by Beverly Voth, <bjvoth@aol.com> and Ken Tidwell, <kentid@sna.com>
Claris Home Page 2.0
Creating Web Pages and Sites for Beginners and Advanced Webmasters
If you're sitting on the fence trying to decide whether to jump onto the Web; or you are an experienced Webmaster frustrated at the enormity of maintaining your sites, Claris Home Page 2.0 can assist you! This article will give you some insights regardless of your experience.
Claris just announced the release of version 2.0 of Home Page, it's web page creation software. This is available to current owners of version 1.0. You can download the US version of the upgrade from: <http://www2.claris.com/forms/clarispageupdater.html>. You will need to have your serial number handy. This is for Macintosh and Windows 95 or NT users, but non-domestic owners may have to wait for the upgrade.
Beginners
You will appreciate the ease of using this program. I found myself just clicking on the buttons and trying menu items. Then I read the manual! It's pretty intuitive, as you move the mouse over the button on the tool bar, a text label is displayed. The tutorial and Help windows will assist you, if you don't understand something.
Do I Need to Learn HTML to Use Claris Home Page?
No, you can create pages and sites without ever learning HTML (HyperText Markup Language). This is used by Web browsers (Netscape Navigator, NCSA Mosaic, and Microsoft Internet Explorer) to display your web creations. You will learn some of the language as you create your pages, because Claris Home Page inserts the correct tags for you. You can view this "source code" at anytime during the process.
It may be helpful to eventually learn more about HTML if you are planning to use additional tags or create more complex web sites. See the resources listed below for information about Claris Home Page, HTML and web creation.
Helpful Hints for Beginners
There are some things you could do if you have no experience with creating web pages. In Claris Home Page, you should set your Preferences before you begin your first page. If you don't understand some of the terms in Preferences, then use the Help windows. Become familiar with how the Help works. Go through the Tutorial, view the Library files and Sample Clip Art. The manual included with version 2.0 download is all in PDF format.
Remember to put a copy of graphics that you use from the Library or sample files into your own folder for your site. Read the Help windows on Using Libraries and inserting graphics.
Check with your ISP (Internet Service Provider) -- and this includes online services, such as America Online -- before setting your Preferences. You will need to know how and where your service provider would like you to upload your web files and graphics. Also, ask them about CGI (Common Gateway Interface) files, if you plan to use form processing.
Will I Need Anything Besides Claris Home Page?
You will need a browser to view your finished web pages. You may use any browser, but for the best designed pages, you should test your finished pages in several different browsers. Claris Home Page will verify the correctness of your code and check your spelling, so you won't need to use another program for these resources.
You will also need Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing the PDF files of the manual. PDF stands for Portable Digital Format. Acrobat Reader is available for download from several online sources. I found it helpful to print the Index.pdf file as it has an alphabetical list of the topics in the manual.
Advanced Web Design
Claris Home Page 2.0, 1st Contact
For most people, the decision to buy one specific tool over another is a combination of needs and first impressions. As more people gain experience putting information online, the requirements for completing this task naturally cry out for augmentation. Claris Home Page 2.0 succeeds in this area by giving the user a solid list of advanced authoring features. The gut instinct to actually purchase Claris Home Page 2.0 is undoubtably linked to the Claris reputation for stable software and thoughtful functionality.
Briefly, the main changes found in Home Page 2.0 include:
- 'Site management' provides the ability to 'consolidate,' upload and monitor the contents of a page or site directly from Home Page using FTP (File Transfer Protocol).
- Check spelling in the entire document, or just in the selected text with standard or custom dictionaries.
- Distinguish tags from text in 'Edit HTML Source Mode' using 'Syntax Coloring'. Selection is maintained between 'Edit Page mode' and 'Edit HTML Source mode' so that you can quickly find the HTML code for a specific part of your Web page.
- Edit both client-side image maps (CSIM) and server-side image maps (SSIM).
- Control-click (Macintosh) or right-click (Windows) to interlace a GIF image or add transparency to a GIF image.
- Table enhancements now allow for paste, drag-and-drop, or opening of a tab-delimited text file. Claris Home Page 2.0 converts the tab delimited file into an HTML table. Make table font, size, or style changes globally. Set table cell widths and heights to specific measurements to override browser specifications. Change the row and column size by dragging.
- The online 'Help' files have more than doubled in size.
Interactivity
Support for QuickTime and QTVR (QuickTime Virtual Reality), as well as Plug-ins and Java applets has been further enhanced by the inclusion of menu commands designed specifically for these elements. Be advised that these files must be uploaded to remote servers manually.
The dirt
- Although touted as being WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get), Claris Home Page 2.0 cannot display text wrapped around images. Users must learn to validate/preview all formatting in at least one modern browser.
- Memory requirements increase as libraries and objects, such as large graphics, are opened or 'inserted.' Be prepared to increase the memory for this application when performing multiple page creation and administration. I recommend a setting of 6 MB, minimum.
- Some users report difficulty with the 'Insert From Library' menu.
- Home Page does not currently provide AppleScript support.
- Version 2.0 will only open 'text' files from other applications (ClarisWorks, Excel, etc.). The clipboard, however, will perform an amazingly broad range of translations.
My feelings exactly...
'Home Page' has developed a very faithful following. I suspect that the typical user is drawn to the product because of a solid faith in 'software by Claris'... I feel that these same individuals keep such a product on their hard drives because that faith is renewed every time they run Claris Home Page.
I'm pleased with Claris Home Page 2.0, and will continue to rely on it for daily web page maintenance and versatile site creation. Tip: Get on the e-mail list* for Claris Home Page!
Resources
Several resources are available to beginners and advanced Webmasters. There are several books, among them "Teach Yourself Web Publishing" by Laura Lemay or Dan Shafer's "JavaScript and Netscape Wizardry." On line resources include:
- CLARIS <http://www.claris.com/support/clarishomepage/>
- 'Claris Home Page 2.0 Resource Directory'
<http://www.sna.com/kt/frms/chp/CHPWEBHelp01.html>
- The 'Claris Home Page FAQ' (Frequently Asked Questions) list
<http://www.ee.pdx.edu/~jeskem/chpfaq/>
- You can also subscribe to the *'Claris Home Page Talk List,'
An Email Discussion Group for Users of Claris Home Page
(as well as search the archives of this list)
<http://www.blueworld.com/lists/homepage>.
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Beverly Voth is an experienced Webmaster. She has created sites totally using raw HTML code. She can now appreciate using CLARIS Home Page! Beverly can be reached at <bjvoth@aol.com>. Ken Tidwell is a Northern California Internet consultant who originally designed and built web sites in Asia way back in 1994. Ken produces the only after market 'Home Page' libraries on the Internet. Ken can be reached at <kentid@sna.com>