Web Page Design Using Netscape Composer 7.2

Netscape Composer is not currently available with Netscape 8.1, the most current version. Therefore, in order to access Netscape Composer, you will need to download version 7.2 from Netscape's archive web site.

Netscape Composer Menu Bar
Controls in the menu bar are very similar to the controls found in Microsoft Word.

Creating a Web Page

1. Open a blank page using Navigator

Select File>>New>>Composer Page to open the editor page.

2. To apply link and background color

Select Format>>Page Colors and Background and select the Use custom colors radio button.
Select a color button to open a color chart, select the appropriate color choice and then click OK.
If you choose the Reader's default colors option, those colors will override your selections.
To use an image as the background, select the Choose File button and navigate to the image file on your computer.
Click OK after selections are made.

3. Changing text color and font style

To change the text color, highlight the text to be changed and select a color on the formatting toolbar
To change the font style, highlight the text and select Format>>Font and then select a font style from the generated list

4. Inserting and linking a graphic image

• Click on the Image button

• In the Image Properties dialog box, click on the Choose File button in the Location tab to locate the image file.

• To change the location of text, select the Appearance tab, select the drop down arrow appearing under the Align Text to Image option and choose one of the options listed.

• To link the graphic, click on the Link tab and fill in the textbox with a web page location or file.

• Click OK to apply the changes.

5. Creating an External Link (different page or location)

• Highlight the text you want to link

• Click the Link button

• Under Link Properties, type in the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) (ex. http://www.northern.edu) and click OK

• To test the link in Navigator, you will first need to save the page.

• Select File>>Save As, select a location to save the file, name the file and under Save As Type:, select HTML Files

• Select the Browse button to view the page in Navigator

• To return to the editing environment, close the Navigator window

6. Creating an Internal Link (different location on same page)

This is a two-step process: creating an Anchor then hyper-linking to the anchor.

• First, make an Anchor by placing the cursor where you want your link to go.

• Select Insert>>Named Anchor and provide a name for the anchor in the dialog box. Click OK

• Second, connect the hyperlink to the anchor

• Highlight the word you want to hyperlink to the anchor. Right-click the text and select Create Link. A dialog box will open and under Link Location, select the down arrow and the name of the anchor. Click OK. The text is now hyperlinked to the anchor.

7. Inserting a link to your E-mail

• HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) uses special code that allows Netscape to e-mail you.

• Click on a graphic or highlight the text you want linked to your e-mail address. Click on the Link button.

• In the text box where you would normally place a web address, type mailto:youraddress@webaddress.edu

8. Inserting and working with tables
A table is an excellent way to maintain the format of a web page. Tables also allow the creator to design a web page using multiple columns.

• To insert a table, click on the Table button

• In the Insert Table dialog box, select the number of columns and rows.

• Choose the border width (enter "0" for invisible lines).

• To apply a color background to the table, select the Advanced Edit button, select the drop down arrow appearing under the Attribute option and then select bgcolor from the list of options. Then, under the Value option, select a color for the table.

• Click the OK button twice.

Saving the Web Page

1. In the File menu, click Save as.

2. Choose the location to save the page and enter a name for the file.

3. Make sure that the file type is HTML and click Save.

Previewing the Web Page

1. Select the Preview tab appearing at the bottom of the Composer page.

2. To return to the editing environment, select the Normal tab.

Publishing the Web Page

1. After your web site is completed, right click on the the entire web folder that contains all of your web pages and select Copy.

2. In a web browser address line, type ftp://students.northern.edu (Students) or ftp://www.northern.edu (Faculty).

3. In the dialog box, type in nsu\your_username for the User Name and your e-mail password for the Password.

4. Right click anywhere on the ftp site and select the Paste option to paste your web folder to the ftp site.

5. To view your web site, open a browser and type in the following address: http://students.northern.edu/your_username/folder_name/page_name(Students) or http://www.northern.edu/your_username/folder_name/page_name (Faculty).

Editing the Web Page

1. To make changes to your published web page, open Netscape Navigator.

2. Type in the URL of your web page. In the File menu, click on Edit Page.

3. The web page will now open in a new Netscape Composer window.

4. Make the necessary changes, save the page and publish again.

5. To make changes to your saved copy of the web page, open Netscape Composer and select File>>Open File.

6. A dialog box will open. Navigate to your web page and select the Open button.

7. The web page will now open in Composer and you can now make the changes.