Description:
Convergence seems to be the watchword for the Microsoft FrontPage 2002 Web authoring system. Every new edition becomes a bit more like the other components of the Office suite, while also increasingly tying in to related Microsoft products and services. This is vaguely threatening to users who want greater freedom to edit HTML and other code directly or who want to call all the shots on their sites' designs, but for most users the expediency of FrontPage makes these sacrifices worthwhile or even unnoticeable. With new templates and smart tools ("bots") to help create a wide range of intranet and Internet pages, version 2002 is even simpler and faster to use than its predecessors.Users can draw with PowerPoint tools, drag and drop live content, and create photo galleries with a few mouse clicks. Publishing is incredibly easy. Beginners will love the wizards, and will find Web authoring much easier than expected. Why do so many people have problems with FrontPage? The main complaint is that the output, which tends to be flabby and difficult to parse, can't be edited by the user and is difficult to run on non-Microsoft servers. This is a problem for those who've gone beyond using wizards and templates to create their pages, but many other users are content with the results. The automatic direction to Microsoft-related services is also somewhat troubling--it would be nice, if unrealistic, for users to have easier access to the wide range of servers and e-commerce providers available. Still, for Webbies with fairly simple needs and no desire to spend months learning the ins and outs of HTML and XML, FrontPage 2002 is most likely the way to go. --Rob Lightner
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