[This is preliminary documentation and subject to change]

# Choosing an Authoring Tool

This topic contains conceptual information about choosing an authoring tool to meet your needs.

- Understanding the Available Options
- Multimedia Content and Other File Formats
- Advanced Web Site Development

## Understanding the Available Options

Phenomenal growth of Internet and intranet technologies has created high demand for an array of specialized Web authoring tools. If you are new to Web publishing, choosing the proper tool for your Web publishing needs can sometimes be confusing and frustrating. For this reason, before selecting your authoring tool, spend time familiarizing yourself with the major categories of available tools.

### WYSIWYG

If you are new to Web page authoring, you may want to use an authoring tool that does not immediately require you to know HTML so you can start publishing right away. Some tools feature a WYSIWYG ("what you see is what you get") user interface similar to those used in word processors, such as Microsoft® Word. This means that if you know how to use a word processor, you can create Web pages. Microsoft® FrontPage® is a good example of an easy-to-use WYSIWYG editor that has a friendly user interface, convenient formatting wizards, and various templates for easily adding tables or graphics to your Web pages. As you create and edit your Web page, FrontPage displays the page just as it would appear in a Web browser. FrontPage also has special programmatic extensions that enhance the way it functions with your Web server. For more information, visit the Microsoft FrontPage Web site.

### HTML Conversion

An attractive alternative to creating your own Web pages is to publish Web content by converting existing documents into HTML documents. By importing your word processor and spreadsheet files into a converter, you can quickly turn such files into Web pages. Many word processing programs, such as Word, now feature HTML conversion features. However, you should be aware that most converters only add HTML formatting tags to your text and that some converters will do a poor job of preserving the original appearance of your documents. You will find converters especially useful, however, if you plan to publish large amounts of existing documentation that will not need frequent updating.

### A Text Editor

Alternatively, you can also create Web pages with almost any standard text editor, such as Notepad, by typing in the HTML tags, saving the file, and then opening it in a Web browser. Some experienced users prefer this method because it provides finer control over Web page formatting, and enables users to quickly implement and test the latest innovations in Web technology. If you choose to create Web pages with a text editor, however, you need to be fairly familiar with HTML and prepared to spend time troubleshooting your HTML files.

There are also several hybrid tools that function similar to a standard text editor. However, these tools contain many useful shortcut features (such as those of a WYSIWYG editor) that enable you to easily insert predefined HTML tags into your pages, thus reducing extra typing. The Internet or your local computer software vendor are good places to get more information. A particularly good source of information about various commercially available Web authoring tools is the Microsoft MSDN Online Web Site.

## Multimedia Content and Other File Formats

If you have spent any time exploring the Internet, you have noticed that Web page content is not limited to text, tables, and graphics. Sound and video have become integral components of commercial Web sites. Using only standard HTML tags, you can add engaging multimedia functionality to your Web pages. For example, to embed a video clip in your Web page, use the DYNSRC attribute of the HTML <IMG> tag:

     <IMG DYNSRC="MyVideo.avi" >

The video clip MyVideo.avi plays after the user loads a Web page containing this tag.

To implement advanced multimedia functionality, such as streaming video, you may need to use specialized editing and creation software. With Microsoft® Windows Media Technologies™ you can easily create, deliver, or play streaming media files. To learn more about streaming media technology, visit the Microsoft® Windows Media Web site.

With HTML, you can also create links to numerous other file formats, including Microsoft Office files. For users to be able to view such formats, they must have Web browsers capable of viewing non-HTML files. For example, if you know that all of an intranet's users have Microsoft® Excel and Microsoft® Internet Explorer, version 3.0 or later, you can link to Excel worksheets from your Web site. When the user clicks the link, the document appears in Excel format in the user's Web browser. This is a powerful method you can use for creating Web sites that share and distribute documentation, helping people to work more effectively.

## Advanced Web Site Development

Today most commercial Web sites use sophisticated, interactive Web pages to provide users with informative and engaging types of content. These Web sites, often described as Web applications or Weblications, use processing programs, called scripts, to retrieve information in response to user inputs. An online book or clothing store that offers you choices and tracks your selections is a perfect example of a Web application.

A useful type of Web application that you can create is an Active Server Pages (ASP) application. ASP applications contain server-side scripts and commands processed exclusively by the server. You can use ASP server-side scripts to add database connectivity to your Web sites or to deliver Web content tailored to the capabilities of a user's Web browser. To learn how you can start using ASP, see Getting Started with ASP.

When you feel ready to tackle building Web applications, you will need a reliable and versatile authoring tool. Microsoft® Visual InterDev™ is a powerful Web application development tool that you can use to rapidly build leading edge Web sites. Visual InterDev features a set of integrated database tools that greatly simplify connecting your Web site to OLE DB data sources and Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)-compliant databases. For more information, visit the Microsoft Visual InterDev Web site.

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