Time's Harvest, Fall 1997
Template for Personal Web page
Last updated: 9/18/97
Link back to Welcome...
Link to the Template
Background. The bottom link above links to a template that you can use
for the personal Web page assignment. The directions below tell you how to download the
file to your own computer, and how to edit it to make it your own. After editing and
double-checking with your web Browser, you can e-mail it to me, and I will put it on the
course Web site.
If you are familiar with HTML, you do not need to follow the directions below, or even
to use the template file. (HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language, the set of codes
used to write Web content.) If you are adventurous, try using the template file but not
using the directions. If you have access to an HTML Editor, such as Microsoft Frontpage,
HotMetal or HahtSite, and if you know how to use that editor, then create your file
directly; you do not need these directions.
When you download the template file, it will be named XXXX.HTM. When you edit this
file, make sure to load it and save it as text only. If this is new to you, the most
fool-proof method is use Notepad in the Accessories group to edit this file. After you
start Notepad, open the file using the File menu item, and then the Open... sub-item.
(below, I will call this menu choice File / Open....) At the bottom of the File /
Open... dialog, you will have to click on the down-pointing arrowhead to the right of
"Files of Type:", and then choose All Files (*.*) from the pull-down
list.
When you first open the file in Notepad, you will see the HTML tags, enclosed in angle
brackets <>. With only a few exceptions, the directions below will NOT direct you to
edit the markup tags inside the angle brackets, but instead to edit the text outside of
the angle brackets. The text outside of the angle brackets is what appears on the screen,
while the tags inside the angle brackets tell your Web Browser how to format that text on
the screen.
And when you are done editing and ready to save the file, make the filename your first
name (up to a maximum of eight characters) and the extension "htm", for example david.htm.
Directions.
- Click on the Template link above to load the template file XXXX.HTM into your web
Browser. Once the file is displayed in your Browser, it is in your computer's RAM memory.
- Once the file is displayed in your Browser and in your computer's RAM memory, save it to
your computer's hard drive by choosing the menu item File / Save As... (The exact wording
of the "Save as" part differs slightly from Browser to Browser, but choose the
closest equivalent.) Accept the default name of XXXX.HTM, and be sure to remember which
directory or folder it goes into so you can find it later with Notepad! If you use
standard directories for documents, choose the appropriate directory instead of the
default directory that the Browser shows you. Another consideration in choosing a
directory is: You are more likely to remember the directory name if you choose it rather
than simply accepting the default.
- Open the file XXXX.HTM in Notepad.
- Find the document title near the beginning of the file, between the <title> and
</title> tags. Change "XXXX" to your name, exactly as you want it to
appear. There is no length limit for your name; it can be much longer than the four
characters. It can also include first name, middle initial or name and/or last name,
together with spaces between those parts of your name.
- Find the HTML tag that starts <img src= and change "frstname" to
your first name, p to a maximum of eight letters (if your first name is longer than eight
characters, include only the first eight characters). This is what I names the file with
your class picture, so this will put your picture on your Home Page.
- Very soon after the img tag, find the XXXX and replace it with your name.
- Very soon after the name, find the date "9/18/97" and change it to the current
date.
All of the other sections of the template can be deleted or changed in any way.
Experiment. If you want to start over, download a fresh copy of the template.
- Find the personal statement (something about way cool, I think) and change it to your
own.
- The list of interests starts with the first <ul> tag (ul = unordered or bulleted
list) and ends with the first </ul> tag. Each new bulleted item in the list starts
with the tag <li> (list item). Without changing the <ul>, <li> or
</ul> tags, you can edit the list of interests to be your own interests. If you want
a shorter list, delete list items by deleting the <li> tag and the text after it. If
you want a longer list, add items by adding a new line with an <li> and text for
each additional item. If you want to delete this list entirely, delete everything between
the <ul> and </ul> tags, including those tags themselves.
- Similarly, edit the list of hobbies. to suit yourself.
- If you want to include your own favorite quote, change the author, and change the quote
itself, but leave the codes for the quotation marks (" -- all 6
characters).
- The tag that has mailto in it creates a link that will open up the Browser e-mail
function to send an e-mail message to you. (The user's Browser must first be configured
with a return e-mail address by filling in the mail-related boxes for the Options / Mail
and News Preferences... menu item.) If you do not want an e-mail link, delete the whole
line, starting with <p><a href and ending with </a>. If you do want the
e-mail link, change the yyyy@cll.wayne.edu to your own e-mail address. Note that
this occurs in two places on this line, once in the tag to send e-mail, and once in the
text to display on the screen. Change both occurrences.
- Now save the file, using the filename consisting of your first name (up to a maximum of
eight letters) and the extension htm.
- You may want to verify that your Web page is what you want by opening the file in your
Web Browser by using the File / Open File... menu item.
- E-mail the Web page to me.