Choosing web page properties (Web Publishing mode only)

There’s more to creating a successful website than designing the pages. It’s a good idea to browse the Site Properties dialog, accessible from File>Web Site Properties and review a variety of settings you might not otherwise have considered! This topic covers settings on the Page tab; see the following topics for coverage of other tabs:

Background tab

Adding sound and video

Choosing website colors

Search tab

Adding search engine descriptors

Graphics tab

Setting web picture display options

Site Properties/Page tab

Some of the options on the dialog’s Page tab pertain just to the current page, while others apply to the site as a whole. The web page title, which will appear in the title bar of the visitor’s web browser, can serve to unify the pages and focus the site’s identity, as well as aid navigation. Each page in your site can have its own title, but you may prefer to use the same title on multiple pages (in effect, a site title). An easy way to do this is to start with a blank page, give it a title, then replicate that page. Copies of that page will have the same title.

To enter a title for the current web page:

  • On the Page tab of the Site Properties dialog, type the Title of your choice, and click OK.

Each page also has a file name when it’s published. You can specify file names individually; otherwise PagePlus automatically generates them.

Check the instructions from your web service provider as to their naming conventions for Home Pages and file extensions. By default, PagePlus names your first (Home) page index.html—the standard file name a browser will be looking for. Depending on the particular server in use, however, some other name may be required. Likewise, the extension .htm is sometimes used for pages.

To specify the file name of the current page:

  • On the Page tab of the Site Properties dialog, type a new File name to replace the auto-generated file name shown.

  • The file name you enter should include the extension (*.htm or *.html). Make sure you use the same extension you’re using as the default (see below).

To change the default file extension for page names PagePlus generates:

  • On the Page tab of the Site Properties dialog, select a new Default file extension under “Publication Options” as required by your service provider.

Other choices on the Page tab determine how your web pages display in a browser:

  • Check Center in browser to improve the appearance of your pages if the width of the browser window exceeds the page width you’ve specified. It’s a good design practice to reduce page width somewhat (and center pages) rather than taking a chance on the page being too wide for some browser windows.

  • Check Force absolute text size to display text using the exact pixel values specified in your publication. This helps to ensure your page looks exactly as you intended; if unchecked, text is displayed using a more limited range of “relative” sizes which may vary according to an individual’s browser setting.

Choosing page properties