be using CSS. Go to http://www.westciv.com/index.html to learn more.

I know that their product, Style Master 4, is an extra cost and yet another piece of software to come to grips with but it is surely worth it in the long run.

Alan

[livinginitaly]

Soodyer wrote:

What I want to do is create menus at the side that pull out when you hover on them, is that Flash?

hmm, flash could be one way of doing it .... but far from the easiest.

You could try ....

http://www.youngpup.net/2004/transmenus/examples - free - (we're using this on a site we're currently working on w w w.montelparo.livinginitaly.co.uk , just the 'working' domain name!)

or

http://www.sothink.com/product/dhtmlmenu/index.htm - €35.00 - (using on w w w.renters.it , still a 'work in progress'!)