Pages, Documents, Websites, Projects... I'm confused

AAProds wrote on 4/25/2020, 8:05 AM

Gday All,

I've had a basic website up for many years but it won't refit to mobile devices, so I'm in the market for a modern website creator. I'm trialling Web Designer (I'm already very familiar with Graphic Designer and like it). I am stumped on the relationship between files (eg dc3.web), the "document" and the site. For example, I have 3 .web files open. I can't work out how to link them all together so they are part of the same project. I can't drag them under the Index page in the page gallery.

I've read the PDF manual (even added PDF bookmarks to it! :)) but it mentions nothing about how the various pages of a website are related, how for example you re-order or change the page hierarchy of a website, or how indeed you save a website project.

If somebody has a guide that explains how the pages of a website interact within XWD I would be most appreciative.

Thanks!

Comments

johnebaker wrote on 4/25/2020, 2:17 PM

@AAProds

. . . . relationship between files (eg dc3.web), the "document" and the site . . . .

By analogy to Movie Edit Pro is project file, video/images/text you import and final product ie exported video or disc.

. . . . I have 3 .web files open . . . .

Without a screen shot, I think what you are referring to is the 3 variants of the website, circled in red in image below, that Web Designer Premium caters for. WDP only creates 1 site however the 3 variant pages are there to show you what it looks like on a PC browser, mobile browser and fixed width browser, you can also independently edit the 3 versions, however for most sites this should not be necessary.

. . . . how for example you re-order or change the page hierarchy of a website . . . .

In the Page Gallery - yellow arrow above -you can either drag the pages up or down to the required place or right click and select Move up or Move down.

The site navigation changes automatically to match the order

. . . . how indeed you save a website project. . . . .

Do you mean the actual finished website?

For the finished website you either:

Publish it and upload to your host from within WD

Personally I would not recommend doing this as
Export the website to a local folder and upload using a FTP program - gives you the opportunity to thoroughly test and check the site in different browsers before uploading.

HTH

John EB

AAProds wrote on 4/26/2020, 1:46 AM

Thanks John, here's a pic of my screen:

Based on what you have said, it appears that I have multiple projects open at once, each of a single page. Would that be right? That would explain why, in the page gallery, I can only see one page per .WEB "file". So it appears that a "web" file is actually project/website.

If that is the case, I understand adding pages using the "New Page" button, but how does one "insert" a page, or can't that be done (perhaps because there is no way to actually create or make up "just a page")?

Next issue, if the above is correct, how does one setup up a third level of pages (assuming that the top page is the index.html page, with the pages below it in the page gallery the next level down). I have seen posts on talkgraphics about the difficulty of deep page levels in XWD.

Lastly, I'm struggling with the RWD "Mobile View" concept. Most average phones these days have a 1080 wide screen. 1080 is about the max you want for a computer screen as well. But obviously, 1080 squashed into a screen that is 350~ppi will require a different layout: normal, horizontal menus will be too small. I can't see how nominating particular pixel size is going to force the program to display the mobile site given that the pixel count is now essentially the same for both formats. How does one tell the program to display the mobile site on a small screen, even though it has roughly the same pixel size as a normal desktop?

Thanks again for your insight here. I'm not accustomed to being on the receiving end of info in this setting and I appreciate your efforts.

AAProds wrote on 4/26/2020, 6:55 AM

Followup: I've nutted out the relationship between the website pages and XWD naming convention and the menu/link system. The XWD WEB document is the complete project/website. As far as a third level of pages goes, it seems one just has to keep a track of which page is hanging off what page via the menu system.

I'm still worried about the scaling between big screens and small screens.

johnebaker wrote on 4/26/2020, 11:14 AM

@AAProds

. . . . As far as a third level of pages goes, it seems one just has to keep a track of which page is hanging off what page via the menu system . . . .

It helps to keep track of it if you flow chart the navigation system on paper, a form of navigation map is available - see under Buttons and menus section of the Help or manual, however I find it easier to use the manual method.

A flow chart representation of the Navigation bar would be a great feature.

. . . . I'm still worried about the scaling between big screens and small screens . . . .

This is taken care of automatically when the viewer browses to the website, the browser is detected by its User Agent identifier and the screen size, using Javascript, and the correct scaling layout formatting is applied.

To see how complex this can be, look at the HTML generated by XWD starting with the line

<script><!--

if(navigator.userAgent.indexOf('MSIE')!=-1 . . . .

and the following 18 lines or so.

HTH

John EB