FrontPage 2003 is a program that graphically enables you to edit Web pages. Behind all Web pages is HTML , Hypertext Markup Language . HTML is a language that contains commands to format the text, graphics, video, sound, and applets that you place on your Web page. Listing Web 1.1 shows a partial HTML listing of a Web page. As you can see, the HTML language can be cryptic. Listing Web 1.1 HTML Commands Can Be Difficult to Decipher<HTML> <HEAD> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html" /> <TITLE>Microsoft Corporation</TITLE> <META http-equiv="PICS-Label" content="(PICS-1.1 " http://www.rsac.org/ratingsv01.html" l gen true r (n 0 s 0 v 0 l 0))" /> <META NAME="KEYWORDS" CONTENT="products; headlines; downloads; news; Web site; what's new; solutions; services; software; contests; corporate news;" /> <META NAME="DESCRIPTION" CONTENT="The entry page to Microsoft's Web site. Find software, solutions, answers, support, and Microsoft news." /> <META NAME="CATEGORY" CONTENT="home page" /> <STYLE TYPE="text/css"> A:link {color:#003399} A:visited {color:#800080} A:hover {color:#FF3300} TD {font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-size: xx-small;} </STYLE> <xml id="hpflyout"> <menu site="microsoft" subsite="Homepage"> </BODY> </HTML> 'A.nodec:visited {color:#000000;text-decoration: When you view a Web page, the computer serving the Web page to you sends you only the HTML commands, and your Web browser, such as Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, interprets the HTML codes and builds a Web page on your screen. The browser knows where to place, size, and format all the graphics, text, hyperlinks , and other elements such as buttons from the HTML code. So an HTML page comes to your browser; your browser interprets the HTML formatting commands and displays the resulting Web page in a format useful for the person viewing the page. Figure Web 1.1 shows the resulting Web page from the full set of HTML commands contained in Listing Web 1.1, the home page of Microsoft. In other words, the figure is the result of the strange HTML language shown in Listing Web 1.1 (and Listing Web 1.1 shows only a part of the long HTML code that Microsoft.com's home page contains). The Web page, once your browser formats it by obeying the HTML codes, is easy to read and work with. The HTML is for the browser to interpret, not for the person viewing the Web page. Figure Web 1.1. Once your browser interprets all the HTML commands, the resulting Web page looks nice.
Before Web-page editors such as FrontPage, you'd have to master the HTML language before you could create or edit a Web page. Fortunately, FrontPage and other programs like it enable you to bypass HTML by putting a buffer between you and the underlying HTML code. If you want to draw a line or place a graphic image in a particular location on the Web page you're designing, you'll be able to drag that item onto the page with your mouse and with a little help from FrontPage. To Do: Work in FrontPageTo start FrontPage 2003 and familiarize yourself with its interface, perform these steps:
FrontPage enables you to edit Web pages located on your own PC or on the Web. The pages you view or edit don't have to reside on your PC as you saw here, but you can modify a Web site in place on the Internet. And unlike previous versions of FrontPage, with FrontPage 2003 you can work very easily with HTML and sophisticated features with advanced Web-page elements such as frames , tables, and imagemaps, all of which you'll learn more about as you master Web-page development.
Preparing for Web-Page PublishingBefore you can publish pages on the Web, you must have access to a W eb server . Perhaps your company uses a Web server for its site; if so, you can store your Web pages on that computer. If you have access to an online service, such as America Online, it might offer an area for one or more Web pages that you can copy to the online site's Web server. Many Internet service providers offer free but limited storage for their customers' Web pages. If you want to publish a personal Web page for fun, you will enjoy telling the world your stories and sharing your family photos with others. If, however, you want to start a business on the Internet, or offer timely information that you want others to visit often, you need to be aware that Web-page maintenance is time-consuming . You don't just create a Web page, load the page on the Web, and expect to keep people's interest if you don't keep the material up-to-date. Use FrontPage's tools to maintain your Web pages and keep the viewers ' interest.
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