AOLpress Help

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Quick Start

Create and Edit a Web Page

The steps in this section show you how to create a Web page for yourself. Your page will have text, links, and a way for people to send you email. And, you'll be surprised how quickly you can create all of this. If you want to learn more, try the AOLpress workbook.

To create and edit your personal Web page:

1. Create a Blank Page:
   • Choose the File New Page menu item. You'll see a blank window that says "Please title this page." This is just like a blank document in a word processor.
   • Let's start by giving the page a title. In the Title field above the blank area, type "_____'s Page" and fill in your name. For example, type "Joe's Page". Press the Return key and you will see this title at the top of the window.
2. Type and Format Text in Your Page:
   • At the top of the page, type "Welcome to _____'s Home Page!" Fill in your name again. For example, type "Welcome to Joe's Home Page!" Then, click on the welcome message you typed to make sure the cursor is in this line.
   • Choose the Format Heading Hdg 1 menu item. This makes your welcome message big and bold.
3. Create a List:
   • After your welcome message, type this text:
     
   • Use your mouse to highlight the lines that say "AOL" and "Webcrawler". (Highlight all of both lines.)
   • Choose the Format List Bulleted List menu item to make these two lines a list.
     
4. Create Links to Other Pages:
   • Use your mouse to highlight the word "GNN". Then choose the Element Link menu item.
   • Type the URL for GNN's home page (http://gnn.com/) in the Link to Page field.
     Then, click the OK button. The text that says "GNN" is now a link to GNN's home page.
   • Double-click on the link you just created to the GNN home page. Double-clicking opens a second window. (Don't worry if you accidentally single-click on the link. You can use the Back button later to move back to the page you are editing. Your changes to the page will still be there unless you click the "Reload Page" icon.)
   • Follow the link on GNN's page to the "Whole Internet Catalog" or "WIC."
   • From the Whole Internet Catalog, follow the link to WebCrawler.
   • Click the Copy URL button in the toolbar.
   • Now move back to the window you were editing your page and use your mouse to highlight the word "WebCrawler". Then choose the Element Link menu item.
   • With the cursor in the Link to Page field, press Ctrl+V to paste the URL you copied from the WebCrawler page into this field. Then, click the OK button. The text that says "WebCrawler" is now a link, too.
5. Create an Email Link:
   • After your list of links, type "Send me mail."
   • Highlight the word "mail" and choose the Element Link menu item.
   • In the Link to Page field, type "mailto:" and then your email address. Then click the OK button.
   • Click on the link you just created to try sending mail to yourself.
6. Add a Background Color and Graphics:
   • Click the "Back" icon until you are back at the page you have been creating.
   • Choose the Format Page Attributes menu item. You will see a dialog with these fields at the top, which let you select colors for the background and text in your page.
     
   • Click the Pick button to the right of the Background Color field. You'll see a color dialog. Click on a light background color like white or yellow. Then click the OK button in the color picker. The code for the color you selected will be shown in the Background Color field.
   • Click the OK button in the Body Attributes window. The background of your window will change to the color you selected.
   • Now your page has a background color, but you probably want to add graphics to it, too. AOLpress comes with a library of clip art you can use in your pages. (Or you can use graphics you create with any other software.) To see the clip art library, choose the Help Online Resources menu item.
   • Scroll down and click on the link to the "Clip Art Library".
   • Scroll down until you see the part of the table that lists the types of rules in the clip art collect. Click on the link to see the "Full Collection" of horizontal rules.
   • Find your favorite rule and drag your mouse across it to highlight it. Then press Ctrl+C to copy the rule.
   • Move back to the window for your page. (It should be under the clip art window.)
   • Place the cursor in your page and press Ctrl+V to paste the rule you selected. You can copy and paste graphics from any Web page to your page.
     
7. Browse and add elements from other pages you like:
   • Select the window where the WebCrawler page is open by just clicking in it.
   • Type in any topics that interest you and . . . browse! Just have fun and if you see anything you like or want to personalize. . .
   • Select the elements you like, Edit Copy to place them in the clipboard, and after you put the cursor  in your page where you'ld like them Edit Paste (remember to be careful of copyright restrictions).
     
8. Save your page:
   • Choose FileSave As.
   • You will see a window similar to the one you used to open a page.
   • Choose another directory on your computer where you want to save this page.
     • On a PC, you can select any of your drives by choosing from the Drives/Sites list.
     • On a Macintosh, you can move up to the Desktop if you want to select another drive.
   • Select the directory where you want to save the file.
   • Then, type or select the name of the file. (It's best to use an extension of .htm if you are using a PC or may need to work on the page on a PC. Otherwise, use a file extension of .html.)
   • Now click OK to save your file locally.

If you have trouble with any of this, or if you have a few minutes to learn more about how to use AOLpress and publish your page, the tutorial workbook is highly recommended!

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