FP how much bloat

[Jim Scott]

Which browsers are your users using?

From FP2000/2002 I would uncheck VBscript (unless you are using ASP
pages), Java Applets, Active X Controls
From FP2003 (Authoring tab) I would additionally uncheck VML
graphics - this may also apply to FP2002 Compatibility tab.

If your target audience includes Netscape 4, also set browsers to
Netscape and IE., and disable DHTML and CSS2. (Actually, NN4 is happy
with a lot of DHTML and CSS2, but you have to know where to draw the
line.)
If your target audience also includes users of Lynx, then do not use
graphics on your site. (There isn't a setting for this).
These settings will probably cripple your web building abilities in
FP, it is more important for you to know which browsers your users
have, and what those browsers can handle, then design accordingly.

Who knows what browsers folk are using?
Before your list I had already lost faith in FP and am currently rebuilding
my entire site from scratch, without FP.

 

[Murray]

A developer should know this from looking at their clients, and at their
clients' customers. Server logs on similar client sites will help too.
While it's not something that can be known with absolute certaintly, it's
certainly something that can be approximated from this kind of information.

 

[Jim Scott]

A developer should know this from looking at their clients, and at their
clients' customers. Server logs on similar client sites will help too.
While it's not something that can be known with absolute certaintly, it's
certainly something that can be approximated from this kind of information.

Thanks. I do know what you mean, but many of us are not developers in the
sense you mean. Our websites are meant to be informative for a limited
number of people of similar interests, and 'pretty' only because there is
nothing worse than boring. I suspect that most of my 'clients use IE and it
is only because I have the time and the will, that I even bother with those
(like me) who use anything else. Using this ng has driven me unwillingly to
use 'correct' html, which was the last thing I wanted to do when I first
visited here.

 

[Murray]

Using this ng has driven me unwillingly to

use 'correct' html, which was the last thing I wanted to do when I first
visited here.

Curious perspective. But I understand your point.

Has this caused you problems, though?

 

[Jim Scott]

Curious perspective. But I understand your point.

Has this caused you problems, though?

Oh yes, but I'm cheating slightly by using a free program called Nvu. It's
from the same stable as Firefox and amounts to the standalone version of
Netscape Composer. Its nearly WYSIWYG with a bit of tidying. I am taking
the opportunity to clean some accumulated odd filenames while I'm at it so
it may be some time before I upload.
While I'm here; is there a way of using a guestbook that does not attract
spam? I used to have one, but it did (

 

[Jim Scott]

Well - I did it. All the dozens of individual pages de-FP'd and converted
to validatable html. Some of them still have dodgy links because one thing
that FP does do well is upload/download and I avoided FP thoughout the
process.
Is it 'better'? Not really, except perhaps to the strict html fetishists.
Is it smaller? No, and that surprised me!