Newbies Guide to Frontpage
In this guide I'll cover the most basic of functions in Frontpage. Later on in further guides I'll teach you how to use them in various ways. Before you use Frontpage make sure you have priot knowledge of frames, tables, fonts, and anything you want to use Frontpage for. It's only a tool and doesn't make the site for you.
If you press the little piece of new page function you'll get this, a blank page. This is how you start, or should start all your designs. As you make this page many new functions will suddenly appear. The bars will fill up with commands.
Let's start at the bottom of Frontpage, there are there tabs on the example shown. Normal is just the normal area for working using Frontpage. HTML turns all the visuals into HTML to edit. Preview is what it says, a preview. Later on you'll see a "Frames Page HTML" tab. This tag is to edit Frames HTML. Most people will spend their time in the normal tab, most people only use the HTML tab to insert HTML that Frontpage cannot generate for you.
I should also mention that when you press Ctrl+N, a list will pop up with many different templates for your web site. Most people don't use these, but if you're looking for a quick fix in some form of columnism than that's the place to go.
A lot of people tend to think that Frontpage will make a page for you, it doesn't do javascript programming, that you have to do on your own. There's a seperate section to Frontpage for these kinds of features, on a side note I'm using Frontpage 98, and for those using Frontpage 2000 it shouldn't be all that different. Go to Insert - > Advanced. In this field you'll see several different formats. You don't actually have to use these for most codes, normally you can just take the script and click on the HTML tab and put it in place. But for the sanctitiy for the lazy people who figure they'd like Frontpage to make them some scripts, look through the advanced functions. You'll see JavaApplet, Plug-in, ActiveX Control, Script. No one uses JavaApplet anymore. It's for things such as chat rooms and log-ins, but like I said, no one uses it anymore. Some people like to use it for an annoying intro message though. Plug-ins are scripts that modify for Frontpage to work in Frontpage. This would be stuff like Photoshop plug-ins (did I mention Frontpage has a photoshop?). ActiveX Controls are very valuable to some. This is where you add yoru sound clips, Flash 5, etc. Scripting though is the most important of them, and is the only one I'd really use had I the need. Frontpage can't process all HTML you put in. So it made this converter (even though it automatically converts when you put it into HTML tab) such that your web page doesn't look messed up.
Also, you should learn all the short cuts, it's a big help when making your web site. One of the more important ones to remember is Ctrl-K, which makes a hyperlink for you. You can also find this in the Insert Menu.
One thing I'd stay out of if I was you is Insert - > Active Elements. This goes for all you Frontpage junkies as well. This is an option to add in java, javascript, and java hovers that most people normally don't know how to program. This is also worthless crap that no one would want on their site. It's to say, you won't need a search form on your site without something to search for. For e-fed owners and e-wrestling site owners alike these are not used much. But once again for the sanctity of this tutorial, I'll tell you what they do. Hover Banners are small java banners that whe you put your mouse over them they do something. Here's a sample:
Looks cool doesn't it? Well, the thing is, when you put them up on the site, nothing else matches with it. It just doesn't fit in.
Than there's the banner ad manager. This basically just sets up a network of banners that'll appear randomly, very useless function onless you're running some kind of advertising campaign.
Marquee is a function which makes text move to the left, like so
But, unfortunately, it demotes any quality in a site.
The search form is something that needs to be programmed. It's used to search for words, so don't be fooled with it's purpose.
Hit counters usually don't work in Frontpage, this is because you have to download them from Microsoft and pay a few dollars for the extension. I'm not sure if this feature changed in Frontpage 2000 or not.
Video is a function to add videos to your site. This'll give a raw feed from the site.
That's all the insert active elements functions.
Inserting Form Fields is actually useless unless you actually know of a way to program your javascript to send to a server to send to you, meaning your server must support javascript transfer (make sure you check). Later on I'll do a tutorial on how to make a form, so right now it's not something you'll need to know. Just keep in mind that it is indeed there.
Frontpage Components will allow you to add in some Frontpage tags. The tags are in a [Tag] format. These tags have many uses. Most of these functions are good if your computer is connected to the server you're using 24/7. A nice feature here in Include Page. This feature will include an entire page on where ever you want to put it. This is nice if you have your layout and make a seperate folder to include pages in, this way you don't ruin your format, and it's easier updating navigation. Another nice feature is Include HTML, this feature adds HTML from another document into the current one.
Also, it's easy to Insert an image, sadly there's no short cut just go to Insert - > Image.
Everything else in the Insert menu isn't all that important to learn, but you can just browse through all other functions with ease.
Let's move on to the Format section and write a few thousand more paragraphs about it.
In the format section you'll find the ability to render the page and text. For the Frontpage junkies is Animation which makes the text move (Whopededo). As well is Page Transition, which makes it do something when you enter the page, it can look cool pending on what the site looks like. If you right click you'll get many of these features on it. For the people who are going to cheapen their experience of site design jump to Theme for a quick fix.
The tools menu isn't very important in site design. For people who want a quick fix shared borders will allow you to put up borders that can or will appear on all sites you put these borders on, this as well can be found by right clicking.
The tables menu is the most important feature on Frontpage, irregardless of what anyone tells you. What you click on tables you have the option to make a table or draw a table. For the sanctitiy of this tutorial make your table a 1 column x 2 rows. Select one cell of the table. Now click on tables, at the bottom you'll notice two little features "Cell Properties" and "Tables Properties" when I do a Frontpage tutorial on these I'll go into more indepth but these are two important features. It gives you the ability to Insert more columns and rows, and to delete cells.
The next function is widely used, I'll be doing a tutorial on this one seperately as well. When you click on Frame you'll get the option to make a New Frame Page. This means to have a two pages in one view available. When you select this it'll give you several different kinds of frames pages. When you select your frames page type it'll bring you to two or more frames that are awaiting you to chose the pages for them, but that's as far as I'm going here, I'll get into this in a frames tutorial.
That's a complete newby's guide to the featuers of Frontpage, in upcoming tutorials I'll show exactly how to use specific functions in different ways.