Microsoft Frontpage... web editor from Microsoft...
Let's see...
Overview
FrontPage was initially created by the Cambridge, Massachusetts company Vermeer Technologies Incorporated, evidence of which can be easily spotted in filenames and directories prefixed _vti_ in web sites created using FrontPage. Vermeer was acquired by Microsoft in 1996 specifically so that Microsoft could add FrontPage to its product line-up.[citation needed]
As a WYSIWYG editor, FrontPage is designed to hide the details of pages' HTML code from the user, making it possible for novices to easily create web pages and sites.
FrontPage's initial outing under the Microsoft name came in 1996 with the release of Windows NT 4.0 Server and its constituent HTTPd server Internet Information Services 2.0. Bundled on CD with the NT 4.0 Server release, FrontPage 1.1 would run under NT 4.0 (Server or Workstation) or Windows 95, and was aimed at providing server administrators with a tool to deliver rich web and intranet content in a package as easy to use as Microsoft Word.
FrontPage used to require a set of server-side plugins originally known as IIS Extensions. The extension set was significantly enhanced for Microsoft inclusion of FrontPage into the Office line-up with the 97 release and subsequently renamed FrontPage Server Extensions (FPSE). Both sets of extensions needed to be installed on the target web server for its content and publishing features to work. Microsoft offered both Windows and Unix-based versions of FPSE. However, newer versions of FrontPage also support the standard WebDAV protocol for remote web publishing and authoring.[citation needed]
A version for Mac OS was released around 1998; however, it had fewer features than the Windows product and Microsoft has not updated it since.[citation needed]
FrontPage's primary competitor is Macromedia Dreamweaver, another web design product.
One of the notable features of FrontPage is its built in support for automated web templates. The main distinction between these templates and HTML templates generated by other products is that FrontPage templates include an automatic navigation system that creates animated buttons for pages that have been added by the user. It also creates an advanced multi-level navigation system on the fly using the buttons and the structure of the web site.
Superseded by two new products
In 2006, Microsoft announced that FrontPage would eventually be superseded by two products.[1] Microsoft SharePoint Designer will allow business professionals to design SharePoint-based applications. Microsoft Expression Web is targeted for web design professionals who create full-blown web sites. Both are partially based on FrontPage and are currently in development. Microsoft announced that they will be discontinuing Microsoft FrontPage by late 2006. The beta of Express Web Designer is available from Microsoft main site for download. See the link below.
Versions
The final version of FrontPage is Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003, Version 6. No new versions will be offered under this name. The company is introducing Microsoft Expression Web Designer by the end of this year to replace FrontPage 2003. In the new Office 2007 suite it will be renamed to Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer. Previous versions include:
- Vermeer FrontPage 1.0
- 1995 Microsoft FrontPage 1.1
- 1997 Microsoft FrontPage 97 (version 2)
- 1997 Microsoft FrontPage Express 2.0 (free stripped-down version came with Internet Explorer 4.0, and could be found online from numerous "download" repositories)
- 1998 Microsoft FrontPage 98 (version 3)
- 1999 Microsoft FrontPage 2000 (version 4)
- 2001 Microsoft FrontPage 2002 (version 5)
- Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003 (version 6)
See also
External links
- Microsoft Expression Beta information & download
- Article about Vermeer from 1995
- Microsoft's FrontPage site
- History of FrontPage - Release Dates and Vermeer FrontPage History Timelines
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