Mac OS X ezine - Web Design Made Easy with Mac OS X

Volume 2, Issue 3

March 2007
Copyright 2007 Claire J Rottenberg

(Revised May 2008)

Welcome to the March issue of our ezine for Mac OS X users. This month I'm focusing on designing web pages in Mac OS X. Did you know there are free programs available to help you create professional looking web pages with a minimal amount of effort? This month I'm featuring a few, including photo album software, web page design software and HTML editors.

Table of Contents

  1. Article: Web Design with Mac OS X
  2. Tutorial: Creating a Web Page in Fifteen Minutes or Less with KompoZer
  3. Featured Free Software: Photo Album Software for Web Pages
  4. Tip of the Month: Keep Your iDisk on the Desktop
  5. Website of the Month: NVU Support

1.  Article:   Web Design with Mac OS X


2.  Tutorial:   Creating a Web Page in Fifteen Minutes or Less with KompoZer

This will be an easy tutorial and, in just a few minutes, you will have created a web page with a header, table, image, and formatted text. First, download the free KompoZer program:

http://kompozer.net

Install the program on your computer and launch it. Prepare an image to use on your web page.

Create a Header

Click the button that says "Body Text" and select "Heading 1" from the drop-down menu. Click the center alignment button on the Format Bar or select "Align --> Center" from the Format menu.

Select "Text Color..." from the Format menu and then choose the color you want for your web page header. Type a header for your page.

Press the Return key twice.

Create a Divider

Select "Horizontal Line" from the Insert menu. Right-click on the line and select "Horizontal Line Properties..." from the contextual menu. Change the height of the line to 4 pixels.

Press the Return key once.

Insert a Table

Click the Table button on the Toolbar or select "Table..." from the Insert menu. Create a table with two columns and one row.

Insert an Image

Drag an image from your Desktop to the first cell or select "Image..." from the Insert menu and locate and select the image you want for your web page.

Add Text

Place the cursor in the table cell on the right and type some text into the cell. As you type, the text cell will expand while the image cell will become narrower.

Preview Web Page

Click the Browse button on the Toolbar. You'll be prompted to save your web page (click the Save button). Next, you'll be asked for a title for your web page and then a location for saving the file. You might also receive a warning message about allowing your browser to view the page - click okay so that the page can be opened in your default web browser.

Format Table Cells

Your page probably doesn't look perfect, so let's adjust the table cell properties.

Place your cursor in the text cell and right-click with your mouse. Select "Table Cell Properties..." from the contextual menu. Click on the Table tab in the Table Pane. Set the Border to 0 pixels and the Table Alignment to center.

Click the Cells tab. Adjust the width of the cell to 40% of the table. Click the Previous button and set the width of the cell to 60% and the Horizontal Alignment to center. Click the OK button.

Preview your web page in your web browser again. If the web page still doesn't look right, you can adjust the table with the Table Properties option or you can grab one of the corners of the table and drag the table to the size you want.

Creating a web page in KompoZer is so easy that you don't have any excuses for not having your own website, so set aside half an hour today to begin creating that perfect site.

3.  Featured Free Software: Photo Album Software for Web Pages

JetPhoto Studio
www.jetphotosoft.com/web/home

JetPhoto Studio is a free, easy-to-use photo album package that lets you create web pages with images in almost no time. Just prepare a folder of images, launch the program, add your images to an album and follow the program's instructions for creating an album or Flash slideshow of your photos.

4.  Tip of the Month:   Keep Your iDisk on the Desktop


5.  Website of the Month: NVU Support

http://nvudev.com/index.php

The KompoZer website has no additional information on how to use the program, but the NVU website does have good support, including a forum, live chat and an online manual. Since KompoZer is an update of NVU, the information on the NVU website should help answer any questions you might have about either program.



We hope you enjoyed this issue of Tips and More for Mac OS X. See you next month.


Read the previous issues of Tips and More for Mac OS X.


Disclaimer: All trademarks and products mentioned in this ezine are assumed to be the property of their owners and no infringement of rights is intended through mention of the products in this ezine.