US Report: Microsoft unveils more FrontPage 2000 Features
Microsoft unveiled features that will appear in the final version of FrontPage 2000, including one that makes sites easier to read with rival Netscape's Navigator browser.
The popular Web authoring tool, due to hit shelves during the first quarter of 1999, will be closely integrated with Office and contain features the company said will make it easier for both hobbyists and professional users to create unique sites.
Microsoft also said it has rewritten some code so sites created with FrontPage take advantage of Netscape's Navigator in addition to its own IE browser. "That was one of our biggest complaints, that the sites didn't look the same with Navigator," Michael Angiulo, FrontPage Program manager, said. The company has rewritten some JavaScript so it works as well with Navigator as it does with IE, Angiulo said.
Other features unveiled Wednesday include:
- The ability to create databases on the fly and integrate them into a Web site.
- Automatically updated hyperlinks.
- Site Reports, which lets Webmasters trace and fix broken links.
Though the product shares code with Office, Microsoft representatives said Webmasters also can easily launch documents created in other programs, including WordPerfect. When the company first unveiled the tight integration between Office and FrontPage 2000, some people had feared the move would preclude publishing from programs other than Office. As with Office, the company has been gradually rolling out new features that will be included in FrontPage.
In July, the company unveiled upcoming features including: allowing different levels of access to different users; compatibilty with the Visual Basic 6.0 for Applications development tool; and menus and toolbars that have been borrowed from Office.
FrontPage 2000 will be bundled with professional versions of Office 2000. The product will retail for $149. (£90). Current FrontPage users will be able to upgrade for about $59.95 (£36).