HTML Basics:
Icon: FrontPage Express Interface

Title: Jan's Illustrated Computer Literacy 101
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FrontPage Express can create HTML documents without your ever writing a tag yourself. At least that is the plan!

It has the same look and feel as other Microsoft Office programs. Some of the buttons and commands don't really work quite the same as in Word and Excel, however, as you will see.

FrontPage Express is not really much like FrontPage. It has just enough features to get you started with writing HTML pages. You will soon want to move on to a more powerful (and less awkward!) program than 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 hand To 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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Glossary  
Appendix

Interface: FPX

FrontPage Express, abbreviated as FPX, is a simple WYSIWYG-type editor for HTML documents. It's interface looks a lot like Word's.

FPX has only three toolbars, which are displayed by default. These can be hidden, floated, or rearranged as you like.

As in many other programs, documents in FrontPage Express can be minimized, maximized, or sized anywhere in between.

TipIf your document is maximized inside the FPX window, you cannot see that other documents are open. The Windows menu will list all the open documents.

Mouse: Left Click Click on each of the labels in the figure below to see a popup window with a quick look at its features. Or browse through the explanations in sequence.

OR

Mouse: Left Click View all of the descriptions on one page in a new window.

FPX window with parts labeled titlebar menubar formatting bar standard bar forms bar status bar document

WYSIWYG: FPX

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 in a text-only editor!

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.

Next we will check out the interface parts more thoroughly to see what surprises they are hiding.