The Really Incomplete Guide to Web Publishing

(using Netscape Communicator’s composer)

Introduction. To start, there are 3 basic components most often found on a web page: text (words), images (pictures), and links (jumping off points to other locations). The brief instructions below will describe how to add each of these components to your pages. In addition, these instructions will describe how the composer may be used to add other features and variations.

These instructions may be printed out for your reference. They should work for both Windows and Macintosh versions of Netscape Communicator's composer. There may be slight variations in wordings on some commands.

Creating a New Page. Pull FILE to NEW to BLANK PAGE and release.

Saving a Page. (Save early, save often!) Pull down FILE menu to SAVE AS. Note the location you are saving to! Note the name you are saving the file as (no blank spaces....must end in .html In Win95 don’t add any extension--.htm is added automatically. In addition to never using any blank spaces in filenames I also recommend never using capitalized letters--when working with filenames this will simplify your life greatly.

Setting Up Page Colors. Pull FORMAT menu to PAGE PROPERTIES and release. Select COLORS AND BACKGROUND. Click in USE CUSTOM COLORS circle . Click in the colored squares to give opportunity to select various color combinations (there are also pre-made combinations available to choose in the pop-down menu you will find in that screen). Click OK’s when you're finished.

Note: Remember, the goal of a web page is that people are supposed to be able to read it.

Modifying Text. Highlighted text can be modified in a variety of ways (alignment, size, style). The toolbar just above your writing space has a large number of different formating capabilities. Explore!

Adding Images. ***Before*** adding images you should have some .gif or .jpg images saved in the same location as the .html you will be adding the images to! OR have the complete address (URL) of an existing image on the web (but make sure you have permission to use it, don't be a thief!). Images can be obtained from various free clipart sites (search for free graphics) or created yourself (we'll learn this in coming weeks).

INSERT menu to IMAGE and release (composer will probably prompt you to save your web page if you haven't already. Click CHOOSE FILE and open the image file you wish to insert (your life will be much simpler if that image is already saved in the folder your web page is saved in). Click OK. Alternative: Instead of CHOOSE FILE just enter the web address (URL) of an existing image on the web (example: http://162.127.88.3/demo.gif ).

Adding Links. Highlight the text on your page that you wish to become the link (underlined, clickable words). Pull INSERT menu to LINK and release....

Option 1. Type or paste the complete web address of the web page you want the link to connect to.
Option 2. Click CHOOSE FILE. Open the .html file you wish to link to ( to keep you life simple, at this stage it should be saved in the same location as your current .html file). Click INSERT.
(option 2 is most likely to be used when you are linking to one of your own pages, option 1 when you are linking to someone else's web page). Click OK.

What Will It Look Like In the Netscape Browser? Save your file, then pull FILE menu to BROWSE PAGE. The COMMUNICATOR menu (small lighthouse icon in Mac) may be pulled down to allow you to select your COMPOSER page to go back to your working copy of the page for more editing.

Other Features to Try.

Tables (grids). Pull INSERT menu to TABLE and to TABLE. Set options and click OK.

Dividing Lines. Pull INSERT menu to HORIZONTAL LINE.

Numbered List. Click numbered list button. Enter items, returning after each. To exit switch pop down menu to normal.

Bulleted List. Click bulleted list button. Enter items, returning after each. To exit switch pop down menu to normal.

Spell Check. A very crude spell check can be found in the TOOLS menu.

Note: If you have a very long document to make with a great deal of text--it would be wise to create, edit, and "perfect" your content in a standard word processor and then copy/paste over into a blank composer web page.

How to Go Public? Going public simply involves taking your .html (or htm) files and your image files and placing them in your own folder in a folder on an active webserver. To have someone access your page from remotely, the address of your page would follow the form:

http://your_web_server_address/your_folder/your_page_name.html