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What is a template? A web site can contain many files,
and these files can be located anywhere on your computer (or network). The problem is that if someone moves or deletes any of these files, they will be missing from your web site.The best way to prevent this is to
copy the files you want in your site to the \Assets directory under the directory that contains your .NOD file. But if your files are located in a number of locations, or if you want to archive your site, or give a
copy of your site to someone else, you must export a template file. When you export a template, Fusion does two things. First, it makes a copy of your .NOD file and changes the name to end in .NFT.
Fusion also copies all assets (graphics, sounds, multimedia, Java...) and places them in the \assets directly directly under the template. Then NetObjects Fusion converts all absolute links to these assets
(e.g., c:\windows\media\sound.wav) to relative links (e.g., \assets\sound.wav). This way you can move the template file and its corresponding Assets folder to any machine, without breaking any asset links. For more
information on templates and how to use them see our User Guide, Chapter 4, Working with Templates. When would I export a template? Any time you want to give a NetObjects Fusion file to someone else, or copy your site to another computer, or another disk (such as a ZIP disk for backup).
What templates are available from NetObjects? Three complete web site
templates are included with NetObjects Fusion. NetObjects Fusion also ships with nine page and section templates which enable you to create specialized forms, employee directories, or add a guestbook to your web site.
All templates included with NetObjects Fusion are located in the NetObjects Fusion 4.0\Templates folder. Templates from previous versions of NetObjects Fusion are available on the CD. How can I modify or make my own templates? When you wish to create a template from any web site,
switch to Site view, and then choose the Export As Template option from the File menu. NetObjects Fusion saves your template folder in whatever directory you choose and gives it the same name as the site from which you
exported. If you wish to modify and replace any template, open that template directly from the template folder, make your modifications and save the file. Note: if you modify templates using this method you cannot
revert to the original. If you wish to save a copy of the original version of a template, instead of opening the template file directly, create a new site based on the template, and export a new template from this new
site. Now you can modify the new template while still retaining the old template. For more information on creating custom templates see our User Guide, Chapter 4, Working with Templates. |
