Webber: A Website Construction Application
User Guide
Introduction
To start the application, enter the command 'java Webber' at the prompt. The application
begins by displaying an empty HTML viewer window. The 'File' menu on this window contains
all of the options necessary to load and save text from HTML files and to create other HTML
windows. Similar options are available from both viewer and editor windows. Files can be
loaded from the local file-system or from remote systems on the Internet. The HTML text
loaded from a file can be accessed via one viewer window and/or one editor window, thereby
allowing a viewer and an editor to access the same block of HTML text. This allows the
effects of any changes made to text in an editor window to be seen by activating the
associated viewer window. Each window includes options to open or reactivate its partner
window, as well as other independent windows that are associated with different blocks of
HTML text.
Window Components
The viewer and editor windows use a common layout with a few minor customizations.
Menu Bar
Both windows have a 'File' menu, each with similar options for manipulating HTML files.
The currently active window also has a 'Window' menu, which provides options to select
from a list of all active windows.
Shortcut Buttons
Beneath the menu-bar is a row of buttons which serve as convenient short-cuts to certain
frequently used options on the 'File' menu. The buttons marked with '<<' and
'>>' are equivalent to the 'Prior' and 'Next' options, respectively; they move
through an internal document-history list, automatically retrieving files loaded
before or after the current file. The button marked 'Clone' is equivalent to the
'Clone Viewer' or 'Clone Editor' option; it creates a completely independent duplicate
of the current viewer or editor window. The button marked either 'Viewer' (in an editor)
or 'Editor' (in a viewer) is equivalent to the 'Open Viewer' or 'Open Editor' option; it
creates or reactivates the partner of the current window (ie. the editor's viewer or the
viewer's editor).
Source File Location
Just below the shortcut buttons is a text-area which displays the source location (if any)
of the file contained by the window. To open a local or remote file, click on this area,
type a filename or a URL specification and press the 'Enter' key. This is the only
way a remote file can be retrieved using a URL; there is no equivalent to this option
on the 'File' menu.
HTML Display Component
The bulk of both the viewer and the editor windows is covered by the HTML display component.
A viewer component interprets the HTML text and displays the output produced. The document
can be moved around within the component window using the usual cursor and page-navigation
keys. An editor component displays the actual HTML text itself, with each HTML tag
highlighted. The keyboard interface for an editor component is extended to provide the
standard features of a text-editor.
Message Bar
At the bottom of each window is an area used to display messages concerning the status of
operations in progress.
File Menu
New
Creates an empty editor window. The current window is not affected.
Open
Retrieves a file from the local file-system into this window. A file-dialog window is
presented to use for selecting a file. Once a file is selected, the user is given the
opportunity to save any modifications made to the HTML text currently contained by the window.
The partner window (if any) of this window is then destroyed and the contents of the specified
file are retrieved.
Close
Closes the current window. If the HTML text in the window has not been saved following a
modification and the window has no active partner window, the user is given the opportunity to
save it.
Save
This option can only be used when the HTML text in the window was loaded from an existing
file residing on the local file-system. It writes the HTML text contained by the window to
the local file from which it was originally retrieved, over-writing its previous contents.
Save As
This option may be used with HTML text loaded from both local and remote files. It writes
the HTML text contained by the window to a local file with a specified name. The user is
presented with a file-dialog window to use for selecting or specifying a filename.
Open Viewer (editor) or Open Editor (viewer)
This option activates the partner of a window. The 'Edit' option in the viewer window
activates the viewer's associated editor to edit the text it currently contains. The 'View'
option in the editor window activates the editor's associated viewer window to display the
text it currently contains. The current window is not affected.
Clone Viewer (viewer) or Clone Editor (editor)
This option creates an independent duplicate of the current window. The current window is
not affected. The new window contains a copy of the original text which may be manipulated
independently from the original text and it may also have its own partner window. A different
HTML file may be loaded into the new window without affecting the contents of original window.
This allows the creation of multiple instances of the application which facilitates the
simultaneous manipulation of several files.
Prior and Next
These options reload the document that was displayed before (Prior) or after (Next) the
current document (if any). An internal list is kept of all documents loaded during a
session. This list is implemented using a special kind of stack structure which has an
index to allow its elements to be stepped through non-destructively. This makes it possible
to step back up the list and then back down to your original document, so long as no
other documents are loaded along the way.
Exit
Closes all windows and terminates the Java system. Before closing each window, the user is
given the opportunity to save any changes made to the HTML text it contains (if any).
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