Review of Microsoft FrontPage 1.0

El Paso Macintosh Users Group www.epmug.org

Microsoft FrontPage 1.0

reviewed by Jeff Brannon

Microsoft FrontPage 1.0 is Microsoft's entry into the mid-level what-you-see-is-what-you-get(WYSIWYG) web page editing and web site management applications. It has a retail price of $149.99, but can be acquired through most catalog resellers for $99.99. To install it, you need the following minimum system:

1) Power PC based Macintosh running at 100 MHZ or better

2) 16 MB of RAM with virtual memory turned on; 24 MB recommended

3) System 7.5.3 or later

4) 30 MB of available HD space

5) Open Transport 1.1 or later

I tested the application on a Performa 6300CD with 32MB of installed RAM. My experience with web page design and site maintenance is a little beyond the novice level. I have for the past couple of years maintained a comprehensive web site for my classes at UTEP. Initially, I learned HTML and used a text editor to create my web pages, but I was finally persuaded that the use of a WYSIWYG editor would reduce the time I spent on site maintenance, and for the past year have been using Adobe Page Mill and Claris Home Page.

For the Macintosh user, FrontPage starts off on the wrong foot at installation, when it dumps twenty files into your extensions folder. That's enough to provoke the fastidious user into a nervous breakdown as he or she searches frantically for the uninstall button. Once my fears were under control, I deduced that FrontPage was really two applications. FrontPage Editor is a WYSIWYG application for creating and editing web pages, while

FrontPage Explorer is a tool for creating, viewing, and maintaining web sites. Both of these applications ran extremely slow on my 100 MHZ machine. FrontPage Editor compares favorably, with a couple of glaring exceptions, with the other leading WYSIWYG editors on the market today. With it, you can, with little or no prior experience with web page design, create web pages with tables, images, internal and external links, image maps, etc. The application interface is Word-like and clean and easy to use. It also permits the more experienced user to edit raw HTML. However, if you use frames in creating your web pages, the initial experience with FrontPage's "frame wizard" will probably be a frustrating one. Quite simply, it would be easier, to learn and use the HTML code for creating frames than the step-by-step "for dummies" approach that FrontPage offers. Better yet, borrow someone's copy of Adobe Page Mill.

Front Page Explorer is the application that is used to create and maintain a web site. With Explorer, you can view your web site in its entirety, including all internal and external links, import and export files, and test and repair links. From Explorer, you can also "publish", or upload, your web site to the server and , in conjunction with FrontPage Editor, make changes to your pages while they are on the server. FrontPage also offers Bots, or server-based extensions, for adding features such as interactive forms. But according to MacUser (August 1997), they don't work on any current Mac OS server software. While the Explorer application is a great idea, I doubt if the would be of much utility to the typical nonbusiness web page builder who is simply interested in posting a personal page.

Overall, I would not recommend FrontPage. Both Claris Home Page and Adobe Page Mill run much faster on Macs and take up less disk space. For other reviews of FrontPage and comparisons with competing WYSIWYG applications, see MacUser (August 1997) and MacWorld (August 1997).

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