What do I need to know before I start?

Registration
Registration is as easy as filling out your Profile when the product is first launched. When you complete your Profile, your registration information will automatically be sent to NetObjects.

Technical Support
For information on contacting Technical Support, visit
www.netobjects.com/support

Newsgroups
Our active newsgroups are filled with answers, tips, analysis and  comments from your fellow site designers, developers, as well as NetObjects experts. The newsgroups can be accessed by visiting
www.netobjects.com/support

 


System requirements

Before you install NetObjects Fusion, make sure that your system has the following minimum requirements:

  • 133-MHz or faster Pentium-based PC (Pentium 200 recommended)
  • Microsoft Windows 95/98, Windows ME, Windows NT 4.0.1 or Windows 2000
  • Before Installation: 50 MB of hard disk space (100 MB for full installation)
  • After Installation: 60 MB of available hard disk space as virtual memory
  • 32 MB of RAM (64 MB recommended)
  • 32-bit ODBC drivers for external database connectivity
  • TCP/IP compliance for Internet connectivity
  • Display capable of 800 x 600 pixels at 256 colors or more
  • CD-ROM drive
  • Mouse or compatible pointing device
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or above (available at www.microsoft.com/downloads/)
  • Verdana TrueType font (available with IE 5.0 or for free download at www.microsoft.com/typography/fontpack/)

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Known issues and usage notes

Please carefully read the information below before using NetObjects Fusion MX. This section includes important details about usage and functionality.

For complete details on how to use NetObjects Fusion, please browse through the  enclosed documentation and/or PDF files located in the Docs folder. The Docs folder can be located either on your installation CD or in the NetObjects Fusion directory on your local hard drive.

At the beginning of each section are the known issues followed by the usage notes.

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APPLICATION

Known Issues:

  1. NOD file size will increases every time you open and close the site file.
    Solution S2062
    NOD file size increases every time you open and close the site file.
    Workaround : Re-optimize the site file. Make sure to Re-Optimize at least once a week.
     
  2. Background Image disappears when you Preview the page.
    Solution S2063
    If you open Fusion and immediately preview using Netscape 4.7x, Fusion will preview the page correctly, but the background in Page View will disappear.
    Workaround: If you press F5 the background will appear.

    Usage Notes:
  1. NetObjects Fusion is optimized for Web sites containing 500 pages or less. If your site contains more than 500 pages, NetObjects recommends that you divide it  into multiple sites of less than 500 pages each. You can then connect them by using External links or Custom Nav Bars.
     
  2. NetObjects Fusion must be installed on each user's local hard drive. NetObjects Fusion cannot be run in a shared environment such as Windows Terminal Server.
     
  3. NetObjects Fusion sites should reside on your local hard drive. Make sure that you have sufficient disk space to store your .nod file and associated files on the same hard disk  where NetObjects Fusion is installed. Avoid working from a network  drive or a removable drive such as SyQuest and Iomega drives. Some customers choose to mount their removable drives as fixed disks. Although this is less risky, NetObjects strongly recommends against it.
     
  4. NetObjects recommends against the copying and pasting of components. This is a known issue and will cause instabilities in your site file.
     
  5. Because NetObjects Fusion is not an MDI application, you should not run two  concurrent sessions.  If you do, you run the risk of poor performance and possible file instability. In particular, avoid copying and pasting components between two concurrent sessions of NetObjects Fusion.
     
  6. NetObjects Fusion creates a temporary file called sitename.nod.bak while your  .nod file is open and being edited.  As soon as you exit and your site is completely closed, this .bak file is deleted.  The automatic backup feature places backup .nod files in a folder called \Backups.  If you ever need to use a backup.nod file, be sure to drag it from  \Backups into your \User Sites\Sitename folder before opening it so all the assets will be pathed correctly.
     
  7. NetObjects Fusion automatically saves a backup copy of your site when the file is closed.  By default the total number of backups is four. 
     
  8. You can improve performance in NetObjects Fusion by choosing to deactivate the Auto Save option in the Edit | Preferences dialog.  The Auto Save function saves your site automatically every time you switch views. By deactivating this  function, you can improve performance time when moving through the product.  If you do choose to deactivate this function, be aware that NetObjects Fusion only  saves information to the temp file when you select Save from the File menu. NetObjects Fusion does not automatically save your site when you exit, but instead prompts you to save changes. NetObjects recommends not disabling the Auto Save option as it can save you from a lot of rework should the file encounter a problem.
     
  9. The default method of closing a NetObjects Fusion site involves compacting the .nod file. This occurs when you exit NetObjects Fusion or open a different site. When compaction starts, NetObjects Fusion lets you know that it is still working by displaying a progress dialog box.  If you do not see this progress dialog box immediately, it may be obscured by other open windows on your screen. If you attempt to multi-task when this dialog box is present, you may experience slow performance. If this sluggishness exists, it is only temporary and lasts as long as  it takes NetObjects Fusion to compact. A typical compaction takes 30 seconds, but can take up to two minutes if the site consists of hundreds of pages.

    WARNING: Do not End Task or shut down Windows during the compaction process.
     
  10. If you notice that certain elements seem not to have updated or refreshed properly, press F5 to refresh the view.
     
  11. When you create a site file from a large template, the Task Manager status will  indicate that the process is not responding. This is normal for processes that are busy with large tasks. You can verify that Fusion is actually running since it is using most of the CPU time.

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CRASHERS

Known Issues:

  1. Using the Import Document feature with any Word 97 document will cause Fusion to crash.
    The problem is caused by the way MS Word 97 opens and anchors the HTML tags. For example, MS Word 97 will generate <b><Font></b></font> where it  should be <b><Font></Font></b>

    There are two workarounds to this problem:
    • Upgrade to MS Word 2000. Importing a MS Word 2000 document does not cause this problem.
    • Manually copy and paste the desired text from Word into a text editor such as Notepad. Remove any special characters that may appear in Fusion. Then copy and paste the text from the text editor to Fusion.
       
  2. HTML Source tab in Page View causes computer crash when scrolling left and right.
    Solution S2088
    If an object is placed and has a script added to it in HTML Source tab and is repeated multiple times, an eventual computer crash will occur.
     
  3. When inserting ASP code in front of the HTML tag in HTML Source view, Fusion crashes when switching to and from HTML Source view.
    Solution S2098
    Workaround: The problem seems to be the use of '<>' in the conditions. It also fails if they are changed to '>'. It works if they are changed to '<', the code can be rearranged so it works.
    eg: ASP code ‘if x<>y’ would need to be changed to ‘if!(x==y)
     
  4. Crashes and memory leaks upon initial use of MX.
    Note:First make sure the crashes are not file related by opening a new blank site and trying to reproduce the crash.If you have no problems with the new blank site then please re-optimize your site file and or see recover.txt ( in the Fusion directory on your hard drive)
    Solution S2114
    There is a known issue with memory leaks but only with graphics cards using Nvidia chipsets. The first thing to check is that background images you are
    using are atleast 3 pixels high. 1 pixel background images in conjunction with Nvidia graphics cards can cause color bleeding and crashes (in many cases after
    checking and correcting this, the problem is resolved.)
    If you are still having crashes after fixing BG images.......
    Try using the reference drivers for your card and or turning down hardware acceleration.
    Several customers have resolved this problem by installing reference drivers 6.50 (31/3/01) from NVIDIA (previous version is 6.34) and did not have to modify the hardware acceleration.
    We are currently working in conjunction with Nvidia to resolve this issue .

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INSTALLATION

Known Issues:

  1. Install stopped by pre-existing setup.* files in the Windows\temp directory.
    Solution 1505
    In some cases where a version of NetObjects Fusion has been installed recently and you are trying to install NetObjects Fusion MX, an error message is shown on install saying that the installer was unable to overwrite files in the Windows\Temp directory. If this occurs, make sure to clean out the Windows\Temp directory on your machine and then run the installer again.

Usage Notes:

  1. In some cases, when you have installed a previous version of NetObjects Fusion recently, you will receive an error message during installation, reporting that the installer was unable to overwrite files in the Windows\Temp directory. If this occurs, make sure you clean out the Windows\Temp directory on your machine and then run the installer again.
     
  2. If you installed a trial version of NetObjects Fusion, it is recommended that you  uninstall the Trial version before installing NetObjects Fusion. When you install NetObjects Fusion over the trial, the serial number registry may not be properly overwritten.
     
  3. When you uninstall NetObjects Fusion, there will be a few folders and files remaining on the hard drive. Before deleting these files, make sure to move any  sites, templates or styles that you want to keep. When you try to delete these files, Windows will return a message dialog indicating that "Deleting these files  may impact registered programs." This message dialog is safe to ignore so click OK. With the use of Services view, some files will be added to the NetObjects Fusion folder that were not placed with the InstallShield process.

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MIGRATION

Known Issues:

  1. META Generator tag not updated after migration
    When migrating a NetObjects Fusion 4.x or 5.x site file into NetObjects Fusion MX, the META Generator tag will not be updated. You will need to manually update the tag or remove the META Generator tag from the NetObjects Fusion 4.x or 5.x site file before migrating.
     
  2. Text styles of sites included in NetObjects Fusion 4.0\Templates will not import properly.                            
     Solution S2064
    Workaround: Migrate 4.0 templates to NetObjects Fusion MX
     
  3. Global preferences for previous versions are not retained after migration.
    Solution S1522
    When migrating a site from a previous version into NetObjects Fusion MX, global preferences are not kept.  This is because certain preferences are recorded in the registry settings for the program.  When you install NetObjects Fusion MX, these preferences are set to the default settings in the new registry entries.
     
  4. Assets referenced from within a previous version's NetObjects Fusion directory are not retained after migration.
    Solutions S1523, S1524
    If a site created in a previous version of NetObjects Fusion – other than version  MX – has assets which are referenced to any of the subfolders of the original installation directory, these assets show up as missing when the file is opened in NetObjects Fusion MX.

    The reason for this is because the internal directory structure has changed between the previous version of NetObjects Fusion and version MX.  To avoid this problem, export your site as a template in the original version. Then open a new site based on this template in that version. Once the new site has been saved, open the new site in NetObjects Fusion MX. All the assets show up as expected.
     
  5. Filenames with characters ASCII >127 are not portable between MacOS and Windows.
    Solution S1916
    NetObjects Fusion 3.0 for Mac sites that use filenames with special characters above ASCII 127 will not properly migrate to NetObjects Fusion MX for Windows.

Usage Notes:

  1. How to migrate sites from other NetObjects products
    View the detailed section below on migrating sites from previous versions of  NetObjects products.

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ACTIONS

Known Issues:

  1. Actions on objects embedded in text or table cells cause object misalignment.
    Solution S1214
    When an action is attached to any element embedded in a text box or table cell, text wrap does not function around that element, and the element is given its  own line.  At this time, there is no workaround available for this behavior.
     
  2. Netscape crashes on NT when there is a Navigation Bar with Actions and Rollover Buttons.
    Solution S1076
    If you assign actions to a navigation bar that has the Rollover Buttons checkbox enabled, when you mouse over the navigation bar using Netscape Navigator 4.x on a Windows NT machine, you can experience a crash. This problem does not occur when viewing page on Windows 95/98.
     
  3. Center tag will not work with Actions or using Fixed Page Layout in Netscape 4.51/4.61/6.0 or MSIE 5.x
    Solution S1877
    The center tag won't work if you use an action on your page, even though the page is set to use Dynamic Page Layout. This is because we use DIV and Layers  tags when we use Actions.  You will need to center the page using Actions. See the Centering a CSS Page note on
    NetObjects Workbench.

Usage Notes:

  1. Do not use numbers or special characters in custom action messages. Using  special characters in custom action messages will cause JavaScript errors. Special characters are non-alphanumeric characters, such as !@#$%^&*()+=[}[]|\"':;<>,/ ?` and ~.
     
  2. The location of the Actions button for Text Links has been changed.  To assign an action to a text link, you will first need to link the text using the Link button. Once you have linked the text, click inside the link. Then go the Link tab of the  Text Properties palette and click on the Actions button.
     
  3. Most browsers do not support placing actions on rollover navigation buttons. Internet Explorer 5.0 is currently the only browser that will support this configuration.

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ASSETS

Usage Notes:

  1. NetObjects Fusion MX allows you to mark any file asset in your Assets view to be published even when that asset is not In Use. If an asset is marked as "always publish," it is placed by default in the root of your site's directory structure. You  can choose to move the location of this asset to any folder in your output directory structure after it has been  placed initially.
     
  2. Background sounds are always shown as In Use in Assets View, even if this option is disabled in the Layout Properties. To remove these assets, you must manually delete them from the Assets View.

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BROWSER COMPATIBILITY

Known Issues:

  1. Setting actions in NetObjects Fusion do not display properly in Netscape 6.0.
    Solution S2100
    This happens in all versions of NetObjects Fusion. This is due to the lack of support for the Layer and ILayer tags for the Action set by Netscape 6.0

Usage Notes:

  1. The JavaScript functions document.write() and document.writeln() do not work in Netscape when you select to generate your pages using the Dynamic Page Layout   HTML output method. If you are using these scripts, be sure to output your site using the Regular Tables method in Publish view and/or Page view.
     
  2. Avoid using Netscape Navigator 4.0.15 to preview (or publish locally) sites with actions. A security feature in that version prevents actions from working correctly when you preview or publish locally.
     
  3. Avoid using Netscape Navigator 6.0 if you have any Actions in your web site. The Actions will not work because Netscape Navigator 6.0 doesn't support the ILayer or Layer tags which are used in the NetObjects Action set.
     
  4. Bring Forward/Send Backward output from NetObjects Fusion may not look or function as expected when viewed in Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0.
     
  5. If either the installed path of NetObjects Fusion, the path of the .nod file, or the path of an included object contain high ASCII or DBCS characters, you may  observe broken objects when viewed with Internet Explorer. In particular, this may occur when the character set for the page is UTF-8, UTF-7, UCS-2 or any of the supported Asian language character sets. To resolve this, either delete IE and only use Netscape or reset the page's character set to the default (ISO-8859-1 for European, Shift+JIS for Japanese).

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COMPONENTS

Known Issues:

  1. Migration of Cold Fusion sites with missing components causes errors.
    Solution S1753
    After migrating a Cold Fusion site into NetObjects FusionMX. generating the cf table.cfm page results with an error in JAVAI.DLL. 
    Workaround: Make sure that when you migrate your sites that you have all the components in the directory before you create a new site based on the template.
     
  2. Correct image is not displayed in Time Based Picture component if times are not assigned in chronological order.
    Solution S1203
    The times assigned to show images in the Time Based Picture component must be  in chronological order.  If, for example, an image set to display at 10am is assigned in the parameters list before an image set to display at 8am, the images are displayed in the incorrect order.
     
  3. DynaButtons do not function correctly when used with Ticker Tape and CSSP and Layers publishing option.
    Solution S1218
    DynaButtons do not currently function correctly under the following combination of circumstances:

         DynaButtons and Ticker Tape are in the same page
         HTML output is set to CSSP and Layers
         Publish output structure is set to By Asset Type.

    Change any one of these circumstances to fix the problem.
     
  4. Some components do not properly accept frame targets.
    Solution S1217
    Certain components do not accept frame targets.  These components are:

         Time Based Picture
         Ticker Tape
         Ad Banner
         Go Menu

    Because the Time Based Picture, Ticker Tape, and Ad Banner components are Java applets, in order to accept targets, they must have a specific target parameter coded. None of these applets have this parameter available at this time.
     
  5. Some components no longer accept accented characters within text display areas.
    Solution S1539, S1541
    Certain components do not allow accented characters in their text display areas. Any accented characters entered are displayed as the ? character.  This includes the Site Mapper and the Ticker Tape components.
     
  6. Ad Banner component does not initialize first image in sequence.
    Solution S1221
    The images assigned to the Ad Banner component may not start with the first assigned image when viewed in a browser. All images remain in the correct sequence, but the start image can vary from session to session.
     
  7. Screen Door dialog and placement incorrect after Undo cut.
    Solution S1509
    If you place a Screen Door on your page, then select it and cut it, when you choose to undo the cut, an incorrect dialog is called. If this dialog is canceled, the Screen Door is replaced on your page in the location of the mouse-click.
     
  8. Go Menu and Forms Handler components cannot be placed on the same page.
    Solution S1622
    The Forms Handler component does not function correctly if it is in the same form area as the Go Menu component. The submission always fails and the webinfo.txt file is not updated. Make sure that the Go Menu is not in the same form area as the Forms Handler. The Go Menu component was not designed to work in a form area.
     
  9. Deleting components does not remove components elements from Publish view.
    Solution S1621
    When you delete components from a Web site, the component assets are left in use, and the components' folders are retained in the Publish view.

Usage Notes:

  1. DO NOT copy and paste components. This is a known corruptor of your site file.
     
  2. To view NetObjects Fusion components you must first publish your site, either  locally or remotely. If you preview, you see a placeholder graphic in the generated HTML page  reminding you that you need to publish to view the actual component. This graphic is placed in the same space that the component will occupy on the published page. When publishing locally, some components may not function correctly if they rely on server-side functionality or extensions.
     
  3. When migrating a NetObjects Fusion 5.0 site to NetObjects Fusion MX, you must have the same components installed for both versions. If you have components in  your NetObjects Fusion 5.0 site file that are not installed for NetObjects Fusion MX, you will receive a "Damaged objects found and deleted" error when you  import the NetObjects Fusion 5.0 site into NetObjects Fusion MX. .
     
  4. LiveWire components are not supported in NetObjects Fusion MX.
     
  5. Domino to Fusion Connector (DFC) versions 1.0 and 1.1 are not compatible with NetObjects Fusion MX.

    Warning: If you open a site containing DFC 1.0/1.1 in NetObjects Fusion MX, you  will experience a crash.
     
  6. Tickertape component text will appear partially or not at all after migrating sites  from earlier versions. The HTML that is generated by the component is correct. To resolve the problem, copy the file TickerTape.class from the TickerTape component folder to its corresponding Asset folder and remember to delete the Local Publish folder.

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DATA OBJECTS

Known Issues:

  1. NetObjects Fusion MX returns "File is not in Expected format" error when connecting to Excel 97 Workbook files.
    Solution S1282
    NetObjects Fusion MX does not support ISAM connectivity to Excel Workbook files  saved under Excel 97 format. If the file is saved as an Excel 95 file, or the ODBC data source is chosen for the connection protocol, the files can be accessed through the external data object.  For more information see our Usage Note available at http://www.netobjects.com/support
     
  2. External data source does not add database file as asset.
    Solution S2077
    Workaround: To move entire site from one machine to another with the database, use the following steps:
    Export the site as a template. Then, copy the template to the media that is being  used to transfer the files. Copy the database to the media. Move the files to the new computer. Make an ODBC connection on the new computer with the same  name as the old ODBC connection on the old computer. Create a new site based on the template.
     
  3. Data fields on stacked pages can publish non-WYSIWYG.
    Solution S1215
    Data fields on stacked page can publish incorrectly after stacked pages are first created. This will occur if the stacked page is not first viewed in page view  before publishing. This can happen to either Internal or External Data Objects. Always make sure to view the stacked page layout before publishing a newly created data list from an existing data object.
     
  4. Excel spreadsheets with a non-unique 1st column will replicate records the number of times the first column is not unique.
    Solution 2086
    For example, if the first column is a category with five non-unique rows all with  category set to Arts & Crafts, NetObjects Fusion MX will create five copies of the first row and ignore the other four rows.
    Workaround: Add a first column that has a unique number in it. You must first  delete the Stacked Pages and the Data List. Then add the new column and recreate the Data List.
     
  5. Tab-delimited text file cannot be brought into Fusion.
    Solution S1889
    When you try to bring in a tab delimited text file as a data object, you will get an error message indicating that the first line of the tab-delimited text file isn't a  valid name.  You will then get a message saying, "The External Data Object was created correctly, but it contains no data.  The Stack Pages will be empty." After clicking OK to this dialog, Fusion brings in an empty data object.
     
  6. Layout does not resize to Data List if site set to Fixed Page Layout.
    Solution S1937
    Users should use Dynamic Page or Regular Tables when working with data lists.

    The Data List spills over the text links and other elements that are in the bottom MasterBorder margin. The Layout has not resized to accommodate the size of the data.  Either increase the space between the bottom of the Data List and the bottom of the Layout, or set the 'HTML generation' for the 'Layout' to Dynamic Page Layout or Regular Tables.

Usage Notes:

  1. If you have two different image fields embedded on a table placed on a stacked page, both of the image fields will display the same image in the generated page.
     
  2. If you use the "Text files" ISAM driver to bring in a comma-delimited file, you must set the source file to read only in order for the operation to succeed.
     
  3. NetObjects Fusion cannot import tab-delimited files.
     
  4. Pages containing Data Objects should be set to have an HTML Output of Dynamic Page Layout or Regular Tables. Fixed Page Layout should not be used on pages containing Data Objects.
     
  5. Do not use Master Borders on your Stacked pages. This causes publishing problems.

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FORMS

Known Issues:

  1. SiteMiner Service does not work when the Layout of the page is set to a form.
    Solution S2082
    Workaround: Add the SiteMiner to a different form area.

Usage Notes:

  1. Forms can not exist on a page that the Browser Compatibility is set to Fixed Page Lay

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IMAGES and STYLES

Known Issues:

  1. Copied cropped images do not properly accept the Stretch display option.
    Solution S1236
    When an image which has been cropped is copied, applying the stretch display option does not take effect. The image handles must be moved before the Stretch option is properly used when generating the page.
     
  2. Transparency in some style images conflicts with anti-aliased text.
    Solution S1537
    When using transparency colors in style images or other images, it is important to choose colors carefully if anti-aliasing of fonts is to work correctly.  Because anti-aliasing works by creating a gradient between two colors, and because NetObjects Fusion's automatic generation of images utilizes a fixed color palette, if colors in an image are too close in value to the transparent color which text is anti-aliased against, portions of the image may be assigned as transparent when  it is not wanted.  Make sure to test all images which use transparency with the anti-aliased text color of choice before publishing your site to the Web.

Usage Notes:

  1. NetObjects Fusion MX anti-aliases fonts in navigation bars, banners, and other auto-generated images by relying on a combination of internal and system resources.   The two technologies that our customers can use are Microsoft Font Smoother and Adobe Type Manager (ATM). One of these must be activated on your system to ensure  that all font types can be anti-aliased within NetObjects Fusion.
     
  2. When you use transparent GIFs, be sure that the colors of the foreground image AND the transparent color are both from the 256 Color Browser Safe Web Palette.  This palette is included in the NetObjects Fusion MX color picker.

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IMPORT

Known Issues:

  1. It is possible to import certain non-HTML documents through the Import HTML Page option in Page View
    Solution S2065
    You could receive an error stating the following: error "The page it too large to be loaded.  You can reduce the size of the page by using smaller font sizes (the font sizes can be set in Style view), or you can open the page when you run Fusion on Windows NT."
     
  2. When you import a Word document, the name of the publish directory will change to the name of the document.
    Solution S2066
    Upon importing a Word document into a NetObjects Fusion MX site, the publish directory structure and HTML file names are altered to the name of the document that was imported. You will need to rename the page in Publish View.
     
  3. An error can occur when importing a large External HTML page.
    Solution S2080
    When a very large External HTML is set to 'Convert to Fusion', an error will occur from Site View that the page is too large to be opened.
    Workaround: Limit the size of the External HTML page to the file size of about 20-50K.
     
  4. Importing a NetObjects Fusion 5.x generated site with HTML Output set to Fixed Page Layout does not layout properly in NetObjects Fusion MX.
    Solution S2092
     
  5. Unable to import from intranet sites.
    Solution S1896
    If you try to import an intranet site using the DNS name, i.e. http://XXX/xxx, NetObjects Fusion will return an error indicated that it cannot connect. You will  need to enter in the IP address of the http-server instead of it's DNS name.
     
  6. Filenames with spaces are not imported.
    Solution S1895
    NetObjects Fusion cannot import sites whose filenames contain spaces. Links which contain spaces are treated as external links. 
     
  7. Some scripts do not import even when they are located in NetObjects Fusion accessible locations.
    Solution S1003, S1544
    If you have an HTML page which you are importing, even though scripts may exist  in areas which are supported in NetObjects Fusion's Page HTML dialog, these scripts are not imported.  This includes JavaScript events located inside the  <BODY> tag, and <CENTER> tags located at the beginning of the body content, before page content begins.
     
  8. Image maps are not imported when importing an HTML file.
    Solution S1451
    If you have an HTML page or site which you are importing and it contains image maps, these image maps are not imported into NetObjects Fusion.  The image to  which the map was applied is imported, but any hotspots must be recreated using the Hot Spot tool from the Standard Toolbar.
     
  9. Duplicate index files can be created when importing a remote site.
    NetObjects Fusion creates a duplicate of the index.html file if the index.html file is not specified in the import dialog.  This occurs if the path to the home page is entered in the format: www.sitename.com.  To get only one home page use the format:  www.sitename.com/index.html

Usage Notes:

  1. HTML files that you plan to import should not contain spaces or accented,  double-byte, or illegal characters such as %,*&;. in their file names. Additionally, source files referenced in the HTML code (e.g., pictures or applets) should not  contain spaces or illegal characters such as %,*&;. in their file names.
     
  2. Some remote sites use robots (special scripts) to restrict HTML import. NetObjects Fusion MX cannot import these sites, and informs you if a site is using robots. Additionally, some remote sites are protected behind firewalls or proxy servers, or do not expose their Web servers to anonymous FTP connections. If any of these situations occur, you must log into your server using your regular FTP client and download the site to a local drive before importing.  Then you can  import the site by selecting the Local (on this computer or network) option in the Import Web Site dialog.
     
  3. Importing HTML that contains tags outside the HTML 3.2 specification is not supported (e.g. CSS Text style tags, Layer tags, CSS Positioning tags). If you import HTML with unsupported tags, text and source files will appear in Page view, but the original layout will not be maintained. You can then reposition the text and source files manually.
     
  4. If you import a Web site that contains frames, NetObjects Fusion will not convert frames into AutoFrames unless you import a Web site created by NetObjects  Fusion. Instead, NetObjects Fusion will place the content for each frame onto  separate pages. The frameset is the parent for these frame pages. This parent is referenced as an external HTML object. The parent and child pages are labeled  accordingly in Site view.  To reuse this content, you must copy the content from the separate pages and paste it onto one page.

    If the imported Web site was created using NetObjects Fusion MX, the frames will be imported as AutoFrames. If the imported site was created using an earlier version of NetObjects Fusion the frames will be imported forming complete page, but without using AutoFrames.
     
  5. You cannot import Web pages encoded in UTF-7 or UTF-8 while using Windows 95. If you do so, when you view the pages in Page view, you see messages that  tell you corrupted text blocks on the page were converted to ASCII. Many of your characters will show up correctly in the text box, but there will be extra garbage characters in the  text box as well. This display issue stems from Windows 95 and does not occur if you are using Windows NT. To correct a Windows 95 display, re-edit each text box to  remove all the garbage characters and then reapply the formatting. If possible, try importing a version of the page that is encoded in a different character set.

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INTERNATIONAL

Usage Notes:

  1. The lastest version of IME provided with Internet Explorer 5.5 will not work with  NetObjects Fusion MX.  You will need to use the IME provided with Internet Explorer 5.0 or a third party.
     
  2. If you set your page character set to UTF-7, and you attempt to change the size of the text in a text box to something greater than 12 point, the size change  does not show up in  the published HTML. Sizes smaller than 12 work correctly, but sizes larger than 12 do not. To work around this issue, use UTF-8 as your  page character set. UTF-8 supports exactly the same set of characters as UTF-7 and does not exhibit the font size problem.
     
  3. The Euro symbol does not appear properly in popup text boxes. This problem only  occurs with Windows 95/98. If the Euro symbol is placed in a popup text box, it will display as a vertical line. This will not affect the display of your page from within NetObjects Fusion or from the generated HTML output.
     
  4. The Euro symbol will not appear properly in the Site View Properties palette if you  have set the "Use Small Fonts in Properties Palette" option. If you deselect this option, the Euro symbol will appear properly

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JAVA and ACTIVEX

Known Issues:

  1. ActiveX controls with source files do not function correctly after publishing.
    Solution S1013
    ActiveX controls that require source files (e.g., Adobe Acrobat PDF, Macromedia  Shockwave Flash) do not publish correctly unless you add the source file using Assets view first. Click the Files tab in Assets view and then click the New button.  Give the source file a name and then browse for it. Be sure to select "Always Publish File." Then in Publish view, be sure to put the source file in the same folder as the .ocx file.  Since this requires a relative assets path, you need to locally or remotely publish to test these types of ActiveX controls.
     
  2. Some ActiveX controls cause errors or can crash NetObjects Fusion.
    Solutions S1500, S1517, S1519, S1520, S1297, S1886, S1093
    NetObjects Fusion lets customers place ActiveX controls on the page and visually edit their parameters. However NetObjects does not have control over the quality of the various controls (.OCX files) that are installed on your system.  For example, the following ActiveX controls are known to cause problems with NetObjects Fusion:

         - Adobe Acrobat Control for ActiveX will eventually cause Fusion to crash with an Invalid Page Fault in module MFC42.DLL. The crash most commonly happens with the 3.0 version of the Adobe Acrobat Control. Upgrading to the 4.0 version of the Adobe Acrobat Control will resolve the crashing.

         - Early versions of Real Media player ActiveX controls return the error "unable to insert the specified control dialog box" and the control is unable to be placed.  The Multipage ActiveX control returns error "unable to insert the specified control dialog box" and the control is unable to be placed.

         - RealPlayer ActiveX Control will cause Fusion to crash with an Invalid Page Fault in module RMOC3260.DLL and MFC42.DLL if place it and go to Site View and then back to Page View.

    If an ActiveX control does not place correctly on a page or causes a crash, launch NetObjects Fusion MX again and an autorecovery will be done.  To place a  control which does not work correctly using the ActiveX tool, use any other method to create the HTML required to place an ActiveX control (such as  Microsoft's ControlPad utility) then place that HTML using the External HTML tool in the page.
     
  3. Java Beans do not function in all versions of Netscape Navigator browsers.
    Solution S1518
    In order to properly view Java Beans in Netscape browsers, you must have Navigator 4.06 or later. Earlier versions of Navigator will not display the beans.
     
  4. Java Beans return JS errors in IE when the set color action is set to black.
    With any action where you can set a color on a bean, if you set that color to  black, IE 4.x returns a JS error.  All other colors function correctly.

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PUBLISHING

Known Issues:

  1. Component Assets are uploaded when incremental publish indicates they should not be.
    Solution S1534
    NetObjects Fusion now has the ability to publish only site sections and individual pages. However, because many components assets are tracked at the site level, these elements are published to the server regardless of whether the page which  contains them has been selected to be published. The components which exhibit this behavior include:

         Ad Banner
         Message Board
         Site Mapper
         DynaButtons
         Rollover Picture
     
  2. Imported sites initially do not allow selection of Directory Structure to Flat.
    Solution S1239
    If a site has been imported from HTML, you will need to manually set the Flat directory structure option after the site has been imported. To select a Flat  directory structure, choose the By Flat menu option in the Arrange Files submenu under the Publish menu in Publish View.  You must first select the "Clear All Customizations" option in the same location.

Usage Notes:

  1. NetObjects Fusion allows you to publish the entire site, a selected section of the site, or an individual page. However, in order to take full advantage of this feature, the site must be published in its entirety first. If you do not publish the entire site initially, the resulting pages may contain broken links.
     
  2. You cannot publish external files that have accented characters or double-byte characters in their path name. Once your site is published to a Web server, URLs to Web pages cannot contain these characters, and there is no way of mapping them to something acceptable during publish. Use Windows Explorer to change the file name so that it includes only plain ASCII characters. Then, go back into  NetObjects Fusion and link to the external file again with the ASCII-only name.
     
  3. NetObjects Fusion no longer generates character-entity equivalents for extended  ASCII characters (such as &uuml for the u-umlaut character.) These entities are no longer  required for modern servers, and are not supported in all international character sets.  Because you can now choose the character set for generated HTML in NetObjects Fusion, it is no longer necessary to generate special character-entities.

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TABLES

Known Issues:

  1. Linked text in an RTF file imported into a table has font set to Default setting.
    Solution S1226
    If you have an RTF file containing linked text and all text is formatted to a  specific font type and size, when that text is either copy and pasted or dragged and dropped into a table cell the linked text is automatically assigned to the Default setting (Times New Roman, 12pt.) This only occurs for tables, not for text boxes.

Usage Notes:

  1. The table tool in NetObjects Fusion  supports all HTML table features, including rowspan and colspan, alignment options, embedded objects, and cell formatting. For  more information on how to use the table tool, consult the Adding Tables chapter in the NetObjects Fusion MX User Guide PDF.

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TEXT and STYLES

Known Issues:

  1. Hover color function will not work on visited links.
    Solution S2072
    The hover and the visited links are misordered in the generated style.css and site.css files
    Workaround:  Open the style.css and the site.css files in Notepad from the web server and switch the A:hover and the A:visited lines of code around. Save the file to the server.
    This will have to be done every time the site is published.
     
  2. Text formatting is lost after creating a link to the text.
    Solution S2070
    Text formatting of any kind is lost after creating a link to the text
    Workaround: If you would like to overide the CSS setting for a link, perform the following steps: Highlight the link you would like to change. Click the Link tab in the Text Properties Palette. Click the Format button. In the Link Settings dialog  box, make the changes that you would like for the link. Click OK.

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UNDO/REDO

Known Issues:

  1. Unable to undo scripts written in master border HTML.
    Solution S2067
    This happens in Between Head Tags, Inside Body Tag and Beginning Of Body sections of the HTML dialog box.
     
  2. Undo/Redo does not change the DynaButton properties.
    Solution S1054
    You must alter any DynaButton properties by selecting the property and changing its value individually.
     
  3. Undo/Redo does not reverse added images to any components which use images. 
    Solution S1238
    The Undo option changes the size of the image only.  The affected components include:

         Ad Banner
         Rotating Picture
         Picture Rollover
         Time Based Picture
         DynaButtons
     
  4. Undo/Redo of RTF import loses data
    Solution S1256
    If an RTF file is copied and pasted into NetObjects Fusion MX, and that copy action is undone, and then redone, some information from the original copy is lost. To re-paste all data, choose the paste option again

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How to migrate sites from other NetObjects products

Migrating from NetObjects Fusion 3.x and 4.x for Windows:

If you have existing site files (.nod, .nft) that originated in NetObjects Fusion for  Windows versions: 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, 4.0.1, 5.0, 5.0.1, 5.0.2, or 5.0.2a, follow the appropriate set of instructions below. Also refer to the "If You Are Upgrading..." appendix of Building Business Web Sites.

NetObjects recommends exporting the existing site to a template in the earlier version of NetObjects Fusion first.

Migrating an .nft File:

  1. If you want to migrate a template (.nft) file, copy the template as described under Migrating a .nod file. 
     
  2. Import the template into NetObjects Fusion MX as a section of your site. (Or base a new site on the template by opening the template directly.) You may be prompted to  open the template file directly before inserting it or basing a new site on it.

Migrating a .nod File:

  1. If you want to migrate a .nod file, first copy the site's folder into the NetObjects Fusion MX\User Sites folder. Be sure to make a backup copy, because once you open the site in Fusion MX, you cannot reopen it in the previous version.
     
  2. After you copy the site's folder, launch NetObjects Fusion MX, select Open Site from the File menu, and open the .nod file.
     
  3. When a dialog appears telling you that the file was created in an older version of NetObjects Fusion, click Yes to open a copy of the file, then give it a new name.
     
  4. When you open, preview, publish, or navigate through the copy of this site, you  may see dialogs that warn you about instability. If this occurs, go to Site View and select Re-optimize Site from the Tools menu.
     
  5. If the style elements for the site appear blank, select Add Style to List from the Style menu in Style view, and open the missing style's .ssf file, located in its style folder. The  style folder will most likely be in the Styles folder of the previous installation directory.

Migrating from NetObjects Fusion 3.x for Macintosh:

  1. To successfully transfer a site from a Macintosh to a PC, first export the site as a template.  Move the template folder from the Mac to your PC. Once you have the template folder on the local hard drive of the PC, from the File menu in NetObjects Fusion MX, either choose Insert Template to add it to an existing site, or choose New Site>From Template to base a new site from the template.
     
  2. If you migrate a Macintosh NetObjects Fusion 3.x site that contains special characters in data objects, you must retype those characters.

Migrating from NetObjects Fusion 3.0.1i for Windows (except double-byte versions:Chinese, Korean and Japanese):

You can open 3.01i site templates in NetObjects Fusion MX (English).

Migrating from NetObjects Authoring Server 3.0 and 2000 (Templates only):

  1. Because a NetObjects Authoring Server Suite 3.0 or 2000 site files reside on an  authoring server, you must first export the site as a template.  Then, from the File menu in NetObjects  Fusion MX, you can either choose Insert Template to add it to an existing site, or choose New Site>From Template to base a new site from the template.
     
  2. If you want to use any SiteStyles that ship with NetObjects Authoring Server Suite or custom styles that you created in NeObjects TeamFusion Client, you  must use Windows Explorer to manually copy them  from the authoring server to the computer where NetObjects Fusion MX is installed.  (You can also export  styles via Style view in NetObjects TeamFusion Client.)  Copy the SiteStyle  folders to your new Styles folder, then select Update Styles List from the Style menu in Style view.

Migrating from unsupported versions

If you have sites built in unsupported versions, and you want to use them in NetObjects  Fusion MX, you will need to download the Trial version for NetObjects Fusion 4.0 and migrate the sites to Fusion 4.0 first. Then migrate the sites from NetObjects Fusion 4.0 Trial to NetObjects Fusion MX.

Download the NetObjects Fusion 4.0 Trial from http://www.netobjects.com/support/html/nf4dl.html

To migrate your 2.x site files into NetObjects Fusion 4.0 Trial:

  1. If you want to migrate a .nod file, first copy the site's folder into the NetObjects Fusion 4.0\User Sites folder.  Be sure to make a copy, because once you open the site in 4.0, you cannot reopen it in the previous version. After you copy the  site's folder, launch NetObjects Fusion 4.0, select Open Site from the File menu, and open the .nod file. If you see the Welcome to NetObjects Fusion dialog,  choose Open a NetObjects Fusion Site and browse to the .nod file.  When a dialog appears telling you that the file was created in an older version of NetObjects  Fusion, click Yes to open a copy of the file, then give it a new name.

    When you open, preview, publish, or navigate through the copy of this site, you  may see dialogs that warn you about instability. If this occurs, please consult recover.txt located in the NetObjects Fusion 4.0 directory.

    If the style elements for the site appear blank, select Add Local Style to List from the Style menu in Style view, and open the missing style's .ssx file, located in its style folder. The style folder might be in the Styles folder of the previous installation directory.
     
  2. If you want to migrate a template (.nft) file, first copy the template as described in the procedure outlined  in section 1) above. 
    Then, in NetObjects Fusion 4.0, you can either import the template as a section of your site or base a new site on the template by opening the template directly.  You might be prompted to open the template file directly before inserting it or basing a new site on it.

Once you have successfully migrated the site to NetObjects Fusion 4.0 Trial, you need  to export the site as a NetObjects Fusion 4.0 template. Then open that template in NetObjects Fusion MX.

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