HTML Basics:
Icon: FrontPage Express FrontPage Express

Title: Jan's Illustrated Computer Literacy 101
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FrontPage Express, abbreviated as FPX, is a simple WYSIWYG-type editor for HTML documents. You can use such an editor to create HTML documents without ever writing a tag yourself. Well, maybe. That's the hope!

Example: Front Page Express with page open for editing

FrontPage Express

From the illustration above you can see that FPX does not really show the page as it will look in the browser. There are some funny-looking symbols and lots of extra spacing.

It's not really a WYSIWYG view at all - at least not when the page is complex. A better name would be Design view. Still, you can see what you are doing better than with plain code!

One advantage of FPX is that it is free! It is installed when you do a full install of Internet Explorer 5 (but not 5.5) or a typical install of Win98 (but not Win98 Second Edition). 

WarningFPX is not available for Windows 2000 or WinXP, according to Microsoft. How to get FPX


Where you are:
JegsWorks > Lessons > Web

Before you start...

Project 1: Browser BasicsTo subtopics

Project 2: HTML Basics
    HTML CodeTo subtopics
    About HTML
    What You Need
    Code by HandTo subtopics
    WYSIWYG
    FrontPage/ FPX Arrow - Subtopic open
      FrontPageTo subtopics OR Icon: FPXFPX Arrow - Subtopic open
                   Interface
                   Formatting Bar
                   Standard Bar
                   Forms Bar
                   icon-footprintUsing FPX
                   icon-footprintEdit
                   icon-footprintText links
    Images in HTMLTo subtopics
    FormattingTo subtopics
    TablesTo subtopics
    Print
    ConvertTo subtopics
    Summary
    Quiz
    ExercisesTo subtopics

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Appendix

TipMicrosoft also makes a larger, more powerful program called Microsoft FrontPage. The names are quite similar, but the programs are vastly different. Front Page is much more WYSIWYG than FPX.

Example: Front Page with page open for editing

Microsoft FrontPage

If you decide that you like this HTML business, you will want to move on quite soon to a more advanced program like FrontPage. It won't take long for you get annoyed with the limitations of FPX!
 

WarningFPX may change or delete HTML code it does not understand. Be careful when editing pages created by other HTML software. Keep a backup copy of the page until you are SURE nothing was lost by editing in FPX.

Reminder: Page Appearance

As you create an HTML page, a good WYSIWYG editor displays it as it will look in a browser. At least it tries.

There is no way to know how a page will look in every version of every browser on every computer! So what you see is really just a good guess of what your viewer will see.

Some HTML editors let you choose a browser and others include their own browser. FPX and FrontPage use your copy of Internet Explorer.

WarningHow one browser displays your HTML page may not be how a different browser does! Netscape, in particular,  does some things its own way and is not as forgiving of errors in your HTML code as Internet Explorer is. Netscape does not want to guess what you really meant!