Publisher to Front Page

[Guest]

I am new to web design. I have created the look and feel of a web design that
I am happy with using MS Publisher 2003. Will I be able to replicate that
"look" using the design tools avaliable with Front Page? I have not done
anything extraordinary, e.g., transparent fills over photographs, and a
variety of other "fill effects" that are easy with Publisher. However, I
have been told that design in FP is very limited. That it is more like a
word processor than a tool like Publisher. I am wodering if I have to use a
another tool like MS Visual Web Developer to get what I need.

 

[E. T. Culling]

Publisher is for Desktop Publishing and NOT for building web sites. It is
the wrong tool for the job! Learn to use FrontPage and a separate image
editing program such as Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop Elements to make your
graphics. Be sure NOT to make pages in Publisher and save them as html... it
produces very bad code and in the long run you (and your viewers) will be
very unhappy. This has been discussed many times before in this forum ...
search for past posts. I do not stand alone with this view.
FP is really not like a word processor ... WORD is another tool not to use
for page building! They all fill different needs and have different specific
capabilities.
Eleanor

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your response. I have reviewed previous posts and it is not clear
whether there are robust graphics design tools within FP (comparable to
Publisher). I have no problem using FP, I am only concerned that with FP I
will never be able to have a graphically interesting website. From your post
it seems like you need to incorporate external design tools, like Photoshop
Elements. Are you able to use Publisher as an external tool?

 

[Ronx]

Do not use Publisher as any part of a web production tool kit. If you
do, you will eventually regret it.

Use a good image program, such as Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop, Photoshop
Elements, even Paint for graphics, FrontPage has no useful graphic
capabilities.

 

[Steve Easton]

Create your graphics in publisher, take screenshots, save the images as .jpg images using
paint or other image editing program, and then use the images in your web.

--
Steve Easton
Microsoft MVP FrontPage
95isalive
This site is best viewed..................
...............................with a computer

 

[Guest]

That is very helpful ... thank you.

Do not use Publisher as any part of a web production tool kit. If you
do, you will eventually regret it.

Use a good image program, such as Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop, Photoshop
Elements, even Paint for graphics, FrontPage has no useful graphic
capabilities.

 

[Andrew Murray]

There are no graphic design tools in Frontpage (well maybe limited but not
recommended for use - Word Art and the drawing tools etc is only viewable in
IE browsers).

As Eleanor said, use a graphics program to do your images.

Publisher is not a graphics editor either.

 

[E. T. Culling]

I would not use Publisher ... again, it's the wrong tool.
No, don't let FP even touch your images. Get a proper image editing program.
Here's a tutorial I wrote a while back:
http://www.eleanorstravels.com/frontpage_images/index.htm and :
http://www.eleanorstravels.com/PSPv9/index.htm
Eleanor

 

[Guest]

Thanks again, you are all kind to share your time and knowledge. I am an end
user trying to build and maintain a website for my wife’s business. I am
considering both “Photoshop†and “Go Live CS 2†as a design tool to use along
with FP 2003. I also see that Adobe Illustrator has interesting graphics
capabilities. I am less concerned with the acquisition cost of the software
than with ease of use and compatibility with FP. Are these appropriate
choices? Is there a way to get both image editing and graphics capabilities
in one package?

 

[E. T. Culling]

Why goLive? You would use either it OR FrontPage ... probably not both. the
learning curve for GoLive is quite steep as it is for Dreamweaver. You don't
need a full version of Photoshop either. There, I've just saved you many
hundreds of $$. If you are a relative beginner why not stick with FP and get
Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop Elements 4 or Ulead's PhotoImpact. don't jump
into two very difficult programs. Be sure to spend some time learning basic
HTML and CSS before you go toooooo much further. Do you find FP easy to use?
If you say YES then you are not ready for the more complicated programs.
Eleanor

 

[Guest]

I am just getting ready to purchase FP, I thought GoLive was a design tool to
use along with FP at least that is what Adobe presales told me. I already
own PS Elements 3, maybe I should upgrade it to Elements 4. I am getting
intimidated by some of the posts, I thought I could use FP without learning
HTML programming. My webdesign is pretty basic, it is a nice design with
pretty photography but not very interactive. I was not contemplating having
to write code.

 

[E. T. Culling]

I don't want you to be intimidated ... that's why you should go overboard
with new programs at this time.
I wonder what Adobe Presales means... can you quote them, please.
You won't need to write code, but a good understanding of it will surely
help in the long run. For now stick with FP and Elements.
With the site, what do you want to be "interactive"?
Eleanor

 

[Guest]

The Adobe representative indicated that GoLive was a design tool for digital
editing to be used along with FP. In the same manner we are now talking
about Elements or Photoshop. I may have misled him with an imprecise
explanation of what I was asking for. My wife is a real estate agent and
most of the website will be marketing mumbo-jumbo and photographs. The only
interactive portions will be links to other sites, a questionnaire to be
completed by visitors to the site and the ability to do home searches. I
want the home search capability to appear to be part of the site but in
reality will just be a tie-in to her company’s search capability.

John

 

[E. T. Culling]

GoLive is primarily a web development tool just as Dreamweaver and FrontPage
are. It is NOT easy to learn. Getting it will not make your life easier ...
trust me on this. You might want to consider Paint Shop Pro for your image
editing program ... much easier than Elements and especially much easier
than Photoshop!!
Have you seen this article:
http://www.eleanorstravels.com/PSPv9/index.htm I hope it will help you!
Eleanor

 

[Guest]

Sounds like good advice. I am going to jump in and give it a go ... thanks
again for the hand-holding.

Regards,

John

 

[E. T. Culling]

You're welcome ... contact me at my own e-mail address to let me know how it
all works out for you!
Eleanor