FrontPage Tips

Using The Include Page Component

FrontPage has a feature that is very helpful on most sites. The Include Page (Insert/Component/Include Page) feature can be duplicated using SSI (Server Side Include) but FrontPage’s Include Page feature can be locally tested before uploading the page or site while SSI can’t unless you have your own local server.

I decided to try the Include Page feature so I could create a standard "flat" page site without having to create a navigation panel specifically for each page. Previously, I had avoided this problem by using frames but search engine results from the framed site were less than desirable. Perhaps if I were wiser I could have salvage the framed site but I decided to convert to a flat-page design. The main reason I prefer frames is the ease of creating navigation panels and the ease and speed of modifying those panels. FrontPage provides a simple yet easy solution in the Include Page feature.

FrontPage simplifies the task of keep track of the paths to the linked page by automatically changing the link to the correct directory path. This is very helpful if you have multiple directories for different types of files such as articles, images, PDFs. One include page can be used on all pages regardless of the file location or the location of the calling page. This feature alone saves a lot of time.

I created a site-wide left navigation page that is included on all pages. I did the same for a page-common footer. This allows me to update the navigation panel or the footer easily and quickly by changing only one page. (Almost as good as frames but frames are still faster.)

In order to help you use this feature, I will pass on some things I learned while creating my site.

A page can be included anywhere but for me it was easier to include the page within a cell of a table so I could control its exact position.
The included page must have the <HTML> </HTML> tags, the <BODY> </BODY> tags and I also recommend a page TITLE. FrontPage only includes the text and code between the <BODY> </BODY> tags but the program hangs up if the include page doesn’t have the <HTML> </HTML> tags.
I also recommend including a ROBOT Meta tag with the following content: Follow, NoIndex or simply NONE. You don’t want the include page to show up in a search engine because it contains no useful information. The problem with this approach is that not all engines obey the ROBOT Meta tag so you may want to create a ROBOT.txt file that excludes the include pages from all search engines.
If you are using CSS on the page or in an external file where a page is included, that page’s CCS will control the look of the text and links on the included page. You can also use CCS on the included page but it isn’t necessary.