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| Microsoft Office FrontPage | |
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 Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003 running on Windows XP |
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| Developer: | Microsoft |
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| Latest release: | 2003 / October 2003 |
| OS: | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS |
| Status: | Discontinued |
| Genre: | Web authoring tool |
| License: | Proprietary EULA |
| Website: | The Next Generation - Microsoft Office Online |
Microsoft FrontPage (later full name Microsoft Office FrontPage) was a WYSIWYG "HTML" editor and web site administration tool from Microsoft for the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems. It was part of Microsoft Office application suite from 1997 to 2003. A Macintosh version was also released in 1998. Microsoft FrontPage has since been replaced by Microsoft Expression Web and Sharepoint Designer, which were released in December 2006.
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 a multi-level navigation system on the fly using the buttons and the structure of the web site.
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.[1]
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 Microsoft 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.[2]
A version for Mac OS was released in 1998; however, it had fewer features than the Windows product and Microsoft has not updated it since.[3]
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. Microsoft announced that they will be discontinuing Microsoft FrontPage by December 2006.
Some features that are part of the last version of FrontPage include:
Some criticism of FrontPage include:
The final version of FrontPage is Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003. The company has introduced two new products to replace Frontpage called Microsoft Expression Web and Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer. Previous versions include:
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