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Frontpage 2003

Way to display ssi includes - not the webbot kind...

         

rover

3:25 pm on Oct 28, 2004 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Hi,

I upgraded to Frontpage 2003, and I was really hoping that it would be possible to display this type of ssi on the pages when designing/previewing:

<!--#include virtual="/header.htm" -->

It seems that they only let you use the Frontpage webbots to do this kind of thing, but maybe I'm missing something? (I know that dreamweaver lets you do this, but I'm hoping that I can stay with Frontpage).

pageoneresults

4:12 pm on Oct 28, 2004 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



Why can't you use the FP Webbots? DW actually allows you to execute the SSI while in WYSIWYG view? Hmmm, that is definitely a feature I'd like to see in FP. I've been using the FP Webbots for years now with no problems.

rover

4:40 pm on Oct 28, 2004 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



DW actually allows you to execute the SSI while in WYSIWYG view? Hmmm, that is definitely a feature I'd like to see in FP.

Yes, its a very nice feature...

Actually, on one hand, I do like the FP webbots for included content because it actually places the included file contents into the html code, so its just a straight html file that is uploaded to the server and there is no need for the server to process anything.

The problem for me is that I do a lot of site editing from various locations, and I don't like to be so completely dependent on having Frontpage and all of the site files available on the computer when making a change on the included content.

With ssi, I can make the change from just about any computer, location that I can access the internet with, whether I have Frontpage or all of the site files available locally or not...

I've checked around more, and it looks like Frontpage doesn't let you design/view ssi content in this way. I'm sure that MS could have easily had Frontpage do this also, but I think they want to make you more dependent on their program... I may have to bite the bullet and finally make the switch after many years of using Frontpage.

Webwork

9:44 pm on Nov 2, 2004 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Administrator 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



Dig around here. I believe AbbeyVet once mentioned in a thread that there's no mandate that you employ the webbot, that you could employ straight SSI even in a MSFP enabled website.

Have you run a test on this, using SSI? If not, why not give it a try and report back what you discovered.

bill

5:03 am on Nov 3, 2004 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



You can certainly use the SSI in FP, but then you lose the WYSIWYG ability to edit those includes on your pages. Essentially those parts of the page will appear as comments or not show up at all in the WYSIWYG. If you can work with that, then feel free to use the SSI in FP.

I've never heard that DW can execute SSI in the WYSIWYG. If it can that's a real plus.

jimbeetle

5:24 am on Nov 3, 2004 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



Me too with Bill's comments. I tried SSI a couple of years ago with FP 2000. It worked, but not in preview mode.

Now (this is what I remember, not what is Bible), if you're using an Apache server, I think you'll have to plop a directive in .htaccess to parse .htm or .html pages. This can be a problem when using FP on Apache because FP puts in its own .htaccess.

Contrary to many opinions, you can use .htaccess directives with FP under Apache, you just have to find where they will work (Before the FP stuff? After? Somewhere in between?).

pageoneresults

5:28 am on Nov 3, 2004 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



I've never heard that DW can execute SSI in the WYSIWYG. If it can that's a real plus.

I'd like to reiterate that comment. If I'm not mistaken, wouldn't you need to be working at the server level to execute those SSI's locally? I'm not the techie type. ;)

Also, I think the biggest difference here are the WYSIWYG capabilities of FP Includes. They are stand alone pages. They contain everything a normal web page contains. Heck, all of my includes validate XHMTL 1.0 Strict.

Lately I've been working on a few larger sites. I've been using FP Includes with dynamic content. I've also been nesting FP Includes to gain tighter control over repetition. It's really cool and works like a charm from a Windows server. ;)

Woz

5:39 am on Nov 3, 2004 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



>It's really cool and works like a charm from a Windows server.

Works great on non-win servers as well. If you FTP rather than Publish you send the resultant page as pure html. Neat!

Onya
Woz

pageoneresults

5:55 am on Nov 3, 2004 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



Did you know you can use FP Includes in your <head></head>? Change the webbot tag reference to...

<!--webbot bot="include" u-include="file.asp" [b]tag="head"[/b] -->

Works great for including global stylesheets, javascript, etc.

bill

9:33 am on Nov 3, 2004 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



Did you know you can use FP Includes in your <head></head>?

No way! Have you used this? If that works I've got a pile of pages that are going to get reworked. Now I just have to find the time...<sigh>

I'm flagging this thread. Thanks p1r! :)

sonjay

12:33 pm on Nov 3, 2004 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



I'd like to reiterate that comment. If I'm not mistaken, wouldn't you need to be working at the server level to execute those SSI's locally?

Dreamweaver does display SSIs in its design view -- no, you don't have to be running server software, it's just a capability the DW has built-in. Additionally, you can have DW use temp files to preview the page in your browser, and the SSIs will be displayed there, as well.

I'm curious about something on the FP includes:
Rover wrote:

I do like the FP webbots for included content because it actually places the included file contents into the html code, so its just a straight html file that is uploaded to the server and there is no need for the server to process anything.
and then pageoneresults wrote:
I think the biggest difference here are the WYSIWYG capabilities of FP Includes. They are stand alone pages. They contain everything a normal web page contains. Heck, all of my includes validate XHMTL 1.0 Strict.

Does that mean that FP puts the "include" into the middle of your html page, but containing <body>, </body>, <head>, </head>, and so forth? Meaning you end up with multiples of those tags? Or does FP somehow account for that and strip those extra tags out before placing the include into the page?

pageoneresults

4:00 pm on Nov 3, 2004 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



Hello sonjay, here is a post I made at my favorite FrontPage Forum almost a year ago concerning FrontPage Includes in your
<head></head>
.

Yes, I dream of FrontPage Includes! I am an FP fanatic!

Over the holiday break, I've been testing the boundaries of FP. One thing I found that I could do was use FP Includes in my

<head></head>
section. I've watched various programmers use asp includes in the
<head></head>
but unfortunately the pages do not display properly in FrontPage Normal View, it does not understand the asp include code.

So, I figured I'd test an FP Include in the <head> section and viola, it works! Since I have metadata (META Tags) and, external file references that are consistent throughout the sites that I manage, I can now use an FP Include to manage that content.

For example, I usually have a charset, css and javascript reference that are consistent. Sometimes I change the css file name and rely on FP's awesome across the site automatic updates when changing file names. Now, I can change just one file instead of relying on the automatic update of FP. A little OT, one thing to keep in mind when changing file names, make sure all of your pages are closed in the editor. This ensures that all references are updated.

Keep in mind that the only content that is included is that which resides between the

<body></body>
. I leave the other information in the <head> so the page validates.

Now, in the

<head></head>
of my pages I insert this webbot...

<!--webbot bot="include" u-include="/nav/head.asp" tag="head" -->

The

head.asp
is my FP Include. Notice that I've changed the tag= from the normal "body" to head as I think it would be the correct way to do it. It works both ways, I feel comfortable having it tagged as head.

FrontPage Includes can be used for a variety of static content. Be creative, if you have content that is consistent across multiple pages, then it probably qualifies for a FrontPage Include.

Does that mean that FP puts the "include" into the middle of your html page, but containing <body>, </body>, <head>, </head>, and so forth? Meaning you end up with multiples of those tags? Or does FP somehow account for that and strip those extra tags out before placing the include into the page?

No, FP accounts for that. This is what makes FP Includes unique from other include methods. The pages can stand on their own which means they view at the WYSIWYG level as if they were at the browser level.

pageoneresults

4:08 pm on Nov 3, 2004 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



Another quick tip about FrontPage Includes...

If you are working with .asp file extensions, FrontPage does not display the

<webbot>
tags in your code. This helps prevent curious onlookers from determining whether or not you are using FrontPage. It is one of FP's footprints on .htm/.html pages.

rover

6:04 pm on Nov 3, 2004 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Does that mean that FP puts the "include" into the middle of your html page, but containing <body>, </body>, <head>, </head>, and so forth? Meaning you end up with multiples of those tags? Or does FP somehow account for that and strip those extra tags out before placing the include into the page?

No, it does strip out the extra tags so that you don't have duplicates which is a great feature. The only trace that shows on the html are some html comment lines before and after the included page html..

rover

6:05 pm on Nov 3, 2004 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



If you are working with .asp file extensions, FrontPage does not display the <webbot> tags in your code. This helps prevent curious onlookers from determining whether or not you are using FrontPage.

Does anyone know if there is any other way to not display the webbot tags if you aren't using .asp file extensions?

pageoneresults

6:22 pm on Nov 3, 2004 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



Does anyone know if there is any other way to not display the webbot tags if you aren't using .asp file extensions?

No. Those are HTML Comment Tags and they should normally display. I'm not sure why they don't display when using .asp extensions. It is just one of those things that you learn when you are as intimate with the program as I am. ;)

rover

6:54 pm on Nov 3, 2004 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



I see there is a program called HTML Shrinker which has the option to remove the FP webbot comments. I haven't tried it though, and really don't know if it's really worth all of the effort just to remove some comment lines...