NVMUG eNews 1/28/2001
Last updated 1/28/2001
Creating a NVMUG Web Page with AppleWorks
1. Creating a NVMUG Web Page with AppleWorks
2. Apple Mug Store ID
3. Vermont Users in Apple User Group Bulletin
4. Macintosh Digital Hub
5. iView Review From AMUG
1. Creating a NVMUG Web Page with Appleworks
Prior to the meeting, I had received suggestions for correcting and improving the NVMUG web page from Warren Walker, Gail Murphy Gore, Jerry Eidem, Stephen Farber, and Geof Gonter. It was evident that many of the people at the meeting knew more about creating web pages and using html than I did. Warren had taken a course on the subject, and Geof had created the web page for MacJam. The meeting was more of a discussion than a presentation.
I started the web page because I wanted to see if I could do it with AppleWorks, and because I had all of the past eNews which would be a large share of the content. If someone else wants to manage or contribute to the web page, please let us know.
AppleWorks: The Missing Manual
has instructions for creating tables and html for web pages, and it recommended two web sites to learn about html, and I looked up one that I can recommend:
On that web site, Joe Burns Ph.D. recommends learning to write and writing html using a simple text editor. That way you know what you are doing, but it is slower than starting with AppleWorks or some html writing program.
First I created a table in AppleWorks with two rows and six columns. I merged the first three columns in the fist row and inserted Northern Vermont Macintosh Users Group. The last three columns in the row were merged to hold the NVMUG emblem created by Warren Walker. Six links within little ovals repeating the emblem’s shape were put into the six columns in the second row. This was then saved as a stationery or template.
The content for the web pages was keyed and pasted into this template, and saved Appleworks in one folder and html text in another folder. AppleWorks 6 was also used to create some links. Some were left only looking like links. This was not AppleWorks fault, and will be corrected. If you want to see what the html text looks like, use you browser, go to the web page, and select Source in your view menu.
Using the template and saving the result as html creates a new html text and a new jpg file for each image. If you saved the new html text as sam.html, the second image would be named sam2.jpg. Find and Replace were used to edit the html text to change the address of these duplicate images to point to the original set. Then the duplicates were erased. The pages and links between the pages were tested using my browser, Internet Explorer, to look at the html text file.
Fetch was used to upload the html files to SoVerNet. Fetch is easy enough to use without studying the instructions, but I really must go back and read them so I understand what I am doing.
In discussion we agreed that we should merge the Home Page and What’s Up page into the index page that you see first, so you won’t have to go to another page to see what is new.
The links page will remain a separate page with working links so that it becomes a useful reference to other sources. New eNews articles will contain active links, but we may not go back to old eNews to change their web addressed to active links.
Geof suggested an Ask Me page with online help for people with Macintosh questions. I don’t know how to do that, and it takes special forms software and approval by SoVerNet. We could put up an e-mail address for questions if we have a volunteer to handle it. Then questions and answers could be added to our web content. Stephen said that you usually do not get enough information in the question to give a correct answer without a lot of additional discussion. We left it as an interesting possibility for the future.
Warren suggested including ALT tabs that will show if someone is browsing with images turned off. With graphics turned off, the alt tab might say NVMUG Logo in place of the emblem. He also suggested putting text links at the bottom of the page for those with graphics turned off, and to make it more convenient for all users.
Geof suggested using a table width of 100% instead of AppleWorks fixed dimension to accommodate different sized monitors.
Warren provided a disk with improved images, and suggested that the table be created with border width of zero so that the lines become invisible. His images are on transparent backgrounds and in smaller GIF instead of JPEG format. AppleWorks supports JPEG.
Warren said that header tags are generally preferred instead of simply using bold in the body of the text, but AppleWorks automatically takes care of bold text, so we will see.
Warren suggested deleting the link to the current page’s graphic in the links at the top of a page so someone doesn’t keep clicking on it and wondering why it doesn’t change the page.
Someone suggested that we include a font list, Verdana and some others, instead of having the default be to whatever font the browser happens to be set.
They also suggested three web sites that will check html code; websitegarage, w3, and netmechanic, and suggested that the web page be tested using Netscape, Internet Explorer, iCab, different Macintosh computers with different monitors, and a Windows computer.
I said that I did not intend to make a career as a web site master.
We agreed that we want to keep the site simple, fast, and easy for any user to use. We also agreed to add META keywords and directions to help searchers to find the site.
Watch http://www.sover.net/~NVMUG/
to see how we do. (Geof says that ~ is a tilde. I didn’t know.)
We looked at PageSpinner, a $30 shareware program for writing html text that was reviewed in the February Macworld. Geof has an earlier version. It would save a lot of work if you want to write in html instead of writing in AppleWorks and converting to html. It also has some fancy features like Includes which you can use to code part of your html and include when you are combining html, such as when we have a consistent heading and links that could be included with other content. But, I am not interested in investing in it at this time.
Midge brought in door prizes. A new member Ruth, won QuickKeys and Richard won Mac OS9: The Missing Manual.
There was a lot of discussion afterward about OS 9.1, iTunes which can be downloaded for free from iTools, and music and CD burning. Geof showed me Toast Audio Extractor which I did not know I had.
The next meeting will be February 17 at the Community Bank in St. Johnsbury at 10:00 and may include a demonstration of Quicken by Midge, or a demonstration of Concept Draw by Geof.
2. The Apple MUG Store
The Apple Mug Store
http://www.applemugstore.com3. Vermont Users in Apple User Group Bulletin
The January 4 Apple User Group Bulletin contained the following news:
Winterfest in Vermont
............................Two Mac user groups in Vermont, WiredWomen and MacChamp, will host a Winterfest to support the Burlington Food Shelf on January 24. Members will be treated to live Celtic music and fine food. Also, members who attended Macworld will have the opportunity to show Expo iMovies and share product information.
It also credited:
Gail Murphy Glore, Editor
President, WiredWomen Macintosh User Group
Member, Apple User Group Advisory BoardCongratulations Gail, WiredWomen, and MacChamp!
4. Macintosh Digital Hub
The TidBits report of Macworld said that Steve Jobs provided a timeline that labeled the years between 1986 and 1994 as the Productivity Age, when we were
entranced by word processors and spreadsheets. From 1995 to 2000, he said, we were ensconced in the Internet Age, where the browser and e-mail ruled. But now, Jobs feels that we're entering what he calls the Digital Lifestyle Age, which is marked by the electronic devices we carry around with us such as cell phones, PDAs, CD players, MP3 players, and digital cameras, along with consumer-level devices like DVD players. Sitting in the audience with my Palm V in my left pocket and my Samsung cell phone and Canon PowerShot S100 digital camera in my right pocket, I couldn't help but agree.
Apple's vision, then, is to make the Macintosh into the "digital hub" of our digital lifestyle, adding value and interconnecting all of these disparate devices.
This brings us back to our user group meeting and our discussion about burning CDs. Who could have imagined twenty years ago what our little Apple computers might become and do?
5. iView Review from AMUG
Stephen Farber demonstrated iView for us. He was excited about it. I found this in an Apple Macintosh User Group Resource Page. They are excited about the latest Pro version.
A New iView MediaPro Rocks MacWorld -
As you know, we have evangelized iView software since its very first version. iView Multimedia, which is shareware is the best software available for cataloging and displaying pictures or media files. Now iView has released their new MediaPro media management software.
iView MediaPro allows you to manage, organize, find, view, play, print, convert all the different type of media files on your computer. MediaPro also has an awesome slideshow that can play music and have up to 16 photos or movies on-screen simultaneously. Beginners can enjoy its ease of use instantly and professionals will find its power fulfills their needs. MediaPro is not just practical and useful but fun.
MediaPro is the only media browser capable of full PDF & EPS rendering. Other import formats include HTML, Quark, Canvas, Painter, Live Picture, Freehand, PageMaker, Illustrator, GIF, JPG, TIFF, PICT, GX, BMP, Targa, EPS, fonts, sounds, movies, QuickTime VR, animation, MPEG, PNG, Photoshop, MIDI, karaoke, Electric Image, Electronic Arts, CorelDraw, ClarisWorks, AppleWorks and many others. It Creates catalogs with up to 32,000 files and an infinite number of catalogs.
Our favorite feature is the spectacular slide show function using multiple fields and layout grids, including quarter and sixteenth screen playback. Supports audio-sync as well as transitions and individual file timer settings. Can save as stand-alone presentation which can be distributed royalty free. (CD ROM publishers, photographers and others can burn iView MediaPro on their CD's and include it with their catalogs royalty free.)
This is very hot stuff for anyone who uses images or media, or who owns a scanner or digital camera.
