In the "old days," people relied on bulletin boards for communicating with others in the local community. They made for a cozy atmosphere. If the local BBS sysops were savvy, they tied into larger networks that enabled users to communicate with people all over the place.
The times are changing. The Internet is changing how people communicate with one another in a big way. Newsgroups enable you to exchange messages with people from all over the world on a vast assortment of topics. There are thousands of newsgroups on topics such as business, technology, and a vast assortment of personal interests.
FrontPage offers several ways to include discussion groups on your Web site. Think of discussions as your own personal newsgroups. They enable visitors to your site to communicate with you and one another through articles-messages that are stored on your Web site. You can use discussion groups to reach out and touch someone on a very big party line.
What if you do want a party line, but prefer to keep the discussion quiet and closed? You do that by creating a discussion group on a protected Web, to which only registered users can gain access with a password. This opens up all sorts of possibilities for you, whether you want to reach out to the public or prefer to communicate internally with your employees on business matters.
FrontPage comes with two Web templates that contain discussion groups: the Customer Support Web and the Project Web. To create either web:
The Customer Support Web template is designed to provide customer support for a software company. Of course, you can easily modify it to suit your needs. The pages created with this template demonstrate the power of many of FrontPage's features. The Web consists of two sections: general pages and discussion pages.
After you create the web with a template, the FrontPage Explorer imports several pages from the customer support Web template directory. If you installed FrontPage using the default settings, the files are located in your Program Files\Microsoft FrontPage\Webs\Custsupp.tem directory. Figure 3.1 shows the Customer Support Web displayed in the FrontPage Explorer's summary view.
| TIP |
When there are several pages in a web, it is much easier to view their contents in summary view. While in summary view, you can sort the contents by title, filename, size, type of file, date when last modified, or page URL. To view Web contents in summary view, use the View | Summary View command from the FrontPage Explorer, or click the Summary View icon in the Explorer toolbar. While in summary view, you can still see links to pages in the outline view at the left portion of the screen. To find a page in the outline, simply right-click its title in the summary view. A menu appears; choose the Find in Outline command. |
The main section of the Customer Support Web contains several pages of a general nature. Users are welcomed to the site. They can submit and read software bug reports, ask questions about the software, make suggestions for improvements, search for topics, read technical notes, and learn what is new at the site.
Figure 3.2 shows the home page for the Customer Support Web (index.htm). Key features include a welcome message that contains company information. The header and footer that appear on this page are included on all the pages in the main section.
Figure 3.2 : The Customer Support-Welcome page describes the purpose of the Web site.
The Bugs page (bugrep.htm) is what visitors use to submit bug reports to the Web site. It consists of several parts. The first part, shown in Figure 3.3, states the purpose of the page.
Figure 3.3 : The first part of the Customer Support-Bugs page mentions the purpose of the page.
The next part of the page, shown in Figures 3.4 and 3.5, contains a form that visitors complete to report bugs in the software. You can change the fields to suit your particular needs.
Figure 3.4 : The top portion of the Bug Report Form.
Figure 3.5 : The bottom portion of the Bug Report Form.
| NOTE |
To use any of the forms included in these discussion groups on your site, you must have the FrontPage Server Extensions on your target server or use a custom CGI script. For more information on these topics, refer to Chapter 20, "Runtime Bots: The Heartbeat of FrontPage Forms." |
Beneath the Bug Report Form is a section where you can post known problems with software. Figure 3.6 shows an example. When the bugs mentioned on this page are fixed, you should provide a link to the Download page so that your customers can update their software.
Figure 3.6 : A list of known problems with your software appears on the page.
Bug reports submitted with the Customer Support Bugs page are placed in the Bug Reports from Customers page (buglist.htm). Initially, this page is blank, as in Figure 3.7. As customers report software bugs, the content automatically changes.
Figure 3.7 : Bug reports are automatically inserted into the Bug Reports from Customers page.
The Download page (download.htm), shown in Figures 3.8 and 3.9, informs the customer of files available for download. The contents area provides links to the files mentioned on the page. Customers can download the files from this page. Beneath the download area is a description of the file formats used.
The Frequently Asked Questions page (faq.htm) provides answers to the questions that the company's technical support staff is most often asked. The page includes hyperlinks and bookmarks.
The Suggestions page (suggest.htm), shown in Figure 3.10, enables customers to offer ideas for enhancing products or improving services. The results obtained from this form are placed on the Suggestions from Customers page (feedback.htm). Changes are updated automatically for you.
Figure 3.10: The Suggestions page enables customers to suggest improvements for your products.
The Search page (search.htm) has a text search engine for the Customer Support Web. Visitors can search for a word or phrase on your site. The results appear with links to the appropriate pages.
The Tech Note page (tn-001.htm), shown in Figures 3.12 and 3.13, provides information on how to perform a process or resolve a problem with software. It begins with a summary of the tech note, and then it outlines the procedure. A sample screen shot is included on the page as a placeholder.
The What's New page (whatsnew.htm) provides an up-to-date listing of what is new on the Customer Support Web. As you make changes to the site, inform visitors of them on this page.
Figure 3.14 shows the Included Page Header (header.htm) and the Included Page Footer (footer.htm), which appear on all the pages. The header provides links to all the main pages in the site, which ensures consistency and easy navigation. The footer contains trademark information and a link to the Webmaster's e-mail address. Copyright information and the date when the page was last modified also appear in the footer.
Figure 3.14: The Included Page Header and the Included Page Footer appear on all the pages.
The Customer Support Web template generates several discussion
pages. They are described in Table 3.1.
| Page Name | Page Filename | Description |
| Discussion | discuss.htm | Entry page for the discussion |
| Submission Form | cusupost.htm | Used for posting articles in the discussion |
| Confirmation Form | cusucfrm.htm | Confirms that a visitor's article has been received in the discussion |
| Search Form | cususrch.htm | Enables a visitor to search through posted articles for words or phrases |
| TOC | cusutoc.htm | Provides a table of contents for all the articles posted in the discussion; generated automatically |
| Included Header | cusuhead.htm | The header that appears on all pages; provides links to various pages in the discussion |
| Included Footer | cusufoot.htm | Puts the date when the page was last updated at the bottom of the page |
| Included Article Header | cusuahdr.htm | The header that appears on all the discussion articles; provides navigation links to the articles in the discussion and links for posting or replying to articles |
| Included Article Footer | cusuaftr.htm | Places the date when an article was submitted at the bottom of the page |
The FrontPage Explorer created a subdirectory-images-beneath the Web's root directory. It is where you store any images that you import into your Web. It includes two graphics:
The Web templates give you great ideas for constructing and arranging your own site.
The Project Web template creates a Web site that enables a group of individuals who are working on projects to organize their tasks. The Project Web features two discussion groups. It also discusses the members working on the project, milestones, and tasks. It is designed to be a public web, but you can modify it to coordinate internal projects. For that, you need to create a protected Web, which you learn to do in Chapter 6
Use the File | New Web command in the FrontPage Explorer to create a Project Web. After you complete steps outlined in the "Creating a Web with a Template" task, the FrontPage Explorer transfers several files from the Program Files\Microsoft FrontPage\Webs\Project.tem directory, which was created during installation. The Project Web appears in the FrontPage Explorer's summary view, as shown in Figure 3.15.
The main section of the Project Web contains links to the main pages in the Project Web. These pages include archives of files, links to the two discussions on the site, project schedules and status pages, and a search form.
Figure 3.16 shows the home page for the Project Web (index.htm). It highlights what is new on the site.
Figure 3.16: The home page lists the most recent additions to the site.
The Archive page (archive.htm), shown in Figures 3.17 through 3.19, provides links to downloadable files in the Project Web.
Figure 3.19: The bottom portion of the Archive page describes the document formats in the archives.
The Discussions page (discuss.htm), shown in Figure 3.20, provides links to the Knowledge Base and Requirements discussion groups.
The Members page (members.htm), shown in Figure 3.21, contains information on the members of a project team. It lists the members alphabetically and has links to each one's area on the page. The page provides each member's title, job description, and location, as well as links to his e-mail address and home page.
Figure 3.21: The Members page highlights the people working on a project.
The Schedule page (schedule.htm), shown in Figures 3.22 and 3.23, lists weekly schedules, upcoming events, and key milestones for the project.
Figure 3.23: The bottom portion of the Schedule page highlights milestones and deliverables.
The Search page (search.htm) enables visitors to search through your site for text.
The Status page (status.htm), shown in Figure 3.24, provides links to status reports stored on your site. Status reports appear monthly, quarterly, and yearly.
Figure 3.24: The Status page provides links to status reports stored on your site.
Figure 3.25 shows the Included Page Header (header.htm) and the Included Page Footer (footer.htm), which appear on all the pages. The header provides links to all the main pages in the site. The footer contains copyright information, the Webmaster's address, and the date when the page was last updated.
Figure 3.25: The Included Page Header and the Included Page Footer appear on every page.
The Knowledge Base discussion group is used to record comments and questions that occur as people work on a project. The contents of its pages are similar to those in the Customer Support discussion group, as well as the discussion groups that you create in Chapter 6.
The Table of Contents page (knobtoc.htm) includes a table of contents for the articles submitted to the Knowledge Base discussion. The table of contents is generated in a file called tocproto.htm, which is placed in the _knobas subdirectory in the Project Web.
The Submission Form (knobpost.htm) enables visitors to post messages to the discussion.
The Confirmation Form (knobcfrm.htm) sends a confirmation message to visitors when they submit articles to the discussion.
The Search Form (knobsrch.htm) has a search engine that enables visitors to search the text of the articles contained in the discussion.
The Included Header (knobhead.htm) and the Included Footer (knobfoot.htm) appear on all the pages in the discussion. The header includes links to the Discussion page, the Table of Contents page, the Search Form, and the Submission Form. The footer places the date when the page was most recently updated on the bottom of the page.
The Included Article Header (knobahdr.htm) and the Included Article Footer (knobaftr.htm) are placed on all the articles in the discussion. It includes links to the Discussion page, the Table of Contents page, and the Search Form. It provides a link that enables visitors to reply to articles. The footer places the date when the article was submitted on the bottom of the page.
The Requirements discussion group is used to discuss which features
should be included in software products. You can customize this
discussion to suit our own needs. Table 3.2 lists the pages and
their URLs. They serve the same functions as in the Knowledge
Base discussion. The only difference is that the table of contents
for the Requirements discussion is generated in a file called
tocproto.htm, which is placed in the _reqdis
subdirectory in the Project Web.
| Page Name | Page Filename |
| TOC | reqdtoc.htm |
| Submission Form | reqdpost.htm |
| Confirmation Form | reqdcfrm.htm |
| Search Form | reqdsrch.htm |
| Included Header | reqdhead.htm |
| Included Footer | reqdfoot.htm |
| Included Article Header | reqdahdr.htm |
| Included Article Footer | reqdaftr.htm |
The FrontPage Explorer created a subdirectory-images-beneath the web's root directory. It is where you store any images that you import into your web. It includes four graphics:
You can add discussion webs to your other Webs by using the Discussion Web wizard. It enables you to customize your discussion Web before the pages are created. You can link a style sheet to your discussion pages. This, for example, enables you to use colors other than the standard World Wide Web gray. You can also place the discussion articles in frames or create a discussion on a protected web.
To create a discussion web:
Like the Personal Web wizard, discussed in Chapter 2 "Let's Get Personal," the Discussion Web wizard guides you through the process of creating a discussion web. After you complete the initial steps outlined in the previous task, the Discussion Web wizard's introductory screen appears.
The introductory screen of the Discussion Web wizard contains text that tells you what you are about to create. A progress bar appears beneath the picture on the left side of the dialog box. This progress bar shows you how far along you are in the process.
You can interrupt the wizard at any time. You can
Click Next to continue setting up the discussion web.
The second screen of the Discussion Web wizard asks what types of pages you want to include in the discussion web. After you make all your selections, click Next.
The Submission Form is included automatically. This page is named xxxxpost.htm, where xxxx is a four-letter designation assigned to your files based on the name that you give to the discussion web. It serves the same function as the submission forms already mentioned in this chapter.
The Table of Contents page is named xxxxtoc.htm. If you include this page in your web, a table of contents for the articles in the discussion is generated as they are submitted. The wizard suggests that you include this page.
If you include the Search Form, a file named xxxxsrch.htm is created in your web.
If you sort discussion Web articles into threads, they are arranged by subject. All the replies to an article follow the original posting.
If you include the Confirmation Form, visitors receive a confirmation message when they submit articles to the discussion. This file is named xxxxcfrm.htm.
The third screen of the Discussion Web wizard asks you to give the discussion a descriptive title. This title appears on all the pages.
Based on the title you enter, this screen displays the name of the directory in which the articles are stored. For example, if you call the discussion "Support Discussion," the subdirectory is named _supdis. This title is also used to assign the filenames. Therefore, the names of all the files in the discussion begin with supd.
Click Next to continue.
The fourth screen of the Discussion Web wizard asks you to choose a set of input fields for the Submission Form. The options are
Click Next to continue.
The fifth screen of the Discussion web wizard asks whether the
discussion will take place on a protected web. Use a protected
web if you want only registered users to post articles; a Web
Self-Registration Form appears after the discussion web is generated
on your site. Create a public web if you want anyone to post articles.
| NOTE |
With FrontPage's Personal Web Server, you cannot mix protected areas and public areas on the same Web site. If you want to create a protected discussion, you must create a separate web. Refer to Chapter 6for complete instructions. |
The sixth screen of the Discussion Web wizard asks how the table of contents should sort the list of posted articles. Sort from oldest to newest if you want to list the articles in chronological order; this is the default selection. Sort from newest to oldest if you want the most recent postings to appear at the top of the table of contents. Click Next to continue.
The seventh screen of the Discussion Web wizard asks whether you want the Table of Contents page for the discussion to be the home page of the web. Choose No if you are adding this web to an existing web or if there is another home page in your web. The Table of Contents page is named xxxxtoc.htm.
Choose Yes if you do not intend to add any other web types to this discussion web. The Table of Contents page is named index.htm and is the home page in the web. The wizard reminds you that if you choose Yes, any existing file in the web named index.htm will be overwritten. You should answer No unless you are certain there will not be any additional web content or another home page in the web.
Click Next to continue.
The eighth screen of the Discussion Web wizard asks what information the Search Form should report for matching documents. The options are
Click Next to continue.
In the ninth screen of the Discussion Web wizard, you choose the color scheme for your pages. The choices that you make here are saved to your web in the Web Colors file. You base the style of your other pages on this page.
The steps are
In the tenth screen of the Discussion Web wizard, you choose the frame options for the discussion. Frames are a relatively new addition to Web page development, and not all browsers support them. FrontPage also provides alternative choices in this screen. The frame options are
Click Next to continue.
The final screen of the Discussion Web wizard notifies you that you have answered all the questions. It reminds you of any links that you have to create on your home page. You might want to add these comments to your To Do list.
Click the Finish button to create the Web and to upload the files that you selected when you stepped through the Discussion Web wizard. If you installed FrontPage using the default settings, the files are copied from the Program Files\Microsoft FrontPage\Webs\Vtidisc.wiz directory on your hard drive. The discussion Web will appear in the FrontPage Explorer's outline view.
Figure 3.26 shows the discussion Web in the FrontPage Explorer's summary view.
Figure 3.26: The pages created with the Discussion Web wizard, shown here in summary view.
In addition to the files mentioned in the "Choosing Your Pages" section, the Discussion Web wizard creates four pages. They are
The pages in the discussion Web are linked together if you choose the Dual Interface option.
Thanks to the Internet, communicating with others will never be the same. Thanks to FrontPage's discussion templates and wizards, you can easily design custom discussion groups on your own Web site.
In this chapter, you learned how to create three different types of Web sites that contain discussion groups. Now that the page templates are there and linked for you, the fun really begins. Editing your pages is simple once you have the basic design of the Web down.
In the next chapter, you create a corporate presence on the Web using the Corporate Presence Web wizard. If you want to continue with what you learned in this chapter, check out the following chapters:
| Q: | Can I add other fields to the forms included in a discussion web? |
| A: | Yes. Chapter 19, "Fields-The Building Blocks of Forms," explains how. |
| Q: | Can I test the protected webs on my local computer before I put them on the Web? |
| A: | Yes. You can open any web from your favorite browser and test it on your local computer as if it were the Web. First make sure that your Web server is running. Then enter a URL in your favorite browser to call in to the
protected web. Suppose, for example, that your server name is localhost and that your Web name is called ProtectedDiscussion. In your browser, you would specify a URL as follows: http://localhost/ProtectedDiscussion At this point, you are prompted to enter a user name and a password. Enter the name and password as it appears in the Web permissions created for you as the administrator or author. If you enter an incorrect password, a message appears stating that the authorization failed and that you will not gain access to the protected web. |
