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  Creating a website with FirstClass
The Web Publishing folder
The Web Publishing folder on your Desktop is the place to put material (web pages) that you want others to view using their web browsers. FirstClass publishes the contents of Web Publishing on the web.
In addition to regular web pages, you can publish lists of uploaded files (listing folders), blogs, podcasts, and calendars. You can organize this material into folders, and you determine the order in which pages appear.
About your website's structure
All objects directly under Web Publishing (as opposed to inside a folder) will be displayed in a navigation bar on your home page.
To change the order of your website pages, you must use the FirstClass client.
Defining your home page
The first object in the list that isn't a folder or a link is automatically your home page.
Changing your website's overall appearance
Your website's general appearance (colors, navigation bars, and so on) is controlled by a template. To see what your website looks like by default, click Preview Web Object. You can give certain objects that you create for your website a different appearance.
To change your website's overall appearance:
1 Choose Select Web Skin at Appearance.
2 Select the template you want your website to use.
To see what your choice looks like, click Preview Web Object.
Customizing a template
You can fine-tune the appearance of your chosen template. To do this, choose Advanced Web Config at Appearance and make the changes you want.
For a color, click the color you want on the palette. To create a custom color, type its red, green, blue values.
 NoteYou can customize other templates that you have chosen for specific containers in your Web Publishing folder.
In addition to changing the template appearance for these containers, you can select "Exclude from navigation" to hide them on your website. This lets you prevent readers from accessing these containers using the website navigation bar, while still allowing you to give certain readers access by sending them a container's URL.
Hiding unfinished pages
If you are working on a web page and don't want it visible or accessible on your website until you are finished, you can hide it from visitors to your website. To do this, unapprove it. This page won't show up in your website's navigation bar, and readers can't access it in any other way.
When you are ready to publish this page, approve it.
How others can access your website
When you view your website by clicking Preview Web Object, your web browser's address field displays your website's URL.
This is the address to give others so they can access your website.
NoteLocal users can access your website directly from FirstClass.
Viewing others' websites
You can see a local user's website by selecting that user, then clicking Web Publishing in the Directory or Who's Online list.
You can also go directly to anyone's website if you know the user name or mail alias and the domain name of the server for this person. Type the web page address in the address field of your web browser, using the following format:
domain name/~first name_last name
or
domain name/~alias
or
domain name/user-home/alias
For example, to see Michael Hill's (user name Michael Hill) website at www.huskyplanes.com, you could type
 To see Michael's website using his email alias (his email address is michaelh@huskyplanes.com), you would type
 Creating basic web pages
To create a web page for your website:
1 Open Web Publishing.
2 Open the folder in which you want this page, if necessary.
3 Choose New Web Page from the Create field.
4 Select one of the basic web page templates.
The templates for basic web pages are listed first.
5 Update the web page's envelope to identify it.
6 Add and format the web page content.
Replace any placeholder content with your own.
To check how your web page will look, save it, then click Preview Web Object.
Creating blogs
A blog is an online diary to which you add dated entries. You first create a blog to hold your blog entries, then you create blog entries inside it.
To create a blog for your website:
1 Open Web Publishing.
2 Open the folder in which you want your blog, if necessary.
3 Choose New Web Page from the Create field.
4 Select Blog.
5 Click Preview Web Object, then navigate to your blog, to see its default appearance.
6 Change the appearance, if desired.
Choose Select Web Skin at Appearance with the blog opened, then select the template you want your blog to use. You can view your choice by clicking Preview Web Object.
7 Change the default blog name, if desired.
Select the blog, then choose Rename from the context menu.
Creating blog entries
To create an entry in your blog:
1 Open the blog.
2 Choose New Blog Entry from the Create field.
3 Update the blog entry's envelope to identify it.
4 Add and format the blog entry's content.
To check how your entry will look, click Preview Web Object.
How others can access your blog
FirstClass blogs support RSS feed readers, so others can subscribe to your blog. FirstClass RSS support adds these objects to your blog page when it is viewed in your website:
• a subscribe button
People who have a browser that displays this button can simply click it to subscribe to your blog.
• an XML button.
People who have a browser that can't display the subscribe button can hover their cursor over the XML button. This displays the URL to use for accessing your blog with their RSS reader.
How others see your blog
Blog entries are listed in reverse chronological order. The most recent entry is highlighted, and includes links that let users add a comment and read any existing comments. Readers must be able to log into your server in order to comment.
Clicking the More link on another entry makes that the active entry, and reveals the comments links.
NoteComments are shown as replies in the blog when you are in your Web Publishing folder.
Creating podcasts
A podcast is a collection of audio or video tracks or clips (episodes). You first create a podcast to hold your episodes, then you create your episodes inside it.
To create a podcast:
1 Open Web Publishing.
2 Open the folder in which you want your podcast, if necessary.
3 Choose New Web Page from the Create field.
4 Select Podcast.
5 Click Preview Web Object, then navigate to your podcast, to see its default appearance.
6 Change the appearance, if desired.
Choose Select Web Skin at Appearance with the podcast opened, then select the template you want your podcast to use. You can view your choice by clicking Preview Web Object.
7 Change the default podcast name, if desired.
Select the podcast, then choose Rename from the context menu.
Creating podcast episodes
To create an episode for your podcast:
1 Open the podcast.
2 Choose New Episode from the Create field.
3 Update the Podcast Episode form.
To check how your episode will look, click Preview Web Object.
How others can access your podcast
FirstClass podcasts support RSS feed readers, so others can subscribe to your podcast. FirstClass RSS support adds these objects to your podcast page when it is viewed in your website:
• a subscribe button
People who have a browser that displays this button can simply click it to subscribe to your podcast.
• a "Feed URL" field
People can copy and paste this URL into non-Apple podcast-watching software. This field also gives you the URL you need to submit your podcast to the iTunes Music Store.
• an XML button
People who have a browser that can't display the subscribe button can hover their cursor over the XML button. This displays the URL to use for accessing your podcast with their RSS reader.
• an Open this Podcast in iTunes button.
Launches the iTunes program and points it at this podcast.
Providing more information about podcasts
FirstClass podcasts support RSS, so that they can be served to the iTunes Music Store. You can add more information about your podcast, such as a copyright statement and update frequency, that can be used by the iTunes Music Store. To do this:
1 Open the podcast.
2 Click Edit Podcast Details.
3 Update the Podcast Details form.
Putting a calendar on your website
You can create a FirstClass-type calendar for your website. You add calendar items just as you do to your personal calendar.
NoteYou must add calendar items using the calendar in Web Publishing. The version on your website is read only.
To add a calendar to your website:
1 Open Web Publishing.
2 Open the folder in which you want your calendar, if necessary.
3 Choose New Web Page from the Create field.
4 Select Web Calendar.
5 Click Preview Web Object, then navigate to your calendar, to see its default appearance.
6 Change the appearance, if desired.
Choose Select Web Skin at Appearance with the calendar opened, then select the template you want your calendar to use. You can view your choice by clicking Preview Web Object.
NoteBoth you and readers of your website can change the dates displayed by clicking the links on either side of the date above the calendar, just as you can when you view the calendar in your Web Publishing folder.
7 Change the default calendar name, if desired.
Click Rename with the calendar selected.
 TipTo view your personal calendar items in the web calendar, put a link to your personal calendar inside your web calendar.
How to access your calendar using other calendar programs
FirstClass web calendars support an iCalendar "feed" that lets your website viewers subscribe your calendar to their calendar programs. To accomplish this, an iCal button is added to your web calendar when it is viewed in your website.
Hovering the cursor over this button displays the URL to use for subscribing to your web calendar.
If someone doesn't have a calendar program that understands subscribing, they can click this button to download your web calendar contents in iCalendar format, then import the iCalendar file into their calendar program.
Creating a folder to contain a list of files
You can create a container that acts like a FirstClass client container in list view. This is a repository for any files you upload there and want to publish as a list of files.
Examples of useStore PDF files that you want visitors to download. Or create a photo gallery using thumbnails.
To create a listing folder:
1 Open Web Publishing.
2 Open the folder in which you want your listing folder, if necessary.
3 Choose New Web Page from the Create field.
4 Select Listing Folder.
5 Click Preview Web Object, then navigate to your listing folder, to see its default appearance.
6 Change the appearance, if desired.
Choose Select Web Skin at Appearance with the listing folder opened, then select the template you want your listing folder to use. You can view your choice by clicking Preview Web Object.
7 Change the default listing folder name, if desired.
Select the listing folder, then choose Rename from the context menu.
8 Upload any files you want to appear in this listing folder.
You can change a file's name or other properties, if desired. To do this, select the file, then click Properties.
Using folders to organize website content
You can store website content in folders to organize it. This content won't show on your home page's navigation bar. Opening a folder on your website will reveal its contents in the navigation bar.
To create a web folder:
1 Open Web Publishing.
2 Open the folder in which you want your web folder, if necessary.
You would do this if you wanted your web pages in nested folders. You can create subfolders within both web folders and listing folders.
3 Choose New Web Page from the Create field.
4 Select Web Folder.
5 Click Preview Web Object, then navigate to your web folder, to see its default appearance.
6 Change the appearance, if desired.
Choose Select Web Skin at Appearance with the web folder opened, then select the template you want your web folder to use. You can view your choice by clicking Preview Web Object.
7 Change the default web folder name, if desired.
Select the web folder, then choose Rename from the context menu.
Providing a collection of links
You can provide visitors to your website with a collection of useful links. These links are simply FirstClass bookmarks that you put in a web folder.
To create a links area:
1 Create the bookmarks in your Bookmarks folder.
2 Create a web folder in Web Publishing.
3 Create a standard web page inside this web folder to introduce your links.
4 Copy or move your bookmarks to the web folder.
When visitors open your links folder, they will see your introductory page, with the list of links in the navigation bar.
Using the web publishing application with older content
Issues with pre-8.3 website content
If you used a pre-8.3 version of FirstClass to create website content, you are free to do nothing, and your content will continue to render on your website. You can add more content just as you always have.
 CautionIf you don't want to use the new web publishing application, don't click the Appearance button. Clicking this button tells FirstClass to use the new web publishing features for this container, and your web pages won't display as you expect.
But you won't be able to use the full power of the web publishing application. For example, you won't be able to view your content on your website as you develop it, or apply appearance templates.
You also need to know that any HTML pages won't take on the navigation bars or other formatting provided by the templates. These pages will basically be standalone pages in your site.
For these reasons, we recommend that you make your existing content compatible with the web publishing application.
Switching to web publishing
Switching your old website content so that it is compatible with the web publishing application involves just a few steps. You will find your old website content in Web Publishing, which is your old My Web Site/Home Page folder, renamed.
We recommend that you use the FirstClass client to archive this folder and create a new one. This preserves your old content and allows you to move it over one page at a time, so that you can isolate any problems. The online help in the client explains what to do.
If you don't want to do this, at a minimum you must make sure that you remove or rename any specially named home page document in your old content. Web publishing can't work properly with content that includes a document named home page, index.htm/html, home.htm/html, or default.htm/html. You can also copy the contents of this page to a new web page.
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