Front and Center: User Rights and FrontPage Server Extensions

Many people developing a FrontPage Web site don't have any access to the Web server where the Web site lives. They are at the mercy of a Web hosting company or an ISP, and when problems occur, they aren't exactly sure how to diagnose the problem.

When creating Web sites on a remote Web server, you can run into many problems if things don't work right. The most common problem is permissions related. This problem can manifest itself in many different ways, but the most common symptom is a dialog box informing you that you don't have the necessary permissions to create the Web site.

The FrontPage Server Extensions control access to a FrontPage Web site. There are several roles to which any particular user can belong, and each of these roles has particular rights that define what users of that role can do. The roles for a FrontPage 2000 or earlier Web site are Administrator, Author, and Browser. FrontPage 2002 Server Extensions introduced the Advanced Author role, which is the same as an Author in FrontPage 2000 and earlier.

An Author or Advanced Author has the right to open the Web site in FrontPage, make changes to pages, and save those changes. However, an Author or Advanced Author cannot change the permissions on a Web site, and they cannot create new Web sites. Only an Administrator can create new Web sites.

Most hosting companies and ISPs give FrontPage users Author or Advanced Author access, and because of that, when you try to create a new Web site in FrontPage, you are informed that you do not have permission to perform that operation. In order to correct this problem, your hosting company or ISP has to either make you an Administrator, or they have to create the Web site for you and then you can open it in FrontPage and add content to the existing site.

FrontPage 2002 introduced SharePoint Team Services 1.0, which allows you to create FrontPage Web sites that are designed to allow teams to collaborate and share information. SharePoint Team Services 1.0 shares FrontPage's security scheme, so if your host is running SharePoint Team Services, you are bound by the same security restrictions as you are when using the FrontPage Server Extensions.

FrontPage 2003 introduces Windows SharePoint Services, the next product in the SharePoint line. Windows SharePoint Services introduces new roles, but you still must be an Administrator to create new Web sites.