Webpage software....

[Baz]

I've finally figured out the limitations with Frontpage.
What's out there that's...
a) Cheap.
b) Easy (I mean VERY easy) to use.
c) Readily supported.

The website needs an infusion of a professional look, less scrolling and easy navigation.
Suggestions welcome.

 

[Steve_S]

Notepad.

Sorry. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/jester.gif

 

[Baz]

Well, it does meet the peramiters......
MGNuts is pretty, what do you use....?

 

[aerog]

What limitations have you found, or what else do you need?

My sites, here, here, here, and here are all with frontpage.

 

[tony barnhill]

My site is also Frontpage!

 

[Baz]

Hmmmm, maybe the limitations are not with frontpage, but with the end user.
Maybe I should buy a book.
Thing is, I'm illiterate when it comes to HTML, so the drag drop method works, I guess that's as far as I can take it using that.
What I'm trying to accomplish is getting my pages to fit on a screen, using menu bars on the side etc and little or no scrolling.
The version of Frontpage I have is what was bundled with Office 2000 pro, so it is getting on a bit.
Thanks.

 

[tony barnhill]

I don't use HTML with Frontpage - though I can - I do everything in the clear!

& I still use Frontpage 2000 because I understand it.

 

[drooartz]

I do all my work in a text editor as well (actually, I wrote a web management system to do my work for me), but then I'm a programmer by trade so not a normal person. Dreamweaver seems popular, but I'm not sure it meets the cheap requirements.

I would recommend getting some sort of intro HTML book -- even the best of the HTML editors sometimes needs a bit of tweaking in the actual page code, and a basic understanding of how HTML works is handy.

I have a personal hatred of Frontpage, but that has more to do with being a code purist than with the actual sites it creates.

 

[GregW]

What I'm trying to accomplish is getting my pages to fit on a screen, using menu bars on the side etc and little or no scrolling.

Hi Baz,
If you right click on say, your menu bar, you can choose; cell, table, frame properties. Once in that menu, you can specify the width of the object in pixels or percents. Pixels will make it a static size, percent can allow it to grow to fit the screen resolution.

 

[aerog]

You shouldn't really worry too much about the scroll bars and such. In Frontpage you can use the View menu's "ruler & grid" "show ruler" option to show a pixel-ruler. I used to design my pages to suit a minimum of 800x600 screens, but these days I use a minimum of 1024x768. So, if you set everything up to look decent on a 1024 pixel wide (using the ruler) screen then everything else should fall into place - even if you use fixed-width tables and such.

If you want to stick it out with Frontpage you can look around for books specific about Frontpage - not HTML. You can do a html coding behind the scenes once you figure it out, but there's a heck of a lot of stuff that can be done with just the editor.

 

[Baz]

Good tips, thanks!
I'll play around with Frontpage some more, one of the IT trolls in the basement of the office is installing a licenced Flash, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, CS3 package on my work laptop. That stuff isn't easy I know, but for a box of doughnuts, It's worth a try. If it's too much, I'll continue with Frontpage and use the valuable help above and get a Frontpage book, thanks Scott.
Basil, will the BCF CP jive with the above mentioned software?

 

[DrEntropy]

CS3?!? That's kinda fortunate! Just came out recently... and watch who yer callin' "troll", mate. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/jester.gif

 

[aerog]

CS3 blows away CS2 speed-wise...worth every penny /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

 

[DrEntropy]

Herself has it at 'work' but we haven't ponied up here for it yet. She's whinin' about that, Scott. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wall.gif

 

[Steve_S]

MGNuts is pretty, what do you use....?

I use Dreamweaver 4 in a combination of GUI and text editing. It isn't a cheap program but it's fantastic.

Front Page is terrible if you ever want to edit your site in another application. Lots of proprietary code and junk. Web developers typically avoid it like the plague.

 

[DrEntropy]

THANK YOU STEVE!!!

I used FP exactly ONE time. On a friend's machine. Hateful thing. Stuffs things in 'secret places' and tweaking the code gets to be impossible. I'd almost ~rather~ sit and do it in notepad. I can't seem to explain that to others tho.

 

[drooartz]

Web developers typically avoid it like the plague.

Quite right. Being one of those web developer types, I can't stand when the software writes all the little proprietary bits into the code. That's my job!

And Doc, I do prefer doing it in a text editor, no almost about it (JEdit, a nice open source programer's editor). I guess I just want to know that it is correct.

 

[Guest]

I've been using Crimson Editor.
Same idea, and the price is right. These things that hide the source are waaay too hard...

 

[Baz]

Well, for a box of Krispy Kremes, I'm giving it a try.
The tutorial is pretty cool so far, I can make things fly on the screen.
<span style='font-size: 8pt'> The really cool thing is, because it's on my work laptop, I can play with this at my place of employment. </span>

 

[tony barnhill]

What's interesting is that every computer guy I've talked with about FB hates it....but those of us who are non-computer guys who want a decent web site love it!