New Features in Frontier 4.2

A breakthrough in Finder scripting

It's called FinderMenu -- a package of over 30 tested, debugged and documented commands embedded in the Finder's menu bar that do new important things.

Single-keystroke backup, change file types, manage mirror folders, create MCF site maps. Use Eudora to send folders to other people. Connect the Finder to your web browser. Edit any text file with BBEdit, PageMill, HomePage, FrontPage, or NetObjects Fusion with one Finder command.

Lots of new stuff! It's a system manager's dream. You can build new commands for yourself and for your users.

It's a platform! Anyone with an idea can add new commands.

NewsPage suite -- turnkey site maintenence

NewsPage makes it easy to manage a special kind of website. The News page is the home page. Distribute flow thru other sites inside and outside of your firewall. Easily manage software distribution. Post email messages to the web with a single command.

NewsPage is easy, no scripting is required. You work with a text editor, outliner and menu commands.

We're pacing the commercial site managers with the important difference that our site tools are embedded in a very powerful scripting environment.

Major benefit: you can extend our architecture in any way you want. If you want your website to look or behave differently, to link to other software and system functions, as many people do, it's easy in Frontier -- it's not possible with other software.

Editing HTML in outlines

HTML is a hierarchic language, editing HTML in outlines gives you more control. We have a great outliner built into Frontier. So...

New feature! Use outlines for your complex pages and templates. You can collapse entire sections to hide detail. Reorganize with the mouse. When you convert your pages, you'll find bugs -- I did!

This feature makes a huge difference. If you do a lot of complex web pages, this feature alone justifies learning Frontier.

Deeper webscripting framework

We added lots of new features and depth to Frontier's market-leading website framework in 4.2. Automatic Next/Prev links, more self-contained sites, new object oriented features, a way to load unmanaged sites into the object database.

Great new features for WebSTAR sysops

WebSTAR 2.0 was the first release to support menu sharing. This release of Frontier includes a shared menu, which can automatically set up WebSTAR for handling .fcgi calls; commands which open special folders; a powerful "Nightly Tasks" dialog that controls nightly log rollover, content mirroring, and (most cool!) automatic production of a Top-50 list of most frequently accessed pages on your server.

Relative URLs/glossary patching

Relative URLs are cool because sites can be stuffed and transmitted and will work on end-user's machine. Sites that contain mostly-relative URLs are more flexible. You can move sites around with drag and drop, no need to rebuild them.

Frontier 4.2 implements a new protocol called glossary patching that makes generating a relative link as easy as a hard-coded one. It may sound esoteric, but it's important.

More 4.2 stuff to read...

• Using the Scriptable Finder from Apple.

• NewsPage -- turnkey site management.

• Website Building Improvements in 4.2.

• Using the outliner to edit HTML text.

• Glossary Patching -- the key to relative URLs.

• Commands in WebSTAR 2.0's Shared Menu.

• 4.2 Development Notes.

• Frontier 4.2 Download Page.

Frontier is free

It's still free! We're working on Frontier as if it were a commercial product. The world has changed. We're investing in the future. That's why it's free. To encourage you to invest too. We'll make money. Don't worry.

The future looks bright. We're working on the Windows port. Lookin at Be, and at Rhapsody... Could there be a Solaris version in the future? We'll seeeeeee.

Java Java Java!

Still diggin!

Dave Winer
UserLand Software
1/22/97

PS: I feel so good about this release. I think it's the best piece of software I've ever worked on. And I'm working with the best people. It's so coool! We're all doing just great.

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© Copyright 1996-97 UserLand Software. This page was last built on 5/7/97; 1:24:28 PM. It was originally posted on 10/14/96; 9:22:44 AM. Internet service provided by Conxion.