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DHTML Special Effects in FrontPage 98

If you're using Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.0, The page dissoved in, and title above this paragraph dropped into the page, one word at a time. And if you're not using Internet Explorer 4.0 to view this page, I suggest that you do, or it won't seem to make a lot of sense to you!

The effect was achieved through the use of DHTML (Dynamic HTML), which is the "Next Generation" of HTML. With DHTML, you can do a remarkable variety of things in a browser, things which could only be achieved previously by the use of Java applets.

FrontPage 98 has extensive support for DHTML built into the Editor, and enables you to create special effects easily, without having to know the syntax. Some of these special effects include:

• Animated objects on the page.

• Collapsible Outlines

  • What is a collapsible outline?

  • If you're using IE 4, click here to find out!

    • Watch me disappear and reappear!

• Page Transitions

  Did you see how the page dissoved in? Click here to watch it exit!

• Form Field extensions

  Now you can add tab ordering and hot keys to your forms, with FrontPage 98, and DHTML! Put your cursor in the first form field and tab around a bit!

  Start Here!	8.	2.
  6.	4.	7.
  5.	9.	3.

Here's an example of a hot key:

Check Box (Press Alt-C to Check or uncheck)

There are many more things which you can do with DHTML, but this article covers Special effects which can be generated using the FrontPage Editor. If you were to view the source code for this page, you would see an incredible amount of it! But FrontPage makes it easy to implement, and writes all the code for you!

Now let's talk about how we do these things.

Animated objects

HTML is an object-oriented language, and with the advent of DHTML, there are many more objects on the page to play with. In fact, you can animate any object on the page, including text, form fields, images, tables, etc. Just highlight the object you wish to animate. In the Format menu you will see Animation... Select which Animation quality you want to give to that object, and you're done!

Collapsible Outlines

Create any kind of list you wish to, and add sublist items to any items in the list. When you highlight a list item which has sublist items below it and right-click it, you can choose "List Properties" from the popup menu. Check the box which reads "Enable Collapsible Outlines." Once you've done this, all a user does is click the list item, and all sublist items below it will "collapse" (or disappear). If they click it again, the list will "expand." Simple, huh?

Page Transitions

Again, in the Format menu, you will find a "Page Transition..." command. There are 4 events listed for which you can create a large variety of transitions. These events are "Page enter," "Page Exit," Site Enter," and "Site Exit." Just associate the transition(s) to the event(s), and it's done!

Form Field Extensions

Tab order is done in the "Form Field Properties" dialog box. Just put the number of the tab order for that form field. In the example above, the form fields' tab numbers are 1 - 9.

To create a hot key for a form field, that form field must have a label. For example, to create the example above, I created a checkbox form field, then typed the text for its' label to the right. I selected the text and the checkbox and selected Insert|Form Field|Label from the menu. the text is now a label. To create the hot key, I just selected the "C" and underlined it. Does it get any easier than that?

...And so, with the invention of the motor operated "PushOver," man gave birth to science, here, today, in the future. Yes, it is a little like having bees live inside your head, but, there they are, and like the young lady said: "I say, live it or live with it!"

Just seeing if you were still awake. ;-)

Author: Kevin Spencer
Date: 03/21/98

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