How to Use FrontPage 2000 Without FrontPage Extensions

How to Use FrontPage 2000 Without FrontPage Extensions
Articles for Microsoft® FrontPage® 2000

Overview

Sometimes a FrontPage user wishes to develop a Web site without FrontPage Server Extensions (otherwise know as FPSE) or the benefits provided by them. This usually occurs when you want to develop a Web site on your local hard drive or network drive instead of a Web server, or because the site's Web server will not support them or because a Web server is not available for the development process.

Developing a Web site without FPSE is a simple task to accomplish in FrontPage 2000. Although this limits some of the capabilities on the server-side such as hit counters, form to e-mail and search functionality, it still lets you take full advantage of most of the powerful development features provided by FrontPage 2000.

About Server Extensions

FrontPage Server Extensions are a series of programs that work on, and in conjunction with, a Web server to provide functions that help make FrontPage 2000 a very powerful product.

Although FrontPage Server Extensions are available for most Web servers, and are automatically installed during the FrontPage installation process if a Web server is detected, there are some instances when developing a Web site without their use is desirable. Examples include development of a simple Web site that won't utilize any of the functionality or a site that will be published to a server that does not support FrontPage Sever Extensions.

When working on a project without FPSE, you can set FrontPage 2000 to prevent you from developing with features that won't work on the final Web site. By limiting your capabilities in the development process, there is no need to be concerned that the end product won't be compatible with your destination Web server.

Setting Up a Disk-Based Web

A disk-based Web is a Web stored on a drive that does not require a server for any of its functionality. It cannot provide all of the features a server-based Web can, but is an acceptable platform for smaller Web projects. Disk-based Webs are not limited to hard drives and can be stored on any media that is accessible through a drive letter such as a Zip drive or CDRW unit.

When you select File, New, Web … from the FrontPage menu to create a New Web site, the New Dialog Box asks you for the location of the Web. If you have a Web server installed on your machine, FrontPage 2000 will default to that server. If you don't, it will default to the path on the system you designated to hold your Web content. Feel free to change that path to anything you'd like (as long as you have access to it), including a directory somewhere else on your office network. Some examples are:

Your hard drive: c:\my webs\new web
A network drive: \\myserver\path\new web

Setting up a disk-based Web is as simple as selecting a drive and directory to hold your Web site. FrontPage will then place all of the content on your drive.

Restricting Features

Because FrontPage is set up to enable you to move over to FrontPage Server Extensions at any time, it allows you to utilize features that require FPSE to work. If you don't intend on applying these features it is a good idea to turn them off so that you don't use them by mistake.

This is done by selecting Page Options … from the Tools menu and selecting the Compatibility Tab in the Page Options dialog box. Under the Servers drop down list is a checkbox that says "Enabled with Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions." Uncheck that box.

From there, all features that require FPSE will be grayed out in the menu bars and you will not be able to use them - by mistake or on purpose. FrontPage 2000 features that will be grayed out through this process include the Hit Counter, the Confirmation Field and the Search Form. There's a more complete list of the features that require the FrontPage Server Extensions on the Web at http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q232/5/24.asp.

Publishing by FTP

If you are publishing your site to a server that does not have FPSE installed, you will need to publish your site via FTP. If you are not familiar with this process, our article on PUBLISHING YOUR WEB SITE WITH FRONTPAGE 2000 at http://www.microsoftfrontpage.com/content/articles/pub_fp.html should help walk you through the process.

Tips

When using FrontPage 2000 without FrontPage Extensions, please keep in mind the following tips:

FrontPage Server Extensions make publishing easier, not harder, and provide valuable services for your Web site. Many hosting providers offer a complete hosting service with FPSE that are very reasonably priced. Consider examining the option one more time before you give up on the thought. See Microsoft's Web Presence Provider Site at http://www.microsoftwpp.com/wppsearch for more information.
If your Web server does not support FPSE, there might be other limits as well. Make sure to understand all limits placed on you by the service provider and develop your site accordingly. There is nothing more frustrating than a site with an exciting technology that the Web server does not support.
As you build your Web site without FPSE, check the site regularly with the Preview in Browser feature. If your site works the way you want it to from your hard drive, you should have no problem making it work on even the most limited Web server. If there are problems in the preview, there will be problems with the published site as well.
If you are using a disk-based Web for development but wish to publish the Web site to a server with FPSE installed, you can still use FrontPage's publishing feature to publish the site. More information on this feature can be found in the article PUBLISHING YOUR WEB SITE WITH FRONTPAGE 2000 at http://www.microsoftfrontpage.com/content/articles/pub_fp.html