AOLpress is an integrated browsing and WYSIWYG authoring tool for the World Wide Web. AOLpress was designed both to make WWW authoring more accessible to beginners and to save valuable time and effort for professional Web publishers.
1. System Requirements
RAM: 8 megabytes or more recommended
Display: 256 or more colors
Processor: 386 minimum
System: Windows 3.1 or later
Disk Space Free: 8 megabytes
2. Networking Requirements
If you plan to use AOLpress as a browser and/or remote authoring tool, you will need the following:
Internet service provider
Modem
Connection software (Trumpet winsock, Chameleon, etc.) If you do not already have a WINSOCK.DLL, one will be installed that allows you to operate AOLpress locally.
Standalone and Internet installations: If the AOLpress installer does not find a WINSOCK.DLL, a null WINSOCK.DLL will be placed in the directory with the AOLpress executable (aolpress.exe). AOLpress binds to this WINSOCK and gives you a message that you aren't connected to the network the first time that you try to access a network location.
If you later want to use AOLpress with a network connection, you will need to delete or rename the winsock.dll in the AOLpress directory for AOLpress to use the network.
3. Installation and Configuration
Download the aolp20.exe self-extracting executable.
Double click on this self-extracting executable to extract its contents to a temp directory and it will automatically run setup.exe to install AOLpress.
Setup.exe will prompt you for a directory in which to install AOLpress.
Launch AOLpress by double-clicking on its icon.
AOLpress does not insist that you set a proxy server and a name server but when using an ISP it is highly recommended that you set them using Tools=>Preferences=>Network. AOL members only need to use screenname@aol.com as the Return address and a.mx.aol.com as the Mail Host in this dialog.
Known Problems with Installation and Download:
1) Extract=-9
If you receive an Extract=-9 when installing AOLpress it means that the installer was damaged during the download.
Workaround: The solution here is to download the file again.
4. Known Bugs
AOLpress may crash when attempting to display certain images. If you find that AOLpress crashes when attempting to display a certain page, try changing the Image Display Method in Tools->Preferences->General.
AOLpress may crash when a page window is closed while in the middle of submitting a Form or e-mail. It is best to stop communication with the stop button before closing a page window.
AOLpress may crash when recursively webizing large directory structures. This is because AOLpress is running out of memory. If you have this problem you can work around it by webizing smaller pieces of the directory (use the Options button in the Webize dialog).
When several page windows are closed rapidly so that no page windows are open, the menu bar in the AOLpress application window may become inaccessible. If this occurs you may exit the app by clicking the close (X) button in the upper right corner, or you may open a new page (and restore the proper menus) by hitting Ctrl+N.
After using Edit->Make Icon from a MiniWeb view, there is no way to revert back to the default icon.
Currently, there is no direct way to remove a page as being the Stationery page for a MiniWeb. The workaround is to create a blank page then use Edit->Set Stationery to set it as the stationery page.
When editing an Image Map, you can not Undo changes if you clear a shape or Clear All shapes.
Displaying ART images: The default MIME type for the .art extension is incorrect. The result is that when attempting to display ART images from a local drive, AOLpress will display the broken image icon. To correct this, change the MIME type for .art extensions to image/art in the Preferences: Extensions/MIME dialog (Tools -> Preferences -> Extensions/MIME...).
5. Notes and Hints
General Authoring
AOLpress is rather strict about enforcing legal HTML. When using AOLpress to edit pages which were created outside of AOLpress; it may change HTML which does not comply to the HTML 3.2 standard and specifications when saving it. To view a raw HTML file (before AOLpress has modified it) choose Tools -> Show HTML and File -> Reload from the Show HTML window. To save a raw HTML file (without being parsed by AOLpress) choose File -> Save As from the Show HTML window.
Editing pages with Server Side Includes (SSI): Editing pages with Server Side Includes is particularly tricky in a WYSIWYG environment. Generally if a SSI page is saved back to the server, the server parsed content is incorrectly saved in the HTML of the page. There are two ways to edit SSI pages when they are residing on an AOLserver.
1) Checking Server Side Include: Never Load in the Tools->Preferences->General dialog will cause AOLpress to display the HTML of SSI pages without the server parsed content.
2) Another way to obtain a SSI page without the server parsed content is by choosing Tools -> Show HTML and File -> Reload without SSI from the Show HTML window. You can then make changes in the HTML window, or parse and close the HTML window and make the changes in the browser/editor window and save it back to the server.
Either way, be careful when editing SSI pages from the browser/editor window, because deleting a selection that includes an SSI directive comment (which isn't displayed in the browser window) will delete the comment.
Selecting text and formatting: In HTML the formatting information for a paragraph is located before the paragraph, unlike word processors where the formatting information is located at the end of the paragraph. Thus when selecting text to replace formatting, copy/paste, or drag/drop it is necessary to include the carriage return before the paragraph if you want the formatting to be included.
Netscape vs HTML 3.2. AOLpress gives you the choice of whether the display attempts to conform to the HTML 3.2 spec or to Netscape's interpretation of HTML. (There are fewer differences than existed between HTML 3.0 and Netscape's interpretation). In some cases this affects the actual HTML AOLpress generates and saves:
Tools->Preferences->General
Set to: NetscapeTools->Preferences->General
Set to: HTML 3.2Multiple Title tags allowed not allowed (removed when saved) Multiple Body tags allowed not allowed (removed when saved) <Script>...<Script> allows <Script> in the BODY forces <Script> to reside in HEAD
">" within quoted strings: When viewing pages with the preferences (Tools -> Preferences -> General) set to conform to Netscape, a greater than sign within a quoted string (e.g.
...VALUE=">="...) often terminates the tag even though it should not. It usually displays the rest on the tag in the page. To make the page viewable in both HTML 3.2 and Netscape mode (and generally acceptable by more browsers) the "> "should be converted to ">". This can be done by loading the page with preferences set to conform to HTML 3.2 and then saving it back or by manually making the change in the Show HTML window.
Authoring <Script>: When preferences (Tools->Preferences->General) are set to conform to HTML 3.2, AOLpress places all <Script> tags in the HEAD of the HTML document as specified in HTML 3.2. Setting the Preferences to conform to Netscape will allow you to place <Scripts> in the BODY but it is NOT recommended. Netscape's guide for authoring Java Script (their documentation may require Netscape for proper viewing) strongly suggests defining all script functions in the HEAD of the document and using event handlers embedded within tags within the BODY to call those functions.
Deleting Files from a MiniWeb: Using the MiniWeb view AOLpress allows the user to Edit=>Cut or backspace/delete an icon (subsequently deleting the object) without the presence of a confirmation dialog box.
Concurrent Editing: AOLpress when used with an AOLserver version 2.1 offers the ability to "lock" a page on a server from other editors. If "locking" is not being used and concurrent editing of the same page is occurring, changes may be overwritten. This usually happens because someone edits a cached version of a page and saves it. Be careful and use reload often if multiple people are editing the same page concurrently, especially when not using AOLserver.
Authentication and saving to a server. When saving a page to a server AOLpress saves all of the page elements as well. If you choose to cancel the authentication of a page you will still be prompted for authentication of the page elements that AOLpress is attempting to save.
To edit text or images which are links without following the link hold down the Control (Ctrl) key and click with the mouse.
To create a MiniWeb out of a directory, or to regenerate a MiniWeb that isn't showing all of the files that it should (after moving files outside of AOLpress) use the Webize dialog by pressing Ctrl-Shift-W (or choose Tools=>Webize from the MiniWeb view).
Double-click on a link to display the linked page in a new window.
Tables
Selecting (highlighting) a table in the page view requires that the paragraph before and after the table be selected. Dragging the mouse across or double clicking on a table will not highlight it but dragging the pointer from the paragraph above to the paragraph beneath (or vice versa) will select the table.
Selecting tables within tables and tables at the end of the page: When a table is the first or last item in a table cell the table is not selectable with the mouse. This is because the selection of a table requires the selection of a paragraph before and after the table. It is easy to avoid this problem once you are aware of it. When creating tables nested within tables insert paragraphs into the table cell (by hitting Return) and place the cursor between these paragraphs when choosing Create Table. Extra paragraphs can be easily deleted later.
If you find yourself in this state, the workaround is to add a <P> tag at each end of the table you are trying to select:
- Highlight some of the table content (as a reference point) and choose Tools=>Show HTML.
The highlighted selection should be highlighted in the Show HTML window.
Insert <P> before the beginning table tag (<TABLE BORDER .....>) to insert a paragraph before the table.Insert a <P> tag immediately after the closing table tag (</TABLE>) to insert a paragraph after the table
Select Parse and Close from the file menu in the Show HTML window.
Typing in tables: Resizing tables on the fly as text is inserted is a lot of work and the typing speed in tables can be slower as a result. The more cells there are in the table, the slower the typing will be.
Lists
More than one list element on the same line occurs when there are lists nested inside a list without a paragraph tag between the list tags. This happens when Edit Complex lists is checked in the General Preferences dialog. It is impossible to insert text between two such list elements from the page view. The workaround is to manually add <P> tags after the <LI> tag in the Show HTML window.
Exiting from nested lists: AOLpress only allows one level at a time to be exited. If you wish to exit multiple nested levels, choose Format=>Exit List Format multiple times and delete the unwanted list elements when finished.
MiniWebs
If MiniWebs don't correctly show the contents of the directory, Webize the directory.
AOLpress can't tell if a MiniWeb filename has been changed outside of AOLpress. If files or links in a MiniWeb are modified outside of AOLpress, or if you ever notice that the MiniWeb view is not reflecting the true status of the directory, be sure to webize/regenerate (Tools->Webize Directory) the MiniWeb.
Changing the Filetype of the MiniWeb. The file type (DOS, Mac, Posix) of a MiniWeb is determined by the general preference setting when the MiniWeb is created. AOLpress will force all files it creates or places in the MiniWeb to conform to the selected filetype restrictions.
Regenerating the MiniWeb will NOT change its file type. You must delete the document.nvd file out of the MiniWeb, and then create a new MiniWeb of the directory with the preference set to the new file type. Note also that AOLpress does not display the the document.nvd file in the list of files when browsing in the file chooser dialog - you must enter the filename manuaully. A document.nvd is present in all MiniWebs.
Deleting a MiniWeb deletes all of the contents in the MiniWeb.
Changing a filename in a MiniWeb
does not update links in subwebs.
does not update links in image maps
removes anchor extensions from links it changes
When editing long filenames in a MiniWeb using a list view (Name, Title, or MIME type) the file name display allows for ~27 characters. After that the text exceeds the filename box and is displayed behind the title. The workaround is to use the Web view to rename files longer than 27 characters.
Browsing for MiniWeb icons by default shows only files with .gif extension. Files of type gif, jpg, and xbm can be used for MiniWeb icons.
Miscellaneous
Opening or editing a page with a large amount of text (>100K) is very slow with AOLpress, and AOLpress will crash if given a file that is too large.
Check Links will indicate "Could not find ..." when there is a redirect at the specified URL.
The hotlist window does not have a horizontal scroll bar. To read long URLs the window may be resized larger.
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