The Network Connection

So you want to be a Web Page Author...

If you have access to a World Wide Web Browser, by now you've seen a lot of Web pages. You may have thought about creating your own Web page but perhaps didn't know how to go about it. To make your Web page available on the Internet, you'll need to be able to have it included on a Web server. This is getting easier, since most commercial Internet providers and some on-line information services, like America Online, are making Web servers part of their basic services. (UNT has several methods you can use to make your Web page available if you are an enrolled student or faculty/staff member. See A Homepage of One s Own in the November/December 1995 issue of Benchmarks: http://www.unt.edu/UNT/departments/CC/Benchmarks/benchmarks_ html/novdec95/homepag.htm.)

So, perhaps you have the capability of making a home page available, but you don't think that you have the knowledge necessary to do so. The good news is that there are software tools available which help you create a Web page with little or almost no specialized knowledge. Even the most popular word processors are now becoming very capable Web page editors.

On the Road to HTML

The cheapest, but hardest way to create a Web page is to learn all the HTML codes and manually format a document in the closest available text editor. If you don't have much time or inclination to become an HTML expert, you still may need to provide yourself with a basic understanding of HTML concepts. In either case, A Beginner's Guide to HTML offered by the NCSA folks will be a valuable reference. You can find it at: http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/General/Internet/WWW/ HTMLPrimer.html.

If you want to do some more complex Web page development you might find the collection of documents at Netscape's Web site to be helpful. You'll find these at http://home.netscape.com/assist/net_sites/index.html. Another valuable reference source for more complex issues is The Web Developer's Virtual Library at http://WWW.Stars.com/.

For creating your documents your choices of software range from somewhat capable and free, to very capable and commercial. Some text editors, like BBEdit for the Macintosh, are shareware programs which support extensions to help create HTML formats. There are a number of programs which are intended solely as HTML editors. What follows is an overview of several of these programs and some extensions to a couple of commercially available word processors.

• HoTMetaL HoTMetaL, version 2.0 is a freely available program for both Macintosh and MS Windows. You can read about it or download a copy at the following URL: http://www.sq.com/. You may have noticed that the letters HTML are prominently displayed in the name of this software. HoTMetaL is exclusively an HTML editor. It displays your text along with stylized representations of the HTML markup codes. It has the ability to call up a Web browser for you to preview your documents, but it does not itself show you how your document and its hypertext links works once formatted. Adding HTML formatting to a document is as easy as highlighting a word or phrase and clicking on a button from a tool menu. If, for example, you want to create a hypertext link to another URL, you would click on the Anchor button. HoTMetaL is somewhat intelligent in that it knows the HTML rules and will automatically create formats depending on how your go about inserting HTML codes. This will save you from having conflicting format codes in your HTML document.
  

• HTML Web Weaver World Wide Web Weaver is a shareware program for the Macintosh. You can read about it and even download a demo copy at: http://www.northnet. org/best/Web.Weaver/WWWW.html. It is similar in operation to HotMeTaL, but written exclusively for the Macintosh. It has a button collection across the top of the screen as well as several floating tool menus. Creating HTML formats is similar to the process described for HoTMetaL.
  

• WordPerfect 3.5 for Macintosh WordPerfect 3.5 for the Macintosh includes tools to create HTML documents. There is an HTML tool set as well as a tool set for creating and managing bookmarks. These appear as buttons at the top of the WordPerfect window. You can define an HTML header by highlighting the text and then selecting the header level from a pick list. To create a hypertext link to a URL, you would highlight the link text, click on the bookmark button, and select "Internet Address" from the pick list menu in the bookmark box, and then type in the URL in the box provided. Images included in your WordPerfect document can automatically be included in your HTML version. Once you have formatted your document you can preview it via WordPerfect ability to call up a Web browser. Once the document is done, all you have to do is save it as HTML format and WordPerfect automatically does the conversion. You can read more about WordPerfect 3.5 for Macintosh at the URL: http://www.northnet. org/best/Web.Weaver/WWWW.html.
  

• WordPerfect 6.1 for Windows with Internet Publisher WordPerfect 6.1 for Windows does not come with the HTML editing functionality, however, WordPerfect does make available a free add-on which provids a similar capability. This add-on is called Internet Publisher and it is free of charge to WordPerfect 6.1 owners. You can read about it or download it at: http://wp.novell.com/busapps/win/tocwpipw.htm. It comes packaged as a self-extracting archive. Once you have downloaded it, you can execute the archive file to expand its contents and then run the Setup program to add its capabilities to your WP 6.1 installation.
  

  Once you have Internet Publisher installed, starting an HTML document is as easy as creating a new WordPerfect document. Just select "New"from the "File" menu and click on "HTML Document" in the "Select Template" text box. Then Click on "OK." Once the blank document is open, you will see a series of icons on your tool bar which represent various HTML formatting functions. These include the ability to create a list of elements, define headers, apply font characteristics, create HTML links, set document bookmarks, insert images, and draw lines. You can also save your document in HTML format, define preferences, and call up the Netscape Web browser from the button icons.
  

• Microsoft Word with Internet Assistant (MS Windows) Microsoft Word for Windows supports an add-on package called Internet Assistant. It is free of charge to owners of Word version 6. There is a Beta version 2 of Internet Assistant that works with Word 95. Currently, there is no similar package for Macintosh users of MS Word. You can get a copy of Internet Assistant at http://www.microsoft.com/msoffice/freestuf/msword/download/ia/default.htm.
  

  Internet Assistant adds an HTML style sheet and associated tools to Microsoft Word. You can create an HTML document by selecting "New" from the "File" menu and selecting HTML as the style template. A number of tools appear at the top of your Window. Buttons are available to create itemized lists, hypertext links, and text formatting. Header types are selected via the usual Word pull-down style menu. Internet Assistant turns Word into a Web browser, so you don't have to call an external program to preview your document. It's operation as a Web browser seems quite slow, however, and it might not be the best choice for the majority of your Web activity. Once documents are completed, they can be saved in HTML format and made available via a Web server.
  

• Adobe PageMill (Macintosh) PageMill is a relatively new offering in the Web development arena. Retailing for around $100, it is one of the first self-contained HTML editors with extensive formatting capability and with built-in HTML intelligence. You can read more about it at http://www.adobe.com/ Apps/PageMill/, however, a quote from the PageMill Web page provides a nice overview of the product:
  

  Adobe PageMill Web page authoring software was specifically designed to address the needs of non-technical people who want to create of maintain content on the Web. Adobe PageMill is easy to use, fast, and includes, in one well-integrated package, everything you need to create Web pages. You write your pages in what looks and feels like a normal word processor only this one knows about the Web. Your pages show up exactly as they would in a Web browser. You can apply styles, place and resize images, and drag and drop parts of your document in other locations. But you will not make mistakes. Adobe PageMill reads your existing Web pages even corrects errors in them and produces output that works with any Web server and any Web browser. Creating links is easy, and Adobe PageMill ensures that the links remain correct as you copy and paste them throughout your Web pages. The built-in Preview Browse mode even lets you test your pages without leaving the program.
  

  PageMill is a good program to have if you will be creating and maintaining multiple Web pages.
  

• Microsoft/Vermeer Frontpage Microsoft recently acquired a company called Vermeer which produces a program called Frontpage. According to a press release dated January 16, 1996 (http://www.microsoft.com/msoffice/frontpage/pressrelease.htm):
  

  Vermeer's flagship software application, FrontPage(TM), is a critically acclaimed tool for easily creating and managing rich Web documents without programming. FrontPage will become a key component of Microsoft's strategy to provide a full range of tools that put the power of Web publishing, for both the Internet and intranets, in the hands of the broadest range of computer users.
  

  Microsoft is positioning Frontpage as a mid-range HTML editing tool. It is a self-contained editor, much like PageMill, which provides capabilities beyond that of Internet Assistant with MS Word.
  

• Microsoft INTERNET STUDIO INTERNET STUDIO is a program that Microsoft refers to as a Visual Publishing System. According to Microsoft, it will be available early in 1996. After acquiring Frontpage from Vermeer, Microsoft seemed to reposition Internet Studio as their high-end Web page development product. Information which was previously available on Microsoft's Web Page suddenly disappeared and instead there is a notation which just indicates more information will be available at a later date. You can watch for more information at: http://www.microsoft.com/intdev/AUTOOLS.HTM.
  

  According to Microsoft, you'll like this product "If you're a professional Web publisher interested in creating interactive Web pages that incorporate stylized hypertext documents, rich graphics, real-time sound, and animation without any programming." Since FrontPage also provides such a capability, it remains to be seen whether this promise will be fulfilled.
  

Previous Article Next Article

If you have problems or questions about this server, please contact us as soon as possible. You can send mail to the following address: www@unt.edu