Support @ NOCservices: The Network Operations Center for Small Business

Using Microsoft FrontPage

Background information

Originally developed by Vermeer Technologies (that's why you'll see a lot of files and directories that are named "_vti_" something on a FrontPage-managed site), Microsoft's FrontPage is a popular web management program. FrontPage combines a WYSIaWYG ("what you see is (almost) what you get") development environment with a powerful site management system. (It's "almost" what you get because of the nature of the web -- you cannot control every aspect of how your site appears because much of it is under control of the visitor's browser and not your web pages.)

Included within FrontPage's feature-set are the ability to to create, modify and delete files and folders on the web server without requiring a separate FTP client and the ability to do many common tasks (such as hit counters and response forms) without having to have any knowledge of CGI scripting.

Advantages of FrontPage

For those people who do not have time to learn the details of HTML coding, CGI scripting and other technologies that make the web what they are, FrontPage offers a simple and convenient way to bring your presence to the Internet. Part of the Microsoft Office family of products, FrontPage integrates well with Microsoft Word and Excel to transform your existing documents into your professional looking website.

FrontPage also eliminates the need to have and understand how to use an FTP client as it transfers files using it's own mechanisms independant of FTP.

Disadvantages of FrontPage

One of the main disadvantages of FrontPage is that it creates index files on the web server which it uses to coordinate the work it does. While this improves it's feature set and make it quicker to do many tasks, it also means that FrontPage-based sites take up more disk space than non-FrontPage-based sites. Also, updating the site without going through FrontPage means the indices will out of date and not all of the FrontPage features will be available to you or will work.

Another problem exists for cross-platform designers: While a Macintosh version does exist, it remains an older version one product where as the Windows version (currently FrontPage 2000) is a more polished, version four product.

Finally, while not a problem for sites hosted by NOCservices since we support the FrontPage server extensions, it should be noted that special software and configuration is required on the web server in order to take full advanatage of FrontPage's features. While it can use FTP to transfer files if it's own mechanisms are not available, many of FrontPage's best features are not available in this mode. However, if you switch to using FrontPage after having managed your account by other means, please let NOCservices tech. support know so we can setup your account to use the FrontPage server extensions. Otherwise, you will not get their benefit.

How do I use FrontPage with my NOCservices account?

If you use Microsoft FrontPage to manage your site, you have two options:

1. Develop the site on your computer
Create a site on your computer and design it as appropriate. When you are ready to put it online, select the "Publish FrontPage Web" command from the File menu. FrontPage will ask where you want to put the site -- answer with the address of your site (for example, http://www.example.com/). When prompted, enter your username and password for the web server and FrontPage will copy your site from your computer to the web server.

For subsequent changes to your site, edit the version on your computer and then repeat the Publish step. FrontPage will upload the changes for you.

The advantage of this method is that the changes you make are not immediately visible. This means you can test things and make large-scale changes to a site without accidentally damaging something your clients might be visiting at the same time.

2. Develop the site on the web server
From within FrontPage (FrontPage Explorer if you are using a version before FrontPage 2000), select "Open FrontPage Web" from the File menu. (For older versions of FrontPage, click on "More Webs.") Next enter the address of your site (for example, http://www.example.com/). From this point on, anything you create and save within the FrontPage environment will be saved on the web server and be immediately visible to the world.

The advantage of this method is that multiple users can make changes to different parts of a site simultaneously since they all have access. It is also convenient if you do your site developement work on more than one computer -- for example, both at work and at home. Some say this method is also more reliable than the first.

Where can I get Microsoft FrontPage?

Microsoft FrontPage 2000 (for Windows 95, 98, NT and 2000) is included with Microsoft Office 2000 Premium. It is also available as a standalone product or bundled with Microsoft PhotoDraw 2000. If you are interested in purchasing a copy, contact a NOCservices sales rep. by e-mailing sales@nocservices.com. (A 45-day trial version is also available from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage/trial/default.htm.)

Microsoft FrontPage 1.0, Macintosh Edition, is also available for those requiring it.

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