FrontPage Lab II

CS 102

Oct. 26, 2005

In this lab you'll create a FrontPage Web (which is different from a Web page -- see below) and learn how to use some of FrontPage's formatting, visual, and audio features: tables, flowing text around images, background images, and background sounds. (For a silly sample of what you'll be doing today, visit http://phoenix.goucher.edu/~kelliher/f2003/cs102/cheesy/. There's a link on the class website. Wait a few seconds for the sound file to load and begin to play).

A FrontPage Web is where you must create and store your Web pages if you are to publish them. You cannot publish individual pages -- they must be inside a Web. Be very careful when creating and opening your Webs!

Below I give a few sample sites for background images and sounds. You can find tons more by using a search tool.

1. Creating a FrontPage Web.
   1. This time we'll start by creating a FrontPage Web. Open the File menu, choose New, then choose More Web Site Templates on the right-hand side of the screen. For the type of Web Site choose Empty Site. For the location specify something similar to:

       g:\kelliher\FrontPage\Lab2
      

      replacing my name with yours, of course.

   2. Now, before moving on, let's check your Web. Open the File menu and choose Close Site. Next, re-open the File menu and choose Open Site.... Find your Lab2 folder. The folder should have a small globe on its front. If not, you have a problem that you must correct before going on! Click on the folder and choose Open.

2. Background Images
   1. We're going to switch to Internet Explorer for a minute to download a background image. Use IE to visit http://www.grsites.com/. Go to the Background Texture Archive, then select a nice background and download it into your Lab2 folder.

   2. Back in FrontPage, within your new Web, if you don't have a new Web page to work with, create one. Right click on the page and chose Page Properties.... Click the Formatting tab, select the check for Background picture, then Browse to the background image file you just saved.

3. Background Sounds. These can be tacky and slow to download. Use sparingly.
   1. Again, switch to Internet Explorer for a minute to download a background sound. Use IE to visit http://www.freemidi.org/. Download a MIDI file into your Lab2 folder.

   2. Back in FrontPage again, right click on the page and chose Page Properties.... From the General tab, Browse to the Background sound file you just saved.

      Remember, you have to preview the Web page in order to listen to the sound. And make sure the speakers are powered-on!

4. Flowing Text Around Images.
   1. Begin by typing a paragraph of junk text -- about 10-20 lines worth.

   2. Position the cursor somewhere in the middle of all that text. Click the Insert Picture button on the toolbar. Navigate to an image you've used before and insert it.

   3. Right-click the image and choose Picture Properties.... Click the Appearance tab and set the wrapping style to left.

   4. Repeat with another image, setting its wrapping style to right this time.

5. Tables. Tables give you more positioning control than the other techniques we've experimented with. As you can see from my silly sample, there's a lot you can do with a table.
   1. Move the cursor to the end of your Web page, select the Table menu and insert a table with two rows and three columns.

   2. Insert images into a few of the cells and text into the remaining cells.

   3. By right clicking on the table, you can choose Table Properties and add borders, set the background color or image, and change cell spacing.

      You can even change the background of individual cells, but this may make the table look awfully busy.

   If you finish early, keep trying things. Practice makes perfect!

Tom Kelliher