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fijipup
02-20-2004, 03:08 PM
The company I work for has asked that I create a web based training manual. The problem is that I am below beginner level regarding creating web based anything! Any suggestions on where to begin. (PS: we don't want the manual in PDF format...needs to be "interactive") thanks
neil9999
02-21-2004, 04:27 AM
How interactive do you want it to be? Do you just want a few links on the left, giving more detail on the right when clicked? Or do you want sub-headings aswell?

If you want the first, put this on each page:

<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<table border="0" width="100%">
<tr>
<td width="200" style="font-size:18">
<p><a href="home.html">Home</a></p>
<p><a href="aboutthiscourse.html">About this course</a></p>
<p><a href="pagename.html">Another page</a></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><font size="6">Home</font></p>
<p>Welcome to the web-based training course bla bla bla...</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</body>
</html>


Remember to change the src in the href= tag to the correct filename.
If you want submenus, or this is too basic, then please say.

Neil
iniquity101
02-21-2004, 04:42 AM
http://www.w3schools.com

and

http://www.w3.org

are nice place to learn html etc.
buntine
02-21-2004, 07:28 AM
HTML isnt hard to learn, you shouldnt have too much trouble picking up a basic understanding of it and other internet paradigms.

If you are really in doubt, pick up a copy of Frontpage 2003 or Dreamweaver MX, both of which will simplify the web design process.

Regards,
Andrew Buntine.
chris9902
02-21-2004, 07:51 AM
do not use frontpage. never never

Dreamweaver MX04 (new)
http://www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver/

Director MX04 (new)
http://www.macromedia.com/software/director/

Flash MX04 (new)
http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/

as you can see i love Macromedia.:p

If you give more information such as what would be included i could help you. i am signed off work at the moment and i am just itching to do something. just PM me or post back.:)
buntine
02-21-2004, 08:11 AM
Frontpage 2003 is a fantastic peice of software. I agree, it doesnt rival the capabilities of Macromedias Dreamweaver, but it is still well worth your dollars.
chris9902
02-21-2004, 08:15 AM
it my view (my view, before we start a war) i think Microsoft just hashed it together just so people who buy office don't go looking for other options. why would you buy Dreamweaver ($600+) when you have Frontpage fore FREE. and that is true for people who want to make websites about there plants or whatever but it is to crap for pro's
buntine
02-21-2004, 08:22 AM
Out of the three web design firms which i have done software development for, two of them used MS Frontpage 2003 to develop their web pages. The other used Dreamweaver.

They produced industry standard web pages using this peice of software. The main thing i liked about it was the inbuilt FTP feature.

Dont get me wrong here, i agree that Dreamweaver is far superior, but MS Frontpage is definetely capable of producing web pages of the same standard. And i dont think people should deny it just because Microsoft employs some questionable marketing methods.

Regards.
iniquity101
02-21-2004, 09:52 AM
i think Microsoft just hashed it together just so people who buy office don't go looking for other options. why would you buy Dreamweaver ($600+) when you have Frontpage fore FREE.
but frontpage is not free, ok so it doesnt cost $600 or whatever, but , it doesnt come free with any version of MS office. you have to buy it seperately.
chris9902
02-21-2004, 10:29 AM
mine did.

with office XP pro
buntine
02-21-2004, 10:33 AM
I also got a copy of Frontpage with Office XP. But it cost a considerable amount more than other versions of Office which werent shipped with FrontPage 2003.
neil9999
02-21-2004, 10:40 AM
Originally posted by Chris9902:
do not use frontpage. never never

MS Frontpage isn't rubbish, it generates perfectly good webpages, and I use it when I can't be bothered to code it myself. I agree that the inbuilt counters etc are rubbish, and Dreamweaver is definately better, but Dreamweaver is a teeny bit out of my price range.


Originally posted by Buntine:
HTML isnt hard to learn, you shouldnt have too much trouble picking up a basic understanding of it and other internet paradigms.

There probable isn't much point him learning HTML/CSS, he's probably never going to use it.

Anyway, fijipup, is my code good enough or do you want more interactivity?

Neil
buntine
02-21-2004, 10:53 AM
True, but if he does not understand HTML, then he cannot use your example.

Its like you posting a bunch of jiberish.. If, on the otherhand, he can aquire a basic knowledge of HTML, the code you have presented him will be alot more helpful.

Regards.
neil9999
02-21-2004, 11:17 AM
Originally posted by buntine
True, but if he does not understand HTML, then he cannot use your example.

Its like you posting a bunch of jiberish.. If, on the otherhand, he can aquire a basic knowledge of HTML, the code you have presented him will be alot more helpful.

He does need a very basic knowledge of HTML, but he wouldn't need to know how to code something like what I've done from scratch.

For Fijipup:

To add a menu option, simply add this line of code straight after where the first <td> appears:

<p><a href="pagename.html">Another page</a></p>

Replace pagename.html with the filename of the page you wish to link to, and Another page with whatever you'd like the link to appear as.

Now for the font size of the menu.

Find this line of code:

<td width="200" style="font-size:18">

And replace 18 with the font size you'd like (12 is normal, it's the same font-size numbering system as in MS Word and most other programs).

The font size for the heading is slightly different.

Find this:

<font size="6">

Replace 6 with a number 1-7.

Size 1 is 8

Size 2 is 10

Size 3 is 12

Size 4 is 14

Size 5 is 18

Size 6 is 24

Size 7 is 36

Please tell me if you do not understand, wish to change the size of the main text, don't know how to save it as a webpage or don't know how to upload it to the internet/intranet.

Hope this helps,

Neil

Neil
buntine
02-21-2004, 11:24 AM
He has been asked to create a web-based training manual.. he will need a working knowledge of HTML and relevent technologies if he wants to create something worthwhile.

Or, he could use a WYSIWYG editor which, in my opinion, is the best option in this case.

He simply cannot rely on someone else to create code for him.. That would be illogical.
fijipup
02-23-2004, 10:19 AM
Thanks to everyone for all of the info. I'm going to read through it all again .. spend a little time "processing" all of my choices. I'll be in touch.
As for the complexity of the manual...at this point, I think it will be fairly simple...ie: would like the ability to "click" on a word or topic and be directed to additional sections of the manual to get more information and even possibly, take a "quiz" to measure how well the information was received. thanks