Seems as though everyone wants a Web presence. ; -) 
 no homepage cartoon

We're going to create our Web pages using Netscape Page Composer, which comes with Netscape. 

I'm going to demonstrate first.  Just watch! 

To begin: In Netscape, click and hold down Communicator on the toolbar at the top of the screen 

     Communicator link 
Pressing on the lefthand side of the mouse, move the arrow down to Page Composer and release. 
      
This gives you a blank page.  Page Composer allows you to create Web pages with text.  It is much like a word processor.  You can highlight text and then bold it, underline it, etc. 

Most importantly, Page Composer lets you insert hypertext links. 
 
To get started, on your blank Page Composer page, somewhere near the top, type your name 

                      Topsy 

Next, type these two headings 

                      A. Personal Web resources 

                      B. Others 

Inserting hypertext links into your page  

    Position your cursor on the next line right under  A. Personal Web resources

    Click on link image on the toolbar at the top of the screen (about 2/3rds of the way across), 
    and you get this dialog box: 
     

       link dialog box 
We are going to put in a link to topsy.org (surprise, surprise!).
    You put the text for the link in the first box. 
    You put its URL (the Internet address) in the Link box 
    Then you click OK 
 

You can add notes and comments, of course.  My Web page now looks like this: 
 
 

 
I am still in Page Composer -- look for this symbol (top left & bottom of screen) 
The links I put in won't work until I have saved the page and view it through Navigator  

Here's the sequence you follow: 

  1. Compose your Web page using Page Composer; 
  2. Save your file 
  3. View the Web page through Navigator (hyperlinks then work)
Save file to disk 
     1.  Insert your disk in drive A  
     2.  Under File (top left of the screen), select Save as 
     3.  Make sure you are saving it to the A: drive; switch to A: drive, if necessary 
     4.  Name your file and add .html as the extension, e.g., practice.html  
     5. Click on Save 

To see your file in Netscape, click on Preview (yellow sun at the top of the screen) 

To get back to your page in Composer, click on the bottom of the screen, where you see  
After you work on your page, be sure to Save it  
To toggle back to the Navigator screen, click on bottom of screen, where you see  
Hit Reload  (at top of screen) so you can look at the latest changes! 
 
Suppose you are out on the Internet looking at interesting sites.  You want to put links to them  
on your Web page in Page Composer.  For the method just demonstrated, you have to have the  
URL written down.  

There are two other methods you can use that make all this easier. 

Here's the first:  

  1. Highlight the URL for the site; do a Ctrl+c to copy [Hold down Ctrl key and tap the letter c]
  2. Go to your Web page in Page Composer.  Click on the word Link on the Toolbar (as you did above).  Type in the name of the site.  Click on the box for the URL; do a Ctrl+v to paste it in. [Hold down 

    3. Ctrl and tap the letter v]
Here's the second:  
  1. On your own Web page in Composer, position your cursor sort of where you want the new link to go
  2. On the Internet page you want to link to, put your pointer on the green symbol next to the 

    3. Location box (where the URL is). 
  3. With your mouse, left click on that green symbol and hold the click.  A small link symbol appears. 
  4. Drag down to where your Web page in Composer is referenced at the bottom on your screen. 

    5. Don't let up on the left mouse click!!  
  5. Wait a moment and your Web page will pop up.  Still holding down the mouse click, drag the pointer to where you want the link to be.  (Doesn't have to be positioned perfectly; you can easily move it later.)
Note: Sometimes this method, though fun and slick, refuses to work (for reasons that leave us gasping in amazement).  Don't get too frustrated if you have troubles.  It's probably easier to demonstrate than describe -- so ask one of us to show you! 
 
Adding Images  
    You should only use images and art that is clearly marked as freely available.  
    Otherwise, email and ask permission!!
There are a number of sites on the Internet that make images freely available for others to use. Here are some:  Important:  To add an image to your Web page, it has to first be on your disk.  

How to Transfer an Image to Your Disk  
When you get to your image, click on it and press on the right side of the mouse.  Go down to 
Save image as    Save it to your disk.  Use .gif or .jpg as the extension. 

 

How to Put the Image on Your Web Page 

  1. Be on your Web page in Composer 
  2. Click on Image on the Composition Toolbar 
  3. Click on Choose File 
  4. Find the the .gif or .jpg file on your disk that you want and click on it
  5. Click on Open 
  6. Click on OK 
To change how your image is positioned, click on it, go to Image on the Composition Toolbar (as you did above) and experiment with how to arrange text around your image, or how many pixels to have to the left 
and right of the image, etc.   But, please be forewarned.  Composer is a nifty little editor, but not very good 
at handling images.   "You get what you pay for;"  it's free. ; -) 

 
  • Let's say you start a Web page and save it to disk.  At a later time, you will want to work on it again.  To open a Web page on your disk  1. Put your disk in Drive A:   2. Click on File.  2. Select Open Page.  3. Go to your A: drive, click on your file name.  Open it in Page Composer if you are going to be working on it. 
  • If you have your Web page open in Netscape and you want to transfer it over to Page Composer, click on File, then on Edit Page
 

Where can you work on your Web page in Page Composer outside the library's electronic classroom?  The Information Workstations in the main part of the Library do NOT have Page Composer on them.  
Page Composer is available on computers in the Open Access Lab (Room 1097), and at some stations in the Computer Technology Center (which you may have access to if you are taking a computer class with a lab.) 
 
This page is posted at topsy.org.  It is part of the materials for the CAOS 190W class, Fall 1999.  The specific URL is http://www.topsy.org/makingwebpage.html
 
 
 

tns 10/99