Microsoft FrontPage Tutorial

Microsoft FrontPage no longer exists. It was replaced by Expression Web.

In my opinion, Microsoft FrontPage (MFP) is one of the best HTML editors for beginners. It is user friendly and if you are familiar with Word than you will be very comfortable with this software.

Below you'll find a very basic tutorial on some basic FrontPage functions. If you have the free version, FrontPage Express, (comes with some operating systems) then some of these instructions may not apply.

If you want to get the most out of this software, I highly recommend you buy the full version. It will pay you back ten times over.

Basic Tips for Microsoft FrontPage 2000

Microsoft FrontPage works best when you have a web hosting company that provides FrontPage extensions. These extensions are unique to Microsoft's program and allow you to open your entire site with the software and then save your pages directly to the web with the click of a button.

There are some free web site providers that provide FrontPage extensions, but not many of them do. To get the most of Frontpage, I recommend registering a dot com name and then finding a hosting company, like Powweb that provides the extensions.

Opening Your Site in FrontPage

Assuming your web hosting company has the extensions installed, here's how you open your web site in FrontPage.

From the file menu choose:

-File
-Open Web

The software will prompt you for the URL of the site. Type in your web site's full address: http://www.youraddress.com

Next, you'll be prompted for your server username and password. This should have been given to you by your web hosting company. After entering the info, the files on your web site will show up in the Folder List on the left side of the screen. This may take a few moments so be patient.

Creating a New Page

To create a new page in MFP, simply go to the menu and choose:

File
New ----> Page

Next MFP will ask you to choose a layout for your page. If you notice, the software has several templates for you to choose from. If you just want a blank page, just choose "Normal Page."

Now you can edit the page as you wish.

Adding Hyperlinks

To hyperlink a word or words, simply highlight the text you want to be "click-able", then go up to the menu and choose:

-Insert
-Hyperlink

Now type the full name of the address you want the word(s) to link to.

To hyperlink an image, simply right click it and a pop-up menu will be displayed. Choose Picture Properties and in the "Default Hyperlink" Location box, type the address of the site you want to hyperlink to the image.

Saving Your Pages in Microsoft FrontPage

If your web hoster provides MFP extensions then saving your pages to the web is super easy.

Either hit the "Save" icon on the menu bar or select:

-File
-Save or Save As

Now you should be able to go to your web page on the live web and see the changes.

If you do not have MFP extensions, you'll need to save your web pages to your hard drive and then upload them to your web server.

Changing Views

You can toggle back and forth between the Normal and HTML screens. If you are interested in learning how to write HTML you can view that screen to see how the code is written. You can also edit from that view if you wish.

As you navigate through the software, you're probably noticing it's very similar to Microsoft Word. You can change font sizes, colors, underline, bold, left and right align, add bullets, etc. by using the various menus just like you would in Word.

I hope this small tutorial was helpful for you!

If you liked this, please share. Thanks!