Brief Overview



Setup of Preferences in VisualPage

Glossary of Definitions

List of HTML Tags

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In order to make life easier when creating your web pages, it's a good idea to set up your preferences ahead of time before you begin.

Click on "Edit" and select "Preferences". In the "General" section, I would recommend leaving the page intact; do not change anything.


In the HTML section, change "htm" to "html". Also choose whether you would like the cursor to begin a new line <br> or start a new paragraph <p> when you hit ENTER. Another option you might want to change is the author's name.



Now select the "Page Defaults" Section.On this page you can select a background color for your webpages or an actual background jpg file. We will discuss this more in detail in Lesson 2. You can also choose what colors you would like your links and text to be.



Select "Source Views". This page gives you the option of choosing what colors you would like your source code to look like when viewing it. For now, I would recommend not changing anything.



Lastly, select "Viewers". On this page, please choose what browser you would like to have as your default viewing browser within VisualPage.



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Here are a few terms that are used constantly in the world of web design.

Anchor
An anchor is a type of link that is used to mark specific locations within a web page.

Background
The background of a web page shows behind the text and graphics. It can be a color or a tiled graphic.

Cache
To store on a computer user's hard disk a local copy of a web page accessed via the Internet. The Web browser compares the cached copy of the page to the original, and if there have been no changes, the browser and server programs will use the cached copy rather than reloading the page onto the client, saving processing and download time. Also refers to a web site's database generating static copies of frequently requested dynamic pages, reducing processing time.

Download
To retrieve a copy of a file from a server to a local computer using a modem or computer network. Opposite of upload.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
A standard (FTP Commander uses this standard) that allows users to transfer files from one computer to another using a modem and telephone lines or a computer network.

Frames
Frames divide parts of a web page into two or more independent parts. Each frame displays a separate HTML file.

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)
GIF is a common format for Web graphics.

HTML Editor
A software program that makes creating a web page nearly as easy as typing a memo using a word processor. Instead of learning HTML commands, users can format web pages using menus and buttons. The HTML editing tools in Netscape Composer and VisualPage support bullets, tables, paragraph alignment, font size, font color, indenting, and other common formatting features. Many HTML editor packages, including Netscape Composer and VisualPage, display the page being edited in the same way it will be displayed on the Web - a feature called WYSIWIG, or what you see is what you get.

Hyperlink or link
A connection found in web pages and other electronic documents that, when clicked with a mouse, automatically opens a file or web page in your Web browser. A hyperlink may be a word, icon, or graphic. When a hyperlink is text, it typically displays in a different color and may also be underlined. A text hyperlink that the user has already visited is usually displayed in a third color.

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
A language used to create web pages and other documents that can contain text, graphics, and connections called hyperlinks.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
The set of standards that allows computer users to access the World Wide Web. HTTP:// is the command that tells the browser that the document found at this address is HTTP-compatible, and to display it in HTTP format.

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
JPEG is a format for web page graphics.

Line break
A line break is a method of creating a space between lines without applying the previous paragraph's formatting.

Local
Local refers to something that is on your computer, as opposed to being on a server. Opposite of remote.

Publish
To publish is to put your web files up on a web server so that others can access them.

Remote
Remote refers to something that is on a server, as opposed to being on your computer. Opposite of local.

Upload
To upload files is to transfer files from a local computer to a server. Opposite of download.

Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
Pronounced as either "U-R-L" or "Earl." The standardized addressing or naming system used for locating web sites and other resources over the Internet. Also known as an Internet address or web address.

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An Abbreviated List of HTML Tags

Strictly speaking, you don't need to know HTML to use VisualPage. However, it pays to be familiar with what is going on inside an HTML document when you're trouble-shooting a web page you're working on. If you didn't get the results you wanted, then it's wise to look at the actual HTML code to see what is going on.

Formatting in HTML documents consists of tags of plain text instructions enclosed in angle brackets < >. A format area typically uses two tags: one at the beginning and another at the end. For example, to put a phrase in bold type, you would enclose the phrase inside tags that mark the beginning and the end:

<B>This is in bold letters</B>

Here is a partial list of the commonly used tags:

<HTML></HTML> Document type; beginning and end of file
<HEAD></HEAD> Descriptive info, such as title
<TITLE></TITLE> Title of web page
<BODY></BODY> Bulk of the page
<BODY BACKGROUND="URL" Use a tiled background image file
<BODY BGCOLOR="#NNNNNN"> Background color
<H#></H#> Heading; # defines up to 6 levels
<SPAN></SPAN> Defined content
<BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE> Text usually indented
<Q></Q> For short quotations
<BIG></BIG> Large font size
<SMALL></SMALL> Small font size
<B></B> Bold format
<I></I> Italics format
<U></U> Underline
<SUB></SUB> Subscript
<SUP></SUP> Superscript
<A HREF="URL"></A> Link to a web address
<A HREF="URL#***"></A> Link to a specific anchor in another document
<A HREF="#***"></A> Link to anchor in current document
<A HREF="mailto:***@***.***"></A> Link to email address
<A NAME="***"></A> Define anchor
<IMG SRC="URL"> or
<IMG SRC="filename">		 Display image
<UL></UL> Unordered list
<OL></OL> Ordered list
<TABLE></TABLE> Define a table


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