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I have produced a site in FrontPage, now my "client" wants to be able to edit pages on the fly with Macromedia Contribute. Apparently Contribute edits live pages. I haven't used the Frontpage extensions so I can't edit Live with FrontPage, and if he edits live then I have to download latest pages to edit and publish.
Does anyone know of a freeware editor that I can use to edit live.
Alternately, if I get the Frontpage Extensions turned on, can the Macromedia Contribute still function.
Contribute will require that the web pages have been produced by Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver adds comments into the pages so that 'editable' regions can be identified by contribute. I would say that you have no chance of getting contribute to work with pages produced by frontpage.
Paul
[Corrected last sentence!]
Contribute can edit any web site so long that it has permission. In both GoLive and Dreamweaver so have the opportunity so set the site with or without permissions. If your client has the login info to get onto the site and you have not set permissions with FrontPage they should be able to download the site and edit the whole site where and when they want to with or without your permission. I have had clients like yourself who want to edit the content and they have used Contribute & Co-Author and these programmes allow 3rd parties to go into sites and edit pages either by uploading a Word doc or using the programme to type or to upload graphics to certain pages in the site which have been defined previously but will not allow this to happen in other areas of the site. To round up anyone with the login info and a HTML editor can go into the site and do what they like but they would have to have some knowledge of the editor and this is where both Contribute & Co-Author scores as it is a simple editor which only allows simple changes with permission.
Ah, that's news to me. I had always thought contribute relied upon dreamweavers editable regions within the pages.
So this means that if he edits the site with Contribute, I then have to download to my computer the updated files edit them and republish ... Correct? Could Contribute still edit the pages if FrontPage extensions were enabled.
Maybe in the future it would be better not to use FrontPage--the code isnīt very clean and at times is hard to edit. Just a thought.
How comfortable is your client with editing HTML code? Do they understand what they are getting in to?
Paul
I told them this morning that either I do the site, or they do the site. I am not going to mess about with two editors using different software.
It appears that they would rather I continue as I am, rather than open a "can of worms" <NOTE to Gary - Don't need to see a "can of worms" graphic - Thanks>.
And I'm using Frontpage because I've been using it for 10 years and at the time it was the best available IMHO. Now, I'm too cheap to replace it - If it ain't broken don't fix it.
Thank you everyone for your input.
How about using dynamic web templates (DWT). They could then edit the pages safely and it wont affect your ability to use Frontpage.
I'd have to learn about them, I know nothing at all about dynamic web templates. Thanks for the information. Will google it - and see what I can find out.
Hi
This is an interesting - and common - problem. For most smaller businesses, your best answer is to say "You are best at making [widgets or whatever], not making websites." The client can provide content and you can, at modest cost, put the changes in. You could also say, "Do you do your own accounts?" They probably use an accountant for that.
You could also investigate some PHP and MySQL (or similar technology) - that way your client could add say news items and they will appear on the site instantly.
As it happens, my "client" went into the website yesterday and in the spirit of "helping" me, screwed the whole website up. He sent me an e-mail apologising and said that if I would put it back together, he would stay out of it in future.
Keith
Great news! My own contracts say that re-working because of client error is chargeable - although as you have the master copy it is no big deal.
No, not really a big deal, but I'll probably charge punitive fees anyway.