The Work Space

Now that you have a web started, let's take a moment to get to know FrontPage a bit. If you want to do some of these tutorials just dive right in.  You can always create a new web later when you want to begin editing for your website. There are really only four workspaces you will be working with when building your site. This section will explain what to look for when you go through these help pages.

1. The Normal Tab Workspace

When you are working in FrontPage, this the main workspace. Most of your editing will take place here. Below the image is an explanation of each area.

• View Bar - Use the Views Bar to switch to different views. If the Views Bar is not displayed, go to View/Views Bar.
• Folder List - The Folder List displays all files and folders within your web. You may expand and collapse subdirectories.
• Toolbars - Use the toolbar for commonly used functions.
• Document Path - Shows the location of the current file relative to the root directory.
• Load Time - Shows how long the page will take to load. You may click on it to change modem speed.
• Page View Tabs - Click on these tabs to switch between Normal (normal editing mode), HTML (HTML editing mode), and Preview (view page in browser-like window) mode.
• Status Bar - When you mouse over hyperlinks in Page View, the hyperlink displays in the bottom left-hand corner so that you can quickly check it. In HTML view, the bottom left hand corner displays the line and column number. In Folder and Navigation View, the selected document's full pathname is displayed. The Status Bar also shows what is going on when you are saving documents, copying documents, etc.

2. The HTML Tab Workspace.

On occasion you will need to work in the HTML section of your site. We don't suggest making any changes here unless you know what you are doing, or have received clear instructions on making changes to a particular area.

Below the image you will find an explanation of each of the areas.

• Folder List - The same as above
• Head - The Head is where you will find your meta tags etc and Inline Style Sheets. 
• Body - This is main content area of your page. Most of the code that controls your page will be found here.

3. The Preview Tab Workspace

This area is just so you can see what is going on in your page. Use it for quick checks of you page. It is more a diagnostic page to test script and basic layout. It should not be used instead of Previewing in the Browser, as often things will not work correctly in Preview, and often will appear incorrect. For example your hovers will not work in Preview mode.  Always test your page in the browser and always test your site in an 800 resolution if you are not already working in it.

4. The Navigation View Workspace

In this view you will be able to drag and drop your navigation around, rename page names, and add or delete page from your web. Below is an image of what you will see when you are in the Navigation view.  Note that you can change this view from "portrait" to "landscape".

Q: I have the View Bar showing on my workspace but I don't see it in your images. Where has it gone?

A: I prefer to keep my workspaces as open as possible, so I don't have the View Bar active when I am working. I have instead added a custom toolbar to the top of my page. I have more information on views and custom toolbars on the next page. To deactivate the View Bar click View and uncheck View Bar.