[abcomputers] ABC~All 'Bout Computers, Vol.12: 55 FrontPage Tips from Tina ANDMORE!!
- From: Linda Johnson <linda@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: ABCfreelists <abcomputers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 11 May 2002 00:02:09 -0400
______________________________________________________
ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers. The ezine YOU subscribed to. If you want to change
your subscription options or unsubscribe, see the bottom of this email for full
instructions. Thank you.
Linda
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/ABC.htm
______________________________________________________
ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers
Volume 12; May, 2002 - mailed to 1867 subscribers
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO CLICK THIS LINK
AND RATE THIS EZINE:
http://www.cumuli.com/ezines/rate/default.ldml?rate=ra21981
If you would prefer to read the online Web-azine, which
includes pictures and screenshots and is, basically, more
user-friendly, follow either of these links:
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/ABC.htm (frames)
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vol12.htm (no frames)
or, scroll down to the Contents where you can click on over
to any individual article
For definitions of any terms you do not understand, visit
the GeekSpeak Translator:
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/capn3.htm
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You are receiving this newsletter because you (or someone
using your email address) subscribed to it voluntarily.
If you would like to remove yourself from ABC,
please see SUBSCRIPTION MANAGEMENT at the bottom
of this newsletter.
Using the "Reply" function will not unsubscribe you!
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or individuals. I value every subscriber and respect your privacy.
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WATCH FOR ANY LINKS THAT WRAP TO MORE THAN
ONE LINE!
These will have to be copied and pasted into your web
browser's Address Bar as one line in order for you to
access them.
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To view this text newsletter best, maximize your email
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CONTENTS
(all links below these items take you to the non-frames Online versions)
(items with *** behind them include pictures and/or are viewed better
online)
1. Important How-To Message From Linda
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vol12.htm#HowTo
2. Linda's Thought of the Month
(and animated GIF) ***
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vol12.htm#thought
3. Linda's Soapbox ~ HOW *NOT* TO DO PEOPLE A FAVOR
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/linda12.htm
4. What's New at Linda's Computer Stop ~
Newbie Club Members Missing Tom Glander? LOOKIE HERE!
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/newabc12.htm
5. Subscribers' Exclusive Tip ~
HOW TO GET INTO WINDOWS XP
WHEN YOU CAN'T GET INTO WINDOWS XP
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/newabc12.htm#tip
6. GeekSpeak Translation from the Cap'n
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/capn3.htm
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7. THIS MONTH'S FEATURE ~
Tina's FrontPage News ~
~ 55 FRONTPAGE TIPS!! ***
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/tina12.htm
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8. Fred's Safety Belt ~ DO I NEED BOTH A FIREWALL
AND ANTIVIRUS PROGRAM?
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/fred12.htm
9. Vic's Registry RoundUp & DOS Den ~ THREE TIPS
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vic12.htm
* WINDOWS FIND ICON
* PRESERVING YOUR FAVICONS
* WEB BUILDER TIP
10. Chad's Macro Mania ~ DATES IN VBA
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/chad12.htm
11. Steve's Ravin' Reviews
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/steve12.htm
*ADDRESS FIXER ***
*STG THUMB ***
*AD-AWARE ***
*MYIE
12. GuitarMan's Tip of the Month ~ TAKE OUT
THE GARBAGE
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/gman12.htm
13. CREATING AN AUTOMATED FAX FORM IN MS WORD ***
by guest author, Dian Chapman
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/dian12.htm
14. SERVING UP A DOMAIN ~ Is the Waiter Working?
by guest author, Tom Glander
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/tom12.htm
15. POWERPOINT A to Z
by guest author, Kathy Jacobs
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/kathy12.htm
16. INCREASE WEB TRAFFIC
BY PROGRAMMING A CONTEST!
by guest author, Steve Humphrey
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/stevh12.htm
17. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE ~ Using the Internet
by guest author, Sara Hardy
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/sara12.htm
18. Subscription Management
19. Contact Information
*** includes pictures in the online version
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******************STATION BREAK*******************
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If you find this newsletter and/or my website at all helpful and
would like to give me a hand here, I am now accepting donations
through PayPal. To make a donation, go to the online version of this
web-azine and click on the PayPal button.
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vol12.htm
Thanks in advance to any who do this!!
(NOTE: no one receiving this should feel obligated in any way to
do this .....this is a FREE newsletter!)
Linda, editor/publisher
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(1.) IMPORTANT HOW-TO MESSAGE
If you decide to go to the Online "Web-azine" version, go here first
for navigation instructions:
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vol12.htm#HowTo
If you are reading this plain text issue, maximize your email window
for best viewing and WATCH FOR ANY LINKS THAT WRAP TO
MORE THAN ONE LINE! These will have to be copied and pasted
into your web browser's Address Bar as one line in order for you to
access them.
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(2.) LINDA'S THOUGHT OF THE MONTH
Sometimes when you think you are helping people, you aren't.
See my editorial below if you don't believe me. LOL
CLICK HERE FOR THIS MONTH'S ANIMATED GIF,
This is what I needed after that fiasco discussed in my editorial...
thank you, Frank!
From my buddy, Frank G.:
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/vol12.htm#thought
(just rightclick on the gif and choose "Save Picture As...")
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(3.) LINDA'S SOAPBOX
~~Linda F. Johnson, Editor/Publisher
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HOW *NOT* TO DO PEOPLE A FAVOR
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Well, I REALLY did it this time!
And all I was trying to do was be helpful and considerate! :-(
For those of you who aren't aware of Yahoo's recent change
in their privacy policies, let's just say they have made some
changes to their *free* services that I don't really agree with.
(If you would like to learn more about this, read this.
http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,51461,00.html )
Since I own a Yahoo group for Microsoft Office users, I
decided maybe it was time for a change. So, I opened up
a new discussion thread in the group asking if people would
like the group moved away from Yahoo and many people
agreed that they were indeed interested and some suggested
I check out a place called www.freelists.org that hosts email discussion
groups that are technically oriented. One of the people who was
especially supportive of me moving the group to freelists is a
Mike Baynes (who, by the way, will be joining the Fleet and
taking over the Safety Belt column in this newsletter next month
and I know you will all love him!). Anyway, Mike moved his groups
to freelists and had nothing but good stuff to say about them.
So, I figured I'd investigate.
Well, freelists is not like Yahoo. There is definitely a greater
learning curve for new list owners who are used to Yahoo's
point and click interface. Freelists allows group owners to have
WAY more control over their groups, but it's all done through
switches and configurations I didn't understand. After looking
into freelists, I decided this was indeed the place I wanted to
move my group, since freelists uses NO ADS, gives me the
ability to block ALL SPAM, and let's ME control what my group
does and doesn't have to see (like autoresponders run amuck
and people trying to unsubscribe by sending their message to
the whole group....sometimes repeatedly...geesh).
But, here's where I made my FIRST MISTAKE. I sent an email to
the Yahoo group and told them I was going to test it out.
Unfortunately, many members of the group were set to "no mail"
or "digest mail" and hadn't yet read this message from me.
So, they were not aware I was doing this. Actually, many of
them had joined the Yahoo group a long time ago, then set
themselves to "no mail" and forgot they were even members.
My SECOND MISTAKE: I thought I would move all the members
over to freelists and, in the process, be able to easily convert
the "no mail" and "digest" members over to the same settings
in freelists. NOT!! What happened was all members were
moved over in the "individual emails" mode.
Well, now this wouldn't have been so bad, except for my
THIRD MISTAKE: Once I had seen that all members were
going to be getting individual mails, I sent out ONE test mail
and asked that no one reply, that this was just a test to let
them all know they had been moved over and now I would
manually have to change all their settings. However, my
request for no one to reply did not work. Members, trying
to be helpful, replied to this email letting me know they got
it and everything seemed to be working fine. However,
these emails went to all the members who had chosen NOT
to receive individual emails at Yahoo and they were NOT HAPPY!
Of course, now along with all the people writing to say "Yep. I got
the test message and it worked well", the list was being flooded
with messages that said stuff like "Who are all you people and
why am I getting all this mail?" to "Either stop sending me mail
or I will report you!" to "Who the @#$%!& are you??" to
<text removed because it's so obscene, you wouldn't want to read it>.
And the mail was going to all members in droves, while I was
scrambling to try to understand how freelists worked so I could
stop the madness.
Suffice it to say, I received more hate mail during that week
than I ever have in my life. It amazes me how cruel people
can be, even though I was begging them to give me a
chance to sort it out, and apologizing all over the place
for my mistakes. I can tell you, I did NOT feel real good
about logging onto the Internet that week!
However, now that the madness has ended and my
Office group is back on track and once again supplying
all the people with great advice on how to use the Office
programs, I want to publicly thank all of my members who
stuck by me through this and helped me learn from these
mistakes. The group lost about 200 members during this
transition, but, in my opinion, the ones that were lost didn't
really want to belong in the first place, so the group of almost
500 members that is now in place are all there with full
knowledge of WHY they are there and the group is running
better than ever. So, I guess you could call this Spring
Cleaning, but, boy oh boy, it was indeed a painful experience.
So....did I learn anything? I sure hope so.
Since you now have received your latest copy of ABC
from freelists, we shall see. Since I did it differently when
I moved ABC over, I figured I would share with you the
steps of moving a list from one location to another,
THE RIGHT WAY.
Step 1: Send an email to all members of the original
group, from the original group home, but send it as a
Special Announcement, which all members will receive,
no matter what their settings. In this letter, give them
explicit instructions on how to unsubscribe from the old
group, so they will not be automatically moved over to
the new group. Give them a date when the group will
be moved so they can act on this information before
you take any steps.
Step 2: Create a test group for the new group that
consists of yourself and a few voluntary guinea pigs,
so you can test that the mail is working, etc., without
involving all members.
Step 3: Once you are sure the new group is functioning
properly, import all your members, then send a welcome
message which tells them they are all on individual mail
status and gives them clear instructions for changing this,
along with instructions for how to unsubscribe. Again,
send this out before you send any other messages to
the new list.
Seems pretty simple, when I look at it now. But, boy
oh boy, hindsight is a killer, eh?
Again. Thanks to all in my Office group who stuck with
me and supported me throughout "hell week". And
thanks to all of you ABC subscribers for sticking with
me too. Since I sent the original message to you from
Yahoo and the welcome message to you from freelists,
ABC has only received 9 unsubscribe requests at freelists.
However, the freelists group has received many new
subscribers and I noticed many of the Yahoo members
unsubscribed from the Yahoo version after they received
the freelists welcome message, so that shows me that
people support the move to freelists. I don't think you
will be disappointed.
And, the biggest plus of all is I received many replies
to the freelists welcome message telling me that FINALLY
they seem to be receiving mail referring to ABC and that
they never got anything, NOT ONE ISSUE, when the ezine
was hosted by Yahoo groups. So, FINALLY, I think I can
feel secure that all subscribers will actually receive their
issues and I won't have to spend countless hours and
bandwidth sending hundreds of issues from my own ISP.
So, here's the freelists homepage for ABC. If you want
to subscribe, unsubscribe, or set yourself on "vacation"
(which is freelists version of "no mail"), just go here and
use the dropdown menu at the top.
//www.freelists.org/webpage/abcomputers
And if you are interested in joining my MS Office group
at freelists, go here:
//www.freelists.org/webpage/mso
And, of course, now that you are safe and secure at
freelists, if you would like to unsubscribe from the Yahoo
version of this newsletter, since I have moved all of ABC's
archives over to freelists, just send a blank email to
ABComputers-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and you
too can take one step to show Yahoo we will not tolerate
this crap!
Thanks for your time and HAPPY COMPUTING!
Linda
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Linda Johnson is a college instructor of all of the Microsoft Office
Programs, as well as Adobe PhotoShop and Windows. She also
teaches online distance learning classes in Excel, Outlook,
PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word at Eclectic Academy.
http://www.eclecticacademy.com/index.htm
She has worked helpdesk and teaches and lectures at many
local businesses and tech schools in her area. Support
this newsletter by checking out Linda's website
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/
and her ebook series, MS Word MAGIC!
Part I: Fonts, Fun & Formats
http://newbieclub.com/wordmagic/?buntah
Part II: Table Wizardry
http://newbieclub.com/wordmagic2/?buntah
AND, How To Get Started As a Software Trainer:
http://dreamjobstogo.com/titles/djtg0036.html?10456
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AND DON'T MISS LINDA'S NEWEST EBOOK SERIES:
If you have been interested in taking any of Linda's Online
Classes but don't want to wait six weeks to complete all the
lessons or don't have the desire to be part of an online
classroom, why not
SKIP THE CLASS & BUY THE BOOK INSTEAD?
Check out the eBook .exe versions of all of Linda's classes here:
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/library.htm
Only $15 each!! Where else can you master a software
Program for that price?
Separate eBook tutorials on Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint,
Publisher, and Word. Terrific value!!
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******************STATION BREAK********************
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LINDA JOHNSON has published another eBook and
this one is called HOW TO GET STARTED AS A
SOFTWARE TRAINER
http://dreamjobstogo.com/titles/djtg0036.html?10456
DO YOU LOVE PLAYING WITH SOFTWARE AND WANT
TO TRY MAKING A CAREER OF IT?
That's just how Linda started out and this book she tells you
exactly how she did it and how YOU CAN DO IT TOO.
No need for a college education!
No need for professional certifications!
No need for expensive classes!
READ THIS BOOK TO LEARN HOW TO TRAIN AND
PROMOTE YOURSELF.
http://dreamjobstogo.com/titles/djtg0036.html?10456
Or, MAYBE HARDWARE IS MORE YOUR BAG?
Check out HOW TO BREAK INTO COMPUTER REPAIR
By Richard S. Harris
http://dreamjobstogo.com/titles/djtg0019.html?10456
Or if you have ANY DREAM JOB in mind, check out
DREAMS JOB TO GO
http://dreamjobstogo.com?10456
All eBooks are written by been-there/done-that authors
and sell for only $12.95, with a full money back guarantee.
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(4.) WHAT'S NEW at Linda's Computer Stop
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com
*Howdy gang.
First thing I want to do is let all you Newbie Club members,
who are missing Tom Glander as much as I was, know that
he is still alive and well and has his own website. Also, you
may have seen that he's written a column in this month's ABC
...for all of you who love what he has to say and how he says it.
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/tom12.htm
Another of this month's authors, Dian Chapman, MS
Word MVP, has a new ezine called TechTrax and both
I and Vic Ferri will be regular contributors. If you would
like to see a copy of the article I wrote for her this month,
go here and check out the left pane for "Save? Save AS?
Save as WHAT?" or, scroll down and see "GoToMyPC" for
a goodie from Vic. Congratulations to you, Dian, and best
of luck! And, readers, if you go, be sure to enter your email
address so Dian can remind you when the next issue is
posted at the website. And, while you are there, sign Dian's
MouseTrax guestbook and tell her you heard about
TechTrax at ABC.
TechTrax:
http://www.mousetrax.com/techtrax/index.html
Because I spent a lot of my time this past month, dealing
with hate mail (see my editorial) and restoring my computer
(see tip below), I only had enough time to add a few new
things to the website.
Many people write to me and ask me if I can send them
a printable copy of one of my pages since the pages have
white type on a blue background and they don't think they
can print them without using a gallon of ink. This isn't true.
Unless you specifically tell your browser to print backgrounds,
by default it won't, and my pages print just fine...black text
on a white background. (Those of you using Internet Explorer
5.5 or later can check this out easily by going to your File
menu and selecting Print Preview and you will see what I
mean.) However, if any of you ARE having problems printing
any of my pages, I've added a little mini-tutorial for a
workaround here (which works with ANY webpages you
are having difficulty printing):
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/support.htm
I've also added a whole series of links for PowerPoint
help sites to my PowerPoint page (thanks to MS
PowerPoint MVP, "Echo"):
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/powerpoint.htm
And I have a "Work for Linda" page now for anyone who
is interested in exchanging articles for free publicity for
your webpage or project. Please check it out and let me
know if I can help you get traffic to your website in exchange
for an article from you to be included in this newsletter or
a tutorial for my website:
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/jobs.htm
I've also added a few new cool sites to my favorite links
page. Go here and check out the revolving N's.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/internet.htm
Well, that's about it for new stuff this month. Thanks for
your patronage of my site and ezine. Drop me a line any
time and let me know of any additions you can think of.
I may be busy, but I'm always open to suggestions.
Linda
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******************STATION BREAK********************
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DO YOU WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL WITHOUT LEAVING
THE HOUSE?
It's the latest rage and it's called Distance Learning. Most
colleges now offer Distance Learning classes because they
know some people work hard and just can't fit a classroom
into their busy lives. But, sometimes you don't want to enroll
in a full program; you just want to take one class.
ECLECTIC ACADEMY IS YOUR ANSWER!
http://www.eclecticacademy.com/index.htm
Eclectic Academy offers a large range of classes to suit
many needs. Go there now and check out their curriculum
and roster. Classes are only $20 for 6 weeks.
HOW CAN YOU BEAT THAT?
Here's a sampling of what they offer:
*Art Courses, both digital and traditional
*Business Courses, including all of the MS Office Programs
(many taught by none other than Linda Johnson herself)
*Graphics Courses - Flash, PhotoShop, Paint Shop Pro & more
*Website Development Courses - FrontPage, Dreamweaver,
ASP, DHTML, Website Promotion, and on and on and on
*Eclectic Classes - Computer Maintenance, Writing Workshops,
Feng Shui, Eating Safely - just about anything you can think of
Go to Eclectic Academy now and sign up to be notified when
classes are added or ENROLL NOW in the class of your
choice. Go there now to enroll in the next set of classes.
ONLY $20 FOR A SIX-WEEK CLASS!
http://www.eclecticacademy.com/index.htm
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FLASH!! May 5th class enrollment for my classes will remain
open until Midnight Saturday, May 11....that's today!!
DON'T MISS THE CHANCE TO GET INTO THIS TERM'S CLASSES!
SIGN UP BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT!
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/services.htm
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(5.) Subscribers' Exclusive Tip of the Month:
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HOW TO GET INTO WINDOWS XP
WHEN YOU CAN'T GET INTO WINDOWS XP
This past month, I had a major problem caused by a
stupid blunder on my part (seems I had a few of them
this month...LOL). All I was trying to do was install a
new keyboard (seems simple enough, eh?)....but, in the
process, I made a mistake and chose a usb keyboard
driver and my keyboard is ps2. So, when I rebooted and
tried to get into Windows XP, I couldn't type my password
because my keyboard was not being recognized. So, I
decided to do a repair from the XP CD, thinking this would
load all the default drivers and I would be all set, which
*probably* would have worked. BUT, unfortunately, the
repair caused an error message and told me to reboot,
and when I did, all XP would allow me to do was continue
the failed repair and I couldn't get out of this loop to follow
Hal Cardona's advice, which is what I should have done
in the first place (boot to the bootup options screen and
choose to do a System Restore...or simply go buy a cheap
usb keyboard so I could type!). So, I ended up completely
reinstalling Windows XP and losing all my program associations,
so I also had to reinstall all my software, because I couldn't
figure out a way to get to the Restore feature now that I was
stuck in this loop.
All this because I installed a new keyboard. LOL
Anyway....after the fact, a gal named Tina Van Winkle
found me this handy tip at Microsoft's website that allows
you to get to a command prompt and run Restore from there.
Since I was able to type at my Boot Magic screen, I knew
my keyboard worked UNTIL Windows XP loaded, so this
would have worked for me. This one is now taped to the
side of my computer in case I ever need it again and I
recommend you XP users do the same:
Starting System Restore Tool from Command Prompt
http://support.microsoft.com/search/preview.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q304449
1.. Start your computer to Safe Mode with Command Prompt.
NOTE : You must log on as the administrator or a user that has
administrator rights.
2.. At the command prompt,
type %systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe
and then press ENTER.
3.. Follow the instructions on the screen to begin restoring
your computer to a previous, functional state.
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******************STATION BREAK********************
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Free Tutorials, Free eBooks, Free Courses, Free Guestbooks, Free
Autoresponders, Free Newsletter, Free Affiliate program and
FREE MEMBERSHIP. Wow! Did I mention it was Free? Newbies
and Oldbies alike are buzzing about the NEW Newbie Club.
It's the most exciting Newbie Site ever to hit the Web.
Join now - it's FREE!
http://newbieclub.com/?buntah
editor's recommendation:
They also have an online PC Clinic now where you can receive
Computer and Internet Technical problem solving advice 24/7
for only $29.80 a year! I tested the service for them with
some pretty tough questions and they found the answers
every time.....some took 3 or 4 emails back and forth, but
they DID solve it and they DID respond to each of my mails
within 6 hours. I recommend this one!
http://newbieclub.com/clinic/?buntah
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(6.) Cap'n Patt's
GEEKSPEAK TRANSLATOR
Visit the Cap'n's Official GeekSpeak Database at
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/capn3.htm
If the word you need defined is not there, just write to me at
linda@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and I will pass it on
to the Cap'n.
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******************STATION BREAK********************
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ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A RELIABLE DOMAIN HOST
FOR YOUR WEBSITE?
Hands down, I think the one I use is the very best (Hal
Cardona's been using them for over 3 years and he turned
me onto them over a year ago).
*My site has NEVER been down for more than 3 minutes!
(except once late on a Saturday nite when it was being
worked on and they warned we well in advance).
*Their tech support are the greatest and I have never had
to wait more than an hour for a good answer to any question
or problem I had!
*If you use FrontPage for your webcrafting, they are
excellent with those pesky FP extensions!
*And, the email server is non-failing!
Obviously, I am a big fan of theirs.
Their name is HOSTWAY and I believe if you try them,
you will never regret it.
http://hostway.onweb.cx/
And, if you sign up, tell them you were referred by
linda@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
That will help fund this newsletter because they give me a
free month of service for everyone I send to them :-)
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****************THIS MONTH'S FEATURE***********
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(7.) TINA'S FRONTPAGE NEWS
~~Tina Clarke, AccessFP Resource Centre
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XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
EDITOR'S NOTE: It is recommended that you read
and bookmark the online version of the following article
which includes a clickable index of these tips
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/tina12.htm
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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55 FRONTPAGE TIPS
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TIP 1: Simply the way
There is a simple way to create bookmarks and named
anchors - simply select the text you wish to transform
into a bookmark, then holding down the RIGHT mouse
button, drag it to wherever you want the link generated.
Then, when released, select 'Link Here' from the pop-up
menu. Other choices on the menu are 'move here'
'copy here' and cancel.
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TIP 2: Altering the image sizes
If you simply resize images, FrontPage does not alter the
file size. To make the file smaller too, you should select the
'Resample' icon in the Image toolbar after you have resized it.
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TIP 3: Compatibility
If you find an icon to be greyed out its 'usually' because of
the way the settings for compatibility are configured, to make
sure this is not the problem do the following. Go to Tools |
Page Options | Compatibility Tab | set all boxes to custom
and tick everything. Click ok and say yes when it asks to
refresh your web.
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TIP 4: Editing a Shared Border
At some point you may want to access the html of a shared
border, in order to do this the first time, do the following:
First make sure you have the hidden folders box ticked.
Tools | Web settings | Advanced Tab | Make sure the 'Show
documents in hidden directories' box is ticked. Press ok.
You will be asked to refresh the web.
Go to the Folders View and you will see a folder called
_borders. Ddouble click to open and then you can click on
the borders .htm files that you have in your web. There will
be the border pages that you have enabled on your web through
Format | shared borders so if you only enabled the left border
the left.htm file will only be available to bring up.
You can then edit like a normal page. If you want the others to
be available you must enable them through Format | Shared
Border and ticking the appropriate pages, then press ok. You
must then save a page in your site that has them enabled and
refresh the web to bring them up.
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TIP 5: Recalculate hyperlinks
After editing your web, and before publishing ALWAYS
go to Tools | Recalculate Hyperlinks and when asked to
refresh say yes. Why? Your FrontPage TOC (Table of
Contents) and Search Bots need this to happen in order
to note new links and delete references to deleted files.
It also helps with publishing your site, as FrontPage does
not have any conflicts to resolve and so takes less time to
publish. Once a week open up the web live on the server
and recalculate hyperlinks there as well.
*********************************
TIP 6: Getting rid of unwanted Graphics
Go to 'Hyperlinks View' if 'Folder List' is not open go to
'View' and click the 'Folder List' icon.
Note: All graphics should be saved in the Images folder.
Double click the Images folder to open it and start with
the first graphic. Select it and on the right you will see
either blue lines leading from the graphic or none at all. If
it has blue lines then it's linked to something on your website
if there are none then it's truly an orphan graphic and not
being used.
If you want to save the graphics for use at a later time,
just open up another instance of FrontPage and drag the
file over the icon of the other FrontPage application in the
status bar at the bottom of your screen, it will open up and
you can just drop it into a website you made earlier. I do
this and call mine storehouse. You then need to delete the
graphic in the web you're checking. You can check if it's a
graphic you want to keep by double clicking the graphic in
the right hand pane and your image editor should bring up
the graphic for your preview.
If you don't want to keep it just right click and choose delete.
Work your way down the list of graphics. When you have
finished, go to Tools | Recalculate Hyperlinks as your web
needs to know where everything is now.
*********************************
TIP 7: Drag that link
A quick way to insert a link into FrontPage is to position
your cursor over the Internet explorer icon in the address
bar and drag the icon using either your left or right mouse
button and hover over your FrontPage Application Icon in
the status bar of your monitor, after a few seconds FrontPage
will pop up and you can then release the link. Using the right
mouse button, a dialog box will pop up asking you to 'Create
Hyperlink'. Using the left button, just deposit it. The link is then
created and the text is used from the title of the page you
dragged the hyperlink from.
*********************************
TIP 8: That link out there! (for v2k/02 only)
If you want to link to an external site within the navigation
bar this is what you do.
Go to Navigation View right click on the view select 'New Top
Page' or select the page you want to use.
Right click on the 'New Top Page' and select 'External
Hyperlink' Input the URL you wish to use, Click OK. For a
work around for FP98 see http://accessfp.net/tip3.htm Tip 7
*********************************
TIP 9: End it!
Position your cursor at the text you want to highlight. Press
SHIFT and END, then the text is highlighted. Plus if you
continue to press shift and press the down arrow key
subsequent text is also highlighted.
*********************************
TIP 10: Spaced out!
We know that to obtain single spacing while writing
content one presses enter while holding down the shift
key (Shift + Enter). However what happens if you want
to reformat text already written?
Highlight what you want to become single-spaced or
click 'Select All' from the 'Edit' menu if you want the entire
document to be that way.
Click on 'Format', then 'Paragraph'
Change the Spacing 'Before' and Spacing 'After' to zeros.
Click on 'Line Spacing', then 'Single'.
Click OK.
To make this work you must make the spacing before
and after a zero. You can also make it a 1, which will
bring it slightly further apart.
*********************************
TIP 11: Missing your Menu Bar?
Close down FrontPage. Search your hard drive for the
file cmdUI.prf. When you find it, delete it and then bring
up FrontPage 2000/02 and all should then be well.
*********************************
TIP 12: FrontPage Hang
If FrontPage hangs it could be because the file has
gone beyond 32,768 lines of code. There is a limit to
the size of files that can open for editing, and if you go
over this magic number FrontPage will 'hang' so try to
keep your file size down. You can always open the file
in notepad to delete some of the code if this happens.
*********************************
TIP 13: You may need to spell check a page in another
language how do you do that?
Right click on a page and select 'Page Properties'. Go
to the 'Language' tab and select the language of your
choice from the 'Mark Current Document As' dropdown list.
This informs FP which language you have selected for
example German. Now when you spell check by Tools |
Spelling, FP will then prompt you to install the German
proofing tools. For this you will need your CD, once this has
been installed it will spell check the document against the
German dictionary.
*********************************
TIP 14: Most times themes are contained in a zip file when
you download them. Here is what you need to do once you
download the file:
Open the zip file
Unzip all the files (using a program such as Winzip,
which can be found at http://www.winzip.com )
Note: unzip each theme to a separate folder and make
sure that the name of the folder is the name of the .elm file.
Below are the two paths for fp98 and fp2k.
FrontPage 98 -
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Front Page\Themes\*\
FrontPage 2000/02 -
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Themes\*\
*(Insert name of folder for theme here)
Open Microsoft FrontPage
For FrontPage 98 - Apply the theme by going to the themes
view and selecting it. For FrontPage 2000/02 - Apply the
theme by going to the Format menu and selecting 'Theme'.
*********************************
TIP 15: Keeping your code clean
If you want to make sure your code is not changed in any
way the best way to 'keep' your code is to use the html
markup box. - Usually used for scripts
Depending on what version of FrontPage you're using,
the place to find it is different.
FrontPage Express - Insert menu | HTML Markup
FrontPage 98 - Click the 'View Menu' and select the
'Advanced Toolbar' on there you will find the icon 'Insert
HTML' or you can go to the 'Insert Menu' and click 'FrontPage
Component' and click 'Insert html'.
FrontPage 2000 - Insert Menu | Advanced | Html.
FrontPage 2002 - Insert Menu | Web Component | click
'Advanced Controls' (in the left hand pane) and then 'HTML'
icon (in the right hand pane) click Finish.
First position your cursor where you want it to appear
in normal view. Next insert your script or code that you
don't wish to be changed into the box that pops up and
press OK.
When you have done this, unless you have the 'show/hide'
icon (shaped like a backwards P - to make it appear, press
the icon or use the keyboard. Control + Shift + *) depressed
you won't see the little yellow markers. (Small yellow box
with <?> written on them). To access the code again just
double click this box and the mark-up box will pop open
and you can edit the code. Using the 'show/hide' icon will
also show you paragraph marks and other formatting
marks (similar to F12 in WordPerfect)
*********************************
TIP 16: Save changes in Navigation view
When you make changes to your web's navigation
structure in Navigation view - for example, adding or
deleting a page from the structure, or creating a new
page - those changes are saved automatically when
you switch to another view, such as 'Page View'.
However, you can save changes at any time to prevent
losing work.
To save changes without switching views, right-click
on the view background, and then click 'Apply Changes'
on the shortcut menu.
*********************************
TIP 17 What's in a rename?
If, for any reason, you need to change the name of a
file or folder on your Web site, FrontPage will automatically
update all the file's associated hyperlinks. You can rename
a file in several ways, but it's easiest to follow these steps:
In the Folders, All Files, or Navigation View, click the
filename to select it and then right click and choose 'rename'.
A box appears around the filename, and the filename is
highlighted.
Type a new name. Make sure to keep the same
three-letter extension so that the Explorer knows what
kind of file you're renaming, though you can change this
as well, make sure it is one that FrontPage supports.
e.g: .htm, .asp, etc.
Click slightly away from the box. If the file contains
associated links, the 'Rename' dialog box appears,
asking if you'd like to update the links to reflect the
new name.
Click Yes. The dialog box will close and FrontPage
automatically updates the links
*********************************
TIP 18: Jumping the line
When you use code validators they give you the line
number to fix the code, in FrontPage 97/98 you had to
cut and paste to notepad with wrap turned off and count
down to the correct line number. Now in FrontPage 2000
and 2002 you can go to the line number on the html tab
in page view.
Right-click anywhere in the HTML page
Then click Go To on the shortcut menu.
Type the number of the line you want to go to in the
Enter Line Number box.
Click OK.
*********************************
TIP 19: How to check your backgrounds are configured
and how to configure them.
In Internet Explorer go to Tools | Internet Options | Colors.
Untick the Use windows colours and choose a colour for
the background that no one would use, like spruce pink.
Click ok twice and refresh the page to your site you will
see what I mean. I use this method to check my own pages
you would be surprised at how many 'big' sites don't have
theirs configured. Try looking at http://www.yahoo.com/
To configure your background in FrontPage. Right click
on the background of a page
Choose Page properties
Go to the background tab
Go to 'Colour's' | 'background' and choose your
background colour
While you are there change the hyperlink colours from
automatic as well to the colour of your choice and the
text too. Press Ok.
Remember to use the same link colours throughout
your site so you won't confuse visitors.
*********************************
TIP 20: How to Open your site live and publish from
the server to your hard drive.
Make sure you have FrontPage extensions enabled
on your host.
Open up FrontPage and close down any webs you
have open
To Open the site live, choose File | Open Web. On the
pop up box click 'Web Folders' on the left hand menu
and Insert the url of the site you wish to open in box
marked 'Web Name'
E.g.: http://www.accessfp.net/
Click Open.
A box will appear asking for your username and
password. Insert these and press OK.
In FrontPage, click on the navigation view so you know
when the site will have finished loading.
The site will load.
Once it is fully loaded you may publish to your hard drive.
File | Publish. Insert the location on your hard drive you
wish to publish to or make an empty web beforehand in
preparation.
When the site has finished publishing close the live site
and open the one on your hard drive for editing.
*********************************
TIP 21: Want to hide a folder/page from the FrontPage
search and TOC Bots?
Insert a underscore _ before the folder/page name.
e.g.: _myfile.htm or _myfolder/ You may want access
to the folder so be sure the hidden folders box is ticked.
(Underscored pages are viewable in the navigation
regardless of the hidden folders box being checked.)
Tools | Web settings | Advanced Tab. Make sure the
'Show hidden files and folders' box is ticked. Press ok.
You will be asked to refresh the web. Go to the Folders
View where you will find your new folder.
*********************************
TIP 22: Thumbnail button
My thumbnail button was greyed out and I could not
get it to work. All I had to do was have a LARGE graphic
selected, then the thumbnail button (under tools) becomes
active, if your graphic has already been reduced it remains
greyed out.
To make a thumbnail.
Select the image.
On the Pictures toolbar, choose Auto Thumbnail.
FrontPage creates the thumbnail image, inserts it in
place of the larger image, and creates a hyperlink to
the full-sized image from the thumbnail image.
*********************************
TIP 23: If you wish to configure a page of the larger
picture of a thumbnail do this.
Select the thumbnail you wish to link from. On the
Insert menu, choose hyperlink, or click the hyperlink
Icon.
Click on "Create a page and link to the new page",
(For FrontPage 2000, this is the white page icon on the
far right of the Create hyperlink box - For FrontPage
2002 choose 'Create New Document' from the menu
on the left of the 'Hyperlink' Dialog Box.)
A dialog box comes up "New", with Normal page as the
default; normally you would use this, so click ok. (For
FrontPage 2002, you have the choice of naming the
new document. E.g. "myphoto.htm")
a) In FrontPage 2002 the file is then saved to your
hard drive and you return to the page with the graphic
you selected, still highlighted. Again, on the 'Insert'
menu, choose hyperlink, or click the hyperlink Icon.
Scroll down the list of files till you come to the one you
just made i.e. "myphoto.htm" select it then press ok.
b) For FrontPage 2000 you have to save the page and
you need to name it. (if you ticked 'Just add web task'
when choosing the template (3) the page will asked to
be named and saved and then close and you will have
to go look in the folders view to open it again.)
Open the file "myphoto.htm" (if you're using shared
borders it is best to delete the shared borders for this
page only) and insert your large graphic. You can add
text, configure the background, centre the graphic
anything you want. Save the page, and when you have
published the page you should be able to click on the
thumbnail and it will take you to this file.
*********************************
TIP 24: Getting rid of a background in Themes
If you dislike the background in the theme of your
choice you don't have to remake the whole theme,
just get rid of the background instead.
Right-click anywhere on your page and choose
Theme from the pop-up menu that appears.
In the Choose Theme dialog box, uncheck the
Background Image box. You get a preview of what
your page looks like without the background pattern.
If you like what you see, click OK. If you don't like
what you see, you can always click the Background
Image again.
*********************************
TIP 25: Alt Text Change
Right-click the image and choose Image Properties.
The 'Image Properties' dialog box appears, (In FrontPage
2000 with the name and size of the image file appearing
in the Text box, in the Alternative Representations section).
Insert your descriptive text into the Text Box.
Click OK.
*********************************
TIP 26: Close to Word
If you working closely with Microsoft Word, or other
Office programs, don't simply drag the text into FrontPage
- it carries over the formatting, which is a pain to get rid of.
To tidy it up, press Ctrl-space or Ctrl-Shift-Z, or Format |
Remove Formatting which removes all previous formatting.
You can also paste the content into Notepad first, then cut
and paste to FrontPage. Alternately Microsoft has a Add-on
that will also do the job.
http://office.microsoft.com/Assistance/2000/wMultiplePeeler.aspx
*********************************
TIP 27: Easier tables
If you need to display data on a web page, but don't
want the hassle of manually typing it into tables, there
is an easier way. Simply paste the data (from a Word
document, say) into the page, then select it, then select
Table from the Table Menu then "convert text to table".
You can do this in reverse as well. "Table", "convert table
to text". In the dialog box that appears, specify what
delimiting character was used to separate the data (probably
a comma, tab, or paragraph mark) and click OK. FrontPage
will format the data as an HTML table. FrontPage "remembers"
where the tabs appeared in tab-delimited data-even though
HTML doesn't recognize tabs. However, you should
convert your text immediately. If you close and reopen
the document, FrontPage will "forget" where the tabs were
and consider them spaces instead.
*********************************
TIP 28: Specify fonts
To specify ideal viewing fonts, view the page in HTML.
Select the text you want to view and choose the font
(such as Arial) then position the cursor to the right of
the font name that has just appeared. You add extra
fonts simply by typing them in, separated by a comma.
Or you can select the text you wish to add extra fonts
too, then right click choose Font and insert the extra
fonts inserting a comma between each, press ok.
*********************************
TIP 29: Finding the file
To find a file in the navigation View, click the file in the
folder list and right click choose 'Find in navigation'
and the file will be highlighted in the 'Navigation View'.
*********************************
TIP 30: How to unlink
In FrontPage 2000, select the hyperlink and click the unlink
icon. If it is not available go to Tools | Customize. In the left
hand pane choose Edit and in the right hand pane
scroll down till you find unlink. Drag it to the menu bar
above.
In FrontPage 2002 select the hyperlink, right click and
choose Hyperlink Properties, in the Hyperlink Dialog
Box click the 'Remove Link' button. (There is no unlink
icon in FrontPage 2002).
*********************************
TIP 31: Space Saver
When you create blocks or items of text (such as
bullet-points with the <LI> tag) and want a new font
to highlight your list, use only one <FONT> tag to style
the entire list. If you use separate <FONT> tags for
each bullet-point, many browsers will add unwanted
space between the items.
*********************************
TIP 32: How to use a hover button within a framed
page
By Clicking on a hover button in one frame you can
change the contents within another frame. To do this
simply add the following code to the list of parameters
between the <applet> and </applet> tags.
<param name="target" value=" The name of the frame ">
*********************************
TIP 33: Clearing your cache
FrontPage 98 stores all its temp files (cache) in its own
subdirectory, which is usually stored at C:\Program
Files\Microsoft FrontPage\temp. FrontPage 98 does
not clear these automatically so sooner rather than later
your hard drive will be bulging! To clear out these
temp files
Select Windows Explorer to locate the FrontPage
Temp subdirectory
Select and delete all its contents (but don't delete
the temp subdirectory itself)
Or you can:
Press Start
Select Find | Find Folders under the Name and
Location tab | Named box enter first:
*.tmp - Press 'Find Now' and wait till all the files are
located Go to the menu bar and click Edit | Select all.
Right click in the window pane on the files under the
'Name' column and select Delete in the pop up menu,
Click yes when the recycle bin asks if you want to
delete them.
*.chk - Do the same with .chk.
FrontPage 2000/02 have a built-in provision for
deleting the contents of the temp subdirectory.
Tools | Web Settings | Advanced Tab, click the Delete
Files button.
*********************************
TIP 34: Setting White as Default Background Colour
for all New Pages
It is very common for web-developer's to overlook turning
their page background colour to white because it already
appears white in the FrontPage Normal View, when it is
actually set to "default" in the Page Properties. If your
default background colour is set to white in your browser,
you may not catch it when you view your pages, either.
To thwart this in the future, you can modify your "normal
page template" in FrontPage to always have white set
as the background colour automatically when you create
a new page. Here's how to do it.
Open a web in Frontpage: Press File | New (FP02 -
File or web | Page Templates) Normal
Do Not tick "Just Add Task", Click ok
To make background and other changes: Click
Format | Background. Then change the background,
fonts and hyperlinks to the colours you wish to choose.
You can also change the margins with this dialog box as
well if you wish and also meta tags that you wish to use
globally.
Now you are ready to save: Click | File | Save As
(Not Save)
Change the text in the url and title boxes to normal
Click Save as Type
Check the url and title say normal
Click ok.
From now on you will have a blank page with the
colours you have set up. For Background that should
be white, for text black and for hyperlinks whatever you
wish, this depends on how you generally use your pages.
If you prefer dark backgrounds choose hyperlink colours
that are going to be visible.
*********************************
TIP 35: Hover buttons not working
If your hover buttons don't work on the Web, chances are
good that you didn't upload the Java applet files to your
server. There are two files, fphover.class and fphoverx.class,
and they must be in a directory called _fpclass within your
root web. However, do NOT put the HTML page that includes
the buttons in that directory. You also need to have
server extensions installed. If you can't see them at first,
check your hidden folders box is ticked. Tools | Web
settings | Advanced Tab. Make sure the 'Show hidden
files and folders' box is ticked. Press ok. You will be asked
to refresh the web.
*********************************
TIP 36: Discussion Group - New messages go to message 1
This error is caused by using upper case characters for the
name of the folder (the default name of this folder when first
using the Discussion Wizard is "_disc1") in which the articles
are stored. Make sure your discussion web folders are all
lower case.
*********************************
TIP 37: Butt what a table
When you have two tables butted together vertically, it
can be hard to insert a line between them. To do so, place
the cursor after the content of the top table's last cell and
press [Ctrl][Enter].
NOTE: The cursor MUST be in the last cell and MUST be
at the end of all content.
Similarly, to put the insertion point before a table at the
top of your document, place the cursor before the content
of the first cell and press [Ctrl][Enter]. In FrontPage 97, if
this cell is empty, you'll have to type a character in it before
hitting [Ctrl][Enter].
*********************************
TIP 38: Pointing to the graphics application
If your default image editor is Image Composer, but
you want to use another application, you need to
reconfigure the settings and point to the one you want.
In FrontPage, select Tools + Options.
In the Options dialog box, click the Configure Editors tab.
A list of different file types and the editor--or program--
that FrontPage uses to work with that type of file appears.
Because you're working with image files, the most important
types of files are GIF and JPEG.
Highlight the GIF file type and click Modify; then browse
to find the photo editing program's executable file, select it,
and click OK.
Highlight the JPEG file type and click Modify; then
browse to find the photo editing program's executable file,
select it, and click OK.
When finished, click OK to exit the Options dialog box.
(see tip #39)
*********************************
TIP 39: Which is which
If you're a little confused as to which file is which.
The best way to find out which is an executable file is:
Select the file you think is the correct one, then
right-click the filename and choose Properties.
In the next dialog box, you see a listing with the
DOS name of the program. If the name has the .EXE
file extension, it's an executable file. The dialog box
also mentions that the file is an application.
Click Cancel to exit this dialog box and then select
the application to be your default photo editor.
*********************************
TIP 40: To Create a Verified Hyperlink
Creating a verified hyperlink is the most accurate way
because you actually visit the page the hyperlink will
Point to.
Type AnyFrontPage and then press ENTER.
Holding down the left mouse button, drag the mouse
over the words you just typed to select them.
On the Insert menu, choose Hyperlink.
The Create Hyperlink dialog box is displayed.
In the Create Hyperlink dialog box, click the World
Wide Web button.
FrontPage launches your Web browser. When you
visit the page that the hyperlink should point to and
then switch back to FrontPage, the URL field will
contain the address of the target page.
In your Web browser's Address (or Location) field,
type http://anyfrontpage.com for example and then
press ENTER.
The Web browser displays the AnyFrontPage.com
home page, where you can learn more about FrontPage
via a the FrontPage Ezine, and find solutions to
common questions at the forums.
On your keyboard, press ALT+TAB (or click the
FrontPage icon in the Windows task bar) to switch
back to the FrontPage 'Create Hyperlink' dialog box.
The URL of the AnyFrontPage home page is now
entered into the URL field in the Create Hyperlink
dialog box.
Click OK.
On your keyboard, press the DOWN ARROW key to
deselect the text. The words "AnyFrontPage" are
now underlined to indicate the hyperlink.
*********************************
TIP 41: The high life!
Place the cursor to the left of the first letter, hold
down the shift key and then place the cursor at the
end of the text you want to change and the whole
text area will be highlighted.
*********************************
TIP 42: Flowing Text
If you want text to flow around your image, the trick is
to change the image's properties so that the text runs
to the left or right of your image:
Right-click the image.
Choose Image Properties from the menu that appears.
Click the Appearance tab in the Image Properties
dialog box.
Under Alignment, choose Left or Right.
Click OK to close the Image Properties dialog box.
Now your text flows around your image instead of
sitting above or below it. If you don't already have
text on the page, you can begin typing now, and your
text flows automatically.
*********************************
TIP 43: Design Tip
To stop other webmasters from framing your site just
insert the following piece of JavaScript code between
the <head> </head> tags on your homepage:
<script language="JavaScript">
<!--
if (self.parent.frames.length != 0)
self.parent.location="YOURURL";
-->
</script>
Just change YOURURL to the full URL of the page
you don't want frames on. For example if I put that
code on:
http://www.accessfp.net/index.html,
I would also use the same URL in the URL field in the JavaScript.
*********************************
TIP 44: Hidden away
To help you organise your hidden pages, you can also
create folders within the /_private folder, such as
/_private/myfolder. Folders and files within the /_private
folder are inaccessible by a Web browser unless you
have the web server ID and Password.
*********************************
TIP 45: Never mind the quality. Feel the compression
FrontPage is set up by default to further compress
inserted images by as much as 75 per cent, and this
will degrade the quality of the image once the page is
saved. To prevent this you can right-click on the image
you just inserted into FrontPage (prior to saving the page)
and select Image Properties from the pop up menu.
Change the JPEG compression setting to 100 per cent,
which will prevent FrontPage from compressing the image
further. This will of course increase the file size.
*********************************
TIP 46: Move that Image
If you start off making your website and, like me in the
beginning, don't know to put all images in the images
folder. You can move them now to the images folder.
Go to Folders View and in the Folders List click the
images folder. Then in the right hand pane click on
'Type' to line up all the Image files.
Click on the first Image file to select it, Press 'Shift'
and hold down, scroll down to the last Image file and
select it. Let go of 'shift'
Right click within the highlighted files and keep
holding down the button while you drag all the files
over to the LEFT hand pane and position over the
'Image' folder let go and click 'Move here' when the
dialog box pops up. When you do this all the images
will be moved over and a dialog box will pop up asking
if you want to retain the links say yes. Don't forget to
recalculate your links before uploading your website.
*********************************
TIP 47: Set properties on the HTML tab in Page view
When you're editing a page on the HTML tab in Page
view, you can use Microsoft FrontPage to help you set
the properties of an HTML tag, instead of memorizing
the valid attributes and values and typing them yourself.
For example, if you want to add a border to an image,
you can type border="1" in the <img> tag - but that
assumes you know the valid attributes and values for
image tags. Instead, you can use the Picture Properties
dialog box to set the border, and FrontPage automatically
writes the border settings, in the proper syntax and using
valid values, back into the <img> tag. Unlike previous
versions of FrontPage, you don't need to exit the HTML
tab to use dialog boxes to set properties for a tag.
On the HTML tab in Page view, position the insertion
point inside the tag name (not inside an attribute or a
value) of the tag you want to set properties for,
right-click to display the shortcut menu, and then click
Tag Properties.
FrontPage displays the appropriate properties dialog
box for that HTML tag. For example, if you click in a
form field check box tag, FrontPage displays the Check
Box Properties dialog box.
Set the properties you want. The dialog box lets you
choose from among the valid attributes and values for
that tag.
When you click OK to close the properties dialog box,
FrontPage immediately rewrites the HTML for that tag.
*********************************
TIP 48: To copy or paste?
To Copy formatting from selected characters or a
paragraph and apply it to the text you select.
Select the formatting you want to copy
Click the 'Format painter' icon
The cursor turns into a paintbrush.
Brush it across the text you wish to change.
NOTE: To copy the selected formatting to several
locations, double-click Format Painter. Click the button
again when you're finished.
or
You can use the 'Copy' and 'Paste' Keyboard shortcuts:
Select the text you want to copy.
Press Ctrl + Shift + C
Select the text you want to change
Press Ctrl + Shift + V
*********************************
TIP 49: What's on the menu?
Press Tools | Customize
Look in the left hand pane under categories for the
menu listing you want. Click on it
In the right hand pane under Commands are the icons
that can either go on the tool bar or in the menu bar.
If you want a description of one just click on it and
press description down below.
To add a Command to the Toolbar or menu bar just
left click and drag the command to the Toolbar and
you can just drop it into place.
With the menu bar you can hover over a menu heading,
and the menu drops down. Position the command
where you want it on the menu list when a black line
appears and you drop the command.
Now you can find all the commands you have been
looking for.
*********************************
TIP 50: Float it!
On some of the menu items, e.g. Component and
Form, there is a grey shaded area in the drop-down
menu. You can click and drag this to make a floating
toolbar.
*********************************
TIP 51: Reveal it!
When you work on your page, you're creating HTML
tags. FrontPage is designed so that you don't see them
in normal view. However if you want to see what tags
are being created in Normal View do the following.
Click View | Reveal Tags
They will appear in yellow
To hide them, click View | Reveal tags again.
or if you prefer the keyboard Ctrl + /
*********************************
TIP 52: X is NOT the button
Shutting down FrontPage by clicking on the X button
in the top right hand corner of FP can cause your
extensions to become corrupt if you have just published.
So always shut down FrontPage in the prescribed
manner, namely:
Click the Done button after publishing.
Click File | Close web
Click exit
Better safe than sorry.
*********************************
TIP 53: Watermark it.
To Watermark your page do the following:
Right click on the background of your page
Click 'Page Properties' | Background tab
Tick the box marked 'Background Picture'
Click Browse to find a background
Tick the box marked ' Watermark'
Click Ok.
Note: Watermarked backgrounds are not supported in
all browsers. Watermarks won't work with pages that
have a theme applied.
*********************************
TIP 54: Follow that Hyperlink
When your editing a page you can follow a hyperlink
which will open up the destination page or file. So
when you have created a hyperlink you can test it
straight away. Though FrontPage follows the
hyperlink differently, depending on the destination:
If the destination is a page, FrontPage opens the
page for editing in Page view.
If the destination is a bookmark, FrontPage opens
the page and scrolls down to the bookmark.
If the destination is a file, FrontPage opens the file in
its associated editor. For example, FrontPage opens
a text file in Notepad.
If the destination is not in the current web, FrontPage
opens a copy of the destination page or file.
In Page view, Select and then right-click the hyperlink,
and then click 'Follow Hyperlink' on the pop up box.
NOTE: You can also press and hold CTRL, and then
click the hyperlink to follow it. If you followed a
hyperlink to another page, click Back to return to the
original page.
*********************************
TIP 55: Open in a new window
I want all my links on one page to open up in a new
window and on another page I only want one of them
to do this, how can I make this happen?
A) For one link to be open in new window:
Select the link you want to open in a new window.
Click the hyperlink icon. Or press Control + K and the
Create Hyperlink box will come up.
Click the 'Change Target Frame' icon (like a pencil)
next to where it says 'Target Frame'. (For FrontPage
2002 - click the Target Button on the right-hand side)
Another box will pop up and you should select new
window and press ok and save the page.
B) To select the whole page:
After selecting new window, tick the box at the bottom
where it says 'set as page default' press ok and save
the page.
The code that FrontPage inserts is:
<base target="_blank"> Which goes between your head tags.
NOTE: It is not a good idea to use this on pages with
internal links. Open in a new window is normally kept
for External links.
**********************************************************
Tina Clarke is the Webmaster of AccessFP - FrontPage
Resource Centre
http://accessfp.net/
and an editor of "AnyFrontPage Bytes Ezine". Subscribe to
the FrontPage ezine and get FREE FrontPage E-Books upon
joining.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AnyFrontPageBytes
**********************************************************
******************STATION BREAK********************
**********************************************************
Do you want to know the latest on FrontPage? Do you want
Tips, news, articles, links and ebooks on FrontPage? Well the
AnyFrontPage Bytes Ezine is the best place for your FrontPage
and web crafting needs, join up at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AnyFrontPageBytes
Are you looking for resources for FrontPage? Want to know
where all the best FP links are? The hosts, the lists, the forums?
Use AccessFP - FrontPage Resources Centre as the start site
for your FrontPage Information facts.
http://accessfp.net/
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(8.) FRED'S SAFETY BELT
~~ Fred Arshoff
**********************************************************
DO I NEED BOTH A FIREWALL
AND ANTIVIRUS PROGRAM?
**********************************************************
The short answer is yes, but I will explain why and
what I highly recommend.
First of all both programs, though they are security
type applications, do different things. Firewalls will
detect and stop hackers from breaking into your computer.
This is a must, particularly if you have a cable modem
connection. When you're connected at all times, people
can easily hack into your computer and cause many
things to happen, such as steal personal data from you
or perhaps delete data that is crucial to you.
An antivirus program will detect and remove most
computer viruses provided that you have the data file
up to date. There are some antivirus programs that
detect viruses only in email. Though this is where most
viruses do enter your computer, you should have one to
detect a virus from any other source, such as a floppy
disk or CD. A friend could have given you the CD, not
knowing it had a virus.
And, when you have both a firewall and AV program,
the best thing to do is buy a security suite, though I won't
name any as I won't endorse one vendor over another.
Sometimes when you buy standalones, there are conflicts
between them and you are no further ahead. You may
actually be further behind the eight ball as neither functions
well. Most antivirus vendors do make suites.
Also if you buy stand alones, if there is a conflict, neither
vendor will give you technical support as they will claim
the problem was created by the other vendor's application.
Also, in most cases buying a suite is cheaper then buying
two standalone products.
**********************************************************
Fred Arshoff is self employed in the computer industry where
his favorite thing is troubleshooting security and virus issues.
He runs two Yahoo groups:
Fred's Findings
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HnF_ctipsNnews/
and Fred's Virus Info.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freds_virusinfo/
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(9.)VIC'S REGISTRY ROUNDUP & DOS DEN
~~ Vic Ferri, Windows Tips & Tricks
**********************************************************
THREE TIPS
* WINDOWS FIND ICON
* PRESERVING YOUR FAVICONS
* WEB BUILDER TIP
**********************************************************
Windows Find Icon
A few weeks ago, someone asked me if it was possible
to write a bat file that would execute the Windows "Find
Files or Folders" feature, when clicked. I said, "If that's
what you really want to do, sure - just make a simple
batch file with the following commands:
@echo off
echo>find.fnd
start find.fnd
but why not just create an actual find icon which you
can click directly?"
In the above bat file a find icon is created and then
launched. All you need is the find icon itself - find.fnd -
and it doesn't need a batch file to be created. Right
click your desktop, choose New>Text Document and
then name it Find.fnd (or any name you prefer, so long
as it ends with the extension .fnd)
He thanked me and said he hadn't been aware of that
and I said, "Hmm - maybe he's not the only one and I
need something to write about for Linda's ABC - lol.
*********************************
Preserving Your Favicons
Favicons are those custom icons you see assigned to
some of your Favorites in Internet Explorer 5 and up.
Whenever you add a site to your Favorites, IE first looks
for "favicon.ico" on the sites root folder and if found, that's
the icon it assigns to your bookmark. If not found, you
get the default blue and white IE icon.
Having a few Favicons serves a useful purpose - they
make it easier to locate and identify your favorite saved
sites in your Favorites list. Linda's site, for example,
uses a bright red heart icon, which can't be missed
no matter how long your Favorite list is.
However, there is one problem with favicons. They
get deleted whenever you clear your TIF (Temporary
Internet Files), where the favicons are stored, and
as a result, your saved favicon sites revert back to
the generic blueandwhite icons.
But it doesn't have to be that way, and contrary to
popular belief, you do not have to revisit the sites and
booknark them again, to get the favicons back.
You can make your favicons permanent with a simple
and familiar method.
Just go to your TIF folder (for quick access, type
TEMPOR~1 in your Run box) and copy and paste the
favicons you would like to retain into a different folder.
Then go to your Favorites list in IE, right click each
bookmark whose favicon has disappeared, and choose
Properties. Now simply click the Change Icon tab and
browse to find and select the favicon you saved in a
different folder. And that's all there is to it.
All your Favorites are just shortcuts (they all have the
extension "url" which the Registry associates with Internet
Shortcut) and, like any other Windows shortcut, they have
the Change Icon option. This means you can assign any
icon, not just favicons, to any of your bookmarks.
*********************************
Web Builder Tip
You can easily assign different icons for different pages
on your site by adding this line anywhere between the
HEAD tags of the page:
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://www.mysite.com/myicon.ico";>
Of course, substitute the url with your own. Also, it doesn't
have to be an icon on your site - you can reference icons
from other locations as well.
**********************************************************
Vic Ferri owns the very popular WinTips and Tricks email group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WinTips-Tricks
He is also in charge of the Printing Tips page at
Linda's Computer Stop.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/printing.htm
ans also the Registry Tips page.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/vic4.htm
**********************************************************
******************STATION BREAK********************
**********************************************************
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Published monthly, and is available on select newsstands and
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And the best part is, it's CHEAP! Only $14.97 for 13 issues!
http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/vxdoin/VideoMaker.html
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(10.) CHAD'S MACRO MANIA
~~Chad K. Welch
**********************************************************
DATES IN VBA
**********************************************************
Last issue we discussed the way Microsoft Office software
handles dates. However, VBA handles dates a little bit
differently. Well, I take that back. The dates and times
are handled the same way, but representing them may
be a little different sometimes. For example, suppose
you wanted to keep track of the finish times in your
local "Tortoise and Hare Marathon Run." In Excel you
would set the cell format to keep track of total hours and
minutes (custom format [H]:mm).
In VBA the format doesn't work. In other words, if you
have a textbox and try to run the following code, you'd
expect to see 30:43 since that is 1.28 days:
TextBox1.Text = Format(1.28, "[H]:mm").
However, :12 shows up in the textbox. Where did that
come from?
There are a couple of ways to "smudge" the answer
and display what you really think should be in there.
I use a formula similar to:
TextBox1.Text = Int(1.28 * 24) & ":" & Format(1.28 * 1440 - Int(1.28 *
24) * 60, "00")
Like I say, this is just one of many ways. I'd be interested
to see how you've handled similar problems. Please email
them to me.
Remember, $5.00 to anyone who sends me a question or
idea that I can use in this article.
**********************************************************
Chad K. Welch works as a technician/enabler in Utah. He is
available for consulting or application programming with
Microsoft Office and VBA. Contact him directly for more
information at chad@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(11.) STEVE'S RAVIN' REVIEWS
~~Steve Mills
**********************************************************
THIS MONTH'S REVIEWS
Address Fixer ... 5 Geezers
STG Thumb ... 6 Geezers
Ad-aware ... 6 Geezers
MyIE ... 5 Geezers
<screen captures of the software interfaces online>
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/steve12.htm
**********************************************************
Boy, did this turn out to be a hodge podge this month.
As I began working on the column, I realized that there
were several programs that I unearthed this month that
have become a regular part of my working repertoire.
These are utilities and programs that you nearly forget
about because they just quickly and quietly do their job.
I believe you will be pleased with any of them, if you
need that particular functionality.
Your suggestions are welcome and encouraged.
(steve@xxxxxxxx)
Take Care...
Steve
*********************************
Program: Address Fixer
Version and Date: Unknown
Author: DYMO
Web Site:
http://global.dymo.com/common/scenarioforms/promotions/addressfixer
License: Freeware
Rating: 5 Geezers
I had been looking for a simple program to check
addresses for some time. Everything was too complicated
and I had been using WOPR under Microsoft Word to
accomplish this. Address Fixer is produced by DYMO to
introduce people to their printers, but I see no restrictions
on use.
Address Fixer automatically checks any US address
against the USPS master database while you're connected
to the Internet. Mistakes are automatically corrected, the
ZIP+4 is added, and formatting is adjusted to Post Office
standards.
Address Fixer works as a stand-alone Windows utility,
or with Microsoft Word, Palm OS4 and higher and the
latest DYMO LabelWriter software.
It's lightening fast and accurate. I use it daily.
*********************************
Program: STG Thumb
Version and Date: 1.62 4/4/02
Author: STG
Web Site: http://www.stgsys.com/stgthumb.asp
License: Freeware
Rating: 6 Geezers
This is one of those areas where I've probably tested
a dozen or more programs which do the same thing and
this is the winner. Once again, I wanted a program to do
one thing and do it well - produce thumbnail images from
larger pictures and produce a simple, but functional web
page. Here it is.
You may notice that the release date was a couple of
days ago. I had written the author that I was experiencing
some interface issues under certain configurations of XP.
I also apologized for requesting support on a totally free
program. I got a nice note back explaining that the bug
was a problem with a support library and they would
recompile the program. By the end of the day it was done.
I should add that I wrote without mentioning I was doing
a review.
It has a boat load of features. Here are some:
You can convert from several formats (AVI;GIF;JPG;TIF;
PNG;BMP;PCX;WMF;EMF;ICO;CUR). Outputs to JPG.
On animated GIFs and AVIs, you get thumbnails of the
first frame.
Option to add a prefix or a suffix to the thumbnails
filenames so that you can easily identify them.
Option to auto-rotate images to get a better fit.
You can apply special effects to the thumbnails: Blur,
Sharpen, Emboss, Fuzzy Blur.
New Settings Option: effects to apply to the thumbnail.
Blur, Sharpen, Emboss, Fuzzy Blur
Quick View: double click to open on the internal file
viewer
Drag and Drop: you can drag and drop files from
Windows Explorer directly into the file list.
New Option: Only Convert Selected Files. Convert
only selected files instead of all listed.
Progress screen during conversion
Thumbnail Catalog Generation
The interface is intuitive and you'll be using this program
in minutes after installing it.
*********************************
Program: Ad-aware
Version and Date: 5.81 5/7/02
Author: Lavasoft
Download: http://www.majorgeek.com/index2.html
License: Freeware
Rating: 6 Geezers
This is one of those programs I wish we didn't need.
Believe me, I understand that we are going to need
commercial support to help defray the cost of the Internet,
but these programs that plant themselves on your hard
drive and send info to the home office are going too far.
Ad-aware is a free multi spyware removal utility, that scans
your memory, registry and hard drives for known spyware
components and lets you remove them safely. Like a virus
program, they update signature files regularly and have a
program to automate the process.
Get This!
*********************************
Program: MyIE
Version and Date: 3.2
Author: Unknown
Download:
http://www.webattack.com/get/myiebrowser.shtml
License: Freeware
Rating: 5 Geezers
My work as a tech support clerk requires me to open a
lot of browser windows and I gradually have become a
fan of some of the Internet Explorer variants, which have
a tabbed interface to manage multiple Windows. Currently,
I use NetCaptor, but I will probably be switching to myIE.
There is a fairly steep curve to learning any of these
programs, so changing is done only after due consideration.
MyIE has a lot of neat features for managing cookies and
pop-up windows. The help is primarily in English. It's small
and requires no installation. Just put the files in a directory,
point to the executable and go. It requires IE 5 or above.
This is one good piece of software.
However, the Help is limited.
Final Thought ~
Committee: A group that keeps minutes and wastes hours.
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
Steve Mills currently does clerical work with a search engine
consulting firm and has been reviewing software in different
capacities for many years.
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(12.) GUITARMAN'S TIP OF THE MONTH
~~ PCTechTalk's G Man
**********************************************************
TAKE OUT THE GARBAGE
**********************************************************
Something Different:
Oddly enough, I find myself without a worthwhile OE
tip to write about this month. Instead of not writing
anything at all, I've decided to open up the focus of this
column a bit and cover additional issues that might be
of interest to you and your computer systems. This
doesn't mean that I'll no longer write about Outlook
Express. As always, if you have a particular idea in
mind for a column, please don't hesitate to contact
Linda and she will let me know about it.
So, this month, I'd like to start some discussions about
computer system maintenance. There are a number of
benefits to following these simple instructions including
fewer system crashes and a faster, more responsive
computing experience.
The first part of any maintenance program is to clean
out the temporary files that Windows creates during its
normal operation (these files generally help protect the
original files that Windows has opened in order for you to
do whatever it is you wanted to do). While Windows is fairly
good at mopping up after itself, there are still some things
that escape its ability to 'self-clean'. The following paragraphs
will show you how to get rid of these left-over files that do
nothing but take up space and interfere with normal operation.
Keep in mind that these are procedures that should be done
somewhat frequently. Personally, I follow them at least
once a week to prevent temp files from building up too much.
The first thing I do is to go into my Temp folder (In Win9x/ME,
the default location is C:\Windows\Temp. For Win2000/XP,
you'll find it normally located at C:\Documents and
Settings\*username*\Local Settings\Temp) and delete
anything that's more than two days old. The reason I don't
delete the newer files is because some of them may still be
in use by Windows. When you're finished, you can close
Windows Explorer.
Next, open up Internet Explorer and click on Tools/Internet
Options. On the General tab (the one that should be
selected automatically), locate the Temporary Internet
Files section in the middle. Click on the Delete Files button
and then the OK button on the second window that pops up.
This will clear out the garbage that's been copied to your
hard drive from the internet pages you've viewed since the
last time you cleaned them out. When you're done, click on
the OK button to close the Internet Options property sheet
and then close out Internet Explorer.
Finally, right click on the Recycle Bin on your Desktop and
select "Empty Recycle Bin" to reclaim all of the space these
files had been taking up. If you have Norton's Utilities or
SystemWorks program running on your system, right click
it again and select "Empty Norton Protected Files" as well
(if the option isn't there, don't worry about this step).
Next month, we'll move onto getting your hard drive in top
shape.
**********************************************************
G Man runs a free, 24-hour-a-day email tech list, called
PCTechTalk, where you can submit any questions you
have about computer hardware & software. You can
request fixes for specific problems you're having with
your computer or just sit back and learn from the
conversations of the other members. This group truly
caters to newbies and nerds alike, so you can be assured
that your questions will be taken seriously. To join, send
a blank email to pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx or visit
the group's homepage here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PCTechTalk
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(13.) CREATING AN AUTOMATED FAX FORM
IN MS WORD
~~ by Dian Chapman, MouseTrax
**********************************************************
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
EDITOR'S NOTE: It is recommended that you read
the online version of the following article which includes
screen captures which might make it easier to understand.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/dian12.htm
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
**********************************************************
Do you have paper fax forms at your office that you have
to fill in by hand? Wouldn't it be easier if you could open
a fax form on your computer, fill in some basic information
and then just print out a neatly typed fax to run over to the
fax machine? If this sounds like something you can use,
read on and I'll give you a little lesson that will show you
how you can create a cool little form!
Create Your Master Template
The first thing you need to do is design your form. Since
this is a form that will play the roll of the master format, it'll
need to be a template. A template is a master file from which
future documents will be created. So open Word. Click File/New.
You'll be presented with the template directory. Select the Blank
Document template, but before you click OK, notice at the bottom
of this dialog that you can choose to create a new document or
a template. Choose Template. Or, after you type a few words
on the blank page, click File/SaveAs and click the drop down
under Save as type and select template. This move will cause
Word to switch your default save directory to your default
template directory. By saving the file in this default directory,
the template will then appear in the File/New template directory
when it comes time to use your new form.
Design Your Form
Now you need to design your form. You can make it as
simple as to just type To: and From: on each line. Or you
can jazz it up a little by using a table layout. Maybe add
dark shading in the label rows and use white text labels
to create a reverse text look for the To, From, Date, Subject,
and No. of Pages.
And with a little fancy shading in your table design and a
few text box formatting tricks, you can make a pretty slick
looking form.
Adding Form Fields
Now you need to add some form fields. This will provide
locations for the user to jump to when they add the needed
information. By using form fields, rather than allowing the
user to type directly into the table cells, you'll help to protect
your beautiful formatting. Plus it'll allow the user to easily
jump from location to location by hitting the Tab key.
To add form fields, you need to turn on the Forms toolbar.
Click View/Toolbars and toggle on the Form toolbar. There
are several fields on the toolbar that you can use on your
form, such as option buttons, check boxes, or drop downs.
But we'll just be concentrating on the Text Form Field in
this article.
Click in the first location where someone will need to
enter information. Then click on the Text Form Field button
and a Text Form Field will be entered into the current location.
Continue throughout your form and add a field into each of
the locations where the user will fill in information. And don't
forget to add one for the message itself.
Note that your form fields may not look like mine, with
the dark brackets around them, because those brackets
indicate a bookmark. All form field have a bookmark name.
I work with bookmarks a lot, so I have mine visible all the
time, by clicking Tools/Options/View and clicking on the
Bookmark option. If you don't have this option turned on,
your bookmarks will be flat gray squares.
The Final Touches
There's just one final thing you now need to do to make
your form work properly. You need to protect it. By
protecting the document, you lock up the document so it
can no longer be edited. However, the form fields will
remain open, allowing users to enter information into those
fields. But the rest of your form will be locked up so users
cannot modify the layout of the form itself.
To protect a form, you simply click Tools/ProtectDocument.
Another dialog will appear. Select Forms. If you want to
ensure that a user won't just click the same menu options
to unlock the form and change it, you can add a password.
Just be sure you use a password you'll remember!
Note that if you fill out the form and unprotect it, then
attempt to protect it again, all the fields will be blanked
out. This is so a developer can test their form by filling it
out and then clear the field easily before saving the final
version. You, too, can now test your form. After it's protected,
jump through the field and fill out sample details. Make any
adjustments you feel necessary and then unlock and relock
it before you save the final version so your sample information
will be erased and not saved into the master form.
That's it! Now you can toss it into a shared template directory.
To use the form, users will open Word and click File/New.
Navigate to the shared directory tab and select your form.
A new document will be created from your form. The user
will hit the Tab key to jump from field to field. They will
enter the needed information and then save their new
document and print their final fax.
You can also let users create a shortcut to the form to
keep handy on their desktop. Just have them Right Click
their desktop, select New/Shortcut and Browse to where
the shared form is located. Now when they double click
the Fax icon on their desktop, it'll open itself in Word and
they'll be ready to go!
One Step Beyond
If you want to add more automation to your form and
really make it cool, you can add automated Input Boxes
or even a Custom Dialog Box by writing some VBA (Visual
Basic for Applications) programming code. Then when the
form is opened, a dialog box could open asking the user to
enter their information. You can have them enter the
information field by field into Input Boxes, or better, add
all the information at one time into a single Custom Dialog
Box. Then you'd use variables as "virtual buckets" to collect
the information from the form and enter it through code into
the correct fields on the form.
I've written a series of articles on creating AutoForms
that will teach you how to add more sophisticated
automation to your forms. The articles start with the basics
as presented here, but go through using more of the various
form fields, on to custom dialogs and concludes with
connecting forms to databases to pass information from a
form to a database through automation. You can find links
to these articles on my web site's tutorial page at
www.mousetrax.com/techpage.html.
And if you'd like to learn more about creating custom
dialog boxes like the one above, I've written a recent
article that appears in my new online magazine, TechTrax.
It focuses on further details of creating this type of dialog
box, as well as using variables to pass data to the form.
You can find that tutorial by going to TechTrax at
www.mousetrax.com/techtrax/. Click the link there to
enter the current May 2002 issue. There you'll find the
Creating Custom Dialog Boxes article.
AutoForms can be quite fun and satisfying to create.
And you don't have to just create fax forms. You can
create order forms, check request forms, even personnel
forms. Put it this way, I haven't found a form yet that can't
be recreated in Word.
**********************************************************
Dian Chapman is a Technical Consultant, Microsoft MVP
and Editor of TechTrax Ezine (online magazine), specializing
in AutoForms, technical writing, web development and tech
support. She enjoys teaching people how to enjoy their
computers more and loves the challenge of providing
automated solutions to business problems. You can find
out more about Dian and read many more of her tutorials
by visiting her web site at www.mousetrax.com and her
online magazine at www.mousetrax.com/techtrax/.
**********************************************************
******************STATION BREAK*******************
**********************************************************
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And both ebooklets come with the famous Newbie Club
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"If, within 12 months of purchase and for any reason
whatsoever, you decide that MS Word MAGIC! is not for
you, simply let us know and we'll refund your purchase price
immediately. No Questions Asked! No ifs, buts or maybes.
No hidden clauses and no small print. With us, unconditional
means unconditional!"
So...what have you got to lose? Check out this series:
Book 1: Fonts, Formats and Fun
http://newbieclub.com/wordmagic/?buntah
Book 2: Table Wizardry
http://newbieclub.com/wordmagic2/?buntah
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(14.) SERVING UP A DOMAIN ~ IS THE WAITER WORKING?
~~ by Tom Glander, TAGHosting
**********************************************************
When you click a link, you probably don't think much
about how the page that appears actually got in front
of your eyeballs.
Do you?
I never did, until I started my own web hosting business.
Then I *really* started to care. Let's look at *why* your
web site is displayed when someone clicks a link.
And just as importantly, let's see why pages sometimes
*don't* get displayed when requested!
It's all about something called "the DNS". DNS stands
for Domain Name System. Don't be fooled, the DNS is
actually software that does a job so vital the Internet
would cease without it.
DNS lets people locate computers on a network using
words instead of numbers. Computers obviously work
only in numbers as everything has to be translated into
numbers at some point. But we humans don't do so well
remembering a bunch of meaningless digits.
When you register a domain name, you have to "point"
it to a computer called a "Name Server". There's an IP
number or IP address associated with a domain name.
The DNS server maintains a database of domain names
and their corresponding IP addresses. In this hypothetical
example, if www.mycompany.com were presented to a DNS
server, the IP address 204.0.8.51 would be returned. And
the page created by some human would be displayed.
In a real example, if you were to simply type
"http://64.239.15.99"; into your browser's address bar,
you'd see TAG Hosting's web site. When you type
"http://taghosting.net"; into the address bar, it does a little
trick called "resolving" which means the name is turned
into the site's IP number. Thus, "taghosting.net" is *really*
"64.239.15.99"... and the DNS works the magic behind the
scenes.
The above is a simplification of a complex process. But
now you may better understand *why* it is so important to
"update the DNS" when you move to a new web hosting
company. Your old host used a totally different Name Server...
and your old site had a totally different IP address. When you
update the DNS, you're "pointing" the domain to the new
Name Server, and to the subsequent IP address for you site.
If you want a picture of the process, simply visit this page:
http://taghosting.net/how/dns.htm It'll boggle your mind,
but only for a moment or two.
Ever read or heard the term, "reverse DNS"? That's
simply where an IP number is used to locate a domain
name. It performs the opposite function of the DNS,
which turns names into numbers.
Turning names into numbers is the job of the DNS.
Turning numbers into names is the job of the Reverse
DNS. Turning numbers into dollars is the job of people.
Ah, but that's another topic entirely!
Reverse DNS is used by Internet Service Providers to
monitor traffic, log statistics, and make sure that email
is actually coming from the same domain in the FROM field.
Recap: You register a domain name. You associate a
Name Server with that registration. The domain name
you registered "points" to the name server, and whenever
anyone types in your URL or clicks a link with your domain
in it, they're sent to your site. Without that DNS "pointer"...
they'd never get there. When you change hosting companies,
you have to update the DNS, or, in other terms, "modify the
DNS". You simply log into your Registrar's database, find the
link that lets you update the DNS, and type in the new name
server information. This info is always supplied by the new
web hosting company.
**********************************************************
Tom Glander, RN is the owner of http://taghosting.net.
See why moving your site to Tom's care is a smart move...
and see how to warm up the usually cold dead world of
impersonal Web Hosting...
Quickly now! ==> http://taghosting.net
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(15.) POWEROINT A TO Z
~~ by Kathy Jacobs, PowerPointAnswers
**********************************************************
A. AutoShape - Use them, customize them, fall in love
with them!
B. Backgrounds - Keep them consistent by using the
master slides.
C. Clip Art - Use wisely and appropriately. Give credit
when credit is due.
D. Distribute - Send your presentations on to others on
a CD, or via email or the web.
E. Explore and Experiment - It is the best way to learn.
Ask questions when you aren't sure.
F. Fast saves - Turn them off. Now. Why? They will
corrupt your documents.
G. GIFs - A type of graphic file which allows transparency
and automation. Remember that the automated ones only
work in 2000 and later.
H. Help - Find it here on PowerPointAnswers.com, on the
recommended links pages, and in the newsgroup.
I. Insert - Insert your graphics and sounds to prevent
linkage problems.
J. Jump - Jump to a specific slide when running your
presentation by typing in the slide number, followed by
the enter key.
K. Keep a backup - You will be glad you did when your
file becomes corrupt or someone accidentally deletes it.
L. Linking files - When you do have to link to a file, be sure
the file is in the same folder as the presentation. Send the
file on when you distribute the presentation.
M. Move - You can move your slides around using drop
and drag in the outline view or the slide view.
N. Notes view - Designed for speaker notes, also useful
for student notes. Don't save your presentation while in
notes view, as this is a known cause of presentation corruption.
O. Outline - An ordered list of the text in your placeholders.
Allows you to change the depth and location of text on
PowerPoint slides.
P. Placeholders - The pre-built places Microsoft lets you
put text and objects. This text can be automated to allow
visibility a line at a time. Yes, you want more - we all do!
Q. Quit - your presentation when you are done with an
editing session. But PLEASE don't forget to save it!
R. Resist - Overdoing the sounds, graphics, transitions,
and builds in a presentation will cause your audience to
watch for the bells and whistles instead of the content.
S. Send to Word - A menu option found on the File menu,
this option lets you create handouts quickly, format those
handouts, and not waste as much paper.
T. Textboxes - A way to add more text to slides. But
remember, the text in a textbox will come in all at once,
unlike the text in a placeholder which can be automated.
U. Undo - Quick fix for mistakes!
V. Visit - Visit this site regularly for tips and techniques.
Sign up for the ezine so you can receive update notifications
automatically.
W. W key - When pressed while a presentation is running,
will white out the screen and put the focus on you. Pressing
the B key will black out the screen. Press the key again to
continue your presentation.
X. Red ones - When they appear in your presentation it means
PowerPoint is having a problem with your graphics. If you are
using a Novell network, this will happen to you.
Y. "Y not Check the Help function? It is easy to use and
has lots of answers!"
Z. ZZZZZ - Follow the advice here and your audience won't be
catching any zzzzz's during your presentation!
**********************************************************
Kathryn Jacobs, BrainBench MVP, MS PowerPoint
Get PowerPoint answers at http://www.powerpointanswers.com
Cook anything outdoors with http://www.outdoorcook.com
Hardware, software, and history: http://www.oldcpu.com
Kathy is a trainer, writer, Girl Scout, parent, and whatever else
there is time for.
"I believe life is meant to be lived. But: if we live without
making a difference, it makes no difference that we lived"
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(16.) INCREASE WEB TRAFFIC BY
PROGRAMMING A CONTEST!
~~ by Steve Humphrey,
Author, "Learn To Use CGI in Two Hours"
**********************************************************
Visitors come to your site and don't buy on their first visit.
It often takes 6-7 visits before they buy. So, how do you
get their business if they don't come back? For that matter,
how do you get them to come back?
One answer is to run a contest. Not just any old contest
will do! It must be crafted to keep them returning again
and again. Lots of smart people will tell you that running
a contest will help but they don't tell you how to do it.
Here's a blueprint you can alter to suit your purposes.
Every aspect of the contest was handled by CGI scripts
and a couple of web pages. Even selecting the winner
was done by a script. This final script simply located the
persons with the most referrals. It drew one at random
if there was a tie for first place.
One of my clients came up with the basic idea and we
developed it together as a team. People would get one
"entry" into the contest when they signed up for one or
more of his newsletters. They would get another "entry"
for each person they referred.
It was hugely successful. During the 60 days of the
contest, over 45,000 new people had subscribed to my
client's newsletters. They were coming back to his site
over and over again. Orders for ezine ads poured in.
At the end of the contest period a week-long cruise
vacation to Montego Bay, Jamaica was awarded to the
winner. Generally, if the prize is valued at over $500, some
authorities in your state may expect to be notified. There
are various requirements; check with the appropriate state
agency for details.
We posted a complete set of rules for the contest on the
Web site. We announced the contest itself as well as the
current front-runners in each issue of my client's newsletters.
Each person entering the contest was assigned a
Personal Identification Number (PIN). The PIN was
used to connect them with their referrals. Next, a person
was given the chance to tell their friends about the contest.
We made everything as easy as possible for the contestants.
All they had to do was supply the email address and name
and the scripts did the rest.
They'd be shown the message that was about to be sent
to their friend. We were making every effort to be honest
with them and not cause any ill will.
When their friend(s) entered the contest, using a PIN we
gave them, their "referral count" would be be increased.
To win, a contestant had to get the most referrals. In the
event of a multi-person tie for first place, the software would
automatically conduct a random drawing.
During the contest, each contestant was able to use a
special Web page to monitor the contest. They'd see the
top- ranked contestants and the number of referrals each
one had made. They could log in with their PIN and see
their own referrals, too.
They were able to come back to the site at any time and
enter new referrals. We added a small form that would look
up their PIN in case they'd forgotten it. They could send their
own emails to friends to tell them about the contest. They
could place ezines ads giving contest details and a PIN to use.
Keeping up with all those contestants, who they referred,
how many they referred, etc., was a job for a database
engine. Since we had MySQL on a server we controlled,
we used that. The scripting was done in Perl.
Two Perl modules were needed: DBI.pm and the MySQL
module for Perl. The modules are chunks of Perl code that
let a script send commands in SQL (the generic language
of databases) from the script to the MySQL database
engine (program).
You can use a different database; you just need the the
database-specific module so Perl can "talk" to it through
the DBI module. DBI is needed regardless of which
database you use. Specific modules exist for Oracle,
PostGres, etc.
We verified the email addresses of all the winner's
referrals; we would have to disqualify a contestant if
any of the addresses were faked - and award the prize
to someone else. We designed the code so that any
attempts to cheat actually decreased your odds of winning
- and it was all automatic!
Thousands of names and email addresses are in the
database. The referral counts have been reset to zero
and we are ready to launch another contest at any time
we choose.
The programming effort, for the most part is all done.
We'll just have to edit the contest page(s) and the rules
page to reflect the new prize and the new "start" and "end"
dates. We can easily get *at least* as large a subscriber
boost with our next contest!
Here's the bottom line: You'll get more visitors, and
they'll visit again and again. You get to show them
your offer enough times to win their business. No matter
what product or service you're selling, an automated
referral contest is something you should seriously consider.
**********************************************************
Steve Humphrey promises that you can learn to use
CGI to turn your own website into a marketing machine
in two hours or less with his excellent CGI learning system:
Learn to Use CGI in 2 Hours. Required reading for anyone
who wants to automate their website or their marketing efforts.
Go here for more information:
http://www.merrymonk.com/cgi-shl/s.pl?cgibook-560
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(17.) RESISTANCE IS FUTILE ~ Using the Internet
~ by Sara Hardy,
Publisher,The OnLine Exchange Ezine
**********************************************************
Don't laugh, but I have a confession to make. After
owning a business online now for almost 3 years, I
finally looked into paying my bills online. Like I said,
don't laugh.
I had to hear from quite a few people that they- pay their
bills online, how easy it is, and how they have had no
problems- just to take a look at the option. I have been
resisting this "new" option with all of my being.
But I finally took the plunge, and momentarily, I kind
of look forward to paying my bills. I still don't like parting
with the money one bit, of course. But it is so easy, and
new. I know, it will wear off.
This monumental leap of faith got me thinking about the
businesses and people who are still resisting the way the
world has changed, now that everyone else has jumped
on the world wide web band wagon.
Getting Down to Business
A few days after setting up my account to pay my bills
online, I received a newsletter in the mail from my local
Credit Union and it had a short article about the fact that
many merchants don't even use your check when you pay
the bill. They use the data from the check, but can do
without the transporting of paper checks from one place
to another. It is expensive and inefficient and soon will be
history. I am sure we will being seeing more about this with
the coming hike in the cost of postage. I think this is a strong
indicator that everyone who resists the changes in technology
will soon be left in the dust. This effects everyone.
What about businesses? It is so aggravating when businesses
you deal with are still resisting using email. Some resist
implementing computers as well. As time goes on, do they
really imagine they will stay in business? Have you noticed
that the simplest products or businesses have their own website?
Isn't that the first thing you look for with anything you purchase,
or want to purchase?
Get With It
If you aren't convinced that the majority of the people
are using the internet, go to your public library and watch
to see how many people are coming just to get on the
internet. Those computers never get a break!
Or take a renewed interest in how many people you
know have an email address. I tend to neglect getting
that information from people, because I spend my time
on the computer working, so I rarely feel like doing
anything online that doesn't involve my business. So,
I continue to be surprised at the people that I know who
are keeping up with the times.
Still, I bet you can list off at least ten people you know
who would never, ever pop up in an instant message to say
"Hi". But those people will, one day, and probably very soon.
My Grandparents are that way. I am amazed that they
got a cell phone, because they don't even have call waiting
on their home phone. I personally can't stand the thought
of not being able to get through when someone is on the
phone. Call waiting is a must for me. So I can never imagine
them operating a computer and I can never imagine them
sending email. Something that is the first thing I do in the
morning and the last thing I do at night. And they have
never sent one, never received one, and have no intention
of doing so in the near future. They have seen so much of
technology become reality. Their resistance is very strong,
but I know the day will come.
I have a friend like that to. She had a old computer given to
her. She doesn't realize how much easier using the computer
would be if she got a newer one. Now, she has signed up with
an ISP and pays less then $5 a month, which means she can
only be online a total of five hours a month! I could use that
up in my sleep!
How can they stand not giving in to what is now the norm??
While the internet isn't always what it is cracked up to be, today
you just can not do without it. It is extremely useful and valuable
to most people. Many are building their entire lives online.
The Proof Is In The Pudding
You can chat, complain, listen to the radio, read the
newspaper, shop, pay bills, participate in auctions, fall in
love, make friends, make a living, make trouble, explore
new worlds, translate other languages, teach your children,
find old friends, send greeting cards, send instant messages,
send email, get junk mail, file taxes, save money, invest,
get ripped-off, get inspired, get support, get advice, get
viruses, get mad, be entertained, become isolated, become
a pest, become enlightened... all online.
This is not going to change. This is what makes up our world.
We will only find more and more ways to lead a completely
virtual life. Basically, when you get right down to it,
Resistance is Futile.
**********************************************************
Sara Hardy is the publisher of The OnLine Exchange Ezine,
which has been in circulation for over 3 years, with over
28,000 faithful subscribers. Go here to subscribe:
http://marketingtrendz.com and start your FREE
Membership to the Profit Zone, giving you unlimited
access to FREE marketing tools, ebooks, resources
and more!
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
Well, gang.....that's about it for this edition of
ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers. I sure hope you enjoyed it! If
any of it was over your head and you need some clarification
from one of the Fleet, just send me an email to
linda@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and I will pass it on
to them. Remember that they do this in their spare time on
a voluntary basis, so you might have to wait for an answer.
To make all things work more quickly, include as many details
as you can in your email and make your questions as specific
as possible. Also, feel free to write to me and let us know
what you want the Fleet to teach you. This is YOUR newsletter!
Happy computing, my friends!
Linda Johnson
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com
**********************************************************
READ THIS CAREFULLY!
**********************************************************
-------------------------------------
(18.) SUBSCRIPTION MANAGEMENT
-------------------------------------
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To unsubscribe, send an email to
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This FREE publication is sent ONLY to people who have
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Do you know anyone who might be interested in receiving
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-------------------------------------
(19.) CONTACT INFORMATION
-------------------------------------
Routine Disclaimer: Although I make an effort to check
out every advertisement and link, I cannot assume
responsibility for the actions of my advertisers, or the
availability of links. You use the information provided at
your own risk, it is always wise to back up your data
before editing.
All advice given in this newsletter/ezine or at Linda's
Computer Stop is given with the best of intentions and
should only be taken as a suggestion and not a definite
fix to a problem.
ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers and Linda's Computer Stop
are the property of Linda F. Johnson. The views expressed
by readers or contributors are not necessarily those of
Linda F. Johnson and, as editor, she reserves the right to
deny inclusion of any contributions if she feels they could
be harmful to someone's computer. However, just because
she allows it to be included, does not mean she is responsible
if it causes problems.
ALL READERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN COMPUTERS!
Please help promote ABComputers by linking to my sites.
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or, click on these links to become an affiliate under me and
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Thank you for reading "ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers".
(Copyright) 2001, 2002 - ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers,
Linda F. Johnson, MA.
ABC may only be redistributed in its unedited form. Written
permission from the editor must be obtained to reprint or
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Please feel free to forward this newsletter to any of your
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If you are receiving this issue as a forward, and would like
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Thank you and I hope to continue to bring you a newsletter
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Linda Johnson
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com
linda@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
********************************************************
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Other related posts:
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