Quick Start: Editing USM Web Pages Using Frontpage

Before You Begin

Before you can edit a USM web page, you must

  1. obtain permissions to access the directory in which the page resides
  2. download the file to your local system using FileZilla or another FTP application.

Opening the File

Once you've downloaded a page from the remote server to your local machine, you're ready to make edits. Open Microsoft Frontpage and open the file by going to File > Open. You may need to navigate through your local directories to locate the file you downloaded.

Note, you will not see the USM header and footer banners when you open the file. You will also not see other graphics on the page unless you have also downloaded those to your local machine.

Frontpage has three different windows in which to view your page:

  • Normal: WYSIWYG window in which you can edit the page. (Recommended)
  • HTML: View of the HTML code for hand-coding edits. (For advanced users familiar with HTML)
  • Preview: View of the page as it will appear in the browser. (Not an editing window)

Note: graphics will not show up in the Preview window if they have not been downloaded to your local system.

You can switch windows by clicking the Normal, HTML, or Preview tabs near the bottom left of the screen.

How to Make Simple Text Edits

To make an edit to the text, simply position the cursor in the Normal window and begin typing.

Bolding and italicizing of text can be done by selecting the text to be modified and clicking the bold or italics buttons on the tool bar.

Note: underlining of text is not recommended as it may be confused with hyperlinked text which often appears underlined.

To create a heading, select the text to be modified and choose the heading size from the drop-down style menu (Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.) on the tool bar.

How to Create a Hyperlink

To create a hyperlink, select either text or a graphic click Insert > Hyperlink. If the link is to a file which is on your local computer, you can choose it in the window.

If the link is to a file which is not on your local computer, type in the full URL of the file in the Address field. A URL is the address where you can find the file on the web.

Example:

http://www.usm.maine.edu/grad/index.htm

How to Insert a Graphic

Before inserting a graphic in a web page, you must first be sure that it is in a format that is usable on the web. The most common web graphic formats are:

  • GIF, which have a very limited number of colors (256) and are better suited for illustrations and logos. GIFs are also useful if you need part of the image to be transparent.
  • JPG, or JPEG, which contain millions of colors and are generally used for photographs.

Other file formats (e.g., PNG) can sometimes be used on the web, but are not recommended as older browsers may not display these images.

To insert a graphic, position the insertion point, then go to Insert > Picture > From File. Browse to find the graphic on your local machine, then click Insert.

Saving Your Changes to the Web

Once you have completed editing the page, save the file to your local machine and close. Your changes will not appear live on the web until you upload the file back to the web server. Use FileZilla or another FTP application to upload the html file, and any graphics files that you have added, to the web server. Note: if you have added new grapics to the page, be sure to upload those files as well.

Getting Help

Basic support is available by contacting the Help!Desk at 780-4029. If you need more advanced assistance, an hourly rate may be charged. Call the Help!Desk at 780-4029 for details.

The USM Computing site is maintained by Robin McGlauflin.