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• Installation •
Following the downloaded archive-file kind:
Simple ZIP archive: unzip this archive into the NETEDIT empty directory previously made.
Launch the program; to activate it, click on the "netedit.exe" file; it's useful to create a shortcut on the desktop of Windows 9x®. Please, read: "The Project" - To launch Netedit" topic.
This ZIP was the old 16-bit versions archive.
ZIP with installer:
Unzip like above, then launch the "setup.exe" file. Follow the instructions.
".EXE" auto-extracting file: place it into an empty temporary folder, click on, and follow the successive dialog boxes instructions.
• Netedit main features •
is an HTML editor which helps you for the Web page design. However, it's essential to have some minimal knowledges about HTML before... You can get my simple free "HTML Course" at: http://www.charries.ovh.org/download/cs-htm-e.zip 56KB - translation by Claude Charries.
Netedit writes encoded rows for you, but it's necessary to know what you want for watch on the screen! It's quickly daunting to type encoded rows by hand, for instance to insert a
"Table"; the program makes this work automatically: you give only the rows and columns quantities, and the table is built! Tip note...
The HTML is evoluting continually... Hence, Netedit shall be often updated, new releases will be available for downloading. To get informations about these new releases, please suscribe to the mailing-list at:
These different functions are available from the"File" menu on the menu-bar.
Usual keyboard shortcuts exist for these menu-commands.
In the "Edit" menu, you find the very useful classic tools: "Copy" - "Cut" - "Paste" . You find too: " Select all "- "Clear the Clipboard" and "Delete" which deletes a selected text no kept into the Clipboard, in the opposite of "Cut". Also: Clipboard Backup View, to view the whole of copied strings from the session start.
These functions are available too from the mouse right-click local menu, some from the
tool-bar too.
The "HTML menu" contains a lot of important functions.
They'll be explained all along this Help...
The Script menu allows to write three kinds of scripts for advanced users...
Undesirable Rewrite Mode
Sometimes, the "Rewrite" mode is established by itself:
when you place the cursor in a word to add / change characters, the right-side character is removed!
Itsn't a Netedit bug; it's a Delphi® problem in Windows 9x®.
When this trouble happens, please press the "Inser" key for one second; generally, the normal writing mode comes back!
If the Rewrite Mode stays still: save the current file, close Netedit and restart it.
Upper ASCII characters.
Netedit writes automatically special accented characters codes.
To set this option:
Menu HTML "Characters"
Tick the box-area at the row beginning.
It doesn't matter to write in English (unfortunately, none accent is used!). Hence, the QWERTY keyboard has none accented characters…
If you need occasionally special characters, you"ll find them following the same path than above.
However, if you need to translate English texts into French or another language which uses accents,
you might use a more appropriate keyboard!
For Win95 with updated fonts use:
€ to write the character: HTML menu "Characters"
"Other"
"Euro".
The "Commands" menu contains:
"Insert a colour code", to write a colour code on a style-sheet, or to change an already written code. There's the same command on the tool-bar with the button .
"Preview", to display and save the curent file, the same command than the button,
"Encode ASCII upper characters" allows you to paste a part or the whole of a *.TXT format file. With this command, all upper characters are automatically encoded! Actually, this function is on development still... It operates for the whole
of the HTML file. The text formating (rows breaks, etc.) isn't supported yet. With a slow machine (< 244 MHz), the operation might need several minutes for a big pasted text file…
With Netedit, you can choose the font and the font-color on the files windows: go to the "Format" menu. These choices are saved, even if you turn-off the PC!
The "Window" menu supports functions like:
The editing windows layout (tiles - cascade).
"Close the current window", to close this window when the usual "Windows" buttons don't appear or don't work from the menu-bar.
"Close all windows", for the same reason.
The last menu "?" contains useful things like: the HELP command, and the inescapable famous box "About...".
In the menu-bar, the "File" and "?" (Help) menus are only available, it's normal!
Then, you may open the project:
Click on the "Open project" icon on the tool-bar, or on the "Open project" command in the "Files" menu -same icon-.
The project dialog box appears on the screen (the picture above).
Select your project directory; this project may be your future Web site or any other work: for instance, a HTML "Help" file...
Don't open a sub-directory from this first choice-box! Even if the HTML file where you need to work is set into a sub-directory! If you make this error, none disaster happens... But the program doesn't write properly the covering files path -"sound" and "pictures"-. When these files are set into upper parallel branches / sub directories of the project, the file name is written only, instead the full true path, like f.i.: "../../sound/whatsit.mid" .
If you write a "Help" file to compile into *.CHM later, don't place pictures in upper directories of the tree; the necessary path style: "../../img/picture.png" is not supported by CHM.
Click on the "OK" button: you come back to the main window.
Now, there is a frame at the left side. The lower area contains the project directory tree.
Hence, you may open any sub-directory from this tree to find or create a HTML file.
The file(s) contained into the open directory (or sub-directory) is(are) displayed as a list in the upper area of the frame. With a right-click, the list is updated. With a right-click on the tree, you get a local menu to create a sub-directory.
Select the HTML file (double left-click): the minimized file window appears. At this time, the full menu-bar becomes available.
Retract (hide) the left-side frame by clicking on its button, then maximize the file window. At any time, you can reopen the frame by clicking on the small button, set on the main window vertical left-stripe. So, you can open a second, third... file-window.
You may open or create directly any text file: *.TXT, *.DIZ, *.CSS, and all Netedit language and configuration files or similar without problem.
To close Netedit properly:
Close the open file(s) window(s): button on the tool-bar, or command on the "Window menu".
Close the project using the icon on the "File" menu, or the similar button on the tool-bar.
Quit using the Windows® button, or the "Exit" command on the "File" menu (if you don't want for open a next project).
Important:
If you need to consult an out-project HTML file (f.i.: to copy or get useful informations), it's no longer necessary to close the current file and project.
You can still minimize Netedit into an icon, and work in a file manager...
• New HTML-file creation •
To create a new HTML file, click on the "New file" icon on the tool-bar.
In the small scrolling-window, choose and click on the HTML File icon,
You get the next dialog-box:
This dialog-box allows you to create the main frame of a new file:
Replace the default sentence: "[ Choose_a_title]" by the title of your page, which'll be displayed onto the browser title-bar.
Then tick the boxes to enable the wanted buttons in six ones. If a box isn't ticked, you can't click on its button! You can choose:
The background color (default: white).
The text color (default: black).
The background picture: *.GIF - *.JPG - *.PNG (if PNG is supported).
The original links color in the text (default: blue).
The active links color, when you click on them (default: red).
The already visited links color (default: purple).
To change any default color, please use the built-in Netedit color-tool: to get it, click on its button on the tool-bar. Note: Even if you place a background picture on your page, its useful to keep a background color too: some visitors disable the picture-display.
The color-tool dialog box
Finally, when you click on "OK" in the "HTML file" dialog-box, you get the "Meta markers" dialog box.
The whole of the encoded rows to establish the file main frame'll be written after the "Meta markers" dialog box using!
In this very well-planned dialog-box, you can choose a picture to insert on the page.
The file choice is usual. A double-click is needed to enable the picture and display the preview.
There is a field: "Info text" (Hotspot) to write the ALT attribute. If the visitor has disabled the pictures display, he (she) reads this text.
The "Border" field is available only when its box has been ticked. If you don't want for a frame around a picture used as a link, choose "0" (zero).
Two fields are planned to write the "Height" and "Width" of the picture. Normally, this writing is automatic (with the built-in viewer only!).
You may choose and use a *.BMP file.
Now, you can convert the "*.GIF" pictures into "*.JPG" choosing the "*.JPG"quality ratio.
The PNG files can be chosen and diplayed directly.
A conversion function: GIF PNG exists too .
Important note: if you place several pictures on the same row, the total width size cannot exceed ~ 93% of the screen width , or else the last picture shall be wrapped! For instance: 596 pixels is the maxima with a 640*480 definition. Isn't a Netedit bug, but an internal restriction of the Web and offline browsers.
• B -The reactive pictures •
( "Client-side Images ")
A single reactive picture is used to make several links to any target: file, URL, "mailto..." etc..
To do that, you need to choose an appropriate picture and also to indicate the wanted cutout. Tip: to place this codes row-group, it's necessary to begin at a new row; moreover, it's better to keep at least one empty row between the reactive picture codes and the previous text. This tip is valid to write table codes too .
Click on the "Reactive"
button,
at the right end of the tool-bar.
You get the "MAP" dialog-box below .
Please, notice that you will use this Map box twice.
Now, choose the picture. A double-click on the chosen picture calls the picture-cutout box above.
The available geometrical shapes in Netedit are: the rectangle, the circle and any polygon.
You ought to give the co-ordinates for each chosen area shape used in the picture.
Fortunately, Netedit exempts you from this difficult work! You can simply cut out the picture with the mouse!
In the cutout window, the reactive picture is shown.
There are shape-buttons too:
"Rectangle" - "Circle", "Polygon and Stop polygon".
Click on a shape-button, and begin this work:
For a rectangle: you need to indicate only the upper left corner (one click) and the lower right corner (one click too).
For a circle: mark the centre (one click) and another remote point to give the radius lenght (one click).
For a polygon: its angles tops (one click for each); when the last is reached, click again on the first angle top to close the area, then on the "Stop polygon" button.
The active areas building.
True values for these examples.
After every active area definition, Netedit asks for the link target:
Tick the appropriate box.
Just type the topic-name in the field as: #topic-name, URL address or mailto:. For a link to a file, use the "Browse" button to find the right file.
The small writing-field box (shown on the main pic) asks for the info-text.
This text is displayed when the visitor's mouse cursor runs over the link.
The last step in this window is to click on the "OK" button.
You come back to the first "Map" box.
Don't forget to name the "Map" -the whole of the active areas in your reactive picture- if not done before.
Click on the "OK" button: the encoded rows are automatically written on your file-window! You will quickly appreciate this so useful function!
A riddle: "Where are the reactive pictures in this Help?"
To modify a MAP
To increase or decrease the radius value for a circular area, just change the third number, which is the radius lenght in pixels.
To change a rectangular or polygonal area co-ordinate, edit a BMP version of the picture with MS-Paint® of Windows 9x®. Each point on the picture can be located on the lower status bar, for instance: "122,325"; it's exactly the same system than in the MAP !
If you convert your own "*.BMPs" pictures into "*.GIFs", these ".BMPs" files must be absolutly saved as "256-color BMP", otherwise the obtained ".GIFs" will not work as reactive pictures! They work as usual pictures only.
*.BMPs work as reactive pictures; *.BMPs having large sizes, use them for small dimensions images only. The benefit is a high quality...
You can use a "Cartoon-GIF" picture as a reactive picture! However, you need to prepare the "Map" on the file with a single frame of this GIF. So, it's necessary to have a "Cartoon-GIF" software, able at least to extract frames from the entire picture... Or else, you could prepare the Map normally: the internal viewer shows one frame only. The important links writings, like your Web site and e-mail addresses must stay at the same location on all frames.
If you want for use a "*.JPG /*. JPEG" picture, be sure that it contains really 256 colors or more! It's important if you convert a "home-made" *.BMP into *.JPEG!
The "*.PNG" pictures work fine as reactive pictures. Unfortunately, they are not supported by "Netscape Navigator®" up to 4.7 and "MS-Internet Explorer 5.0® 16-bit (the 32-bit versions support ".PNG").
Netscape Navigator® 6.0 and many "offline" and "light" HTML viewers support "*.PNG" like
Lem by R. Remblain
The "Meta" markers ( or: "Meta tags") allow to distinguish the file.
They are not obligatory, but the search engines use them to find your Web page.
When you create a new file, Netedit calls automatically the "Meta" markers dialog-box below:
There are eight boxes to tick.
If you don't tick a box, its field isn't enabled. The "Meta" marker shall not appear on the file.
In the opposite, if you ticked the box, you ought to write on its field, or else the marker'll not be written.
The various "Meta" markers:
Author: the author of this page.
Keywords: the keywords for this page.
Description: a one-row description.
Search engines visit: the number of day(s) after which the search engines are allowed to come back. Hence, you ought to write a whole number of days.
Copyright: the tools used to create your page, about sound, pictures, editor, etc.
Date: the page creation date, in the order day › month › year. With Netedit, you place the cursor at the first left-field only: it jumps automatically to the next one!
Language: the language(s) used on this page.
E-mail: your email address for this page.
Finally, a last additional marker is automatically written: it shows the software with which the page has been created ; here: Netedit, of course!
• Keyboard shortcuts •
• Using "The frames" •
In the dialog box below, you choose the file which is contained in the frame.
The frames style choice.
The whole of the previous functions are included in the newest dialog-box below: you can build a page having (a) frame(s) as a single operation! Use the "New-file" button to get it via the new file creation dialog-box.
• Looped sound •
The Looped Sound dialog-box above is an usual file-choice box. You choose here a sound-file to play "looped".
The most usual kinds of sound-files are:
*.WAV having so large sizes,
*.MID - *.RMI which have the smallest sizes.
In the field, you ought to specify the loop(s) number.
Type "0" (zero) if you want for an infinite loop.
<BGSOUND> is an "owner" Micro-Soft's ™ marker. It doesn't work with "Netscape Navigator®".
Above, the default customizable tool-bar window. It's called by the 20 th.
button, at the right end of the bar.
Each button can be used to write directly a character or a marker code on the file. To do that, you need to prepar the buttons:
At the first start-up, the buttons appear as simple numbers.
On the dialog-box, click on the wanted button number,
Type the appropriate text, -code or marker- on the writing-field,
Click on: "Get picture" to choose a picture for this button; a dialog-box appears.
The "Remove picture" button takes off the picture from the selected button.
The "Remove all" button removes all datas about the selected button.
Click on "Enable button",
Remake these operations (from #2) for each button to prepar.
Click on "OK" only when all buttons are ready.
Note: if you want for change / take off one button, you can select it, change / delete its text, then press "Enable button" and "OK".
To write the corresponding info-text for each customized button:
Edit the "langue\english.mn1" file,
Go to the //Customizable button-bar section: 501$ is the #1 button-row .... 519$ is the #19 button-row.
To get the numbers, go to: Upper ASCII table. Note: the bitmap size for a button is: 16*16 pixels, *.BMP - 16 or 256 colours. Available free collections at:
the author's site "Mes freewares" Netedit. Also at:
the translator's site.
Note: when you write a marker/anti-marker from a button, you need to replace the cursor between the marker and its anti-marker!
• Other Options windows •
"Picture viewer", the choices are:
• Netedit built-in (recommended),
• Windows default, Note: with this option, the picture-size is not automatically written on the file! You ought to write it by hand if useful.
• Other... Same note than above.
"HTML viewer"to choose:
• Netedit built-in (actually, must be closed after each preview),
• Windows default browser,
• Any other online or offline HTML browser. Note for the
"Opera®" browser users.
"Editor", which allows:
• To write the "Default Email" address,
• To enable / disable the "Daily-tip" box,
• To choose the case for the covering files.
• To clear the Clipboard Backup. TIP: it's advised to keep the box ticked.
"Language", to choose the language used in the software.
"Writing", to choose the table code-writing style:
• Intelligent indentation adds a variable shift at the rows beginnings,
• No indentation aligns the rows at the extreme left-side.
Tip: to avoid the style-markers problem below, use a <STYLE> marker or an external *.CSS style-sheet.
• Netedit Status •
• Credits •
Sincere thanks to:
Pierre-E. Gougelet, author of XnView who helped us during the "Reactives pictures" tests,
Christian Ghisler, author of Windows Commander, who sent some useful codes...
... and all magazines and users making Netedit better and well-known!
• HTML code analyser •
The built-in Netedit HTML code-analyser is so powerful.
This function allows you to detect errors in the "Standard HTML 4" language.
To get it: "Commands" menu, or keyboard-shortcut Ctrl+F9.
The analyser respects the following rulers:
Any part of the codes located inside a "Comment" isn't inspected. A comment begins by: <! and is ended by the next >. For this reason, these characters "<" and ">" must be encoded, when used as "Lower than..." and "Greater than..." in the plain text like here.
To write their codes: HTML menu Characters Other.
The various languages scripts, like Javascript or VBscript are not inspected.
Below, a list of error messages which could appear onto the code analyser result-window. Also some explanations for each kind of error…
Caption:
(X) represents the whole of a marker-code or an attribute.
(Y) represents another marker.
(/X) is the corresponding (X) anti-marker (or: "End Tag").
(/Y) is the corresponding (Y) anti-marker.
Warning! Shows a very minor mistake which doesn't cause any display problem with the most browsers. Example: "</big> isn't equivalent to <BIG> shows a different case only…
(X) Anti-marker expected: indicates the row and column running numbers from which the (X) corresponding anti-marker is expected. If this anti-marker exists, that shows a wrong mixing-style:
(X) (Y) (/Y) (/X) is right.
(X) (Y)
(/X) (/Y) is wrong.
May be you wrote an anti-marker twice...
Example:
(Y) (X) (/X) (/X) (Y).
In this case, the analyser asks for the (/Y) at the location of the (/X) in excess.
(X) This marker doesn't exist: may be there is a mistake for this marker writing, or else it doesn't exist in the Netedit marker-library.
Note: Some obsolete markers -but very used still like <XMP> and <COMMENT>- are accepted by the analyser.
(X) Color expected: the color-encoding is certainly false. A color-code must be written between double-quotes like: "code". This code style must be #RRGGBB in which:
RR is the RED quantity,
GG the GREEN quantity,
BB the BLUE quantity.
The value for each term inside this code is "0" to "255" and written in hexadecimal, as "0" to "F".
You may simply write the colour-name too, f.i.: "purple", but always between inverted commas. However, you may write it as "all lowercase", "ALL UPPERCASE" or mixed like: "Blue".
(X) Invalid parameter: this error happens for a false attribute-parameter; for instance: the ALIGN attribute expects a "center" or similar attribute, not a colour!
(X) Picture-file expected: shows that a *.GIF, *.JPG,*.PNG or even a *.BMP file is expected as the (X) attribute parameter.
(X) The "#" works with an hexadecimal color-code only; don't use it with a color defined by its name: for a colour code, you ought to choose an hexadecimal code or a name-code; you cannot mix both! Example: #purple is quite false!
(X) A single character is expected: indicates that the (X) attribute supports a one-character lenght specification only. Example: <OL TYPE="1"
START="5"> … </OL>
(X) A script-language name is expected: for the marker <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="L">, "L" must be a supported script-language. JavaScript, VBScript and PHP are supported.
(X) One '<' symbol is in excess: it's displayed on the screen too...
(X) One '>' symbol is in excess: the same thing...
(X) One '<' symbol is expected: you certainly forgot to encode the '>' symbol for a plain-text use.
(X) One '>' symbol is expected: you certainly forgot to encode the '<' symbol for a plain-text use.
Of course, even if your codes contain some minor mistakes, they could work fine with your own browser... But did you try them with another browser?
The Netedit Code analyser follows the "Standard HTML 4" as so well as possible. Don't forget what a minor error in your codes can cause: your pages are unreadable with many browsers!
However, any software'ld contain bugs! Hence, if you get some analyse error-messages -although you are sure that there is none error-, please send me an Email with the concerned attached file and screen-shots at: webmaster@toilefrancophone.net
Netedit 7.x Help
To reach a next or previous topic, please use the scroll-bar 
Translation and Beta-tests:
Claude Charries.
is an HTML editor which helps you for the Web page design. However, it's essential to have some minimal knowledges about HTML before...
Netedit writes encoded rows for you, but it's necessary to know what you want for watch on the screen! It's quickly daunting to type encoded rows by hand, for instance to insert a
"Table"; the program makes this work automatically: you give only the rows and columns quantities, and the table is built! Tip note...
Undesirable Rewrite Mode
Upper ASCII characters.
"Characters"
For Win95 with updated fonts use:
€ to write the 
character:
The "Commands" menu contains:
button .
button,
Actually, this function is on development still... It operates for the whole
of the HTML file.
New HTML file creation 
If you open an out-project file, Netedit proposes the project directory tree only
on the tool-bar, or on the "Open project" command in the "Files" menu -same icon-.
With a right-click, the list is updated.
button, then maximize the file window. 
small button, set on the main window vertical left-stripe. So, you can open a second, third... file-window.
on the tool-bar, or command on the "Window menu".
icon on the "File" menu, or the similar button on the tool-bar.
on the tool-bar.
allows you to create the main frame of a new file: 
button on the tool-bar.
button,
.
After every active area definition, Netedit asks for the link target:
.
To modify a MAP 
button, at the right end of the bar.
Caption:
