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I Can Do That Like An Expert Web Design With Microsoft´s Front Page 2002 Jonathan Marcus, a noted Silicon Valley technical person, (and yes, a relation), once defined the word interface this way... There are a vast number of complex circuits in your television set that allow it to do what you want it to do. But you don´t have to be an engineer or a physicist to know how to use your TV. The interface between all that technology and you is a few buttons or knobs.
What you are looking at now, this web site, is a construct of a very complex set of codes, which, would make it impossible for anybody who has other things to do in life to produce without extensive training and experience. The code is a language called HTML, and it´s capable of producing far more sophisticated web pages than The Marcus Letter. I know more words in Greek than I do in HTML. The Marcus Letter, and most such web pages, are possible only with the help of an interface such as Microsoft´s Front Page. This site was originally built with Front Page 98, an earlier version that was at the time a minor miracle, but in retrospect was pretty primitive. Today, the site is done with the latest version, Front Page 2002. The difference is like a Model T Ford compared to a contemporary Toyota. Two things make the difference. The new version has fewer bugs. And it has a raft of features that are astonishing, even if you don´t use all of them. The bugs were an occasional failure to reproduce a format without tinkering with the HTML. A smattering of knowledge of HTML was necessary. Not so – or at least not so often, with Front Page 2002. One of the blessings of Front Page 2002 is that it´s much easier to compose an article in Microsoft Word and move it to a new page on a site. Of course, you can always compose right in Front Page 2002, but for a publication like the Marcus Letter, where articles frequently are reproduced in other publications, composing in Word is the better option. Using Front Page 2002 as an upgrade is a cinch, with only a few changes in controls, and a gentle learning curve. The real joy, for the experienced user, is in the new features. FP 2002 is more thoughtful than its predecessors. For example, Page Tabs make it easier to look at several pages at once without having to go back to the home page. The Folder List of contents and the Navigation Pane are easily accessed from the main Front Page, allowing continuous editing of pages back and forth. Table Auto Format allows you to select several formats and designs to suit your taste, and with Table Fill, you can repeat the contents of any cell. Task Panes, a new feature, are windows that appear on the screen on command, allowing you quick access to a number of commands. Hyperlinking, a significant factor in web design, is easily done with a click of the Hyperlink button on the tool bar. A significant new feature enhances the interface with Microsoft Office XL applications. Office Clip Board allows copying and retaining two pieces of information for more easily copying to an FP page. An improved Find and Replace allows faster interface in searching all the files in the Web, and across webs, without opening each individual page. Link Bars extend the number of sources that can be linked, on or off your own site. Microsoft Power-Point Drawing tools allow you to design your own graphics for effects on your site. Text written in Microsoft Word can easily be entered in your site, automatically translating the .doc format into an HTML format, the standard for we publishing. Controlling and managing your Web site is enhanced with a new feature called Usage Analysis, which, when activated by your Internet provider and web host, allows you to quickly determine the number of hits your site and each of its pages are getting. Single Page Publishing allows you to publish a single page, without having to republish the entire site. And if your server doesn´t support Front Page Server extensions, a built-in FTP support allows you to publish to any host server. For the new user, starting a new web site, Front Page 2002 makes it easy with templates and wizards that walk you through the process. A template library is a good starter format for web design, and may be adequate for most users, as is a library of symbols and illustrations. Designing your own web site, however, is simpler than ever before. Simply open a new page, enter material, and you have a one page site. Templates allow you to build a home page, with links to individual pages. Technically, building and managing a web site is not difficult, but there are many elements to it, particularly as you enhance your site´s complexities. But the job is made infinitely simpler than it might be through the interface of Front Page 2002. Help screens are useful, but the instruction material that comes in the box is sparse and relatively technical. A book published by Microsoft Press called Front Page Plain & Simple, by Greg Holden is the most marvelously clear step-by-step guide to every aspect of the program. It is profusely illustrated, with every instruction in straightforward language. Each feature is demonstrated with a picture of the screen, and lucid text brings it all clear. Steps are numbered, and text is directly connected to the illustration of the screen. In the 20 years since the development of the personal computer, writing instructions for the user has been as arcane an art as computer design itself. The Microsoft publications are indeed state of the art, and the state of the art has finally reached beyond the technology of the programs they define. Front Page Plain & Simple is a case in point. Taking it page by page, and step by step, you can come to the end of the book as an absolute master of the program. Front Page 2002 still requires a little work for the new user, but it´s a program that serves as an interface between the user and the technology that produces a beautiful result. Not quite as simple as turning a key in a car – but then, you still had to learn how to drive before you could get behind the wheel. It should be noted that The Marcus Letter is done in Front Page 2002. Thanks to Microsoft for that.
Bruce W. Marcus can be reached at http://www.marcusletter.com. Bruce W. Marcus is the author of twelve books, including COMPETING FOR CLIENTS -- THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO MARKETING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES (Probus, 1986, Rev. 1991); NEW DIMENSIONS IN INVESTOR RELATIONS (Wiley, 1997); COMPETING IN THE NEW CAPITAL MARKETS (Harper Business, 1991); and THE NEW PROFESSIONAL FIRM -- COMPETING FOR CAPITAL IN THE 21ST CENTURY (Haworth, 2000), as well as numerous articles, studies, and position papers on business, finance and marketing. His writing has appeared in major business, professional, and financial publications, and he is a regular columnist for several Microsoft industry pages. He has been a speechwriter for many of the Fortune 500 companies, and major national political figures, including Robert Kennedy and Senator Jacob Javits, and was the author of a major report for President Carter. He is on the advisory boards of Accounting Today, Partner-to-Partner, and Practice Development for Solo & Small Firms and writes regularly for these and other publications. << Back to Homepage |