[Ham-Computers] Front Page 2003

[Marty]

I was using FP2002 and having lots of problems. Unfortunately, I decided to
upgrade to FP2003 just before I happened to run into one of the developers
of HTML browsing the 'computer' section of a bookstore. Of course, he
recommended learning HTML code so I could write my web pages from scratch.
Yeah, right! Anyway, he was kind enough to listen to all my FP problems and
I took the second best solution. He convinced me that FP would never work
well because it just isn't close enough to HTML standards. When I pressed
him on Dreamweaver, he said that it isn't perfect but would be a step in the
right direction. He was right!

I found a legitimate Dreamweaver 8 on ebay at a nice discount and later
added Fireworks (integrated graphic app) and Contribute which allows others
to work on your web pages within your restrictions (i.e. so they can't mess
up your websites). One nice thing about Dreamweaver is that it will split a
window to show a wysiwyg view and a code view in real time so you can see
how your design changes affect the HTML code! A good way to learn HTML. 

Here's what I found out during the conversion from FP to Dreamweaver (DW).
It is a mistake to import pages to from FP to DW, it just brings some of
FP's baggage along. I'll just speak for myself but a good book on
Dreamweaver was definitely needed. I bought "Visual Quickstart Guide -
Macromedia Dreamweaver 8" by Tom Negrino and Dori Smith, excellent. I have
three websites now, each with multiple pages, all done with Dreamweaver and
they just keep getting better as I learn the tricks of the trade.

BTW, don't throw away FP if you get DW, FP starts up quickly and makes an
excellent fast, text spell/thesaurus application ;) 

Marty

-----Original Message-----
From: ham-computers-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:ham-computers-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of jeff
Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 12:23 PM
To: Computers (or other) used for amateur radio, communications, or
experimenting
Subject: Re: [Ham-Computers] Front Page 2003

On Wed, 2007-02-28 at 09:54 -0500, jandlmiller at bellsouth.net wrote:
> This thread is of interest so I think I will ask of question or two.

Please do.


> I'm neither pro nor con with respect to Microsoft.  May be best player
win!  

agreed, but MS is the 6,000lb gorilla.



> However, as on old dBase IV user I know that the exact same, raw database
written in dBase IV without indices and bells and whistles has a file size
ten times smaller than the equivalent Access97 file size.  This fact of life
I assume is caused by GUI versus MS-DOS 5.

The famous Bloat.

I often wonder what it would look like to put a new system next to an
old one running DOS.  If there were a fair way to compare them, I'd love
to see it.    [I'm a linux user too]



> Someone remarked that FP tended to add things to the code, so they stopped
using it before they started.  That interests me, and may be a clue.  What
things are added?

Create a very basic page.  It doesn't even have to have content.
Make it up in a text editor.  Paste or put the code into FP and save it.
Now open it back up and compare the raw code.



> Dreamweaver has been touted as "better" than FP, whatever than means.  

I haven't spent much time with DW, but I'm pretty sure it's way more
comprehensive a program and not really a fair comparison.



> But those who are now commencing their Vista experience find many issues
when they attempt to use those two.

Vista has compatibility problems.
It's not a good idea to touch anything from MS that's new.  Wait til the
first service pack at least.  This advice comes from years of MS
software and running decent-size networks.



I'd be more than happy to answer any questions that I can.  I don't use
FP or DW but do a bit of coding by hand.   Way back when I was looking
at HTML editors, I found one called Coffee Cup and one called Beauty(?)
- both freeware, that seemed decent.  A good place to start looking for
freeware of any kind is nonags.com   Try a few and see which works for
your particular style.

Sourceforge.com is also good for Win, linux, and the occasional Mac
open-source app.


Good luck, ladies and gents!
Let the coding begin.


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