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Re: Why am I having so much trouble with NOF? Advice please.
Michael,
Let's take your questions first...
1) Is NOF just that buggy? Professional web designers seem to like it.
No.. it isn't buggy (I'm assuming you've installed the latest available
update... initial releases always get bug-fixed). It isn't perfect in some
areas, but buggy, it's not.
> 2) Is it that I don't know how to use it? If so, how do you recommend it
> learn what I need to know?
Could be. Rule 1 is don't bring in formatted content from other programs..
like Word.
You may be trying to use Fixed Layout, which doesn't work well for all
browserws and all situations.
Dynamic Layout with CSS on and px font sizes will give consistent results.
Could be you're trying to apply what you know about other programs to
Fusion. That got me when I started using Fusion back in version 3. When the
lightbulb comes on, you'll wonder why you had problems.
> 3) Do I need to learn HTML?
Everyone who does web sites should learn HTML to some degree. The better you
know it, the more you'll understand what's going on.
Learning other things like CSS and PHP or ASP coding will also help you get
farther along.
> 4) Is NOF the wrong product for me? Should I move to dreamweaver?
If you're having trouble getting your head around Fusion, DW has a much
steeper learning curve. It's great for people who want complete access to
the code. Fusion is a code generator, not a code editor like DW.
--
Chuck Joslin
BeyondFusion.com - Your Fusion Community
www.beyondfusion.com
Register domain names at www.awavedomains.com
"Michael" <Michael_spamnot@bizsolver.com> wrote in message
news:g2or6o$ds71@flsun90netnews01.netobjects.com.. .
>I have been using NOF since v7.5 and am now using v10. I have built about
>10 sites. The first site I built for myself took a long time
>(www.bizsolver.com). I thought that was learning curve. Then I started
>building sites for clients. They were pretty simple 2-3 page sites, so I
>developed them fairly quickly. The last couple of sites I built (for
>clients), I became more ambitious in terms of size, graphics, and layout
>(current site is www.nashcanspas.com, about 150 hours to get this far). I
>am now so frustrated with how long it takes to build an NOF site, that I am
>thinking of jumping to Dreamweaver.
>
> First, although I am reasonably technical, let me state that I don't want
> to learn to code. Although I will never be a graphic artist, I seem to be
> able to create what I need in PhotoImpact. I have no trouble with Word,
> Excel, Powerpoint, and DTP software making it do whatever I want in the
> print world or the presentation world. I bought NOF because I want to
> design in WYSIWYG and have NOF generate code that displays correctly. I
> also want to be able to create the features found on all but the most
> complicated sites (photo galleries, e-commerce, photo enlargement from
> thumbnails, the odd flash effect, etc.). If a client wants something
> really slick in terms of design or graphics, I won't take the job.
>
> Here are some of the problems I frequently encounter:
> 1) I align everything in page view perfectly, but it doesn't preview or
> publish the same way.
> 2) I create a table and try it with a border. I later decide that I
> don't want the border and set the width to zero. It goes away in design
> view but continues to show in preview or publish and I can't make it go
> away.
> 3) I create a page and it is perfect. I go work on another page but when
> I come back to the original page, objects are now splattered all over the
> browser and in the design view.
> 4) When I work with tables I have tons of difficulty getting columns or
> rows to stay put. I also have trouble getting borders the way I want
> them. I seems 10 times more complicated than in Word or Excel.
> 5) When working with text, sometimes NOF just ignores the attributes I am
> trying to apply. Sometimes it accepts the attribute, but changes text on
> other pages that are finished.
> 6) The main page layout is constantly expanding to the right and I have
> to resize objects and bring the right margin back.
>
> All of these problems take coutless hours to resolve. Sometimes I just
> give up, delete the object (and sometimes the page) and start all over
> again. I find I spend about 10% of time designing the site and 90% of my
> time fixing broken objects. For me, NOF is not a productivity tool so
> far.
>
> NOF tech support is rarely usefull. Usually it takes a day or three
> before they get back to you. Then they ask for a template, screenshot or
> link. I usually send them a template with the original ticket and descibe
> the problem precisely. Then I get something back like "enable CSS" when
> it was already enabled. Then two days later I get "use a layout region"
> which didn't work, but they changed the ticket status to "resolved." So
> after five days I have spent 40 hours trying to fix the site and I still
> don't have an answer.
>
> So,
> 1) Is NOF just that buggy? Professional web designers seem to like it.
> 2) Is it that I don't know how to use it? If so, how do you recommend it
> learn what I need to know?
> 3) Do I need to learn HTML?
> 4) Is NOF the wrong product for me? Should I move to dreamweaver?
>
> Sorry for the long post. You folks on the newsgroup are great.
>
> Michael