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Publishing with Microsoft FrontPage XP (a.k.a. FrontPage 2002)
We at FrogNet highly discourage the use of Microsoft Front Page XP, aka Front Page 2002. It comes bundled with the latest version of Microsoft Office or can be bought as a stand alone program. While previous versions of FrontPage were designed to be friendly with both Microsoft Web Servers and UNIX web servers, the latest version of FrontPage was purposefully designed to only work hassle-free ONLY with Microsoft Web Servers. A whole series of artificial stumbling blocks have been written into the program to make it less compatable with non-Microsoft products. In a sense, Microsoft is attempting to hijack inexperienced web designers into using Microsoft Products. It is the same sort of heavy-handed business practice that got Microsoft into trouble with the Federal Government years ago. You should note that a VAST MAJORITY of domains ARE NOT hosted on Microsoft Systems and you should also note that a VAST MAJORITY of headline-making hacker attacks accomplished by exploiting Microsoft products.
Previous versions of Front Page still work well with UNIX servers and NT servers alike. Using Front Page Extensions automatically limits your freedom to host your site with whomever you choose. We find this unacceptable.
We recommend these software packages in lieu of Microsoft Front Page XP.
- Macromedia Dreamweaver - Most serious web developers use Macromedia Dreamweaver to design their sites. A more advanced version of Dreamweaver, called Ultra Dev, even allows you to design My SQL, Cold Fusion, or Microsoft SQL database driven web sites. Most top level design firms use Dreamweaver. It runs on the Mac and Windows, but runs better on windows.
- Adobe Go Live - A very popular HTML design tool for serious web developers who use Mac. Most large companies and design firms that use the Mac use Adobe Go Live to design their sites. It runs on the Mac or PC, but runs better on the Mac
- Hot Dog Pro - Cheaper than Dreamweaver or Adobe, a good alternative. Hot Dog Pro has been around for years and looks to be around for years to come. Has good support for Javascript and PHP. A good alternative for intermediate level web designers and folks somewhat with a basic understanding of HTML code.
- XMetal Pro - This web development tool is also an XML development tool. You can create XML documents. XML is the next form HTML will take. Most current browsers support it. Microsoft Internet Explorer and the latest versions of Mozilla, Netscape, and Opera all support XML fully.
- Atrax - A simple and easy to use HTML editor designed for beginners.
- Allaire Home Site (now Macromedia Home Site) Essentially a fancy text editor, Home site is designed for people who like complete and total control over their HTML code.
Most newbies to web design purchase FrontPage thinking that they are buying the "industry standard" software package for web site design. This is not the case. Most large businesses have written their own HTML design programs and if they haven't, they use Dreamweaver or Adobe Go Live. Very few serious designers use Front Page.
Frognet's servers do not support Frontpage Extensions. That means that you should not use Microsoft's WEB BOTS in your web pages. WEB BOTS are merely CGI scripts. Microsoft changed the name to make them less "technical sounding." FrogNet will allow you to write CGI scripts in PHP, Perl and C. FrogNet also has the MySQL database installed on our server. There are many freely available CGI scripts which accomplish the same thing without making the page server dependent. Try these places.
PHP is all the rage now with web developers around the world. PHP does not work with Front Page and is still rapidly becoming the worlds most popular CGI scripting language. Check this page out for tutorials on PHP.
If you still insist on using Microsoft Front page, read the tutorial below.
Step 1) Disable FP Extensions
To disable the use of extensions:
Click Tools->Page Options, then select the Compatibility tab.
In the Servers drop down box select Apache.
Un-check 'Enabled with Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions.
Step 2: Upload to FrogNet
To upload to FrogNet (in the right directory):
Select File->Publish Web
If this is the first time, enter ftp://ftp.frognet.net into Publish Destination, http transfer will not work
Step 3) Enter your password
Enter your frognet user name and password. Your FrogNet username is the first half of your frognet email address. If your FrogNet email address is joefrog@frognet.net, then your username would be joefrog. The password should be the same as the one you would use to check your FrogNet email account.
Step 4)
You should now see something like the image below. If the "to:" field doesn't say ftp://ftp.frognet.net you made a mistake. Hit the "Cancel" button and try it again from scratch.
This window shows files on YOUR computer at home. In order to see the files that are currently stored under your account on FrogNet, you need to click the button labeled "Show>>" You need to be connected to the Internet in order to see your files on FrogNet See the image below for an example.
Step 5) Uploading your Files To FrogNet
DO NOT use the Publish button. This always places the files into the home directory instead of the directory specified. Navigate to html (or a folder therein) on the right, select the files/folders to upload on the left and drag them to the right half.
Problem: But I want to use Microsoft's Publish tool because it only uploads my recent changes and not my entire site.
Solution: Most of the programs listed at the start of this article have "synchronization" utilities built into them. For instance, Dreamweaver, Adobe Go Live, have this ability. There are also 3rd party FTP programs that can update only the files that were recently changed. Cute FTP or WS_FTP Pro are examples. You do not need to use Front Page's FTP utility at all.
Problem: My Front Page guestbook or counter wont work on FrogNet.
Solution: That is because we don't have Front Page extensions installed on
our server. They only work best on Microsoft web servers.