FrontPage 2000 for Dummies [Paperback]

Asha Dornfest (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764504231 | ISBN-13: 978-0764504235 | Publication Date: May 21, 1999

A few years ago, geeks, academics, and soda-fueled computer jocks populated the Internet. Today, everyone – from CEOs to seventh-grade students to weekend technology fiends – wants to get online. And people don’t just want to surf. They each want to carve out a unique personal space: They want a Web site.

Until recently, only the technically gifted and artistically inclined attempted to publish sites on the Web. Not anymore. FrontPage 2000 brings new ease to Web publishing. Without any knowledge of HTML (the language used to create Web pages), you can use FrontPage to build and manage a beautiful and sophisticated Web site, complete with exciting effects you see on those other sites. FrontPage 2000 For Dummies introduces you to the ins and outs of online design, while sharing expert insight into ways to

• Tweak your text
• Make things happen with hyperlinks
• Add pictures and graphics to your pages
• Create an image map
• Work with themes
• Launch your page into the big, wide Internet world

Whether you're a beginner building your first family Web page or a professional designer looking to polish certain aspects of your site, FrontPage 2000 For Dummies will put you in the driver's seat in a race through cyberspace. Expect to discover how to

• Create Web pages that incorporate text, graphics, hyperlinks, image maps, tables, and multimedia.
• Add creative fonts, lists, symbols, borders and shading, comments, and user forms to your Web pages.
• Take advantage of FrontPage 2000's integration with Office 2000.
• Maintain and update your Web site using FrontPage 2000.
• Use all the features of FrontPage to keep your site looking and feeling brand-spanking fresh and new.

With so many people jumping on the Web publishing bandwagon, you can easily feel like you’ve been left in the dust. If you’re edging your way into the Internet Age (or being dragged in, kicking and screaming, by your employer or your kids), you’re in for a pleasant surprise: Creating your own Web site with FrontPage 2000 is easy and fun with FrontPage 2000 For Dummies.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The whole world is watching! In the past few years, the Internet has given us unprecedented publishing opportunities, and Microsoft has made it easier than ever to reach like-minded souls across the Web with FrontPage, its Web publishing application. If you're new to the world of Web design, FrontPage 2000 for Dummies can walk you through each step of the process with grace and good humor--though you may need to get a more comprehensive reference if you want to explore the intricacies of HTML.

The writing is clear, funny, and well-organized, moving from tool to tool with plenty of tips and tricks crammed in along the way. You learn the secrets of everything from basic file manipulation to multimedia, themes, and image maps. Unfortunately, the writing isn't well-complemented with images; the shortage of screenshots is a serious flaw for visual learners.

The book's accompanying CD-ROM is packed with shareware and trial software: Netscape 4.05, Paintshop Pro, WinZip, and plenty more. You'll also find sample files, bonus chapters, and the URLs mentioned within the text. FrontPage 2000 for Dummies is a good, basic introduction and a refreshing supplement to the often dry text found in other Web publishing books--but even the dumbest FrontPage user will probably need more than this. --Rob Lightner

About the Author

On her first day of college, Asha Dornfest took a bold step: She replaced her broken typewriter with a PC.
Asha did not consider herself a geek; her computer was simply a tool to help her write papers and reports. But by her senior year, she had defended her clunky PC against so many insults from Mac-loving roommates that she came to regard her computer with a sense of kinship.
After graduation, Asha trudged into the real world with a liberal arts degree and strong computer skills. (Which do you think got her a job?) She soon realized that she enjoyed showing people how computers could simplify their lives, when the things weren't making life more difficult, that is.
In 1994, Asha discovered the Internet. Soon after, she and her husband Rael started a Web design business in their dining room and began hawking their electronic wares. Mind you, this venture began during the Web-publishing Stone Age; many people had never even heard of the World Wide Web. A savvy friend quipped that ...For Dummies books about Web publishing may one day hit the shelves. Asha scoffed.
Today, Asha writes and teaches classes about Web publishing and other Internet-related topics. She welcomes visitors to her virtual home at www.ashaland.com.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies (May 21, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764504231
• ISBN-13: 978-0764504235
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,347,864 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A great book if you want to STAY a dummy., October 17, 2000

By 

Sharon Wylie (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: FrontPage 2000 for Dummies (Paperback)

Whenever I have a new software to learn, I go buy the "dummies" title to get me up to speed. Sadly, I'll be returning this title and looking for something more informative.

Although this book does teach you how to use FrontPage in the most basic possible way, it does not cover some very fundamental topics. For one thing, the author recommends using readymade (albeit customize-able) "themes" to design your site, with little information on how to format if you're NOT using a theme. The author also neglects to mention that using a theme will create a huge folder of theme graphics in your web, whether your site uses those graphics or not. So you can double or triple your upload time.

This example is emblematic of many problems with the book. I'm not a sophisticated computer user, and when I'm first learning a software, I count on the "dummies" titles to answer my novice questions. When I have questions that go unanswered, something's wrong.

This might be a good book for the individual user who wants to fool around with the software and perhaps design a personal web page. But if you're looking for the skills you need to design a professional looking site, look elsewhere.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars You will outgrow this book in two days..., December 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: FrontPage 2000 for Dummies (Paperback)

If I had it to do over again, I would just take the Microsoft tutorial that comes free on the FP 2000 disc, and then buy a MUCH MORE HEAVY DUTY reference book. While this book was entertaining and clear enough, FrontPage 2000 is far too complex a program to deal with in this "Dummies" format.

I ended up very frustrated trying to understand the concepts, because they were far over-simplified.

This book probably got me up and running more quickly on the basics of my first attempt at a web page. HOWEVER, the difficult answers - about folders, server extensions, PWS, etc. were glossed over too much to be of any value.

You'll eventually need one of the 900 page reference works to be successful here...

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Serves it's purpose just fine, June 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: FrontPage 2000 for Dummies (Paperback)

I now approach the Dummies titles for what they are - clean, simple introductions to software, etc. I have no problem with Dornfest's approach. She is, perhaps, a bit restricted by the massive amount of information that is out there - and consequently, she refers the reader to certain websites for further training. If she didn't, the book would start to resemble one of those "bibles" that nobody reads but only refers to as a reference manual. Perhaps there are better introductions to FrontPage 2000 out there, but this is a fair start. Almost always better than the manuals that are enclosed from the developer. Why is that?