Home Page

Claris Home Page Assistants

Meet the Assistants

Preparing for Assistance

Using an Assistant

Finishing Up

About the Code

Conclusion

About the Author

Preparing for Assistance

Before you begin using an assistant, you should have a good idea of what you want it to do. For example, say I want to create a small Web site for this article, with each article section on a separate Web page. Through experience, I know that the best assistant to complete the job is the Report Assistant, which will prompt me for section titles, then build a table of contents linked to the individual pages. The only thing I need to do before I begin is jot down the names of the sections so I can enter them into the assistant in the correct order.

Most of the assistants work this way&emdash;they create pages filled with placeholder text and graphics. As long as you know what pages you want the assistant to create, you're ready to use the assistant.

The Frame Assistant, however, is different. It works best if you have already created the pages that will appear in the main content frame of the frameset that Home Page creates. The Frame Assistant will build the navigation bar page and display it in the proper frame. It will also properly create the links so that the content pages appear in the correct frame.

The FileMaker Connection Assistant requires even more advance preparation. To use it, you must first open a FileMaker Pro database file and make sure it includes a layout with all the fields that you want to use in your custom Web publishing solution. You must also properly configure FileMaker Pro and the database file itself for custom Web publishing by enabling the Web Companion Plug-In and turning on Web sharing. Since Home Page consults this file as you use the assistant, it must remain open while you work. This particular assistant builds completed pages that can include search features, hit lists, record details, and data entry and modification forms.