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Need HT web page help (1 Viewer)

Frank Zimkas

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 10, 2002
Messages
888
I,ve seen some great HT web sites here and have been considering trying to do the same! I am considering purchasing Frontpage for this "Experiment," but I was hoping that someone outthere may be able to offer an opinion or advice on this software or any other that they have used. And where can I get thase cool looking moving applets?
 

TonyGricar

Agent
Joined
Dec 18, 2001
Messages
34
for a non-web programmer, FrontPage is about as good as you can get. if you've used any of the other Microsoft programs, such as Publisher, Word, or PowerPoint, then you're half way there. the key is to effectively manage/balance your image size to quality ratio. we've seen many site on here where each image is 100k plus, when you can get a great looking image at around 25k or so. as for the moving applets, i'd be the first to implore you to not use 'em. a lot of times, they are big, slow loading and serve no real purpose.

if you have any more specific questions, or want to know about image management, please ask.

- Tony (web consultant by trade, home theaterista by hobby)
 

RajeeK

Second Unit
Joined
Apr 17, 1999
Messages
394
Tony,

Sorry to get a bit off topic. But I saw that it looks like you know HTML. I am trying to get the background image on my home theater page to stay still and not scroll with the rest of the page. What command in HTML would I need to do that. Just click the HT Page link below to see my page. Thanks.
 
Joined
Jul 5, 2001
Messages
38
Location
Missouri
Real Name
Jeff Schnebelen
I have used both FrontPage and Macromedia’s Dreamweaver 4. I much prefer the Dream weaver over FrontPage. It does a better job of HTML creation than front page. Also with FP your ISP must have the front page server extensions loaded so you can use some of the Proprietary function of FP (It is a Microsoft thing). Dream weaver creates cleaner html and you don't need server extensions to make your stuff work. You can create flash and shockwave media with it as well. It really brings your pages to life. If the user reading your page does not have shockwave or flash plugins, it will give them the opportunity to get those plugs automatically. That is the only "Extra Crap" in the html for dream weaver that I am aware of. Like I said, it's very clean html. These are just my thoughts on the issue. Also, I might add, I take every opportunity I can to avoid Microsoft products. But that’s just me;)
 

TonyGricar

Agent
Joined
Dec 18, 2001
Messages
34
as i said, "for a non-web programmer". yes, it's clean html from dreamweaver, but look at the learning curve to use it in comparison to frontpage. do i personally use frontpage? no way. but i do own it and every web app studio out there (Dreamweaver UltraDev, Flash, Frontpage, Dreamweaver, MS Visual Studio, Homesite, ColdFusion). it's a hazard and a bonus of my career. frontpage serves the niche of entry level people (and often higher) and as for the server extensions, if you are using it to build a photo gallery, you don't need the bells and whistles. if you want to build a store, using frontpage features, with database access, forms, searching, etc., sure you'll want it on a server with the frontpage extensions. does a newby worry about clean code? no. do they know that clean vs. frontpage code exists? generally no. there's also a fair difference in price. dreamweaver is $199 and Frontpage can be had for $169 and usually way south of that with rebates, specials, etc. I'd personally go to a software shop and buy an old used copy for 40 bucks or hit ebay. Jeez, i can't believe i just evangelized frontpage.... lol.

as for avoiding microsoft products, cheers. i'm an open source guy. linux, mySql, and php do the trick for me. the technology of this board is a great example of an amazing tool for the cost of about zero.

-tony
 

Scott-C

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jul 23, 2001
Messages
863
I am pretty much a web authoring newbie, but about 2 weeks ago I downloaded a trial copy of Dreamweaver 4, borrowed a manual, and set out to learn it. Last weekend I felt like I had enough of a HT website that I could publish it (link is in my signature).
I will say, from a newbie perspective, Dreamweaver is not the easiest program to use. I spent the better part of a week "battling" it to get it to do what I thought were logical things. That said, I'm glad I ended up using it. It's very powerful, and once I was able to understand it's "logic" a little better, I was able to take advantage of some of that power.
I'm sure FrontPage would have been fine for my application too but I am glad I ended up learning Dreamweaver. Also, I can't say if this is true for FrontPage but there's a fairly active support network for Dreamweaver that I took advantage of and it helped tremendously.
Just my $0.02.
BTW, Tony, where can you buy Dreamweaver 4 for $199? The best price I've seen so far is about $250 unless I can take advantage of the educational discount (if so, then there's some awesome discounts).
 
Joined
Jul 5, 2001
Messages
38
Location
Missouri
Real Name
Jeff Schnebelen
Tony,:frowning:
My comments were intended for Frank’s original post.
I was hoping that someone out there may be able to offer an opinion or advice on this software or any other
I was just giving my opinion. As you can see by the quote above, that is what he wanted. Your comments being directed at me were out of line. Not that they were bad, just bad form. Take Scott's example, very well done.
Open Source, It should be the norm!:emoji_thumbsup:
 

Brian E

Screenwriter
Joined
Aug 12, 2000
Messages
1,636
I don't know if it's any better now, but Frontpage tends to muck up the HTML it creates. HTML is very easy to learn. There are tons of free tutorials online (look for So you want to make a Web Page by Joe Barta) that can get you started. Then all you need is Arachnophilia or even Notepad. You'll be all set. If you need any help with code or graphics drop me a note and I'll be glad to help.
 

TonyGricar

Agent
Joined
Dec 18, 2001
Messages
34
In order of relevance:

Frank - If you have any further questions or need help, shoot me an email. I probably have a couple of old copies of frontpage you can have (2000, '98, '97). I'll hunt through the software cemetery tomorrow. The changes have been minimal over the years.

Scott - I just ordered Flash MX and I'm pretty sure I saw in the Macromedia eStore that it was currently $199. Yep, just checked. It's a special. If you jump up to $249, they throw in Fireworks 4. Ahhh, there's the rub. The fineprint: "You must have a valid FrontPage, GoLive or NetObjects serial number to qualify. " I think I paid 300ish for Dreamweaver 4 and waaaay too much for UltraDev.

Jeff - my comments re: your post are fully in-line with this topic. there were facts and opinions in all of these posts. it's quite simple to confuse people when it comes to web pages, with K.I.S.S often the way to go. my intent was to provide info for a person who apparently wants to build a home theater page. i gave +/- of each product and recommended based upon the info given. to say it's in "bad form" is off-base. spanking me for a differing opinion is not "bad form", it's just wrong. i'm not wasting any more board bandwidth on this, so you're more than welcome to email me off-board and explain to me how it is in "bad form".
 

Frank Zimkas

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 10, 2002
Messages
888
Okay guys I tkink that I'll spend this evening hunting for software downloads and then try to pick the package that will work for someone with my level of expertise. I did not mean to cause any hate or discontent amongst the membership...Sorry! I am greatful for the input from everyone and I hope to be able to put something together in the near future. Thanks again!!
 

TonyGricar

Agent
Joined
Dec 18, 2001
Messages
34
Frank -
I did find a copy of FP '97. It's yours if you want it. Email me off-line if you do. Somehow I did forget to mention another terrific option. NetObjects Fusion. It's cheaper than any of the previous, very widely respected for visual sites. Goes for $99. The bonus to Fusion is you don't have to worry about tables and tweaking placement of content. You drop and image(s) on the page and it stays there. It's probably the most WYSIWYG of all due to it using 1 byte clear pixel images to force positions, instead of using code. If you don't want to be worried about dealing with code, this is a great choice. Another bonus is that the pages don't require specific server extensions to run.
http://www.netobjects.com/products/html/nf5.html
-Tony
 

Scott-C

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jul 23, 2001
Messages
863
Tony,
Yep, Macromedia has some stipulations attached to some of their better deals such as the one you found. Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of any software that would make me eligible for the discount you mention.
Frank, best of luck creating your HT website, regardless of what software you end up using. Enjoy and have fun. I did! It was and continues to be a great learning experience.
 

Daren Welsh

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jan 16, 2002
Messages
660
IMHO, FP is a POS. I've used DW off and on for stuff when I was in a hurry to put something up. When it comes down to it, both programs end up putting in a LOT of extra junk you just don't need. If you want my honest opinion, use notepad. I know from past experience that it's very tempting to use a program to "simplify" web development, but if you use one of those WYSIWYGs you won't learn the HTML behind your site and you won't be able to understand how to fix something that "breaks". Use notepad and get to know the ~40 basic tags in HTML. A couple good resources are internet.com, Web Monkey, and of course the W3C. They both have lots of information, good search engines, and portals to other sites and walkthroughs. Once you have a good grasp of how your HTML and various scripts work, then give those WYSIWYGs a try.
 

Brian E

Screenwriter
Joined
Aug 12, 2000
Messages
1,636
Do you mean Dreamweaver Ultra Dev? It's for developing ASP, JSP and Cold Fusion applications when doing more data driven sites.
 

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