Tony's Help Page
created by Lee Newbill 12-21-00

General Comments

Tony, this help file is for you to use as a memory "backup", and in case Chris or Judy start working the computer and need assistance.  We will develop this as we go.  When you hit a hard spot and need more advice, I'll simply put it here so it'll be available when you need it.

I'm not sure why I didn't do this when we started =)

Lee
Webdude

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Rendezvous Entries

1. If there is a flyer....
   • Scan Rendezvous flyer, using output dimensions of no wider than 700
   • Save as a "GIF" file into a folder on your hard disk.
   • Open FrontPage, import file to rendz_flyers_(applicable year)
   • Using FrontPage, open the file "The Rendezvous Schedule"
   • Enter the applicable information
     • Where
     • Title of Event
     • When
   • Highlight the Title of the Event, and create a hyperlink to the gif file in the rendz_flyers_(applicable year)
   • Check your connections and work via the Internet.
2. If there is no flyer
   • Using FrontPage, open the file "The Rendezvous Schedule"
   • Pick the appropriate month, and type in:
     • Where
     • Title
     • When
     • Phone number and email address
   • If you're feeling particularly generous, you can also create a html page just for this specific event, store it in the the folder rendz_flyers_(applicable year),then link it just as you would the GIF file from the folder rendz_flyers_(applicable year).

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Product Pictures

1. Unlike editing the html pages with the FrontPage Explorer, you can only work on graphics that are stored on your hard disk, so make sure you have a file that you use routinely to edit and save images.
2. After you've downloaded the digital picture of the product from the camera into the computer, you need to bring it up inside the Image Composer program.
3. You will need to save two copies, one large one for detailed viewing, and one small one for the clickable "thumbnail".
4. Always save the large version first. If you create and name the thumbnail first, and then try and expand the picture to a larger size, you lose all detail.
5. You can save it as either a GIF file, or a JPEG file.  Gifs will load faster, but have less detail, conversely, JPEGs load slow, but are much sharper in detail.... your call.
6. Edit and save the large picture 500x500 (approximately) as "product_name_02.gif" (or jpg if your using the jpg extension).  It needs to be approximately 500x500 pixels to work with the frames system I have set up.  It can be taller, but should not be wider than about 500 pixels.  Make sure you use the "save selection as" command, and not the general save command.  The general save command will save everything inside the "Composition Zone", whether you want what's in there or not.
7. Once you have the large picture saved, select the large picture using Image Composer, and using the "Arrange" command button on the left side of the screen, resize it to exactly 200 pixels wide, keeping the aspect ratio box checked.  Save the smaller "thumbnail picture as "product_name_01.gif" (or jpg if your using the jpg extension)
8. Now that you have both pictures of the product saved, transfer them to the appropriate folder on the website using the "import" command in FrontPage Explorer, it's under the "File" command.

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Entering Products on the Webpage

This is probably the trickiest operation you'll do.... miss a computer command code, and everything below this entry will be affected.

1. The preferred method of adding a product is called "cut and paste".  That's a simple cloning, or copying of an already entered and working product table, and pasting it to where you want the new product to be.
2. Always recommend that you cut and paste from the same page and table that you will be adding to.  To do otherwise courts disaster as you could completely reformat your working table into something quite unrecognizable.
3. The Steps:
   1. Bring up the "asp" page you want to edit using FrontPage Explorer/Editor.
   2. In the "normal" mode, click on the area you want to add the product, then select the "Table" command from the top command bar.  Now click on "Insert Rows or Columns".  When the insert box appears, select "Rows", "Below selection" and the number of rows you wish to add.   Then click "OK".  A new row/rows should appear.
   3. Now, it gets tricky.  Click on the new row you have created, and then select "HTML" mode from the bottom left hand of the page.  This will open the page with computer code on it.
   4. The row you selected should open up as highlighted in the "HTML" mode.
   5. Go directly above that highlight, and you will see something that looks like:
      • <tr>
        <td><strong><big>3 J&nbsp; PUP</big>; </strong>The smallest of the <strong>3 J</strong>
        hawks. 14 &quot; long,&nbsp; w/ a 3 &quot; blade. A great hawk for the little skinners in
        your camp. &nbsp; Hand Forged of the best quality.<br>
        <img src="images/new_1.gif" WIDTH="37" HEIGHT="23"><form
        action="http://www.mountaintoptradingco.com/addproduct.asp" method="POST">
        <input type="hidden" name="ORDER_FLAG" value="1"><input type="hidden" name="PRODUCT_ID"
        value="3J_pup"><b><p>$19.00</b> Quantity <input type="text" size="2" name="QUANTITY"> <input
        type="image" name="Submit" src="/images/order.gif" alt="Add to Cart" align="absmiddle"
        border="0" WIDTH="101" HEIGHT="20">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
        </form>
        </td>
        <th><a HREF="products/pup01.jpg"><img border="0" src="products/pup02.jpg" WIDTH="200"
        HEIGHT="125"></a> </th>
        </tr>
   6. Highlight everything between the <tr> and the </tr> lines, then click on the copy command.
   7. Move down to the part that looks like:
      • <tr>
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
        <th>&nbsp;</th>
        </tr>
   8. Highlight everything between the <tr> and the </tr> lines, then click on paste.  Do not highlight the <tr> lines, or you will wipe out the "table row" command and may experience extreme pain when your page disappears.
   9. Now switch back to "Normal" mode, your new row will be an exact duplicate of the row above.  Highlight the text, and start typing in the new text for the new product.  Once you have all the text and prices changed, you will have to go back to "HTML" mode.
   10. Once back in "HTML" mode, you will have to change three things.
       1. The "PRODUCT_ID" value="xxx" must be changed to the product ID of your new product.  This should already have been entered into the website database using the "addproduct.asp" page.  This controls what is ordered and how much is paid for it.
       2. The online catalog pictures (2), must now be changed.  It's the line that looks like;
          • <th><a HREF="products/pup01.jpg"><img border="0" src="products/pup02.jpg" WIDTH="200"
            HEIGHT="125"></a> </th>
          • The <a HREF="file_folder/picture_01.gif">, must be changed to the new product thumbnail (the xxx_01.gif)
          • Then change src="file_folder/picture_02.gif" to your new detailed larger picture (xxx_02.gif).
   11. Once you've done all this, save your work, then switch back to normal mode. Check the page, if a whole bunch of new lines and boxes have appeared where they ought not to be, ye have done wrong!
   12. Finally, go to the internet and make sure it all works!
   13. If all else fails, get out your wallet and call the webdude!

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Naming Protocols

1. Prefixes: 
   • When naming files for use on a Webpage, consistency is key.  All similar products should share similar prefixes, for example, when naming knife pictures, all knives should start with "kn_", that way the computer will automatically put them in alphabetical order, making them easy to find when you need them. 
   • On that same thread, product folders should be named similarly, that is, they start with the letters "pr_", to designate Products.
2. Filenames: 
   • Use an underline "_" to separate the different parts of filenames, such as "kn_trade_01.gif". 
   • Never allow a space in your filename as certain programs get quite upset at this, and refuse to process your commands.
   • On that same vein, don't use dashes "-", they also do not work in all programs. 
   • Use dots, or periods, ".", only to separate the filename and the extension. 
   • Do not use capital letters, use lower case instead.
   • With pictures, use numbers at the end to differentiate the same pictures of different sizes, such as "kn_trade_01.gif" for a small thumbnail, and "kn_trade_02.gif" for the larger detailed picture.
3. Extensions:
   • Save all Rendezvous flyers as Gifs
   • Product pictures can be saved as either Gifs or Jpegs, your call.  Gifs load fast, but with lesser detail.  Jpegs load slow, but are much higher quality.
   • Any webpage that has the shopping cart commands on it must be saved as a "asp"
   • Webpages that have only text and pictures on them, are saved as "htm"
   • Sound files will have a "mid", or "wav" file extension.   The "mid" file is a computerized instrument file.  The "wav" file, is an actual recording of something, a voice, an instrument, etc.   Midi, or "mid" files are much more compact and are what we use.  A one minute "wav" file could take an hour to download depending upon it's complexity, so we don't use them.

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General Notes on Webpages

• Spellcheck... allways, allways use your spell checker before committing your page to the web.
• Be consistant from page to page, with capitalization, punctuation, and spacing.

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Tables and Such

Problem:

When a table has been created, but the boxes (or cells) don't show up on the screen or print out, it is generally because there is no text in the cell.  To make the box show up on the screen, you have to fool the computer into thinking it has text inside.  To do this, simply move the cursor to the cell you want to show up, and hit the space bar once.  This puts in an "invisible" piece of text, and allows the cell to show up on the screen.

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