Using Composer
This chapter provides basic information about using Composer to create,
edit, and publish your own web pages.
What's the difference between browsing and editing web pages?
You use the Navigator browser to find and view web pages on the
World Wide Web. When you are browsing, you don't need to know about the
components that make up a web page.
When you browse the Web, the pages you see are typically organized into
separate collections of pages called web sites. Each web site consists
of several pages linked together in an organized way to create a consistent
presentation of the information available at that web site.
To create or edit your own web pages and place them on the Web, you
use Netscape Composer. You use Composer just as easily as you would use
a word processing program. The files that Composer creates are called HTML
(Hypertext Markup Language) files because they contain HTML formatting
codes. Navigator knows how to interpret these HTML codes to display Composer
files as formatted web pages containing images and links.
Creating and publishing a web page
Here are the basic steps you'll follow to create and publish a web page.
You'll find details on each step throughout the rest of this chapter.
-
Start Netscape Communicator.
-
Choose Composer from the Communicator menu.
-
Create a web page using basic editing tasks, such as entering text, and
formatting characters and paragraphs.
-
Put the finishing touches on your web page by adding a table or inserting
an image.
-
Create links to other places in your page, and to other web pages.
-
Publish your web page so that others can view it.
What can a web page contain?
A web page can include some or all of the following elements:
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formatted and colored text
-
still or moving images such as photographs or animations
-
links that take you to another location in the same page or to another
web page
-
formatted tables
-
horizontal rule lines
Starting Netscape Composer
There are several ways to open the Composer window, depending on which
of the following you want to do:
-
Create a new page
-
Edit the page you're currently browsing
-
Edit an existing HTML file stored on your computer
Creating a new web page
To create a new web page, you can choose one of the following starting
points:
-
Start with a blank web page
-
Use a web page template, a sample page that contains common elements found
on most web pages
-
Use the Web Page Wizard, a special page on the Netscape home site that
walks you through the steps for creating a web page.
Starting with a blank page
-
From the File menu choose New, and then choose Blank Page, or choose Composer
from the Communicator menu.
-
Enter text. See
"Basic editing" later in this chapter for more information.
Creating a page using a template
-
Note:
The Netscape templates are located on the Netscape home site. You must
be connected to the Internet to access them.
-
From the File menu choose New, and then choose Page From Template.
-
To use a remote page as your template, enter the page's URL. To use a file
stored on your hard disk, click Choose File. To choose from a list of custom-designed
templates, click Netscape Templates.
After clicking Netscape Templates, choose
a template (to see a list of templates, you might have to scroll down).
-
To work with a Netscape template, choose Edit Page from the File menu to
use the template as the basis for a new web page.
-
Edit the text. See
"Basic editing" later in this chapter for more information.
-
From the File menu, choose Save.
Creating a page using the Page Wizard
The Page Wizard is a special page on the Netscape home site that walks
you through the steps of creating a web page. When you've completed the
following steps, you'll have a page that you can open in Composer for entering
and editing text.
-
Note:
The Page Wizard is located on the Netscape home site. To access it,
you must be connected to the Internet.
-
From the File menu choose New, and then choose Page From Wizard.
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Follow the instructions provided to create a page.
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From the File menu, choose Edit Page.
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Continue entering and editing text. See
"Basic editing" later in this chapter for more information.
-
From the File menu, choose Save.
Editing the page you are browsing
To edit the page you are browsing, you have to be able to access the
page's HTML file (called the source file). If you don't have the proper
access (called write access) to the server where the source file is stored,
then you can only browse the web pages on that server.
Most often you'll edit pages that are stored on your own computer. However,
you might be able to directly edit your own web pages stored on your Internet
Service Provider's server.
-
Display the page you want to edit in Netscape Navigator.
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From the File menu, choose Edit Page.
-
Enter or edit text. See
"Basic editing" later in this chapter for more information.
-
From the File menu, choose Save.
Editing an HTML file stored on your computer
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(Windows and Unix) From the File menu choose Open Page.
(Mac OS) From the File menu, choose Open,
then choose Page in Composer.
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(Windows and Unix) Click Choose File.
(Mac OS) Select the file you want to
edit.
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(Windows and Mac OS) Click Open.
(Unix) Click OK.
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(Windows and Unix only) Click Open again.
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Enter text.
See
"Basic editing" for more information.
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From the File menu, choose Save.
Basic editing
You enter and edit text in the Composer window just as you would in
a word-processing program.
-
Tip
For information about designing web pages, see Composer's online help.
Using the toolbars
The toolbars contain buttons corresponding to frequently used commands.
Use the Composition toolbar to work with files. Use the Formatting toolbar
to apply text styles.
Entering and editing text
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Position the cursor over the Composer window.
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Click to mark an insertion point.
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Begin typing your text.
Typing special symbols
To insert special symbols, such as the copyright (©) symbol, run
the Windows Character Map application or the Mac OS Key Caps program.
-
Open your character mapping program.
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Change the font to Times Roman.
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Select the symbol you want.
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Copy the symbol.
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From the Edit menu, choose Paste in the Composer window.
Selecting text
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Double-click a word to select it.
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Click the beginning of a line to select the entire line.
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Double-click the beginning of a paragraph to select the entire paragraph.
Displaying paragraph marks
-
From the View menu, choose Show Paragraph Marks to see where paragraph
marks are located in your document.
Composer also displays a short horizontal line to indicate the end of
the document.
Copying and pasting text
You can paste text into your document from almost any source. For example,
you can select text on a page you are viewing in Netscape Navigator and
copy it using Navigator's Copy command from the Edit menu. You can then
switch to the Composer window and paste the text into the Composer window
by choosing Paste from the Edit menu.
-
Note:
-
Text that you copy from a web page that you're viewing
in Netscape Navigator does not retain formatting information when you paste
it into the Composer window. However, text that you copy and paste within
the Composer window, or from one Composer document to another, does retain
its formatting.
Canceling or repeating your last action or command
-
From the Edit menu, choose Undo to cancel your last action or command.
-
From the Edit menu, choose Redo to perform the most recent action or command
again.
-
Note:
-
Not all actions or commands can be undone.
Formatting text
Formatting text consists of applying fonts, sizes, styles (bold, italic,
and so on), colors, alignment, and other options to text. Composer provides
two types of formatting:
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Paragraph formatting, which controls the appearance of entire paragraphs
of text, including headings and lists.
-
Character formatting, which controls the font, size, style, and color of
selected characters or words.
Formatting paragraphs
-
Click the paragraph you want to format, or drag to select more than one
paragraph.
Composer will apply the chosen paragraph
style to the paragraph that contains the insertion point or to all paragraphs
in the selection.
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From the Formatting toolbar, choose a paragraph style, list style, or alignment
option.
For more information about the paragraph styles that Composer provides,
see "Paragraph Formats" in Composer's online help.
Formatting characters
-
Select the word or characters that you want to format.
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(Windows and Unix) Choose a font, size, color, or style from the Formatting
toolbar.
(Mac OS) Choose a size, color, or style
from the Formatting toolbar. Choose a font using the Format menu.
-
Tip
-
Additional text styles (superscript, subscript, blink,
and others) are available by choosing Style from the Format menu.
For more information about working with fonts and adding color, see
Composer's online help.
Searching for text (Windows)
-
From the Edit menu, choose Find in Page.
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Enter the characters you want to search for.
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Choose the search options.
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Click Find Next to begin the search.
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Click Find Next again to continue the search.
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Click the Find dialog box's close box when you are done searching.
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From the Edit menu, choose Find Again to find the next occurrence.
Searching for text (Mac OS and Unix)
-
From the Edit menu, choose Find in Page.
-
Type the word or phrase you're looking for.
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Choose the search options you want.
-
(Mac OS) Click Find to find the next occurrence.
(Unix) Click Find to start or continue
searching.
-
(Unix only) Click the close box when you are done searching.
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From the Edit menu, choose Find Again to find the next occurrence.
Spell-checking your document
-
From the Tools menu, choose Check Spelling, or click the Spelling button
in the Composer window.
Composer checks for spelling errors using
its main dictionary, which contains the most common words. If Composer
finds a word that is not in the main dictionary, it displays the word in
the Spelling dialog box and gives you choices for correcting the possible
misspelling.
-
For each word that Composer displays in the Spelling dialog box, choose
whether to correct it, ignore it, or add it to the dictionary.
-
Click Stop to stop checking spelling before Composer has finished checking
the entire document.
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Click Done to close the dialog box.
Inserting a horizontal line
You can insert one or more horizontal lines in your web page to help
create visual breaks between page sections. This is especially useful if
your page is a long one.
-
Click the location in the Composer window where you want to insert the
line.
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Click the H. Line button in the Composition toolbar, or from the Insert
menu, choose Horizontal Line.
-
(Windows only) To increase the line's height, position the cursor over
the line so that the cursor changes to a double-headed arrow, and drag
the line upward.
-
To change line properties such as line height, alignment, or 3D shading,
double-click the line to display the Horizontal Line Properties dialog
box.
Deleting a horizontal line
-
Click the line to select it.
-
Press Delete.
Creating a table
Tables let you present information such as financial data or a calendar
of events in a grid of columns and rows. You can also use one or more tables
on a page whenever you want to have greater control over the layout of
your text and images. For example, you could create a table that's the
size of the entire page, and then add text and insert images into the table's
columns and rows.
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Place the insertion point where you want the table to appear in your document.
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From the Insert menu, choose Table, and then choose Table..., or click
the Table button on the Composition toolbar.
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Choose the settings you want.
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Click OK to confirm your settings.
If you click Apply, you can preview the
settings and make further changes to them before clicking OK.
Selecting and deleting tables
Follow these steps to select a table:
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Place the insertion point inside the table.
-
From the Edit menu, choose Select Table.
You can cut or copy the table and paste
it somewhere else in your document.
Follow these steps to delete a table:
-
Place the insertion point inside the table.
-
From the Edit menu, choose Delete Table, then Table.
Adding and deleting rows, columns, and cells
Follow these steps to add a row, column, or cell:
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Place the insertion point in the table where you want the new item to appear.
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From the Insert menu, choose Table, then choose Row, Column, or Cell.
Follow these steps to delete a row, column, or cell:
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Place the insertion point inside the row, column, or cell you want to delete.
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From the Edit menu, choose Delete Table, then choose Row, Column, or Cell.
Setting table properties
After you've created a table, you can change the table, row, or cell
properties at any time.
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Place the insertion point inside the table.
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(Windows) From the Format menu, choose Table Properties.
(Mac OS) From the Format menu, choose
Table Info.
(Unix) From the Format menu, choose Object
Properties.
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Choose the settings you want.
-
Click OK when you are done.
-
Note:
-
The settings you choose override the settings used
when you first created the table.
Working with images
Composer allows you to work with the two kinds of images that most web
browsers support:
-
GIF (CompuServe Graphics Interchange Format .GIF extension)
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JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group .JPG extension)
GIF files lack the higher quality of JPEG files, but they're more compact
and display more quickly in web browsers.
You can get images by creating them yourself, scanning them, or buying
them as part of a commercial clip art package. You can also find GIF images
in the Internet's many image archives. See
"Saving an image" in Chapter
3, "Using Navigator," for information on saving web page images on
your hard disk.
-
Note:
-
If you intend to use images in your own web pages,
make sure you get permission from the owner of the image, or use royalty-free
clip art so you don't infringe on a possible copyright.
Inserting an image in your document
Follow these steps to insert an image file located on your hard disk
into the document you're editing:
-
Click where you want the image to appear in your document.
-
From the Insert menu, choose Image, or click the Image button in the Composition
toolbar.
-
(Windows and Mac OS) Click Choose File to locate the image file on your
hard disk.
(Unix) Click Browse to locate the image
file on your hard disk.
An image is actually a separate file
that does not "live" in your Composer document; the image file can be located
on your hard disk or on a remote computer.
-
(Windows and Mac OS) Select the file and click Open.
(Unix) Click OK.
-
Choose the options you want.
-
Click OK.
By default, Composer saves a copy of the image in the page's location
on your hard disk, so that the image always appears with your document.
-
Important
-
If you move the image file from its current location
on your hard disk, it will no longer appear in your document.
-
Tip
-
You can drag an image from a folder on your desktop
or from your Navigator browser window and drop it into your document. Composer
places the image at the insertion point location. To change the image's
properties, double-click the image.
-
(Windows) If you paste or drag a BMP (Windows bitmap)
image into your document, Composer converts it to JPEG format. You can
convert to other formats, such as the popular GIF format, by using the
appropriate plug-in.
Resizing an image (Windows only)
-
Position the pointer over the image's highlighted border so that the pointer
changes to a double-arrow shape.
-
Drag the border to resize the image.
Moving an image to a new location (Windows only)
-
Drag the image and drop it at the new location.
Creating a link
A link (also known as a hyperlink) is an active part of a document.
Clicking a link can take you to:
-
another part of the same web page
-
other web pages on your hard disk or on a remote computer
Every link contains the web address for the page that the link refers
to. This web address is called the page's URL (Uniform Resource Locator).
See
"What's a URL?" in Chapter
3, "Using Navigator," or refer to Composer's online help for more information
about URLs.
Follow these steps to create links from text or images in your page
to other web pages:
-
In the Composer window, select the text or image that you want to create
a link for.
-
From the Insert menu, choose Link, or click the Link button in the Composition
toolbar.
-
(Windows and Mac OS) To link to a file on your hard disk, click Choose
File.
(Unix) To link to a file on your hard
disk, click Browse File.
To link to a file on a remote computer,
type the file's URL.
-
Click OK.
-
Tip
-
To create a link to the page displayed in Netscape
Navigator, go to Navigator and drag the page proxy icon located to the
left of the Location (sometimes called "Netsite") field into the Composer
window. You can also drag a file from your desktop or drag a link from
an email message into the Composer window to add it to your document.
-
Note:
-
If you type new characters at the end of a link's
text, Composer adds the new characters to the link's text. If this is not
what you want, click the Remove all character styles button
in the Formatting toolbar before typing the
new text.
Browsing a page you've created
It's a good idea to browse the pages you create so that you can test
the links you've created.
-
From the File menu, choose Browse Page to display the current page in the
Navigator browser.
You can also click the Preview button
in Composer's Composition toolbar.
-
Save the page if you haven't already done so.
-
If you're connected to the Internet, click the links you created to make
sure they go to the locations you want.
About publishing your page
Once you have finished creating your web page and have tested the links,
you can publish your page on a web server computer. If your page exists
only on your local hard disk, you can browse your page, but no one else
can. When you publish your page on a server, you copy your page to a computer
that lets others see your page.
What's a web server?
A web server is a computer that runs all the time and waits for web
client programs like Netscape Navigator to connect to it and request a
copy of a specific web page. When the web server receives a request for
a page, it sends a copy of the page to the Navigator browser that made
the request.
Finding a web server
Ideally, you can publish your web pages on the server owned by the same
organization or Internet Service Provider that gives you access to the
Internet. Ask your system administrator or Internet Service Provider about
publishing your web pages on their server.
-
Tip
-
Netscape Netcenter offers a free service, called
Site Central, that lets you create and publish web pages. For more information
about Site Central, point your browser to http://home.netscape.com and
click the "Get a Free Web Page" link.
Naming your files
Filenames use different conventions and restrictions depending on the
operating system (Windows, Mac OS, or Unix). Since a server computer may
run a different operating system than yours, you'll want to name your files
so that they can be used on the server computer. For example, if you're
copying your files from a Mac OS computer to a Windows 3.1 computer, you'll
need to name your files using filenames that are no longer than eight characters,
followed by a three-character extension, for example: report.htm or resume.htm.
Don't use spaces or other special symbols; use only lowercase letters and
numbers.
Publishing your page (Windows)
-
Open the file that you want to publish.
-
From the File menu, choose Publish, or click the Publish button in the
Composition toolbar.
-
Type the page's title.
The title appears in the browser's title
bar and in bookmarks created for this page.
-
Type the page's file name as you want it to appear on the server.
-
Type the URL for the location of the remote site where you want to publish
your page.
If you're not sure what to type, contact
your system administrator or Internet Service Provider.
-
Type the user name you use when accessing the network where your web page
will be located.
-
Type the password for your user name.
-
Choose Files associated with this page to include any image files your
web page uses.
-
Click OK.
-
To see your page, choose Browse Page from the File menu.
You may need to click Reload to see the
page.
Publishing your page (Mac OS and Unix)
-
Open the file that you want to publish.
-
From the File menu, choose Publish, or click the Publish button in the
Composition toolbar.
-
Type the URL for the location of the remote site where you want to publish
your page.
Be sure to include the file name in the
URL. If you're not sure what to type, contact your system administrator
or Internet Service Provider.
-
Type the user name you use when accessing the network where your web page
will be located.
-
Type the password for your user name.
-
Choose the files you want to include.
-
Click Publish.
-
To see your page, choose Browse Page from the File menu.
You may need to click Reload to see the
page.
Setting publishing preferences
You can specify the settings Composer uses for publishing your pages,
so that you don't have to enter them each time you want to publish a page.
-
From the Edit menu, choose Preferences.
-
(Windows) Click the + symbol next to Composer.
(Mac OS and Unix) Click the triangle
next to Composer.
-
(Windows) Click Publishing.
(Mac OS and Unix) Click Publish.
-
Choose the settings you want for links and images.
-
Type the default publishing and browse locations.
-
Click OK.
Telling others how to find your page
Tell others the URL for your web page so that they can view it. If you
send them an email message that contains the URL, Messenger automatically
converts the URL into a link that they can click to go to your page.
Back
to my Help!!! Page
Feb. 2000