Creating and Publishing Your Homepage Using Netscape Composer

To Create the index.html file

• Create a folder on the floppy disk and name it your first name. This folder will be used to assemble your Web Site files.

• You will be using a clip art image during this exercise. The proper procedure is to locate the image prior to using it. Browse through the Clipart folder (the Trainer will tell you where the folder is located) and choose one of the images to decorate your home page. Copy that image from the Clipart folder to your Web Site folder on the floppy disk.
  
  Now you are ready to work on the file.
• Open Netscape Composer and, if necessary, click the NEW button  to get a blank page.

• Use Save As from the File menu to save the blank page in your Web Site folder on the floppy disk. Use the file name index.html

• It's time to give your page a title. Windows users will automatically be given an opportunity to title the page at this time. To title the page using a Macintosh, choose Page Title from the Format Menu. You should use the title Home Page to describe the function of this initial page. The title will be displayed when the page is accessed on the Web.

To Create a Table That Can be Used to Control Text and Image Spacing

• Click the TABLE button.  A dialog box will appear. This dialog box is used to set the table's properties. For now you will use the defaults. Later on you can experiment with changing them if you wish. The default settings are:

1 Row and 2 Columns; Border Line Width = 1 pixel
Spacing between Cells = 1 pixel; Padding within Cells = 1 pixel
Table Alignment = Left; Table Width = 100% of window
Equal Column Widths

• Click the OK button to accept the defaults. You will see an outline of the empty table on the page.

To Insert Text into a Table Cell

• Click to place the insertion point in the first cell (row 1, column 1) and type the following in that cell. Use the RETURN (ENTER) key to move from one line to the other. Note how the table cell changes size to accommodate what you type.

Your Name
Your Academic Department
Your College's Name
Name of the City where your College is located

• Change the appearance of the text as you please by using the Format menu.  Another way to format text in Netscape Composer is to use the drop down list of pre-set paragraph styles on the left side of the tool bar.

 

There are six different heading styles ranging in size from Heading 6 (the smallest) to Heading 1 (the largest). The other styles shown in the drop down list are either self-explanatory or their effect can be found in Netscape Communicator's Help section under "Paragraph Styles".

You can control the color of the text by clicking the color button on the toolbar of the Macintosh  or by using the drop down Font Color list on the Windows machine.

Use the Horizontal Line button  to insert a divider line anywhere in the text.

To Insert a Graphic Image

• Click to place the insertion point in the second cell (row 1, column 2) in preparation for inserting the image you previously selected.

• Click the IMAGE button  The Image Properties dialog box will be displayed.

• Click the Choose Files button. The Choose Image File dialog box will be displayed.

• Locate and select the filename for the desired image. (It will be in your site folder.)

• Click the Open button. The Image Properties dialog box will reappear. You will use this dialog box at this time to specify text that will appear while the image is being loaded. The specified text would also be displayed if, for any reason, the image cannot be displayed to a user.

• Specify alternate text as follows:

Windows Users -
a.         Click the ALT TEXT/LOW RES. button to bring up the Alternate Image Properties dialog box. The insertion point should be blinking in the Alternate Text box.
b.         Type:   Home Page Image
c.         Click the OK button

Macintosh Users -
a.         Click to set the insertion point in the Text box of the Alternative Representations section of the dialog box.
b.         Type:   Home Page Image

• The other options in the Image Properties Dialog Box will not be used at this time. Most of them are self explanatory, with the possible exception of the xyz Text Alignment buttons  (drop down menus on the Macintosh). Those buttons control how the image will appear relative to any adjacent text.

• Click the OK button on the Image Properties dialog box to complete the image insertion procedure.

• Save the file.

To Change the Size of the Image

It may be that the image you selected is too small (or too large) to fit into the available space. If so, you can change its size (in Netscape Composer) as follows.

• Click to select the image.

• Click the Image button on the toolbar to bring up the Image Properties dialog box.
  
  The Dimensions section of the dialog box shows the current size of the image.

• On the Macintosh, click the Custom Size option (not necessary on Windows). You have two resizing options - you can either resize the image keeping its original proportions, or you can skew it out of proportion. To maintain the proportions, click to put a check mark in the Constrain box and then change the pixel size for either dimension. The other dimension will also change to maintain the original proportions. To skew the image, remove the check mark from the Constrain box and change the pixel size for either or both dimensions.

 
To Complete the Text for Your Home Page

• Click to place the insertion point immediately below the table and type the current term on the first line, your course schedule on the following lines, with information about how to contact you on the final lines. Your typing may look something like this:

Winter 2000 Course Schedule

MIL1                8:30 am
Office              9:30 am
MIL 3               10:30 am
MIL 8               11:30 am

Office Phone: 123-555-9999
Email:                         teacher@school.edu

• Format the course schedule as you please.

• When you have the appearance of the text to your liking, save the file; but do not close it. Your screen might look something like this.

To Publish the file to a Web Server

• You must be connected to an Internet Service Provider and the index.html file must be open in the Netscape Composer window.

• Click the PUBLISH button. The Publish Page Dialog Box appears.

• Fill in the location, username and password in the dialog box.

• Click the "All files in page's folder" radio button.

• Click the Select All button.

• Click the Publish button (Macintosh) or the OK button (Windows).

• Windows users:  If you see a Security dialog box, click the Continue button.

• You should soon see a message that your file was uploaded successfully.

• Close the Netscape Composer window.

To View Your Website

• Close and/or minimize all windows.

• Open Netscape Communicator.

• Type the URL for your homepage into the address window.

Your new web page should soon be displayed

Communication Styles

• Students and faculty must be aware of different communication styles
• Instructor must set the tone for email messages
• Let students know at the beginning of class your policies regarding response time
• Use “clues” to help convey the meaning of your messages
• Clues refer to emoticons and acronyms

Emoticons

:-)   or   : )     Smiley (most common)
;-)   or   ; )     Wink
:-o  or   : o    Gasp
:-(   or   : (        Unhappiness

Acronyms

BTW:  By the way
IMO:  In my opinion
IMHO:  In my humble opinion
FAQ:  Frequently asked questions

FYI:  For your information

ROTFL:  Rolling on the floor laughing
LOL:  Laughing out loud
F2F:  Face to face

Providing Feedback

• Students like the instant feedback they are able to receive when using online tools to communicate
• Instructors must set up their standards for responding to email
• Turn-around time
• Different response time for different types of questions?
• What are the standards for students?