Windows 98 Tips #35



*1. INTRODUCTION TO FRONTPAGE EXPRESS         
     
In the previous series, we showed you how to publish *.gif and *.jpg 
files to the Web using the Web Publishing Wizard: Select Start, 
Programs, Internet Explorer, Web Publishing Wizard; then follow along 
with the wizard, entering all of the necessary information for your 
Web server (typically provided by your ISP or network administrator) 
and pointing out the file(s) you want to publish. The Web Publishing 
Wizard is a great place to start. But if you want to publish more 
complete pages--text, photos, and so on, all on the same page--you'll 
need to create HTML documents. In this series, we'll show you the 
basics of creating HTML documents with Windows 98's FrontPage Express. 

Select Start, Programs, Internet Explorer, FrontPage Express, and 
you'll see a window that looks like a word processor. This is where 
you're going to create your Web pages by adding elements to the page. 
You don't have to worry about any coding, because FrontPage Express 
automatically converts everything to HTML behind the scenes. 

Can't wait to get started? Stay tuned--in the rest of this series, 
we'll show you how to add some basic elements, such as pictures and 
hyperlinks, to your HTML page. We'll also show you how to format a 
page's background and text, for a bit more character than the default 
black and white. Finally, at the end of this series, we'll show you 
how to publish your creation on the Web.


*2. FRONTPAGE: ADDING PUBLISHED IMAGE TO HTML PAGE         
     
In previous tips, we've shown you how to publish *.gif and *.jpg files 
to the Web using the Web Publishing Wizard: Select Start, Programs, 
Internet Explorer, Web Publishing Wizard; then follow along with the 
wizard, entering all of the necessary information for your Web server 
(typically provided by your ISP or network administrator) and pointing 
out the file(s) you want to publish. Photos are a great place to 
start, but for fancier Web pages with text, hyperlinks, and any kind 
of formatting, create HTML documents using FrontPage Express. (To open 
this program, select Start, Programs, Internet Explorer, FrontPage 
Express.) In this series, we're discussing the basics of creating HTML 
documents with Windows 98's FrontPage Express. Today, we'll cover 
adding pictures to a page. 

One quick thing before we get started: This tip assumes you've already 
used the Web Publishing Wizard to publish any pictures you plan to 
use. You'll need to publish the pictures at some point 
anyway--otherwise, you'd see nothing but an image reference on your 
published HTML page. 

So, assuming you've already published the images, go online if you 
aren't already. Inside your FrontPage Express document, place the 
cursor exactly where you'd like to insert the picture--before, after, 
between text, wherever--then click the Insert Image icon (it looks 
like a stamp with mountains on it). Select From Location, type the 
picture's URL, and click OK. Now just wait as FrontPage Express 
downloads the picture and displays it on the page. 

In our next tip, we'll show you how to add a picture you haven't yet 
published.


*3. FRONTPAGE: ADDING UNPUBLISHED IMAGE TO HTML PAGE         
     
In previous tips, we've shown you how to publish *.gif and *.jpg files 
to the Web using the Web Publishing Wizard: Select Start, Programs, 
Internet Explorer, Web Publishing Wizard; then follow along with the 
wizard, entering all of the necessary information for your Web server 
(typically provided by your ISP or network administrator) and pointing 
out the file(s) you want to publish. Photos are a great place to 
start, but for fancier Web pages with text, hyperlinks, and any kind 
of formatting, create HTML documents using FrontPage Express. (To open 
this program, select Start, Programs, Internet Explorer, FrontPage 
Express.) In this series, we're discussing the basics of creating HTML 
documents with Windows 98's FrontPage Express. 

Want to add a picture you haven't already published (to the Web) to 
your HTML page? Assuming the image you want to use is on your system, 
in your FrontPage Express document, place the cursor exactly where 
you'd like to insert the picture, then click the Insert Image icon (it 
looks like a stamp with mountains on it). With From File selected, 
click Browse, select the desired .gif or .jpeg file, click Open, then 
click OK. 

The image appears on the page, but you still need to do two more 
things. One, you need to publish that image to the Web using the Web 
Publishing Wizard (otherwise, people viewing the page will see nothing 
but a placeholder). Two, you need to tell FrontPage Express where to 
find the picture: Right-click the image (on the page) and select Image 
Properties. Under Image Source, type the URL of the already published 
image. Click OK, and assuming you're online, FrontPage will download 
the image from the specified URL. 

In our next tip, we'll discuss adding hyperlinks.


*4. FRONTPAGE: ADDING HYPERLINKS TO HTML PAGE         
     
In previous tips, we've shown you how to publish *.gif and *.jpg files 
to the Web using the Web Publishing Wizard: Select Start, Programs, 
Internet Explorer, Web Publishing Wizard; then follow along with the 
wizard, entering all of the necessary information for your Web server 
(typically provided by your ISP or network administrator) and pointing 
out the file(s) you want to publish. Photos are a great place to 
start, but for fancier Web pages with text, hyperlinks, and any kind 
of formatting, create HTML documents using FrontPage Express. (To open 
this program, select Start, Programs, Internet Explorer, FrontPage 
Express.) In this series, we're discussing the basics of creating HTML 
documents with Windows 98's FrontPage Express. 

Surely, you've seen a Web page that says something to the effect of, 
"Click HERE for a really neat picture." You just add one or more links 
to your page, so that when a person visiting the page clicks on a 
word, he or she jumps directly to another page. 

Open FrontPage Express to your HTML document. Assuming you've already 
typed the text with which you want to associate a specific URL (in our 
example, the word "HERE"), select that text and click the Create Or 
Edit Hyperlink icon. Select the Hyperlink Type, if necessary, enter 
the URL the hyperlink should point to, and click OK. Back on your HTML 
page, the hyperlink now appears in blue, underlined text. It's a link! 

In our next tip, we'll discuss changing the page background.


*5. FRONTPAGE: CHANGING BACKGROUND OF HTML PAGE         
     
In previous tips, we've shown you how to publish *.gif and *.jpg files 
to the Web using the Web Publishing Wizard: Select Start, Programs, 
Internet Explorer, Web Publishing Wizard; then follow along with the 
wizard, entering all of the necessary information for your Web server 
(typically provided by your ISP or network administrator) and pointing 
out the file(s) you want to publish. Photos are a great place to 
start, but for fancier Web pages with text, hyperlinks, and any kind 
of formatting, create HTML documents using FrontPage Express. (To open 
this program, select Start, Programs, Internet Explorer, FrontPage 
Express.) In this series, we're discussing the basics of creating HTML 
documents with Windows 98's FrontPage Express. 

By default, all pages created in FrontPage Express have a white 
background. But if you prefer, you can use any color, or even an 
image, for your background. Right-click a blank area of the page, 
select Page Properties, and click the Background tab (or select 
Format, Background). To change the background color, click the down 
arrow in the box next to Background, select a color, and click OK. 

To apply an image to the background, open the same dialog box, select 
Background Image, click the Browse button, and tell FrontPage Express 
where to find the image. (As with any picture you place on an HTML 
page, ideally you will have already published the image. In that case, 
select From Location and type the published image's URL.) Click OK 
twice. 

In our next tip, we'll cover text formatting.


*6. PUBLISHING FRONTPAGE HTML PAGE TO WEB         
     
In this series of tips, we've shown you how to create some basic HTML 
documents using FrontPage Express: Select Start, Programs, Internet 
Explorer, FrontPage Express; then type some text, add graphics and 
hyperlinks, and format your text and background. Now that you've 
actually finished your HTML page, and it looks exactly as you want it 
to on the Web, it's time for the fun part--publishing it. 

(Note: This tip assumes you've already defined a Web server using the 
Web Publishing Wizard, as described in a previous tip. As a quick 
review, select Start, Programs, Internet Explorer, Web Publishing 
Wizard; then follow along with the wizard, entering all of the 
necessary information for your Web server.) 

To publish your page, first select File, Save, and type a title for 
the page. Under Page Location, type the address to which you'd like to 
publish the page, such as 
"http://www.webservername.com/~yourname/yourpage.htm." (Note: The 
address may be different from the address other people will use to 
view the page.) Click OK, enter your username and password if prompted 
to do so, then click OK. 

FrontPage Express will now display a message telling you it is 
publishing the page. When it finishes, point your Web browser at the 
corresponding URL and bask in the glory of your HTML expertise!


*7. Take a Quick Glance at Disk

Wonder how much free disk space you have? In Win98, 
open My Computer and select the "View as Web page"
option under the View menu. Click on your hard drive, and
the status of the drive (including total capacity, free
space and used space) will be displayed on the left side 
of the screen.


*8. CHANGE BACKGROUND OF FOLDER WINDOW         
     
When you display a folder's contents inside an open window, by 
default, you see them against a white background (unless you've chosen 
a color scheme with a different window color). Bor-ing. As with the 
Windows 98 desktop, you can apply any image or wallpaper to that 
window background. But wait, there's more: That background is unique 
to that folder. If you wanted to, you could apply a different 
background to every folder on your system! 

Open any folder window you want to customize and select View, 
Customize This Folder. Select Choose A Background Picture, then click 
Next. Select any of the files in the resulting list; or click Browse, 
select an image, and click Open. Click Next, click Finish, and check 
out that icon backdrop! 
CHANGE BACKGROUND OF FOLDER WINDOW 
When you display a folder's contents inside an open window, by 
default, you see them against a white background (unless you've chosen 
a color scheme with a different window color). Bor-ing. As with the 
Windows 98 desktop, you can apply any image or wallpaper to that 
window background. But wait, there's more: That background is unique 
to that folder. If you wanted to, you could apply a different 
background to every folder on your system! 

Open any folder window you want to customize and select View, 
Customize This Folder. Select Choose A Background Picture, then click 
Next. Select any of the files in the resulting list; or click Browse, 
select an image, and click Open. Click Next, click Finish, and check 
out that icon backdrop!


*9. EXPLORER WINDOWS OFFER BACK AND FORWARD BUTTONS         
     
As anyone who's ever browsed the Web knows, you can go back and forth 
through the pages you've visited using the Back and Forward buttons at 
the top of your browser window. With this in mind, take a look at the 
toolbar of any Explorer window (with the Standard Buttons toolbar 
displayed). Look at that--Back and Forward buttons! 

Try them out as you're navigating your way through windows; they work 
the same way as other Back and Forward buttons. Use them to go back 
the way you came (and forward again) without all that unnecessary 
double-clicking. You can even jump multiple windows back or forward by 
clicking the down arrow next to the appropriate button and choosing a 
destination in the list. Again, just like a browser window.


*10. ACCESS MY DOCUMENTS FROM START MENU         
     
Did you just select Start, Documents only to discover that the file 
you wanted has been bumped from the list? Don't worry, you can access 
all of your files from the Documents list (assuming you store your 
documents in My Documents). Inside the Documents list, select the top 
dog, My Documents. There you have it--instant access to all your data 
files.
