FP and HTML

[Old Duffer]

I'm a bit confused about something here. The fact that I'm a novice may explain my confusion.

I maintain three websites -- one is my family site, the other two deal with hobbies. All are simple sites -- text and an occasional photo -- no scripts, no shopping cart, nothing but text, photos, and an occasional link to another site of interest.

I have always used MS FP; upgraded to FP 2003 when it came out. Now, I learn that MS will no longer support FP after 2011 or something like that.

I have for sometime felt that I would be better off making by websites using HTML and FTP'ing the material to the host server, thereby negating the need for FP Extensions -- which seem to have a habit of becoming uninstalled from my host servers. Also, if MS is dropping FP, how long until host services stop accommodating FP Extensions?

I purchased MS Web Expressions and do not like it -- it's too damn complicated for my simple use.

So -- I come back to my original proposition of converting my FP webs to HTML so I don't need to worry about FP becoming extinct.

However -- I also have heard that converting from FP to HTML is not simply a matter of copying the content from a FP file and pasting it into an HTML document because of coding and formatting placed in the documents by FP.

QUESTIONS:

1. What do others recommend as an HTML editor and FTP application?

2. Any simple way to convert my FP webs to HTML documents?

 

[Ronx]

You can't convert FP documents to HTML, because they ARE HTML. The
conversion is already done. If you use themes in FP2003, then there is
a little CSS thrown in as well.

Any web page editing program converts your design and text to HTML.
Some do a better job than others. Some require more knowledge than
others. Expression Web will work the same way as FrontPage (but with no
navigation components), but a little knowledge of HTML and CSS helps.
Expression Web used with FrontPage covers almost everything.

FrontPage 2003 will continue to work as it always has for as long as you
have an operating system that it will run on. If all your content is
plain text with images, then you probably don't need the FrontPage
extensions - they provide the server side scripts needed for form
processing. In any case, Microsoft support for the extensions is
ongoing for Windows servers (even in Windows 2008), though support on
Unix ceased in 1996. As it always has been, it is up to the host
whether to install extensions or not.


For your questions:

1) I use FrontPage 2003 and Expression Web, and will probably use both
for many years to come. You might want to try Office SharePoint
Designer as a FrontPage replacement. This combines FrontPage with
Expression Web, giving the best of both worlds - but does not handle VML
graphics (which should be avoided anyway).

2) FrontPage pages already ARE HTML - they can be improved, but there
is nothing to convert.
Some FrontPage components will not work in other editors, such as forms
validation (you did not mention any forms) and navigation components.
Navigation often looks like a problem, but is usually very easy to deal
with. If you use extensions to process forms, then you will need form
handlers written in PHP, asp.NET or asp etc. - which depends on what
your host supports. Samples for form handlers are common.

--
Ron Symonds - Microsoft MVP (Expression)
Reply only to group - emails will be deleted unread.

http://www.rxs-enterprises.org/fp

 

[Rob Giordano [MS MVP]]

I think you're confusing MS Publisher created webs with FP created
webs...Publisher created webs are impossible to convert, but as Ronx
said...FP webs are already html.