FrontPage Extensions
Introduction & Background
If you look for a host long enough, then you will come across something called FrontPage server extensions. We will now look at what these extensions are and what you can do with them.
Microsoft is the creator of FrontPage, and so the extensions are its own work too. The extensions are made up of components. Each component is actually a server side application of sorts. There are several 'built in' components, but these can be added to. We will look at some of the built in components.
To rephrase Microsoft, the extensions allow you to add server-side applications with needing to know anything about setting them up. For example, one component is a search engine. You simply insert the code in FrontPage, and you have a search engine setup! Another component is a table of contents, which you can set to be re-calculated as you add more pages to your site. As you may expect, it will be very easy to use the extensions.
Before you can start using the extensions, you need to set them up on your server. They can be installed on both Windows and Unix servers. You can find out more by looking at the references at the bottom. You also need FrontPage Web-authoring program. I will give examples on how to add these components from FrontPage 2000 (FP2000).
Not a Component, but an Extension
Although the components are essentially the extensions, there is one important aspect of the extensions that is not an component. With the FP extensions, you can edit your copy of your pages on your hard-disk (i.e., locally) and the changes will be mirrored on the server. Also, by simply clicking the publish button, everything is uploaded to your server, and you don't have to worry about permissions and the like. This ease of use is probably the best feature of the extensions.
The Search Form Component
To add a search engine to your site, simply click open the 'Insert' menu, click 'Component' and then choose 'Search Form...'. Fill in the details as follows:
- Search Form Properties Tab:
Label for Input: The default is 'Search for', and it is simply what goes before the search text box (the Input).
Width in characters: This is the width of the search text box. 20 is the default, and is a good value to use.
Label for "Start Search" button: This button is what you click to submit the form and start the search.
Label for "Clear" button: This is the form's reset button. - Search Results Tab:
Word list to search: Limits the search to specific folders.
The check-boxes:
Display Score: When each page is searched, it is given a score on how likely it is to be what the searcher is looking for. This option allows you to show the searcher this score.
The file date and file size check boxes: These allow you to show the file's date and size to the results. You can customize how the date looks in the now-enabled drop down boxes.
Now you should have a search form on your page. If you are curious, look at the raw HTML and see how it is actually done. If you are even more curious, upload the file, and go to the page on the Web, and then look at the HTML.
The Hit Counter Component
Want a counter for your site? How about one on each page? To do this, go to the 'Insert' menu, choose 'Component', then choose 'Hit Counter...'. Choose the style of counter you want. The 'Reset counter to' check box allows you to to start the counter at any number you want. You can also fix the number of digits that the counter displays.
The Marquee Component
This allows you to add marquee text to your page. All of the options are fairly easy to understand. Also, notice the 'Style' button on the bottom left corner. This allows you greater control on the the rendering by using CSS.
The Include Page Component
This functions just like Server Side Includes. It allows you to insert another page into your current page.
The Hover Button Component
This inserts a Java applet into your page that displays a button that has one of several roll-over effects. You can use this button as a hyper-link. Experiment with the different effects.
The Substitution Component
This is an easy way to add some page-specific info. Probably the most used one is the 'Page URL' substitution. This allows you display the page's URL, and so this will change as you move the page around in your site.
The Table Of Contents Component
This is a very convinient way to have a site-wide TOC. It changes as you add pages to your site. You may want to check the 'Re-compute table of contents when any other page is edited' option, as this will make sure that your TOC is constantly up-to-date.
More...
There are more components to explore. I think that the best way to learn about the extensions is to simply use them and see what they are all about. It is easy to add them, and also easy to remove them.
A word of warning: I have read on some websites that using FTP can interfere with the way FP publishes and this may dirupt your site. So, as a general precaution, don't use FTP unless you really have to.
