Re: Front Page Fussy

["Wing, Michael J" <mjwing -at- INGR -dot- COM>]

I also echo the sentiments of Mr. Plato (although with less passion).  I use
Front Page to do my visible design and writing and EditPad (an enhanced
Notepad) to do my behind-the-scenes work (JavaScript and VBScript).

I can't say that I have no problems with Front Page; however, the benefits
of using it far outweigh the disadvantages.  It works with no problems for
straight HTML, but needs tweaking for some dynamic and advanced features
(especially removing the bots form the embeds).  For example, I have <DIV>
or <SPAN> sections that I like to expand or collapse at reader request.
Front Page tends to put a </DIV> or a </SPAN> at the end of each paragraph
rather than the group.  This changes my area of expanse/collapse (as done by
scripting).  To compensate, I have to use <BR> instead of </P> between
grouped paragraphs.  This is a fair trade-off for features such as automatic
hyperlink updates and pushing changed pages to another site.

Overall, I have used it to produce web sites, provide HTML files for
HTMLhelp, and even compose ASP.  Like Andrew said, you must know HTML (and
DHTML and/or ASP depending on needs).  You should use the composition tool
for expedience and efficiency.  It should not be a substitute for learning
the mark-up language.

Mike

Michael Wing (mailto:mjwing -at- ingr -dot- com)
Staff Writer
Intergraph Corporation; Huntsville, Alabama
http://maps.intergraph.com


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Andrew Plato [SMTP:intrepid_es -at- YAHOO -dot- COM]
> Sent: Tuesday, January 12, 1999 11:59 AM
> To:   TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
> Subject:      Front Page Fussy
>
> The "FrontPage is not pure HTML" rhetoric is total bulls**t. People
> have been saying this for years and it simply is not true.
>
> Front Page absolutely uses standard HTML tags.  The ONLY derivation
> from "standard HTML", whatever the hell that is, is the FrontPage
> extensions.  If you don't use the FP Extensions, then the HTML
> generated is just as "pure" as anything out of HomeBlow or any of the
> other HTML generators.
>
> If you are using a server with the FP extensions, they are very useful.
>
> Having used FP to generate tons of web sites, it is a fine tool. In
> fact, I used Front Page to build an HTML based help system for the Be
> Operating System (BeOS). The web browser for BeOS is about as fussy as
> they come. FP did a fine job.
>
> Nevertheless, like ALL web page tools, it does require knowing HTML.
>
> Just because the box says Microsoft does not mean the product is
> inferior.
>
>


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