Kind of disappointed about books/documentation

S

Steve

After a couple days of trying to find how to go about
installing and accessing a database I'm still completely
lost. Everywhere I look in online or local help is useless.
I get asked to answer questions where I don't even know
the definition of the term being used and can find no
explanations. I get asked Sharepoint questions. ASP vs
ASP.net questions I get asked database name questions and
server name questions and password questions and still
don't really have a clue how to start. I have a .dbf file
on my computer. I want to be able to put it on my server
and see it via a webpage.

I know this is probably really easy but I'm very
disappointed (again) in Microsofts lack of documentaion
and assumptions of what users already know and don't know.

The FrontPage product as sold, with no book is almost
unusable for a beginer. I bought the "official" Microsoft
thick $25 "Step by Step" book. Databases are not covered
in the tutorials as I completed every one. Database as a
subject is not even listed in the index. There are
other "unofficial" books that seem to have segments devoted
to database. Just how can the step by step totally skip
this.

This seemingly forces me now to buy a second book just
to be able to use the product that I thought I was getting
access to when I purchased it. Not quite fair.

I am not complaining about the people who hang out at this
site. Everyone has been helpful on every question I've
asked. The answer to this question though still eludes me.

Rant over

Steve
 
J

Jim Buyens

Working with databases is certainly one of the more
difficult things that people do on the Web. On top of
that, FoxPro isn't one of the more popular database
formats anymore. Most people use Access, MS SQL Server,
Oracle, or MySQL.

Typically, you would start by opening a FrontPage Web
that's located on a Web server running the FrontPage
Server Extensions. This could be your host's server, or
one running on your own PC.

Next, create a folder in that Web named fpdb. If FrontPage
prompts you about creating a database connect, let that
happen. Otherwise, click Tools, Web Settings, Database,
Add, then select File Or Folder In Current Web and browse
to the file. After you've created the connection, OK your
way out.

To view the database, open a new empty Web page, choose
Database from the Insert menu, and then choose Results.
This starts the Database Results Wizard (DRW). On the
first page, select Use An Existing Database Connection,
then select the connection you just created, then click
Next, Next, Next, Finish. Save the page, then choose
Preview In Browser from the File menu.

I'm no expert in FoxPro, but none of the screens and
reports that run on your desktop will run on the Web. The
user interface of a Web page and that of a Windows
interface are just too different. As a result, you'll need
to reprogram any FoxPro functions you want to perform over
the Web.

That's pretty general, but hopefully it will get you
started. Don't be afraid to ask more questions.

Jim Buyens
Microsoft FrontPage MVP
http://www.interlacken.com
Author of:
*----------------------------------------------------
|\---------------------------------------------------
|| Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003 Inside Out
||---------------------------------------------------
|| Web Database Development Step by Step .NET Edition
|| Microsoft FrontPage Version 2002 Inside Out
|| Faster Smarter Beginning Programming
|| (All from Microsoft Press)
|/---------------------------------------------------
*----------------------------------------------------
 
S

Steve

Thank you Jim. I will try again tonight armed with your
response. Failing that I will be returning to Barnes and
Noble to buy your book. I don't dislike the idea of owning
your book. I wish I had bought it first. I do dislike the
idea of having to buy a second book after giving MS my
money for both their program and their "official step by
step" book. A complete instructional document should be
included with software, and built into the price. A user
should not be faced with a choice of books to purchase
then find out 30 days later they picked the wrong one to
buy, when the one they picked was Microsofts.

Steve
 
J

Jim Buyens

Steve said:
Thank you Jim. I will try again tonight armed with your
response. Failing that I will be returning to Barnes and
Noble to buy your book. I don't dislike the idea of owning
your book. I wish I had bought it first. I do dislike the
idea of having to buy a second book after giving MS my
money for both their program and their "official step by
step" book. A complete instructional document should be
included with software, and built into the price. A user
should not be faced with a choice of books to purchase
then find out 30 days later they picked the wrong one to
buy, when the one they picked was Microsofts.

Steve
Click to expand...

I apologize for your difficult experience. I'm not sure this will
help, but no one book can be right for all readers.

As to the books that used to come with software packages, those were
primarily what we now call "feature tours". There would be a list of
commands, with a few paragraphs describing what each one did, a list
of operators or functions, and so forth. This information is now in
the Help files and anyway, why make everyone pay $30-$50 for their
software when not everyone wants the manual?

Books like Microsoft Office FrontPage 2002 Step by Step and Faster
Smarter Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003 are for entry-level users who
just need to get started. The size of these books should be a tip-off
that they aren't comprehensive.

Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003 Inside Out is the complete reference.
It's about four times larger than the others, and attempts to cover
every feature of the product in a practical and approachable way. It
doesn't presume you know anything about FrontPage, or even about Web
design, but it does assume you're very comfortable with your computer,
and with learning new applications of any sort.

On top of that, people expect FrontPage books to teach them Web
design, database design, programming, Web server administration, and
all sorts of other things. No one book can give full treatment to all
those topics plus FrontPage itself, if even if it could, you wouldn't
want to pay for
it or lug it around.

So, there are multiple books, and each user of the software presumably
buys only the ones they need. I do admit, however, that a new user may
not know enough to choose the right book.

My usual recommendation is to spend 10 or 15 minutes with a book
before you buy it, and use the index to look up some topics or
questions you think are important. If you find material that answers
your questions and matches your skill level, you've found your book.

Jim Buyens
Microsoft FrontPage MVP
http://www.interlacken.com
Author of:
*----------------------------------------------------
|\---------------------------------------------------
|| Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003 Inside Out
||---------------------------------------------------
|| Web Database Development Step by Step .NET Edition
|| Microsoft FrontPage Version 2002 Inside Out
|| Faster Smarter Beginning Programming
|| (All from Microsoft Press)
|/---------------------------------------------------
*----------------------------------------------------
 
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