All of us learn a lots of our HTML code from others in the WebTV newsgroups, and add our own personal touches to make the many really outstanding websites we see Webbers currently building. Most of us are always ready to share our HTML code with others who ask help with problem codes. We shouldn't mind others viewing our code creations, learning from them, and using our source codes as a guide for their own unique webpages and email signature boxes. We should always be willing to help others as we were helped.

     But remember, no one likes a copycat! No one should copy another's works without permission and acknowledgement of the code's creator, especially if you see "Created by" or "Copyright" statements. Code posted in the NG's in response to problem questions, is generally considered to be offered "free-gratus." Very helpful answers to problems you have struggled with deserve your thankful response. Keep your responses to answers and follow-up questions in the NG subject thread, instead of email outside the NG.

     A good idea for all PageBuilders who don't mind sharing their website's source code with others is to put a "Source Code Viewer" on each website they create. This will make it easy for viewers to see the source code of some feature they really like and wonder "how'd you do that?" Viewers will not have to leave your page to go to a validator website.The best pure, clean source code viewer I know of is the Thunderstone WebTV Source Code Viewer.

     The simplest way to use the Thunderstone viewer is to just add your URL onto the Thunderstone "query" URL:

http://www.thunderstone.com/texis/demos/dox?demo=

     As an example, to view one of my webpages with lots of HTML code, I use the combination of both URL's like this:

http://www.thunderstone.com/texis/demos/dox?demo=http://community-2.webtv.net/jaxred/PBMeta/index.html

     Try it, click the above URL to see the source code of my meta tag website.

     Try another example. Click the link below to see the source code of the WebTV PageBuilder Pioneers website, at:

http://www.thunderstone.com/texis/demos/dox?demo=http://community-2.webtv.net/apbh/pioneers/

     OK, the above codes work just fine. You can use that URL syntax to use Thunderstone's viewer; but hey, don't you think those long URL's would look kind of "tacky" on all the beautiful websites Webbers are creating? Yeah, so let's use a form button to make a more professional looking source viewer. We do this by using the form "get" method to create the the "query" URL's you see above. Remember how your form codes work? The "post" method sends all the form information and controls to the server – we don't need all that information in the query string. The "get" method supplies the correct query string. The "get" method appends a "query;" ie, question mark (?), to the URL in the "action attribute; and follows the question mark with the information in the form input. so all your forms have to do is add the input value preceeded by a question mark to the "action" URL.

     Works good and looks better than the long URL's shown above. So go ahead, folks; put this simple form at the bottom of your webpages so others can see your source code without having to leave your webpage to go to a validator website. A little added touch of courtesy for your viewers.

     Here's the form and script to find the source code of your website and any other website you enter in the textarea:

<p align="center"><form method="get" action="http://www.thunderstone.com/texis/demos/dox">View the <input type="submit" value="Source Code" borderimage="file://ROM/Borders/BorderButton3.bif" usestyle> of this webpage at Thunderstone<br><script language="javascript">document.write('<input type="text" name="demo" value="'+history.current+'" size="75">');</script><br>Click the button to see the source code of the URL in the textarea. To view another website's source code; highlight the textarea, erase the textarea, enter the new URL, and click the button.<br>©2000 Thunderstone Corporation</form></p>

     Try the form below. Put it on your webpage to allow visitors to view it's source code, or enter any other URL they want to view the source code of:

     Note: In "Preview" of a page with the above script, you will not see your webpage URL; because you are not on the web, you are in your own username PageBuilder Basic Editor, which will show in the text box as something like: "wtv-author:/preview?docName=WebDD5," which is exactly where you are; ie, you are previewing your "web document #5" – the 5th document listed in your PageBuilder index. If you see your previewed document listed like that in the text box, it means your script works OK, so go ahead and "Publish" – then you will see your webpage URL appear in the text box when you access your webpage on the web. I warn you here, because several of my friends wasted lots of time trying to correct the "preview" docName number to show the web URL. All they had to do was "Publish" the document on the web, to see their URL appear in the text box. Hey, don't laugh, folks; I did it too, that's why I'm warning you here.

     See how the script writes the string named "demo" equal to your URL after the "get" method appends the "question mark" to the Thunderstone URL to create the long URL's shown near the top of this page? Also note: I created the long textarea because many PageBuilder URL's are long, and I wanted to allow users to see all their URL text entries in the textarea. There are many variations to javascript that are a matter of personal preference. You can use other properties and methods to do the same as I have done here. And you can arrange the button, comments text, and textarea any way you desire for best appearance; except that the script must be last in the form code above. Try this source viewer suggestion on a few of your websites and see how your viewers like this option.

     Note: The textbox uses the WebTV default color "#EAEAEA" (a soft white), and the curser default color is "#3333AA." There are many more borderimage styles in our terminals' ROM code. The WebTV form attribute "usestyle" causes the text used within the form textareas and controls to be rendered in the same style as the rest of the webpage.

     Now folks, here's a simpler version of a webpage source code viewer with just a button input. You can place this short button sentence inconspicuously at the bottom of your webpage:

     Isn't that little short sentence and button neat, a better looklng "View Source" button for webmasters who don't feel their viewers need to view other websites source code from their websites? That's all you need for a simple page source viewer. This is the "Viewer" I use on my webpages. Here's the code I used:

<center><form method="post" action="http://www.thunderstone.com/texis/demos/dox?demo=http://community-2.webtv.net/jaxred/Viewers/"><script language="javascript"></script>View the <input type="submit" name="demo" value="Source Code" onClick="form.submit()" borderimage="file://ROM/Borders/BorderButton4.bif"> of this webpage at Thunderstone©</form></center>

     Note that in the above code, I changed the method to "post" because I filled in the complete URL query in the "action" attribute of the form. Then all I had to do was add the onClick="form.submit()" "event handler" to the form input tag. Note: to use this short form option, you must enter the full URL "query" code of the website you use it on, in the form "action" attribute, as I did in the code above. The syntax of the complete URL query string is explained above.

     I'm sure some of you "form" gurus noticed that you could enter the webpage URL as a default value in the "input" text box, and eliminate the use of the JavaScript "history.current" property; ie, use the attribute: value="http://url-of-your-website" in the "<input type="text" ..... > tag, and make it an HTML form. Easy, but bad choice! The above "Viewer" forms use JavaScript because I believe JavaScript forms are more "troublefree," because JavaScript more precisely defines the forms' inputs and controls. JavaScript form applications execute from the JavaScript "interpreter" in our "client" (our WebTV boxes) terminals; while HTML forms must be transmitted back and forth to a CGI program running on our WebTV servers, which causes slow response and possible errors. But anyhow, here's a neat little HTML form "Viewer" that you may have for your email signature boxes:

     After I posted the email sig. box code in several NG's, my friend Dave Olson sent me an even simpler version – no buttons, "Return" key "autoactivate" form attribute (click the "Return" key after URL entry in text box). Thanks Dave! If you folks would like to use Dave's shorter version, here it is with the code below. Take a clue from Dave and customize the text color, text box background color, and cursor color to your preferences. But, I think we should all use the Thunderstone "Copyright" notice below the form. Thunderstone suggested that I include this disclosure when they granted me permission to use the viewer. I added this notice to Dave's code and emailed him about this needed change. Then Dave emailed me that he complied with my request by using the "©2000 Thunderstone Corporation" notice as "default text" in the input text box – great idea, Dave; thanks, Pal!

     Since I posted this tutorial in the PageBuilder NG's, I have seen very little response from users. Apparently, not many others agree with my suggestion that we put viewers on our pages so others can see our "Source Code" and learn how we created our pages. But, isn't that how we all learned HTML and JavaScript – bouncing emails and "validating" webpages? Why do some of us want to learn from others, and then try to hide our own work? Where would we be if others who discovered new code tricks and techniques refused to share the newfound code applications with others? But; folks, there's a difference between viewing source code to learn how it was used, and just plain out copying, and stealing someones' work! No one should tolerate thieves among us! But, we should share our knowledge with others; as others have so graciously shared with us! Most of us feel an urgent responsibility to share new found knowledge with those we learned from, and we immediately post new found works in the many WebTV NG's!

     I definitely agree that new, unique, personal creative works belong to its creator and should not be copied and stolen! All who create unique personal intellectual property should use the "Copyright" notice to protect their exclusive work. And, I believe you should always pay the extra cost of registering "high value" copyrighted docments with the US Patent Office, to protect your properties under the very broad provisions of US Copyright Law. Also, to protect your copyrights; you should always vigorously challenge any apparent infringement on your copyrights – it's your responsibility to take the initative in enforcing your right to exclusive use of your creative works!

     Finally, I make this acknowledgement and disclosure that I feel obligated to make when I publish webpages that contains information that I did not originate in it's entirety. This webpage contains information that I learned from others – the many informative WebTV NG posts that I learned HTML and beginning scripting, the many online C&P sources of HTML and scripts; and especially, the websites that use the Thunderstone viewer – Hipstar, and MadRabbit, that I referenced in another website. I also, received the URL code "query" syntax explained above in an email reply to my inquiry from Thunderstone Technical Support. Basically, the only original idea I use here was to set the form up to be used to view the source code on individual websites; instead of being on a separate website that viewers had to visit; ie, I used the "current" method of the "history" object (history.current), instead of using the "previous" method of the "history" object (history.previous), that others used in similar scripts. And, I also felt that the form needed additional instructional comments. I also created the "short form" above so the viewer would be more simple, compact, and attractive on your websites. And, I added the "short" HTML form "Viewer" for WebTV subscribers to put in their email signature boxes.

     I ask that all the knowledgeable scripters work on this suggestion and all the many other possible options to bring even better, more attractive forms to PageBuilders who want to add attractive, efficient interactive options to their websites. Thanks, folks!

JaxRed