So, I've done some more work.  I had an idea that I would use flash to code my next page on my "work" website, but after reading some of thesitewizard.com's recommendations that a website can get pretty hard for some people to "get" if it is all flash oriented, I decided to stick with Dreamweaver for page three and utilize the mouse-over feature and just change the picture as was done in the Velociraptor exercise.  The links aren't live yet, so I have a lot more work to do, but if you want to take a peek, go here:  www.tompkins-co.org/tmpits  new page is under support.html.  From the main navigation menu the only two that aren't live yet are Software and Policy...  Coming soon!

Velociraptor Anatomy and Home Defense

I finally got around to updating the Velociraptor page with the anatomy and the home defense.  I must tell you the home defense stuff is pretty funny!  I probably wouldn't have noticed, but I couldn't find the file to copy/paste from, so I retyped it.

Here are my screen shots for today:

I gotta tell you. Those little button dots are not as easy to make as they look. My coloring just wasn't suiting my taste! But, once I got one done I was really happy to learn that to create the other ones it was a matter of duplicating the symbols and renaming them! Yipee.

Then, I had this crazy idea about changing the pictures...  and I found out it wasn't my idea!  The mouse over in Dreamweaver is pretty cool too.  Gave me some great ideas for my final project website.

 By-the-way... Do you know that my website is being worked on?  I got that swf loaded and it is on my other site at www.tompkins-co.org/tmpits/aboutus.html

Created a SWF

I created a swf file to go onto my final webpage.  I haven't uploaded it yet, but I think it is pretty neat.  I used Flash to create it (of course), and it is for the "about us" portion of my web site.  Instead of just listing and showing who the employees of ITS are, we all "fly" in with our information (name and job titles).  Here are a couple screen shots so you can get an idea.

I  imported all of the .gif files (after I went into PhotoShop and made all of the backgrounds transparent) then placed them on the timeline at key frames.  I then converted the .gif to a symbol added frames and inserted another keyframe and moved the symbol to its new spot on that key frame.  I then went back to the first keyframe for that symbol and changed the color to alpha and zero.  I had to do this for the writing too, so my .swf ended up with at least 18 layers.  But it looks pretty cool when it runs.  I should have it on my other website hopefully by Monday.

I added an action layer to it so that I could put a stop at the end of it and it doesn't just keep playing over and over.

So... Using the knowledge I received from creating the Velociraptor template, I created a new template for the ITS website.  Here is a screen shot...

I started with a blank workspace and set the properties for 1024 X 768, then added the top banner and the new ITS logo that I created.  Then I added the marquee underline under the banner and the one at the bottom of the screen.  After that I added the side menu bar and created the buttons on it, then the words on the buttons.  Last, I created the bottom footer with teh copyright information.

I think there are something like 16 or 17 layers to the whole thing. 

Then I used the slice tool and created all of the slices just like in the Velociraptor example.  Now I am busy trying to use it in Dreamweaver to update my site.  I have an idea (from the VR example) on creating a couple of the pages.  This is fun, but sometimes very time consuming.

 

Here is a screenshot of some changes I made to my website.  I changed the font of the Level 1 heading and the color to match the background of the web site.  I also changed the font of the left column menu bar by following the directions in our homework instructions.  I've also been working on the flash and photoshop instructions.  See below:

Here I have added the flash to the Velociraptor webpage that I created according to the instructions in Photoshop, then added the Flash to it in Dreamweaver.

Wow!  It has been two weeks since I have posted anything here...  Hmmm... It hasn't been two weeks since I have done any work in Dreamweaver and Flash though!  My website is up and started... http://www.tompkins-co.org/tmpits

Yesterday I had some trouble publishing it to the web from my laptop (I have to do that while I am at work because the it is behind the firewall and I can't access it from outside of the network).  Somehow I had the settings wrong in the site| manage sites... and I ended up creating a new one - site setup - and lost the old one and now I can't "put" my site up in Dreamweaver.  I finally, because I was running out of time, just did a copy paste in Windows Explorer ftp. 

Does anyone know how I can fix this problem so I can utilize Dreamweaver like I am supposed to be doing?

Button

I created a button from the video and ran it as a test. I made screen shots of each stage of the test and saved them, but I don't know what the "HIT" stage is for. I copied the button from Flash in the hit stage and saved it with the rest of the stages of the button just to show.

If you have created a button, do you know what the Hit stage is for?

This is too much fun!  I had to refer back to the instruction videos a couple times, but so cool!

I made the pencil video in flash then exported it to a .mov file, uploaded it to youtube and embedded it here!

I've added some of my own content to my Dreamweaver index page. Since I'm going to be recreating the ITS website for Tompkins County, I'm using current content and will be reformatting and hopefully updating in a positive way as I go along.

The problem with knowing a little about what I'm learning is that I want to do more than what is indicated in the lesson.  I'm sorry if I get a little ahead of myself...

I'm still working on getting my web address available to everyone to see...

TempITS

I got permission from my boss to use our company web server to host my site for this class.  I'm glad he is letting me do that.  First I won't have to pay for a domain name.  And second I'm focusing on updating the Information Technology Services website for my company anyway.  Only drawback?  I don't have outside access to upload information to the website, I will have to do that from our internal network at work, so even if I am doing stuff at midnight, I'll have to wait until the morning and upload from work.  I guess I can deal with that.

So, I started my "home" page...  Got this far:

Two column liquid with header and footer...

As you can see, I haven't added any of my own content yet.  It is coming... 

Please forgive me if I seem a bit "Gun-Ho" about this.  I really enjoy this type of thing and this is the first time I have actually had the opportunity to take a class in web design.  I've created web sites with other programs, but I have never had any official training.  Besides, this is sort of relaxing for me.  I can do this while other stuff is going on around me and I get so into it, I can't even hear the "could-be distractions."



Flash... Aaaahhhhh....

Watched the first Flash assignment.  I have a lot to learn here, but it looks like it is going to be fun.  I created my own Flash workspace and called it Katy's Workspace. 

Katy's Workspace

As you can see, I moved the toolbar, reduced the timeline so it is out of my way, and moved and stacked the color panel and swatches panel.  I am not sure if I will leave this as my workspace or change it later on, but this was what was directed in the training exercise, so this is what I did.

Recently while watching the Cartoon Network or some other network similar to that, my grandson, Jeter, and I watched how cartoons were made.  While listening and watching this Flash assignment, the instructor talked about 24 frames per second and I had visions in my head of creating my own cartoon!  LOL!  I don't know if that is realistic or not, but wouldn't that be fun if my grandson (who is 4 years old) could help me create a cartoon for us to watch together?  Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, and I'm not going to tell him about it because I don't want to get his hopes up before I know I can do it, but it was a fun thought.  I even already have the idea - have had for a couple years...

  



Basic HTML Source Provided by Dreamweaver

Here is my screen-capture of a basic html source supplied by Dreamweaver to get me started.  I have had some html in the past, but not much so some of these tags look familiar to me, although I see a lot of stuff that doesn't look familiar (mainly the web stuff that apparently indicates where the standards or something are locate!

Definitions:
The <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC ...> tag allows the browser to display the html page correctly.

The <html> opening tag indicates that the page is in html and all of the code needs to go between this tag and the closing html tag which looks like this: </html>

The <head> tag has information that the user will not see, but the browser uses to display the page correctly.  Within the head tag is the <meta> tag and the head tag is the <title> tag.

The <meta ... > tag contains information telling the browser that it will be receiving text as html and the characterset that will be utilized in the page.

The <title> tag displays the title of the page at the very top of the page either in the window heading or on the actual tab in the new browsers that allow the user to have many pages open at a time.  The title must between the two title tags the opening <title> tag and closing </title> tag.

The <body> tag indicates the start of what will be displayed to the user.  Everything that the user is to see must go between the opening <body> tag and the closing </body> tag.

Let's Get Started!!!

Got my Dreamweaver "Learn By Video, Core Training in Web Communciation" today.  Started watching.  Most of what I have watched so far I already know.  I have learned about html tags and such in the past so I am hoping that learning exactly how they work and working with them will come easy to me.  I've never worked in Dreamweaver itself, but I think I will be able to get it OK.  I like the WYSIWYG format and the split screens. 

I've actually blogged before.  I created a blog when my niece was waiting for her double lung and liver transplant and it was through the blog that I kept everyone updated.  After her successful transplants and she returned to health she took over her own blogging in Myspace and not on facebook.  My original blog is at http://princepack.blogspot.com.  It is still there, but the most recent entries are from when my daughter and son were in a really bad accident.  Go check it out, there are pictures of the car they were in and even though I was so scared (my son was in the hospital 7 days, and I stayed at his bedside the whole time), I made sure the blog was kind of light hearted.

I'm hoping to learn some more about web design in this class for two, or maybe more, reasons.  One I've been tasked with updating the web site for my department at my Systems Analyst job, and two, I would like to start a blog as a pastor to be able to post for people to read inspirational devotional type entries once every couple weeks or so. 

Let's get it started, uh huh! 

(P.S.  This is a photo of my son - the one who was in the accident - 3 years after the accident!  We were in Colorado at the Royal Gorge Bridge Park).

Does anyone else have any prior blogging experience?

Introduction

Hi!  I'm Katy and I'm just getting started with Dreamweaver & Flash for college.  I'm attending Empire State College full time and I also work 28 hours a week at one job, 10 hours a week as a pastor, and I have a family to tend to.  The good thing is that my children are all grown up and all I have to really take care of are my husband and our 3 dogs and 1 cat.  Check back soon, there is definitely more to come...