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Site-Weaver Help
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Site-Weaver is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor,
meaning that it works visually. You can move and place elements
in a page, which in turn will be transformed into special HTML
coding by Site-Weaver.
There are two basic frames within Site-Weaver that you should
be aware of. The smaller frame contains a Tool Bar made
up of the various instruments at your disposal. The much larger
frame is the Work Area, where you will build your actual
page. If you have created a page using one of our themes, then
the theme should already be in the Work Area.
Before we proceed to go through the various Tool Bar elements
in detail, lets first cover some basics of the Work Area, since
it is important to understand how Site-Weaver works before
learning any specifics.
The Work Area
Every page that you will use to
build your website is made up of an invisible table - a series
of 8 rows by 5 columns for a total of 40 cells. You can get a
very quick, clear view of this table by clicking on [Table
Cell], the very last item to the right on the Tool bar above the
Work Area. It is into these 40 table cells that you will be
adding your content.
Now that you have looked at this
briefly, click on [Done] to return to your Work Area's main
page. When you first see the Work Area, it will contain a
default set of images, text, and links that you will want to
replace with your own. Each of these items take up one cell
each, and the cell stretches to fit that item. Next to each
item, you will notice an [Edit] button. As you add your own
content to the page, a new [Edit] button will appear next to
each of your new items.
Example:
if you add a picture in one cell, and then want to add a text
caption underneath it, there is no need to add the text into a
new cell. When you add the picture, two new edit buttons appear
one for placing something above the picture, and one for
placing something below. You can use the lower one to add the
text caption.
The [Edit] buttons will always be
present, and after youve added a piece of content, you can use
that button to edit the content (i.e. correct spelling, change
the name of the picture, etc).
The Tool Bar
There are 11 items to be found in
the Tool Bar. The first of these is a link back to the Main
Menu, or Introductory Area. The other 10 represent
tools that are at the users disposal. They are...
Add Text
Add Picture
Add Link
View Page
Plugin
Move
Copy
Delete
Page Properties
Table Cell
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Add Text |
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Selecting the [Add Text] button will change the appearance of
the Work Area. Rather than [Edit] buttons, the Work Area will
now consist of a series of [Add Here] buttons located in areas
of the page where there is room for something to be placed.
These allow you to decide the exact location on the page where
you would like to add your text.
Clicking on one of the [Add Here] buttons will open the "Edit
Text" window in the Work Area. There will now be a single
[Cancel] button in the toolbar instead of the regular tools.
Selecting it will return you to the standard Work Area view
without saving any changes.
The page is divided into two sections, and there are several
elements that must be decided upon in each:
Add or Edit your Text Here is primarily a large text
field. This is where you will enter whatever text you wish to
add to your page.
Preserve Blank Lines located directly beneath the
text field is a checkbox. If you have hit the [Enter] key within
the text field and it has created blank lines, the program will
normally strip these lines out. These blank lines will only be
preserved and translated onto the page if you have the checkbox
filled in. However, if you are entering code, or do not want
line breaks in your entry for some other reason, you can leave
the box unchecked.
SpellCheck also located beneath the text field, this
link will open a new pop-up window displaying any words entered
into the text field that are not recognized by the dictionary,
as well as possible substitutions.
Finally, there are two buttons that go with the text field.
They are [Done] and [Clear]. [Done] will save your text and use
the default settings for text size, color, etc. [Clear] will
wipe out the contents of the text field. Any settings past the
[Done] and [Clear] buttons are optional and are set to default
values. If you want to specify text settings that are special to
this text, you can scroll down to the lower half of the page. If
you want the text settings to run off of the default, you can
ignore the lower half of the page and click the [Done] button.
In the lower half of the page is an area where you can
"Adjust the Text Settings". It allows you to assign special
qualities to the text that is being added. By special qualities,
we are referring to the following:
Font Face
Times New Roman,
Courier
Font
Attributes Bold, Underlined
Font Size
8, 9, 10
Font Colors this is actually a color chart with
corresponding color # beneath it. You simply have to click on
a color in the chart to select it.
Paragraph Alignment This is a drop down menu with the
options on how you would like to align your text: to the left,
to the center, or to the right.
If you want to circumvent your defaults, then this is where
they do it. For example, you may want to make this particular
set of text larger and more colorful than the rest of the text
on your page.
There is a second [Done] button, this one at the very bottom
of the window. Clicking on it will save any entries/edits made.
From now on, if you click on the [Edit] button next to this
bit of text in the Work Area, you will be brought back to this
exact same page, where they can update the information entered.
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Add Picture |
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Selecting the [Add Picture] button will change the appearance of
the Work Area. Rather than [Edit] buttons, the Work Area will
now consist of a series of [Add Here] buttons located in areas
of the page where there is room for something to be added. These
allow you to decide the exact location on the page where you
would like to add a picture.
Clicking on one of the [Add Here] buttons will open the "Edit
Picture" window in the Work Area. This window consists of a form
for entering the needed information, and is an easy,
step-by-step process:
Picture Url the location of the desired picture must
be entered into this field. If you are not sure of the location,
you can click on [Browse]. This will open a new pop-up window
that will allow you to browse through the files in your File
Manager.
In that same pop-up window, there are two buttons in the
top-right corner: [Upload Files] and [Spider Files]. If the
image file that you want is not already in your File Manager, no
problem. You can easily retrieve it from your personal computer
using the [Upload Files] button, or from the Internet using the
[Spider Files] button. The interesting thing is that once you
have uploaded or spidered the desired image file, the file will
appear in the pop-up file manager right away. All that you need
to do is simply click on the image link in the pop-up and voila!
It fills in the Picture Url and the image Height and Width
automatically for you on your main page.
Height and Width this information usually appears
automatically when a picture location is entered. These fields
must have values in them in order for the picture to be
displayed properly.
ALT text this is alternative text, which will appear
if for some reason the image is unable to load properly. People
using text-based browsers will see this regularly, and it will
appear if you hold your mouse over the image for a short while.
Top and Bottom Space (a.k.a VSpace, VerticalSpace)
this is the amount of space (in pixels) that you want above and
below the picture. The higher you set your VSpace value, the
more row space it will take up.
Left and Right Space (a.k.a. HSpace, HorizontalSpace)
this is the amount of space (in pixels) that you want to the
left and right of the picture. The higher you set your HSpace
value, the more column space it will take up.
Make This Picture a Link by filling in the checkbox
next to this message, you will be able to make the picture that
you are adding a link (to another page). If you are using
Internet Explorer, when you fill in the checkbox for making your
picture a link, more options will appear (through the magic of
Dynamic HTML). If you are using Netscape, they will already be
apparent. These new options are:
Link Url the address that you are linking the
picture to.
Test Link located to the right of the Link Url
field, when you click on it a new window opens up the link that
you have specified. This lets you make sure that the link is not
broken or pointing to the wrong spot.
Show the linked page in lets you decide whether the
link opens in the same window, a new window, or a pop-up window.
Align Picture a drop-down menu that allows the user
to choose how they want the picture aligned: to the left, to the
center, or to the right.
From now on, if the user clicks on the [Edit] button next to
this picture in the Work Area, they will be brought back to this
exact same page, where they can update the information entered.
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Add Link |
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Selecting the [Add Link] button will change the appearance of
the Work Area. Rather than [Edit] buttons, the Work Area will
now consist of a series of [Add Here] buttons located in areas
of the page where there is room for something to be added. These
allow you to decide the exact location on the page where they
would like to add a link.
Clicking on one of the [Add Here] buttons will open the "Edit
Link" window in the Work Area. The page is very similar to the
"Edit Text" page, but there are some major differences:
Enter the text that your visitors will click is
primarily a large text field. This is where you must enter the
text that will be clickable (i.e. Click Here!). Just below this
text field are two buttons, [Done] and [Clear] the former
saves any additions/changes and the latter clears the contents
of the text field.
Link Url the address that you are linking to.
Test Link located to the right of the Link Url
field, when you click on it a new window opens up the link that
you have specified. This lets you make sure that the link is not
broken or pointing to the wrong spot.
Show the linked page in drop-down menu that lets you
decide whether the link opens in the same window, a new window,
or a pop-up window.
In the lower half of the page is an area where you can
"Adjust the Text Settings". It allows you to assign special
qualities to the text that is being added. If they want to
circumvent their default text settings, then this is where they
do it.
Please note that unlike the "Edit Text" option, the "Edit
Link" option does not have a color palette or an option to
underline the text. This is because all links are underlined by
nature and must be the same color (the color of all links must
be specified under [Page Properties]). |
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View Page |
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Selecting [View Page] works much the same as a "Preview" button
would, except that with Site-Weaver all changes are
automatically saved as you go (this eliminates the need to
preview). The [View Page] opens your page in the Work Area and
shows you just what the page looks like, from a visitor's
perspective. Selecting [Done] in the Tool Bar section will
return you to the standard Work Area view. |
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Plugin |
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Our selection of user plugins is what sets Site-Weaver apart
from other webpage editors, and gives the Site-Weaver its
strength. We have plugins that allow you to place discussion
forums, guestbooks, counters, search directories, postcards, and
other features into your sites with ease.
Selecting [Plugin] from the Tool Bar will open up a new
window that contains a list of all available plugins. The word
[Add] appears next to each. Clicking on [Add] will start the
process of adding one of those plugins.
Please note that you can click the 'HELP' link on the Plugins
page to get more specific help about our plugins. |
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Move |
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Selecting [Move] from the Tool Bar will have the effect of
changing all the [Edit] buttons in the Work Area into [Move
This] buttons. You need only click on the [Move This] button
which corresponds with the item that you wish to move.
After selecting which item you are moving, by clicking on
[Move This], the Work Area will reload to display a series of
[Move Here] buttons, located in areas of the page where there is
room for something to be added. These allow you to decide the
exact location on the page that you would like to move your item
to. You will also notice a single non-clickable button named
[Move From Here] in the page. This represents the current
location of the item that is being moved; it lets you know where
you are moving the object from.
Pressing on one of the [Move Here] buttons will automatically
move the item to its new location and bring you back to the page
that contains [Move This] buttons, with the newest layout
displayed. If you decide that you don't like the new location of
the item or if you choose to move something else, you may
continue moving things until everything is the way you want it.
In order to return to the standard Work Area, you must click
on [Done] in the Tool Bar area. |
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Copy |
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Selecting [Copy] from the Tool Bar will have the effect of
changing all the [Edit] buttons in the Work Area into [Copy
This] buttons. After selecting which item you are copying by
clicking on [Copy This], the Work Area will reload to display a
series of [Paste Here] buttons, located in areas of the page
where there is room for something to be added. These allow you
to decide the exact location on the page that you would like to
paste the item. Pressing on one of the [Paste Here] buttons will
automatically move the item to its new location and bring you
back to the page that contains [Copy This] buttons, with the
newest layout displayed.
In order to return to the standard Work Area, you must click
on [Done] in the Tool Bar area. |
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Delete |
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Selecting [Delete] from the Tool Bar allows you to remove pieces
of your webpage. It will have the effect of changing all the
[Edit] buttons in the Work Area into [Delete] buttons. You need
only click on the [Delete] button that corresponds with the item
you wish to delete. You will be asked if you are sure. If you
click [Okay], then the selected item will be deleted.
The Work Area will reload the page that contains the [Delete]
buttons, with the newest layout displayed. You may continue
deleting things until everything is the way you want it. In
order to return to the standard Work Area, you must click on
[Done] in the Tool Bar area. |
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Page Properties |
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Selecting [Page Properties] from the Tool Bar allows you to edit
information contained within the various HTML tags that help
build your webpage. There are three categories of HTML tags you
can access - Head Tags, Table Tags, and Body Tags. When you are
finished editing them, you can simply click [Done] to return to
the standard Work Area page.
Head Tags
Head Tags provide information about your page to search
engines when the "Publicize" tool is used. It helps the search
engines to categorize your page. They include:
Document Title - the name of the page
Document Description - a brief and accurate description
of what the page is about.
Document Keywords - keywords that are related to the
site's content. If listed in search engines, these will help
people find the site.
Table Tags
These contain information which affects the attributes of the
table (the eight row and 5 column table that appears in the Work
Area) which makes up your page:
Alignment - controls whether the table appears
centered on the page, to the right or to the left.
Border - you may choose to have the border of the table
visible, the number represents how many pixels wide the border
should be.
Cellpadding - this controls the amount of space (in
pixels) between the contents of a cell and the cell walls.
Cellspacing - this controls the amount of space (in
pixels) between one cell and another. The higher the number of
pixels, the further apart your cells will be.
Width - represents the width of the table. This can
either be either a percentage (of the window) or an integer
(representing # pixels).
Body Tags
These tags help to control the content of your page, the
background and color in particular. This is where you enter
default values that you can choose to override when
adding/editing your text and links (see [Add Text] and [Add
Link], above).
Background (URL for background image) - this is the
location of the image you are using for a background image. If
you are not using one, simply leave it blank.
Text Color - controls the default color or all text.
This setting can be overridden for each individual set of text
that is added or edited.
Link Color - sets the default color of all links. This
setting can be overridden for each individual link that is
added or edited.
Vlink (Visited Link Color) - sets the color of the
links after they have been clicked on.
Alink (Active Link Color) - sets the color of the links
as they are being clicked on.
BGColor (Background Color) - sets the color of the
background. This will be overridden if you use the Background
(URL for background image) option.
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Table Cell |
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Selecting [Table Cell] from the Tool Bar allows you to have
control over the 40 cells contained in the eight rows and 5
columns that make up a single page. After you select [Table
Cell], the Work Area will be changed so that the [Edit] buttons
will be replaced with [Edit Cell] buttons, one in each cell.
Selecting a cell brings you to a new page, called "Edit HTML
Tags". From here, the user can set the following:
Background (URL for background image) - allows the
user to have a unique background image for that particular cell.
Vertical Alignment - a drop-down menu that allows the
user to align the cell's contents to the bottom of the cell, the
center of the cell, or the top of the cell.
Alignment - a drop-down menu that allows the user to
align the cell's contents to the left of the cell, the center of
the cell, or to the right of the cell.
Background Color - allows the user to have a unique
background color for that particular cell. This will be
overridden if you use the Background (URL for background image)
option.
The very first row of cells in [Table Cell] is a bit special. It
contains five cells that differ slightly from the other 35
cells. Those top five cells that are side by side contain one
extra function. When you click on [Edit Cell] for one of them,
the extra option is the second field:
Cell Width - works the same way as Table Width does
(see [Page Properties]) except that it deals only with one cell.
Because this cell is the top one in a column, all the cells
below it will be assigned the same width by necessity.
Please note that Cell Width works best in conjunction with a
set Table Width. For example, it ould be a good idea for a user
to set their Table Width to 800 pixels and then use percentages
to set their cell widths. These cell widths should be entered
before adding any large items to a cell, because cells
containing items can be made wider, but their width cannot be
reduced so as not to distort the item that they contain.
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