Setting up the site

Before you begin creating the Web pages for your site, use Claris Home Page to set up a folder for storing the files in a single location. Defining the site in Claris Home Page allows you to view all the site files you create in the Site Editor. You can use the Site Editor to open the files, add new Web pages to the site, and apply document options to one or more pages in the site. Use the Site Editor to create a mirror of your site as it will be published on the Web and then use it to verify the links and upload the files to the server when you're ready.

Your Internet service provider or Web server administrator may require that your site have a home page. The home page, usually named "index.htm," is the point of entry for your site and is the first page linked to the domain name in the URL for your site.

Tip You can create multiple sites within one main site folder by naming all the home pages in their respective site folders the same file name (such as index.htm).

It's also a good idea to set up an images folder when you set up your site to contain all of the images that you insert into your Web pages. You can set this folder to be the default folder for storing images Claris Home Page automatically converts to GIF format.

To set up a site:

• Create a site folder to contain your pages and associated site files
  
• Define the site in Claris Home Page to use the Site Editor as you work
  
• Create a media or images folder within the site folder to store all the JPEG, GIF , and media files referenced by your Web pages
  
• Set the default media folder so Claris Home Page will automatically store all files it converts to GIF in the specified folder
  
• Use the Site Editor to keep track of the site contents

Defining a new site

Defining a site in Claris Home Page allows you to view the organization of all the site's files in the Site Editor. You can define your site in Claris Home Page based on the contents of a folder. When you define a site, Claris Home Page creates a site definition file that stores the site information in the site folder and opens the Site Editor.

To define a site using a new empty folder:

1. Start Claris Home Page.
   
   For more information, see Starting Claris Home Page.
   
2. Choose New from the File menu.
   
3. In the New dialog box, click Create New, select Empty Site from the scrolling list, and click OK.
   
4. In the Save As dialog box, navigate to the location where you want to store the site.
   
5. Type the name for the site folder in the File Name text box (Windows) or the Save Site Folder As text box (Macintosh).
   
6. Click Save.
   
   The Site Editor opens and displays the new site folder and its contents.
   

To define a site using an existing folder:

1. Start Claris Home Page.
   
2. Choose Open Folder as Site from the File menu.
   
   The Browse for Folder dialog box (Windows) or the Select a Folder dialog box (Macintosh) appears.
   
3. In the dialog box, navigate to the folder you want to define as the site folder and click OK (Windows) or Select Folder Name (Macintosh).
   
   The Site Editor opens and displays the contents of the site folder you specified.
   

Note Claris Home Page creates a site definition file, which defines the site based on the contents of the site folder and stores FTP login settings that you need to upload your site. The site definition file has the extension .wst and resides in the site folder. For more information see Specifying the Web server account.

As you develop your Web site, you can use the Site Editor to view the contents, open files, or create new pages in the site. You can also make document changes to any of the pages, such as changing the background color. When your Web site is complete and ready for publishing, you can use the Site Editor to upload all your files to the Web in one step. See Using the Site Editor for more information.

Setting up the media folder

A media folder is useful to have inside your site folder for containing all the images, movies, and other media files for your site. You can create this media folder on your computer, or have Claris Home Page create one for you and then use it for consolidating media into one location.

To create a media folder using Claris Home Page:

1. Open the Site Editor by choosing Open Folder As Site from the File menu and selecting the site folder where you want to store the images folder.
   
2. In the Site Editor, click the Consolidate button on the toolbar.
   
   If you have open or unsaved files, a message appears prompting you to save the unsaved files. Click OK to continue.
   
   The Consolidate dialog box appears.
   
3. In the Consolidation dialog box, type the name of the media folder in the Media folder name text box.
   
   Claris Home Page creates a folder and places it inside the site folder.
   
4. Click Consolidate.
   

For more information about consolidating images, see Consolidating media files.

To set the media folder to store all images that Claris Home Page converts to GIF format:

1. Choose Application Options from the Tools menu (Windows) or Preferences from the Edit menu (Macintosh).
   
2. Click the Images tab in the dialog box.
   
3. Click Convert and save automatically to directory.
   
4. Click Browse to choose your media folder.
   
   For more information, see Specifying the default converted images folder.