Microsoft FrontPage #11



*1.  I CAN'T BELIEVE I LOST THE WHOLE THING

June 22nd, 1999

When your hard drive crashes (and it will crash someday), how 
do you plan to get up and running with your FrontPage web? No 
sweat. Even if you haven't made a backup, here's a quick way 
to access your web--as long as you've already published it to 
a Web site that's not on your PC. 

- 1. From the FrontPage Editor, choose File + Import. The
     Import to FrontPage Web dialog box opens. 
- 2. Click the From Web button. The Import Web Wizard launches.
- 3. Select From a World Wide Web Site. 
- 4. Type in the address of your site in the Location box,
     like so: 

http://www.yoursite.com 

- 5. Click Next. 
- 6. Set the number of levels you want to import by typing a
     number in the Levels Below box. 
- 7. Click Next. 
- 8. Click Finish. 

Your site flows onto your hard drive. Good as new.

--This tip contributed by JoAnne Robb

*2. BACKGROUND NOISE

June 23rd, 1999

Just because you're using a Theme, that doesn't mean you can't 
change elements where you want to. For example, to change the 
background of your page, follow these steps: 

- 1. From the FrontPage Editor, right-click a blank area of the
     page you want to change; then choose Page Properties. 
- 2. From the Page Properties menu, click the Background tab. 
- 3. In the Specify Background and Colors area, click the
     Browse tab and navigate to the GIF or JPEG image you want
     to use as a background. The Select Background Image
     dialog box appears. 
- 4. Select the image you want to choose and click OK.

--This tip contributed by JoAnne Robb


*3. DRAG A LINK

June 24th, 1999

While browsing the Web, you come across an intriguing link. Why 
not add it to your web? Instead of retyping all the information 
and creating a hyperlink, just select the link and drag it into 
the page you're working on in FrontPage Editor. Adding a link 
is that simple. The link is already highlighted. If you want to 
rename it, just start typing. (Renaming a link doesn't affect 
the link, just the text that visitors click to visit the link.)

--This tip contributed by JoAnne Robb


*4. LOSE A LINK

June 25th, 1999

When creating pages, you may need to unlink a page so that it 
can't be viewed (say, when you're doing maintenance). 
No problem: 

- 1. Select the text you want to unlink. 
- 2. Choose Edit + Unlink. 

When you want to set the link again, just follow these steps:

- 1. Highlight the text you want to link. 
- 2. Press Ctrl + K to launch the Create Hyperlink dialog box. 
- 3. Type the address in the URL text box. 
- 4. Click OK. 

You're back in business.

--This tip contributed by JoAnne Robb


*5. CHANGE A LINK'S COLOR

June 28th, 1999

By default, the links you create in FrontPage are blue, a 
standard for Web page creation. Leaving your links this way is 
generally best; otherwise, you risk confusing visitors. 
However, should you want to make links on a particular page 
stand out, here's how: 

- 1. With the page open in FrontPage Editor, right-click a
     blank area of the page. 
- 2. Select Page Properties from the menu that appears. The
     Page Properties dialog box opens. 
- 3. Click the Hyperlink pop-up menu and choose a color. You
     can change the Visited Hyperlink option (the link color
     when a visitor has already gone to the page) and Active
     Hyperlink option (the link's color when clicked) in the
     same way. 
- 4. Click OK.

--This tip contributed by JoAnne Robb


*6. ALTERNATIVE IMAGE STYLE

June 29th, 1999

Your site's visitors may use a variety of browsers. Some folks, 
especially on slow connections, may use a text-only browser, or 
they may browse with their images turned off. To help these 
users, set alternate text for each of your images. Doing so 
lets them know what they're missing. 

By default, FrontPage sets the alternate text by displaying the 
name of the image file (for example, family.jpg) and download 
size. If you don't consider that descriptive enough, try this:

- 1. In the FrontPage Editor, right-click the image you want
     to add text for. 
- 2. Choose Image Properties from the pop-up menu that appears. 
- 3. In the Alternative Representations area, type a short
     description for your image in the Text box. 
- 4. Click OK.

--This tip contributed by JoAnne Robb


*7. QUICK LAUNCH

June 30th, 1999

In some cases, you may want to edit a page quickly without 
launching the Personal Web Server. But if you try to launch 
FrontPage without first starting the PWS, you receive an error 
message. Here's a quick work-around: Launch just the Editor by 
finding its icon in the FrontPage program folder: 

- 1. Launch Windows Explorer and navigate to
     Program Files/FrontPage/FrontPage Editor. 
- 2. If the program icon isn't located there, try searching for
     it: Choose Start + Find + Files or Folders. 
- 3. In the Named text box, type FrontPage Editor and click
     Find Now. 
- 4. When the results display, double-click FrontPage Editor.

You should be able to open your file, edit it, and save it 
without hassling with the Personal Web Server.

--This tip contributed by JoAnne Robb


*8. BRING ON THE GRAPHICS

June 30th, 1999

Over the next few tips, we show you how to edit your images, 
using the FrontPage Image toolbar. First, of course, you need 
to place an image on your page: 

To import an image from your hard drive: 

- 1. In FrontPage Editor, select a blank area of your page.
     Your image will go here. 
- 2. Click the Insert Image button from the Standard toolbar. 
- 3. In the Image dialog box, navigate to the image file you
     want to import. 
- 4. Click OK. 

To import an image from the Web: 

- 1. In FrontPage Editor, select a blank area of your page. 
- 2. Open your browser. Arrange your desktop so that you can
     see both the browser window and the FrontPage Editor.
- 3. Surf to a site that contains an image you'd like to
     import. (Make sure the image is one you can use
     legally, of course.) 
- 4. Click the image and drag it to the page. Voila! 

The image is ready to be served.

--This tip contributed by JoAnne Robb


*9. BEVEL THIS

July 2nd, 1999

In our last tip, we explained how to place an image on your Web 
page: In FrontPage Editor, select a blank area of your page; 
click the Insert Image button from the Standard toolbar; 
navigate to the image file you want to import; and click OK. 
Today, we explain one of the ways you can enhance this image. 

To add a bit more dimension to your images, consider giving 
them a beveled edge. Many folks use this trick to make graphics 
look like buttons. (In fact, this may be one of the more 
OVERUSED tools, so use it sparingly.) 

To bevel the edges of your image: 

- 1. Select the image. 
- 2. Click the Bevel button from the Image toolbar. (If your
     Image toolbar is not displayed, choose View +
     Image Toolbar.) 
- 3. If you don't like the effect, select Ctrl + Z to undo
     the last step.

--This tip contributed by JoAnne Robb


*10. CONTRASTING OPINION

July 6th, 1999

A couple of tips ago, we explained how to place an image on 
your Web page: In FrontPage Editor, select a blank area of your 
page; click the Insert Image button from the Standard toolbar; 
navigate to the image file you want to import; and click OK. 
Today, we explain one of the ways you can enhance this image. 

Contrast highlights the difference between dark and light areas 
of your image. You can adjust the contrast of an image from 
within FrontPage: 

- 1. Select the image. 
- 2. Choose the More Contrast or Less Contrast button on the
     Image toolbar. 
- 3. You can click the buttons multiple times to enhance
     the effect. 

Tip-in-a-tip: Select Ctrl + Z as many times as necessary to 
completely remove the effect.

--This tip contributed by JoAnne Robb
