Did you ever wonder how seventh graders construct Web Pages with ease? Well I found the answer in the new Netscape Communicator 4.5, downloadable and free from Netscape.Com. Netscape Composer allows you to assemble all the elements of a beautiful page without knowing HTML code. You can now put your gorgeous digitized photos and words of wisdom on the Web and change them frequently without editorial comment in minutes. Hours would be more honest. Here is how you do it.
First you must sign up for Web Page space, 6 MB worth, free from TGF at the Web Page sign up form. The form just requires a few minutes and Voila! the URL address, the ftp server address and your chosen name and password appear in your e-mail.
Now to the nitty-gritty of Composer. Working off-line under Format you assign a page title and background color or pattern which will be tiled. Then under File you save the new page to a new folder named index on your desktop. Now to familiarize you with the Toolbar, follow the symbols from the left. (+page=new page, folder page=open page, disk=save, air-mail=publish to server, ship wheel=view in Navigator before publish, scissor=cut, pages=copy, bulletin board=paste) and then just follow the balloons to print, find, link, targets on your page, image, break line, table form and spell-check. The line below refers to text which must be highlighted before changing. The most important symbol is on the far right, cursor position for text or image. Hold to see all positions.
Now itís time to create. Type to your hearts content, but remember that text wraps around to the next left margin or around the image that you have inserted at the cursor by clicking the image symbol and assigning the file name of your pic. If you want text to wrap around the image, check out the various styles (xyz) below the filename box. Links to other sites are formed by highlighting the text, clicking the Link symbol and assigning the URL. Targets or GoTo on your page are assigned the same way. You may cut and paste, or drag and drop almost anything from an active Navigator page to your Composer. Now thatís plagiarism, but the Animation Factory, etc., say itís kosher if it isnít commercial. Itís that simple. Remember to save your hard work to that index folder. All images and your text page will be saved as separate files in the folder. View in Navigator to see how it will look on the Web. Click the publish symbol, and type your ftp address in the location box, assigning the /default.htm as your First Home Page. Select all the files in the Publish box and Publish. Communicator does the rest. Then you advertise your page by joining the TGForum Web ring and wait for acclaim.
Did I say Your Pain-Free Web Page? Not exactly! Composer does not accept every tag (counter, applet, java) that you insert on the page. So you must type in a custom HTML tag found under Insert and you will not see the object it refers to until itís up on the Web. But what gratification when it appears. Now multiple sub pages may be saved in your site by assigning / page1.htm, and so on, where /default.htm was in the ftp address. Well of course this took a few hours of Typing in the Dark, but my first Web Page "Dancing in the Dark" is up and running with only one letter to Stef Matthews for her counter source code.
See you on the Net. Cerise@tgforum.com