Composer Basics
Module 5


Now. . . The Main Attraction:

We will use an authoring tool to tell the computer what you want on your web page(s) and the tool converts the your directions into code.  There are many programs that do this, including Adobe's PageMill and GoLive, Claris HomePage, Microsoft's FrontPage and Publisher, MacroMedia's DreamWeaver, and many others.  These cost money or have various licensing arrangements.  They may also be specific to Macintosh or PC computers.  Fortunately, some browsers allow you to create Web pages, including Netscape Communicator and the creation tools come with the browser at no cost.

For these modules, we will use Netscape Composer, which is a part of the Netscape Communicator package.  (The Browser is called Netscape Navigator, the Mail program is called... Netscape Messenger, the Web Authoring program is called Netscape Composer, and there are other components to the Communicator package.)  Composer is not necessarily the "fanciest" tool, nor is it the most user-friendly, but the price is right and it is already available if you have Netscape on your computer.  The Macintosh and PC versions are also very similar, so directions given here will vary only slightly.

The first step:

First, we need a folder to store your work in.
Important:----->  EVERYTHING you create for these modules must go in this folder.  Nothing should be in it that is not part of the pages.

1. Create a new folder on your desktop.  This will be your "local" web folder.  Name it  WebProject (note the lack of spaces used in the folder title)  The name itself is not siginficant, but every name inside the folder is very significant.

2. Open the folder and create another folder inside.  Name it Pictures.

3. Copy two files that are being provided to you for this lesson by doing ONE of the following:


4. Be sure these files are saved into the Pictures folder.  If you save them to the Desktop or elsewhere, drag them into the Pictures folder before doing anything else.


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