A Simple PageBuilder Advanced Editor

A Simple PageBuilder Advanced Editor

Congratulations to PageBuilder Jana, aka SolarBunny@webtv.net, who, with help from others, recently discovered a very simple Advanced Editor method for adding custom backgrounds to MSN® TV PageBuilder webpages.

A post requesting help in the news:alt.pagebuilder.help NG by PageBuilder SolarBunny resulted in the discovery of a new method for PB advanced editing. SolarBunny's question about her webpage was recognized by fellow PageBuilder Chuck, aka ctpaso@webtv.net, as containing the procedural code for this new method. Chuck and William Andx posted explanatory comments about the method in the PageBuilder NG's. Chuck's webpage and a webpage by William Andx explains this new PB AE method.

Read the posts and webpages about this new method. Watch the PageBuilder NG's for further info from all the experts. This is another option in PageBuilder Advanced Editor methods adding to the work of h17, Paul Dutton, William Andx, Greenmonk, Beth Candy, CT Paso, Angela Olson, Barb from Maine, myself, and so many others who have made major contributions to advanced PageBuilder webpage editing methods!

This method uses empty script tags and a new body tag with custom background URL's in "Add text" boxes within the body of a document. The text boxes can be added anywhere within the document; but, the script tags must be placed before the new body tag. I strongly suggest that the codes be added first at the top of your document.

The code I used for this demo; as suggested by SolarBunny, and explained by CT Paso and William Andx, is coded in a single "Add text" box at the top of the page, as follows:

<script>  </script> <body text="navy" background="http://www.netscape.com/assist/net_sites/bg/weave/lipurple_weave.gif" onLoad="alert('This body tag onLoad alert shows javascript functions normally with this method!')" > <embed src="http://www.transload.net/~jaxred/music/midi/BubBob.mid" hidden="true" autostart="true" loop="-1">

Note: I added the body tag "onLoad" alert to show the webpage's javascript functions normally with the empty script tags. Remove this code if you desire. Also, I added an HTML comment inside the script tags to explain their use in this PB AE method – remove the comment code if you desire to use only the empty script tags – <script> </script> – that other tutorials recommend.

Just add your own customized background URL in place of the Netscape background URL shown above. You can add your embed/bgsound code following the new custom body tag if you desire. And also, as CT Paso's tutorial demonstrates, all the WebTV transitions work in the new body tag.

Note: I'm sure many of you are puzzled by the fact that I did not also use a bgcolor attribute in the new added custom body tag in the code above? Why? It will not work – you cannot change the selected bgcolor in the new body tag! Only an added text color attribute will work to change the default text color on the initially selected background style – see Page Two for further discussion.

You can use a closing body tag after the added body tag; but I don't think it necessary because the PB built-in body tag is ignored when using this AE method, and the added body tag is properly closed at the bottom of the webpage by the PageBuilder built-in code.

Note: Netscape allows linking to their webpage background images at: http://www.netscape.com/assist/net_sites/bg/backgrounds.html. There's nothing special here; but, check it out and upload any you like to your PageBuilder scrapbook, or transload to your other webpage file storage.

This discovery simplifies the PageBuilder Advanced Editor procedure for beginners. Now all PageBuilders can use the simple code above in place of the other more complex PageBuilder Advanced Editor methods. This will allow most beginning PageBuilders to immediately use custom background images for their webpages without having to struggle with the more complex AE methods.

This method apparently works just fine with MSN® TV browser upgrades 2.5.5 and 2.7. I'm sorry folks, but this method does not work with upgrades 2.6 and 2.6.1. These browser upgrade editions do not see the added custom background; but, instead see the PageBuilder selected background – in this case, the "Grey" bgcolor style. However, these upgrades do see the link style code I use in this webpage. I don't know what other boxes and upgrades, such as the dish boxes, can't use this method? It would be helpful if we had more input from other different browser owners as to whether or not can not they can see the added backgrounds of webpages using this new PB AE method!

I added a browser sniffer script to tell viewers with MSN® TV browser upgrade editions 2.6 and 2.6.1 that they can not see the added custom backgrounds provided by this AE method. Also, these browsers will not see the body onLoad javascript test alert I added to the new custom body tag shown in the code above.

The browser sniffer script I used, is:

<script language="javascript"> if ((navigator.appCodeName == "bowser") && ((navigator.appMinorVersion > 7351) && (navigator.appMinorVersion < 16135))) window.alert("Sorry, you must have WebTV Upgrade Versions 2.5.5 or 2.7 to view the background image on this website. Please accept the 2.7 upgrade so your browser will have more advanced capabilities!"); </script>

But, remember: all you guys with browser upgrade versions 2.6 and 2.6.1 can still create some very fancy custom backgrounds using any of the other advanced editing methods listed at William Andx's website.

This method also works OK on my computer using AOL 7.0, MSIE 6.0, and Netscape 6.2 with WindowsME. Shortly, I'll test it with these browsers using Windows XP. Apparently because of the empty javascript tags, the PageBuilder software javascript ignores the PageBuilder built-in (selected) background tags and recognizes the added custom body tag, and somehow compensates for HTML and script syntax errors and makes an acceptable coded webpage that displays correctly, although the webpage embeded source code obviously contains syntax errors? All the online webpage validators show multiple HTML syntax errors.

At the Dr. Watson webpage validator, I get an error message pointing out the empty script tags? Why? So what? It's perfectly legal HTML syntax to place empty script placeholder tags anywhere within a document, and include comments about their purpose as I have done above!

And of course, with this method there's always the infamous PageBuilder table template HTML syntax errors we see at all the major validators! Most of the validation errors we see for PageBuilder webpages are senseless! There's nothing wrong with the basic structure of PageBuilder's table template tags, except when using another PB AE method that blocks-out the beginning table tags as noted below! We see so many validation errors because of the validator's programming, and not because PageBuilder webpage formatting is so full of errors!

This method is especially suited as an alternative Advanced Editor for webpages to be viewed by Netscape browsers which are notorious for incorrectly dsplaying webpages with table tag errors, because this method does not modify or otherwise disturb the PageBuilder built-in table template tags like the other advanced editing methods which block-out the beginning table tags at the top of a document. Many PageBuilders who use some of the other advanced editing methods fail the correctly replace the blocked-out tags in proper sequence, which causes webpage display problems with Netscape browsers.

Other PageBuilders who explain this method suggest that the script tags be placed in a single "Add text" box immediately before a separate "Add text" box containing the new body tag. But, the empty script tags and the body tag code for this webpage background, including the bgsound (embed) tag and link style code, is in a single "Add text" box at the top of this demo webpage. You can use either one "Add text" box, or separate "Add text" boxes for your script tags and new body tag code, as you desire.

Note that the source code for this webpage shows both the script tags and new body tag code is written inside a single paragraph tag within a single table cell immediately following the selected "Grey" bgcolor in the built-in body tag. Use the source code viewer below to see the code for this demo.

Also, others explain that you can change the webpage text color in the new body tag with some of the PageBuilder style choices – see the other tutorials noted above for a listing. You can always change the body text color in the body tag when using linked, non-Pagebuilder backgrounds. Also, it's noted that you cannot change the link colors in the new body tag. In this demo I use style code immediately followng the new body tag to change the link colors, as you can see with the different link colors I use in this document.

Here's the CSS code I used after the added body tag for changing the link colors on this demo page:

<style type="text/css">  </style>

This code sets link colors to green with underlined, italic text, and changes the visited link colors to teal.

Add the style code you desire for your webpage links. You can even add body text color and other HTML element style code as desired. Experiment with various style codes to get what you want. However, be aware that CSS is kind of quirky in PageBuilder editing text boxes; as an example, inline closing font tags will terminate the body tag, or style sheet, text style code. You must work with style code in PageBuilder to understand all the quirky nuances and specific properties of CSS that are supported by our browsers!

This is an easy to use PB AE method that should immdiately become popular with beginning PageBuilders. However, if you desire to add advanced editing procedures such as an extended head tag for adding link tags, meta tags, scripts, and style code, you must use one of the other more complex PageBuilder Advanced Editor methods.

I have made this a multipage document to show that all you have to do for multiple pages is to add the script tags and new body tag immediately following a pagebreak at the top of each page in your document. Page Two has a different background and a few closing comments.

VIEW THE SOURCE CODE OF THIS PAGE

View the of this webpage with the Thunderstone WebTV Source Code Viewer. Put a "Source Code" Viewer on your webpages.



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