Guides

Internet Access

Web Authoring

FTP Programs

Updating Web Pages

Preferences

This page has useful links and resources to help you get the most from your internet experience. In the meantime, the following links may be of interest:-

• About (Internet/Online) is a good starting point for information on any related subject (and links to other subjects.)
• Microsoft provides their own 'Internet Guide and Web Tutorial'.
• Netscape offers a good 'Get Started' guide (provided by ZDNet).
• Web Monkey has information, for all levels, on the various aspects of web authoring, design, programming, viruses or other computer/internet related matters).
• Webopedia is an excellent online dictionary and reference search engine for computer and Internet technology terms.
• ZDNet for comprehensive guides on all aspects of the internet and computing, as well as well-respected software/hardware reviews. (As used by Netscape.)

The following links may be of interest:-

• The Unofficial Internet Starter Pack for Quakers. We highly recommend this free information, kindly compiled by Dave Smith. It covers introductory information, tools, and much more.
• The IT Resource Guide for UK Charities and Non-Profit Organisations. Guide to IT information, products and services available in the UK for UK charities and non-profit organisations.  
• Understanding and Using the Internet. Good guide produced by PBS Television.
• Tips, Tricks and Computer Troubleshooting for Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000 and Macintosh.

Instead, we suggest you look at the exciting offers that can be obtained from BT, NTL and many other telephone, cable and internet companies. Some of these provide free access (no call charges), some provide unlimited access for a flat, some provide the option of exceptionally fast data speeds using ASDL and other technology.

A good place to start is:- www.net4nowt.com. However, if you want some advice please do not hesitate to contact us.

Contrary to popular opinion, designing and construct a web page, these days, can be very easy. At the simplest level, you can use any text editor and write your pages in pure HTML code. However, if you are new to web pages, you may want a program that works in a user-friendly 'WYSIWYG' ('What You See Is What You Get') environment and doesn't require any knowledge of programming.

Depending on your budget, there are a number of excellent commercial products, all capable of fast, professional results, and even some simpler programs which are available free. (See some popular choices listed below).  

Regarding free programs, don't forget that many current Word Processing programs (like Microsoft Word) can convert a standard wordprocessed document page into a simple web page, ready for publishing; Microsoft included a free version of FrontPage Express with some of their products; and Netscape still provide a built-in webpage creation and editing tool in their free Communicator browser suite.

After designing your web pages, you will be ready to upload your pages to your website using any standard FTP (File Transfer Protocol) program. 

Finally, as a general introduction to web authoring, you may find the two articles on web design and the web design primer, of interest, then visit this page on authoring tools and read the first three articles. You may also find it useful to compare the the views of Zeitgeist on a range of web authoring and editing tools.

Authoring Programs

• Macromedia Dreamweaver. This is arguably the best all-round web design program for either PC or Mac. It is popular with professional web designers (rather than programmers) because whilst it looks like a Desk Top Publishing or Graphics program, it is extremely flexible and powerful.  However, for the beginner, it has quite a learning curve and it is relatively expensive.
• Microsoft FrontPage. Easy and very popular with users familiar with Microsoft Office products.  However, its websites have to be thoroughly checked if you want to ensure they appear the same in non-Microsoft browsers. (FrontPage is also included with MS Office 2000 Premium, and you can order a free limited-trial CD.)
• NetObjects Fusion is popular in the corporate world for creating fast multiple-page websites and maintaining easy site consistency and content management.

In addition, read a review of some free HTML editors, or pick one of the following free WYSIWYG authoring programs:-

• Coolpage (free version available)
• IMS Web Dwarf (free)
• Microsoft FrontPage Express (free only with Internet Explorer 4.0 and 5.0, and with Windows 98 and Windows 98 2nd edition.)
• Netscape Composer, We recommend this if you want to easily update text, directly on your live web pages (see Updating Webpages below). (Available as part of  Netscape Communicator, which is free.)

When you are ready to publish your completed pages to the web, you will need to use an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) program to upload your files to the server. FTP is a universally accepted standard that allows all your pages to be cleanly transferred to your web space. 

(N.B. Microsoft FrontPage users: If you are using FrontPage as your web authoring program, you will be able to use its own proprietary 'publish' feature.  However, if you decide to use this, no other program can be used for updating your website. If this is too restrictive, the alternative is to design the site in FrontPage, but upload the pages using any standard FTP program.)

• Crystal FTP 2000. A good FTP Program. (Free)
• Cute FTP. Popular FTP program.
• FTP Commander. Small, simple program. (Free)
• FTP Explorer. Styled like Windows Explorer. (Free for home/educational use.)
• FTP Voyager. Powerful all round program. (Free for non-commercial use.)
• WS_FTP. Styled like Windows Explorer. Powerful FTP program. (Free limited version available.)

For further information, try the FTP New User Guide (provided by WS_FTP), or any of the general links or guides above. 

Our recommended method is to use Netscape Communicator 4.7+, which, without requiring any technical know-how, combines an internet browser, webpage editing and one-button publishing to your website. (Netscape 6.0 is more powerful, but is more resource-hungry and needs a more powerful computer which may not be accessible to everyone). The instructions are as follows:-

1. Whilst connected to the internet, start Netscape Composer.
2. Locate your website (e.g., http://www.YourWebsite.quakerweb.org) and the page you wish to edit. (If you prefer to work off-line, simply save the page on your system before disconnecting from the internet.)
3. From the toolbar menu, Select File, then on the pull down menu, select Edit Page.
A new 'Composer' window will appear, showing the selected page with various marked tags and labels. (Do not delete any of these unless you know how to re-do the layout.)
4. Using the toolbar icons which are just like a word processor, you can edit the text you wish to change or add new text as appropriate. (When finished, you may wish to save the page on your system.)
5. Click on Publish (you will need to be connected to the Internet)
6. Page Title: The title of the page as it will appear in the browser's title bar.
7. HTML Filename: Make sure this is the same name as the original web page (e.g. newsannouncements.html), so that the original will be overwritten and thus updated.
8. HTTP or FTP Location to publish to: Write your location in the form of 'ftp://ftp.' For example :-ftp://ftp.yourwebsite.quakerweb.org
9. User name: Enter your Account UserName
10. Password: Enter your Account Password
11. Other file to include:- Click the Select None button.
(If you are uploading other associated files - such as pictures - from your computer, then use the Select All button or choose Files associated with this page (such as image files) or All files in page's folder, as appropriate. (See the Netscape Composer online help for more details.)
12. Click OK.
13. Your page is now being transferred to the QuakerWeb server, and you will get a confirmation message when the upload is completed.
14. Congratulations! You have just updated your page!

Further information on using the program is available from:-

• Guide to using Netscape Composer 4.0+
• There also happens to be a very good Introductory Guide published for the staff of the Employee Computer Training Center at Delta College, University Center, MI 48710.  (Note that their instructions are specific to publishing on their computer system only.)

If you do not have Netscape Composer, you can go here to either download the latest versions, or (as it can take over an hour to download) you can purchased them on CD.
An additional free download facility is available for both Netscape Communicator or Netscape 6.0.

We have tried to keep this site as simple as possible to appeal to the widest range of users, without ignoring the element of visual interest. However, some users may still find, for example, that the text may be either too large (usually Mac users) or too small for their personal tastes. Most modern web browsers now have facilities for adjusting aspects of the site your are visiting. Options can cover text sizes, page colours, launching programs and security issues. By this method, it is possible for individuals to adjust the site to suit their own preferences, and we would encourage users to check in the 'help menu' of their particular webbrowser for details of how they can tailor and improve their internet browsing experience.

In the meantime, here are some handy hints to change the text size in Microsoft Explorer and Netscape browsers. (Other browsers may work in a similar way.)

• Microsoft Internet Explorer

In the menu at the top of your browser, click on "View." Then select "Text Size" and click on the size you want -- "Larger", "Smaller", etc. A shortcut to do this: Press "Alt" and "v" keys at the same time, then select the size font you want.

• Netscape Communicator/Navigator

In the menu at the top of your browser, click on "View." Then click "Increase Font" to make text larger, or "Decrease Font" to make text smaller. You can repeat this more than once to make text even larger or smaller. A shortcut to do this: Press "Control" and "]" keys at the same time for larger font size. Press "Control" and "[" for smaller fonts.

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