FrontPage Help
Split or merge frontpage tables
FrontPage behaviors and layers
DWT's - What is a FrontPage DWT and how does it work?
A FrontPage Dynamic Web Template (DWT) is to me, an easy way to build your web site! Granted the initial set up may take a little longer to do but, the extra effort at design stage will be MORE than worth it. Trust me!
DWT's only work in FrontPage version 2003 BUT the big bonus is also that they work in DW MX too.
Why bother?
Why not? The biggest benefit of DWT's is nothing to do with how your site will look. Well it is and it isn't. The BIG bonus comes when you re-build your site. On average (if there is an average) by the time you have finished putting the finishing touches to your 10 page web site, assuming you have styled each heading and formatted every line of text it might take say up to a week to get the site as you want it. Web designers are seldom happy and look for changes as soon as the site is published! OK so you are like me?
What a pain to go into your 10 pages and start re-writing! Don't bother just create a new 1 page dwt and attach the template to your existing web. Poo Poo too easy.
How do you do it?
Above is a typical FrontPage DWT. There is nothing really unusual about it. You do not make changes to the DWT - you open a new blank page and the attach a DWT to it. Then you type or paste in your text and the job is done! When you want to change the site appearance, you just create a new dwt and then select the pages you want to change click format/DWT browse to the file and click. All done.
How do I get started with FrontPage Dynamic Web Templates?
The procedures that follow enable you to create a FrontPage Dynamic Web Template, add editable regions while preserving other non-editable regions, and attach the template to Web pages.
Create a FrontPage Dynamic Web Template
Create or open an HTML document.
On the File menu, click Save As.
In the Save as type list, click FrontPage Dynamic Web Template, and
then click Save. (Name your page something like dwt3 - the
file will save as dwt3.dwt)
Create the basic contents and structure of the template in the *.dwt file, and then click Save. Use tables and style sheets to get the layout. If you want a different layout for some pages, then create a second DWT with the changes and save as dwt4 (or whatever)
Add editable regions to a FrontPage Dynamic Web Template
Open the FrontPage Dynamic Web
Template (.dwt) file.
In Page view, at the bottom of the document window, click Design.
Select only the areas in the template where you want to allow other
Web authors to change the attached Web pages.
Right-click a selection, and then click Manage Editable Regions.
In the Region name box, type a name for the editable region, for
example, Header, Body, or Footer.
Click Add.
Repeat steps 3 through 6 for each new editable region you want to
add, and then click Close.
Attach a FrontPage Dynamic Web Template
Open the Web page you want to attach a
FrontPage Dynamic Web Template to.
To attach the FrontPage Dynamic Web Template to more than one page,
select the pages you want.
Multi page application.
In the Folder List, hold down CTRL and
click each page you want.
If the Folder List is hidden, click Folder List on the View menu.
On the Format menu, point to FrontPage Dynamic Web Template, and then click Attach FrontPage Dynamic Web Template.
Locate and click the FrontPage Dynamic Web Template you want to attach, and then click Open.
If the body of a selected Web page contains content, the Choose Editable Regions for Content dialog box appears. The dialog box displays the default settings for mapping content from the body of the Web page to editable regions specified by the FrontPage Dynamic Web Template.
The Old column lists content in the body of the Web page. The New column lists editable regions specified by the template. Naming your editable regions in compliance with DWTIG will ensure a relatively simple change over.
In the Choose Editable Regions for Content dialog box, do one of the following:
To move all of the content in the body of the Web page to the default editable region, click OK.
If the default editable region contains content, that content is replaced with the content on the Web page. To move all of the content in the body of the Web page to a specific editable region, click (Body), and then click Modify. In the New Region list, click the editable region you want to move the content to.
If you click (none), the content is removed from the Web page.
To maintain all of the content and structure of the Web page, click Skip Current Page. The template is not attached to the page.
How do I change a FrontPage Dynamic Web Template-based Web site?
After you begin using FrontPage Dynamic Web Templates, you will need to perform tasks to change the existing page layout.
Such tasks can include detaching a FrontPage Dynamic Web Template, attaching a different FrontPage Dynamic Web Template, renaming and removing editable regions, and manually updating attached pages.
Naming your editable regions in compliance with DWTIG will ensure a relatively simple change over.