Netscape Composer allows users to create simple web pages without learning any web coding (HTML). It is available in all College of Education Computer Labs or for free to educational users at: http://home.netscape.com/download/index.html.

Create a directory or folder on your a:// drive (on a disk) or on your hard drive (usually c://). Call this directory WWW or Htm. Store all images (e.g., files ending in .GIF, or .JPG) and htm files in this folder. Keep your files organized to avoid misplacing files in various directories or drives. Once all work has been completed, transfer (copy) all necessary files from the work directory into your BAMA account (see tutorial link from the cse489 site to work with the BAMA server accounts).

1. Starting a New Web Page

When you open Netscape Navigator, you can choose between two of methods of building your web pages:

Option A:  Click on Window menu, choose Composer.

Option B: Click on File/New menu, and choose:
 

2. Adding Text to the Page:

• Click on the the Netscape composer window and simply type your information into the document

• Simply Copy and Paste text from an existing word document into the htm document.: To do this:

• Open an existing text or word processing document.
• Select the text you want to include in your web page.
• Select Edit/Copy in the word processing or text editor.
• Click the Netscape Composer window to make it active.
• Click the cursor where you want to place the text.
• Select Edit/Paste in the Netscape composer menu.
• Quit the word processing or text editor program.

3. Saving to Disk

Remember: index.htm is the default lead page.

Save often to avoid losing work and be sure to notice which directory (a://) you are saving to.

1. Headings, Fonts, Font Size and Color

• Look under the format tool bar to see the options available in Compose. Roll the cursor over each item, pause, and a description of what each item does appears in a pop-up box.

• Selecting text and clicking these buttons will apply each characteristic.

Colored Text and Font Size Example

Paragraph styles allow you to choose heading sizes as you can see in the example.  Heading 1 or Heading 2 are used as the opening heading.  Heading 3 or 4 is usually used for sub-headings.  Normal will appear as whatever Font and Size you choose.  Font color can be changed by selecting text and picking a color from the palette that appears. The current selection is black.  List Items appear as bulletted items.

2. Text Formatting, Lists, and Alignment

To format text , highlight the selected text on the web page. Choose from the following buttons for the desired effect.
 

	Bold text
	Italic text
	Underlined text
	Increase Font Size
	Decrease Font Size
	Bulletted list Item 1 Bulletted list Item 2
	Numbered list Item 1 Numbered list Item 2

Alignment Examples

Choose any of the four: left, center, right, or justified for the following effect.
Left aligned text                                     Center Aligned text                                        Right aligned text

3. Choosing a Background Color or Image:

By default the background color is usually white). To select another background or to change link colors, click on Page Colors and Properties under Format menu.  Click the Background button to choose select Netscape's Default Colors. Or click on Use Image and then Choose File to import a background from a file you have saved.

4. Giving Your Page a Title

The title is the part that appears in the blue Netscape bar, and is saved as the title of the bookmark.

• Pick a title for your page which is brief but informative.
• Choose Page Title and Properties under the Format Menu.
• Type your title in the box for title, and Click OK.
back to top

1. Type in the text or address that you want to link, such as the College of Education Home Page.

2. Select the text (or image) that you want to link.

3. Go to Insert and click on Link.

4. Choose the type of link (e.g., http://)

5. Type the site's URL (web address) in the link dialog box.

5. Click ok.

Follow the same procedure for each URL link.

Linking Local Documents(other .htm files in your public.www directory):

1. Click on the Insert toolbar. Select Link or Hyper link.

2. In the "Link Text" box type the text you want to be clickable. For example, type syllabus if you are linking a course syllabus (syllabus.htm) to the index page (index.htm).

3. Then, in the "Link Location" box, either type the filename, or you can select "Choose File" and then select (double-click) the file you want to link to.  By using the "Choose File" feature, you reduce the risk of misspelling filenames, and you increase the chances of having the link work right the first time.

4. Do not select a Hypertext Type.

5. Click ok.

DO NOT Type: Click here to go to my resume (This is too long). Be sure to put your local documents such as syllabus.htm in the same folder as index.htm.  Again, remember that it's best to use a filename with 8 characters or less, all lowercase, and NO spaces!
 

Adding Your E-mail Link: using the Mailto: option.

1. At the bottom of your page (or wherever you want it) create a clickable mailto: address (e.g., E-mail Dr. Who) or import an email icon (.GIF or .JPG file) so that students and colleagues can e-mail you directly from your web page.

2. Again go to Insert and click on Link.

3. In the link source box type your name, yourscreenname@bamaed.ua.edu

4. In the Link to box type: mailto:yourscreenname@bamaed.ua.edu

5. Click ok.

Adding a Link to Another Spot on the Same Page (Anchoring)

1. Position the cursor at the desired "target destination" on the page (e.g., top of the page)

2. Click on Named Anchor from the Insert menu and name the target when prompted. Click OK (A special target icon will appear in your text to mark the location of the target).

3. Insert a Link by clicking on the Link button (under Insert).

4. Choose Browse page from the file menu and then click the link you just created to tot the location marked by the selected target.

1. Adding Images to the Page

Copy and paste images onto the screen or click the image button and browse to find an image file in .GIF or .JPG image format. Leave Image in Original Location unchecked. Select Don't use alternate text.  Click OK to place the image on your page.

   Here is the code for the rome.jpg above: <IMG SRC="rome.jpg">

 2. Horizontal Line
Click Horizontal Line under the Insert Tab to put a sectional line across as shown below.

Creating Simple Tables Using the Tables Function.

Click on the Table icon or choose Table from the Insert menu.

• Set the number of rows (horizontal sections) and the number of columns (vertical sections) .
• Leave the 'border line width' attribute at 1 to get a thin border; set it to 0 (zero) to get no border at all.
• Type the information in the cells. Use the tab key to switch between cells.

• Right click at the spot you want to add or delete a column, row, or cell.
• Choose either 'Insert' (to add) or 'Delete' (to remove) from the menu.
• From the sub menu, choose the element you want to insert or delete.

To check the look of your page, choose the Browse Page item in the File menu or just click on the Browse icon shown above. Netscape will open up another browser window and display your page.

To get back to the editor, simply close the new window.

Publishing a Web Page on Bama (optional):

When you use Netscape Composer you are authoring your own web pages.  Composer stores documents on your hard drive or disk, not on the Internet. You  must publish your documents and files by moving them from your a:// drive into your public_html directory on the Bama server. See Seebeck's online directions for web publishing.

Once a page has been published, it still isn't available unless people know where to find the page.  Edit your other pages to provide links to that page as appropriate.

Arttoday.com

For  links to departmental templates and the UA Disclaimer for Unofficial Pages and/or  Official Pages , visit the UA Web Guide Page

Or use the copy and paste functions under edit to add this Unofficial disclamer to your page(s):
 

The views, opinions, and conclusions expressed in this page are those of the author or organization and not     necessarily those of The University of Alabama or its officers and trustees.

The content of this page has not been reviewed or approved by The University of Alabama, and the author or organization is solely responsible for its content.