FrontPage 2003 and WebDAV

Microsoft has discontinued the Frontpage product line, and Missouri State has chosen SharePoint Designer as the replacement software. SharePoint Designer does not fully support certain FrontPage-specific features, such as navigation, themes and shared borders.

Recommended Method: FrontPage and WebDrive

To edit your site with FrontPage, we recommend you use a combination of the FrontPage software with the WebDrive software. This setup will ensure your FrontPage-specific features, such as shared borders and navigation, are maintained during the editing process. If you don't use these features, you can use the second set of instructions included below.

Initial Setup

1. Download and install WebDrive, a WebDAV client.  To download WebDrive, you will need to enter your BearPass login and domain (ex: ab12@sgf) and password. The registration key for WebDrive may be found on the same page.
2. Open WebDrive.
   The WebDrive program window appears.
3. Click the New Site button.
   The Site Wizard window appears.
   1. Enter a name to identify your web site. Click the Next button.
   2. Select WebDAV as the server type. Click the Next button.
   3. Enter your site's WebDav address. Make sure that the URL begins with https://. Check the Connect Securely check box. Click the Next button.
   4. Select a drive letter to which your web site will be connected. Click the Next button.
   5. Optionally enter your BearPass login and domain (ex: ab12@sgf) into the Username text box and your password into the Password text box. If you are using a public computer, you should leave these fields blank. Click the Next button.
   6. Uncheck the Connect to Site now check box. Click the Finish button.
4. Select your web site name. Uncheck the Anonymous/Public Logon check box. If you are using a public computer, you should also uncheck the Save Password check box. Click the Exit button.
   The main WebDrive window closes.

Editing

1. The WebDrive software will have an icon in your system tray (the lower right corner near your clock). Right-click this icon.
   A menu appears showing you options for WebDrive.
2. If the site you wish to edit is listed between the About WebDrive and Exit menu choices, then your site is connected. Skip to step four. Otherwise, select the Connect to option and select the site you wish to edit.
   WebDrive establishes a connection to your web site.
3. Open FrontPage. Select File then Open Site. Select My Computer then select the drive that WebDrive connected to the web site you wish to edit. Click the Open button.
   The web site opens in FrontPage for editing.
4. Edit the files or create new files within FrontPage. When the changes are saved, the pages are immediately made to your live web site.

FrontPage-Only Method

This method is only for sites not using shared borders or FrontPage navigation. You must have at least FrontPage 2003 with Service Pack 1 to use these instructions.

To edit your site with only Microsoft FrontPage 2003 with WebDAV, you need to do some initial setup steps on each computer. Once the initial setup is complete, you can follow the editing steps each time you need to update your web site.

Initial Setup

1. Open FrontPage 2003.
2. On the File menu, select Open Site.
   The Open Site window appears.
3. Enter your site’s WebDav address into the Site Name text box and click Open.
   The Web Site Setup window appears.
   1. Mark the WebDAV option and the Encrypted Connection Required (SSL) checkbox, then click the Next button.
      The Import Web Site Wizard window appears.
   2. Select a local folder where you’d like to store the web site on your computer. This is where you’ll be able to edit files before uploading back to your web site. We recommend you store the site in a new folder within your My Web Sites folder:
      1. Click the Browse button
      2. Select My Documents then open the My Web Sites folder.
      3. Click the New Folder button, enter the name of your site and click OK.
      4. Click the Open button.
   3. Mark the Encrypted Connection Required (SSL) checkbox and click the Next button.
      The final screen appears.
   4. Click Finish.
      A split screen appears showing the local site and the remote web site (your site on the web server).
4. Select File then Close Site.
   The web site closes.

Editing

1. Open FrontPage 2003.
2. On the File menu, select Open Site.
   The Open Site window appears.
3. Select the copy of your local web site and click Open.
   The web site opens.
4. We recommend you download all of the pages from the web server each time you make edits, which ensures that you have the latest version of the files. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Select View then Remote Web Site.
      The Remote Web Site section appears.
   2. Select the Remote to Local option and click the Publish Web Site button.
      The files are updated on your computer to the latest version.
5. Select View then Folders.
   The Folders section appears.
6. Update and create new web pages.
7. When you’re finished making updates, you need to publish those files to the web server to make them live:
   1. Select View then Remote Web Site.
      The Remote Web Site section appears.
   2. Select the Local to Remote option and click the Publish Web Site button.
      The local web site on your computer copies all its files to your live web site on the server.
8. Select File then Close Site.
   The web site closes.