Tutorial

Synthesis comes configured with an example site that you can experiment with. Click the Generator tab and you're ready to go. (If the example site is not shown when you select the Generator tab, make sure that File >View > Example is checked.)

These pages will give you a quick introduction to Synthesis. For more detailed information, see the documentation under the Help menu.

Update

Updating your web pages is accomplished by dragging document files and dropping them into special processing folders. Each processing folder has a set of instructions specifying how the dropped document should be used to update the web page. For example, you can have a processing folder that replaces one section of the page with the contents of the document. Synthesis takes care of all the details including: changing the format, copying the graphics, updating the links, and more.

Updating the Adventures section of the home page. Try this example yourself!

Update the home page

Before starting, be sure that the Site and Library windows are visible. If the Site window is hidden, show it by pressing the Site Button . Similarly, if the Library window is hidden, show it by pressing the Library Button . These buttons toggle the windows, so pressing again will rehide the window.

Updating your home page takes one simple step:

Select the 'adventure/cerro_torre/cerro-torre-teaser.html' document from the Library window, drag it to the Site window, and drop it in the 'Adventures folder. (Folders expand automatically during drag-and-drop.)

Double-click on home.html and mouse over the 'Adventures' link to view the change. (Note that you may need to tell Synthesis what browser to use. If the browser doesn't start, go to Tools > Options > Misc and select your browser.)

If you don't like what you see (or you just want to try something else) you can return the entire page to it's original state by right-clicking on the red home.htmg folder and selecting Reset. Or, you can reset part of the page by right-clicking on one of the blue sub-folders and, again, selecting Reset.

You can bring a page back to its original state with just the click of a button. This also works for subsections, making updates a breeze!

Templates

Templates use the Update functionality to combine the information from multiple files. Through the same drag-and-drop operations used to update your web site, you can quickly create custom pages that bring out the best in your material.

Drop the formatted page into your web site to publish. You'll be free from having every page look just the same. (Imagine how poor a magazine would look if it had the repetitious format common to most web sites.)

With a selection of templates to choose from, you'll be able to create the look you want. Quick and easy. And, since you can do what you want, you won't end up with tacky 'fill in the blank' pages. Plus, building your own templates is a snap. So you'll never be stuck with something you don't like.

Only three drag-and-drop operations are required to create this custom page. Using similar actions, you can quickly create just the look you want.

Create a two-column layout

Updating your home page using a two-column layout takes a few simple steps: (Before starting, be sure that the template window is visible by pressing the template button.)

Select the adventure/cerro_torre/cerro-torre-teaser.html document from the Library window, drag it to the Template window, and drop it in the Left Column folder. (Folders expand automatically during drag-and-drop.)
Select the adventure/rio-tunel/rio_tunel_teaser.html document from the Library, and drop it into the Right Column folder.
Select the resulting dualcolumn.html document, drag it to the Site window, and drop it into the Adventures folder on the home page.

Unlike other page-based editors (such as Dreamweaver or FrontPage) Synthesis can create and update multiple pages at once. Slide shows, for example, and multi-page articles can be built in a matter of minutes. And, given Synthesis' easy customization, the results are the just the way you want them.

Organize

Routine maintenance requires you to rename files, or reorganize your site. Folders grow until they're hard to deal with. Stray files proliferate, and you don't know what's safe to delete. Maybe your site's changing, and needs to be reorganized. Unfortunately, because of the way web pages are linked to each other, this type of work is both time consuming and error prone. Synthesis automates these tasks, making the job quick and easy.

Synthesis allows you to move files around without worrying that you'll break your site's links. And, with push-button cleanup functions, you can 'tidy up' in seconds.

Using Synthesis, you can move, or rename, your web pages just like any other file. Changes to your web pages (to fix up the links, copy graphics files, etc.) are handled automatically. And stray files can be tracked down and deleted with the push of a button.

Move the mike.html file

Double-click the mike.html document, and view it with your browser. Notice how mike.html and eric.html files are linked to each other.
Select mike.html and drop it into another folder. Double-click mike.html in its new location and verify that the mike.html and eric.html files are still linked to each other.
Select mike.html and drag it back to the links. Double-click mike.html, now that it's back in its old location, and verify that the mike.html and eric.html files are still linked to each other.

Note: moving mike.html may cause a new graphics folder to be created, along with an extra copy of the mike.jpg image. As this is the Library, this folder will have to be deleted manually. To delete the graphics folder, select it and press the Delete key. Alternatively, you can right-click on the graphics folder and select the Delete item from the pop-up list.

Cleanup

As you update/maintain your site, you will occasionally leave a file or directory that is not reachable from your web pages, and is no longer used. These files can be easily found and deleted by using the cleanup button When you press this button, Synthesis will search your site and delete the unused files.

At this time, there isn't a cleanup button for the Library, as you will probably want to keep some of these unused files for future use. We may change this policy if there seems to be sufficient interest...

Keywords

Your Page's Title, Description, and Keywords are crucial to how your page is indexed and displayed by the search engines. And, while this information is important, only the Title is even displayed by the browsers. This is where the Keyword editor comes in.

While the Title, Description, and Keywords are the keys to indexing your site, few sites keep this information accurate and up to date. With an integrated Keyword editor, this task becomes trivial.

Whenever you have the Keyword editor visible, it automatically tracks the pages you're working with, and shows you that pages indexing information. It even looks at the words currently on the page, easing the task of picking appropriate keywords. A few moments updating this information, and surfers will have a much easier time finding your site.

Change the Title

Make sure that the Keyword Editor is displayed by selecting the keyword toolbar button: This button toggles the Keyword Editor, so pressing the button again will cause the Keyword Editor to be hidden again.

Select the home.html file in the Site window. If the file is already selected, select another file, and then reselect home.html. The keyword information will now be displayed in the editor.
Edit the title text box.
Press the save button: to update the web page.
Double-click the home.html file to view the updated web page in your browser. The Title bar (at the top of your browser window) will now have the updated title.

You must press the save button if you want to save any changes. You can return to the current keywords at any time by pressing the refresh button

Quality Control

After modifying your web site, you'll want to review the changes to ensure that everything is the way you want. If you can't remember precisely which pages need to be checked, this is going to take some time. Synthesis keeps track of the changed files, so you don't have to.

By using the Update List you can quickly review the site's changes before you upload them to your web server.

Check your changes

If you've been working through this tutorial, you'll have made some changes to your site. (If you haven't made any changes, try the Update section before you continue.

Make sure that the Update List is displayed by selecting the update list toolbar button: This button toggles the Update List, so pressing the button again will cause the Update List to be hidden again. The update list will display the files that have been changed during this editing session.

Double-click on a document on the update list to display it in your browser. Once you've reviewed the changes you've made, you'll be ready to upload the files to your web server.

Upload

When you've finished modifying your site, you can upload it to the web server using the upload tab. Once you've entered (and saved) the server information, all you need to do is type your password and press upload. Synthesis keeps track of what needs updating, and only the changed files are moved. Linked files, such as graphics and JavaScript, are transferred as well. Of course.

Uploading changed pages to the web server. This automated process moves only the files it needs to, so you'll be finished in no time.

Upload your site

Enter the Server Name, User Name, Server Directory, and the Server's FTP port number. You may need to contact your webmaster or ISP to get this information.
Save these settings by pressing the Save Settings button, so you won't need to enter this information again. Note: your Server Password will not be saved.
Enter your password on the server. Note: your Server Password is not saved, and will need to be entered each time.
Press the Upload Site button to upload the site to your server. All of your site's files will be transferred the first time you upload your site. Subsequent uploads will only transfer files that have changed.

Cleanup

After you update your site, you will occasionally leave a file or directory that is not reachable from your web pages, and is no longer used. These files can be easily found and deleted by using the cleanup button When you press this button, Synthesis will search your site and delete the unused files.

Conversion

Before you can use Synthesis on your own site, two things need to be done:

You need to configure Synthesis with the location of your Site and Library directories.

(See: Setup)
The pages that Synthesis updates need to be annotated with information about how they should behave.

Annotating a web page for use with Synthesis is easy, and can be done by anyone willing to write some simple HTML. You paste the appropriate HTML <object> tags into the page, and set a few <param> tags indicating what you want done with the new content. The tags you add are proper HTML, so you can continue to use your favorite tools as you like.

(See: Annotation)

We'll also be happy to help you convert your site. This small investment will pay for itself many times over. You'll end up with a better site, that is cheaper to operate, and you won't have to bother your web master nearly as often. (Unless you want to, of course.)