C. Instructions on how to add content/information
C.  Instructions on how to add content/information (v9)

There is no trivial way to allow people to create and add their own web pages. But it is not nearly as
complicated as these instructions will sound so please try it. Geocities has four ways to add information.
The easiest (page wizard) is too restrictive to do anything and does not allow changes. So these instructions
relate to using their 2nd easiest way (pagebuilder). They are as simple as possible to allow for creation of a
page and linking to it from another page. There are many other things that can be done that are not
explained here.  I assume some familiarly with PC tools but you can also use their help program for more
detail instructions. As each person has full access to the site, and can in theory delete anything, please be a
careful till you are familiar with the tools. Never modify the main home page (called index) and be very
careful if changing the main section pages (those starting with x). Please first practice creating and linking
your individual pages before modifying other existing pages or sections.
1- read the organizational information section
2- go to url: geocities.yahoo.com/  (and bookmark or list as a favorite site to avoid retying)
3- In Yahoo ID type thefriedrichsfamily (all lower case no spaces)
4- In Password type “Omi’s first name� (lower case, the actual password would allow anyone to
access and modify our site)
5- Check the box “remember my ID� to avoid ever having to retype this
6- After getting new screen click on “PageBuilder� near the center
7- Then click on “Launch Pagebuilder� in the lower left
8- You must now wait till it loads the software on your machine. (as opposed to everyone have to buy,
install and update software for their PCs) If you are on a modem this could take a few minutes. You will
know it is done when the last page the previous person was editing appears. At this point you will be ready
to create new or edit existing pages.
9- To create a new page click on the “new� icon. You will get a blank sheet. You may want to go into
Format then Page Properties to make the page larger. It should be 770 wide and about 1000 long per typed
page you want to enter. 6000 in length will let you add some 6 pages.
10- To open an existing page click on the “open� icon and scroll to the page of interest and click. All
pages will be in one directory (which may eventually get very big, but this greatly simplifies finding and
linking pages). As your pages should start with your name they should be easy to find. Occasionally the
cursor does not seem to respond when you want to edit a page. You need to hit the "esc" key once to
unfreeze it.
11- Important note on Saving: When hitting new or open it will usually first ask if you want to save the
previous page. If the previous page was someone else’s, then click on “don’t save�. The
other person will have already saved it and you do not want to inadvertently make any changes.
12-  To add text click on “textâ€�, type in the box, and reposition and resize with the mouse. This works
the same as in most other windows programs but if never done before will require some playing with it.
When the mouse cursor is held on the corners or sides arrows appear which can be used to move and
stretch the text box. You can also insert text “cut and pasted� from other programs as follows: From
the original application highlight the text and “paste� (or copy) it in the clipboard in the normal way.
In PageBuilder after clicking the text icon to place a text object on your page, make sure the cursor is in
the text box. It helps if you stretch the text box to the approximate size you need first. Then click the small
clipboard icon (on right side of icon menu) to bring up a blank Text Clipboard window screen. Press Ctrl V
to paste the text into the window. Then press the Paste button to place the text into the text object on your
page. The default size limit seems to be about 2 typed pages so if you text is longer you need to expand the
page size (Format, Page Properties).The overall size limit seems to be about 15 typed pages, larger sizes
cannot be edited. So if your text is longer you will need to create multiple pages and then link them.
13- Before adding photos you must prepare them for the site. This will require reducing their size and
giving each of your photos new names starting with your 3 initials (i.e. mnf-skiing-kyle-and-bryan or mnf-
kyle-birthday-nov-00). Please see the separate section on Preparing Photo for the Site. Unprepared photos
take up a lot of space and make viewing a page very slow if done over a modem. If the photos are not
properly renamed it will be impossible to track who owns which photos.
14- After photo preparation to add digital photos click on the “picture� icon. To copy a photo from
your PC click “uploadâ€�, then click “browseâ€� to find it on your  â€œcâ€� or “aâ€� drives
using the standard windows file management tool. (before uploading) Double click on you photo and click â
€œOKâ€� as requested.  Position your photo as desired. You can resize your photo here but this has a
tendency to reduce its clarity, so it is much better to figure out ahead what size photo you will want and then
import it.
15- Optional Photo approach - If you delete an uploaded photo it will still have been uploaded to the site it
will just not be on that page. You can then link to this picture from another picture or any text. Add a text or
picture element to this page that will refer to the new picture and position it on the page. Highlight the text
or picture (to highlight text put cursor in text box and slide over text) and then click on the “link�
icon. Where it says Web URL hit the down arrow and then click on “my fileâ€�, then click on the â
€œchooseâ€� button. Then scroll to find the photo you have uploaded and click on it to complete the link.
Click on “OK�. The text should now be underlined to indicate the link is established. (If adding many
pictures tot he site they do have a group upload tool.)
16- You can also use pictures they provide.
17- Go to the menu bar for additional features such as add ons and background.
18- To change text size, font type or color first highlighting the text and then use the appropriate icon
buttons.
19- Then click on the “save� icon, and replace “unnamed� (if it was a new page) with a name
for the page that matches the instructions in the organization section. (normal format will be your firstname-
some-descriptive-name-of-the-page) You can save midway during development, which is a good idea in
case the system freezes, or you get disconnected. If you are working on an existing page it will ask if you
want to save it with the same name. This will normally be OK. Save your work often!
20- You must now link this newly created page from another existing page (usually from your home page i.
e. jessica-home). “Open� the page from which this new page will be linked
21- Add a text or picture element to this page that will refer to the newly created page and position it on the
page.
22- Highlight the text or picture (to highlight text put cursor in text box and slide over text) and then click
on the “link� icon
23- Where it says Web URL hit the down arrow and then click on “my pageâ€�, then click on the â
€œchooseâ€� button. Then scroll to find the new page you have created and click on it to complete the
link. Click on “OK�. The text should now be underlined to indicate the link is established
24- Then save your page (from which the link starts). Use the same existing name (i.e. jessica-home) as
you are simply modifying that page.
25- Then go back to your Internet browser, connect to The Friedrichs Family site and test your changes.
You may have to hit the browsers refresh or reload buttons to make sure the new version of the page is
loaded. You do not have to close Pagebuilder while doing this so you can go back and forth.
26- Let me –Martin- know when you have first added content to your home page so I can modify the
individual member page to indicate that, or highlight this in the Hot topics section of the home page.
27- When done close pagebuilder, including the box that says do not close this box.
28- Optional for advanced developers. Insert the 24 Lester Place picture in a corner and link it back to the
home page (whose name is index), so everyone can easily go back to the beginning from any page. You can
find this photo after clicking on the insert picture icon and then searching the imported pictures file list for
24_ Lester1.  Also you could simply write HOME PAGE and link that to the index page. Note some pages
may work in Microsoft Internet Explore but may not fit the same in AOL or Netscape. Designs with many
graphics close to each other or boxes that just fit the text with no spare room are vulnerable to problems in
other browsers. So keep it simple or test it.
29- In the future I may create test and photo entry templates to make some of this easier. I also hope to
create a special entry process for a family address book and shared travel calendar.

Note: geocities is a public site, sometimes response may be slow, you may have to wait a few seconds for a
file list to appear where it should, occasionally a function fails or you may have to start over. So again save
your work often.

Need Help –
- Use Geocities help button
- Call Martin (work number is 973 235 3955), or call Daniel or Jeanne
Desperate -
-  Send me an email with what you want posted attached and I will set it up.
- Ask for a demo the next time you are in Lester Place or I visit you. It is MUCH easier when you see it
done.

Go to Section D Examples