How To Use The Online Webpage Generator



This module of the Webpage Workshop will allow you to provide information on how you want your page to look. Then, our server will take this information and use it to create the appropriate HTML tags necessary to make a World Wide Web HTML document. You will be able to save the resulting webpage and host it on our server.

Top | What is the Online Webpage Generator? | Forms | Preview Options | Tips | Experiment | View Source | HTML Notepad



Overview of the Online Webpage Generator

The Online Webpage Generator will take your input from forms, for example, text that reads HTML is fun! with red as the selected color, and create a tag that would display the red text in any Web browser (such as Netscape, Internet Explorer, etc.), giving HTML is fun!.

Since HTML is comprised of so many tags, the Online Webpage Generator will not support all of them. In fact, many tags are quite redundant. Therefore, this module lets you create the webpage with most of the effects used in HTML, but not all of the tags. For example, in most browsers, the tag <STRONG> will make bold text, and the tag <B> makes bold text. The Online Webpage Generator uses only <B> in its changes, allowing you to get the effect, although perhaps not using your desired tag. Again, the purpose of the Generator is to help you learn HTML, so the HTML notepad feature in the Generator will allow you to edit these tags to practice HTML. Here you could change tags such as <B> to <STRONG> if you wished.

Your page will be made as well programmed as possible, making hand-edits quick and easy. We try to make your page source easy to follow, so you can see how we accomplished the effects. Here are some instructions:


Forms

You give your "preferences" in forms, which you can bring up by clicking the toolbar which is always at the left of your screen. Each button in the toolbar corresponds to a form. For example, there are buttons for adding text, adding images, inserting blank lines, and even creating links. When you click one of these buttons, the form that is brought up will ask you how you want the addition to your webpage to look. Some of the more complicated forms have links to small instruction files. Click on these links to view the instructions (in a separate window for your convenience).


Preview options

Fill out the form, hit the "Process Addition" button, and let the server come up with a "What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get" (WYSIWYG) preview of your addition in the context of your webpage. If you like the change, hit the "yes" button when it asks if you would like to save changes. If you are not satisfied, click "no" to return to the main editing page, or hit the "Back" button in your browser to return to your form and make the necessary changes.


Useful tips

Remember, your page will be made from the top down. It may be a good idea to plan your page before you start. Editing the page after you click "yes" will be difficult, since we want to preserve clean source code. This is why a WYSIWYG preview is provided. If you need to make a change after accepting the preview, you will have to use the HTML notepad button from the toolbar, and edit the HTML source with your knowledge of tags.


Experiment

Most of the forms are pretty self-explanatory, so the best way to learn how to use the Online Webpage Generator is to try it. Don't be afraid to experiment! You can always reject a change by saying so after the preview is displayed. Brief descriptions of each of the forms are given on the main editing page, as well.


View source

The purpose of this module, as mentioned before, is to teach HTML. So use the "View source..." option in your browser very liberally. Macintosh users can view source using "View...Document info..." and clicking on the appropriate page whose source you wish to view. PC users can generally right-click-and-hold the desired page and select "View frame source..." or "View Page Source...". Almost all browsers have these commands in the "View" menu option [left-click the page whose source you want to view first!]


HTML Notepad

For those of you who have no local space to view source, you can always use the HTML notepad button from the toolbar. This will allow you to view and edit the HTML source manually. Use of this form is highly recommended as you gain knowledge of HTML tags. As the saying goes: "Practice makes perfect." Have fun, and thank you for using the Online Webpage Generator. Click the right arrow at the bottom of your screen to continue to the login page.



Top | What is the Online Webpage Generator? | Forms | Preview Options | Tips | Experiment | View Source | HTML Notepad