
 
W e b W r i t e r / 2 (TM)

Version 1.2 PR1


A HyperText Markup Language editor for OS/2.

Don't write Home without it!


Written by John Blumel.

(C) Copyright 1995, 1997 John Blumel.
All rights reserved.

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INTRODUCTION

    WebWriter/2 is an HTML editor designed and written for OS/2.

    WebWriter/2 now supports the creation of HTML version 3.2 documents. It also 
includes the capability for the user to define tags which are not currently 
supported, allowing users to include vendor extensions or tags from more future 
HTML specifications.  A working knowledge of HTML is assumed and no syntax 
checking of documents is performed.

    The latest version of WebWriter/2 and updates will be made available 
from:

        http://wymple.gs.net/~jblumel/ww2/

    WebWriter/2 is now Freeware. Its use and distribution are subject to the
terms specified in the license.txt file. The license information in the on-line
help has not yet been updated to reflect this.

    Thank you for trying WebWriter/2.  I hope you find it both useful and easy 
to use.  If you have suggestions for enhancements or useability improvements, 
or if you discover defects in WebWriter/2, please contact me through one of the
methods listed in the Getting Technical Support section below.

    WebWriter/2 is implemented in REXX using VX-REXX and v2.1D of vrobj.dll.

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NOTE

    The file README.HTM is an HTML version of this document which can be loaded
into a WWW client.  

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INSTALLATION

Prerequisites:

    1. You must have installed OS/2 REXX support.
       REXX support is installed automatically with OS/2 versions starting
       with v3.0 (i.e., Warp).  If you have using  a 2.x version of OS/2 you 
       may need to install REXX support using the Selective Install utility 
       if you have not already done so.

    2. You must have the file vrobj.dll.
       If the .zip file containing this file did not include vrobj.dll, you
       can retrieve vrobj21d.zip from:

           http://wymple.gs.net/~jblumel/ww2/download/vrobj21d.zip

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Installing WebWriter/2:

    1. Install OS/2 REXX support, using the OS/2 Selective Install utility if 
       necessary.

    2. Unzip WebWrite.zip into a temporary directory.

    3. Make sure that 
       a. vrobj.dll exists in a directory in your LIBPATH.
      or 
       b. You have the file vrobj.dll in the directory that you unzipped 
          WebWrite.zip into.

    4. If you are reinstalling WebWriter/2, delete the WebWriter/2 Folder and 
       Program objects before continuing. It is also suggested that you
       backup your current installation before installing over it.

    5. Run Install.exe.

    6. You may wish to view the readme file that is loaded in the WebWriter/2 -
       Installation window before you continue.

    7. Select Install/Install from the WebWriter/2 - Installation menu to start
       the installation process.

    8. Fill in the Install WebWriter/2 options and click Continue.  You may wish
       to install VROBJ.DLL to the C:\OS2\DLL directory rather than another
       directory which will need to be added to your LIBPATH statement in your
       CONFIG.SYS file.

    9. WebWriter/2 will be installed using the entries you have made and a
       WebWriter/2 folder and program objects will be created on your desktop.

   10. Shutdown and restart your system.
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USING WebWriter/2

    WebWriter/2 allows you to create HTML documents from scratch or to markup 
existing text documents.  You may also preview documents using IBM's 
WebExplorer, Netscape Navigator or another WWW client. 

    WebWriter/2 uses a MSDI (Multiple Single Document Interface) method of 
editing multiple documents.  You can open as many WebWriter/2 windows as you 
want as long as you can keep track of what you are doing.  To help manage the 
open documents you may wish to display the WebWriter/2 - Window list.  You can
do this by selecting it from the Windows menu or from the OS/2 window list.  
Clicking mouse button 2 on the WebWriter/2 - Window list will bring up a context
menu of options.

    To insert HTML tags, select the desired tag from the Tags menu.  Tags which 
have additonal or optional elements will present the user with a dialog 
prompting for the necessary information.  For some tags this prompting is 
optional.  Optional prompting is indicated by a [...] following the menu item 
and can be invoked by holding down the control key while selecting the item.
Additional tags may be defined and inserted by selecting Tags/More tags... .  
Special characters can be selected from the Characters menu or from the 
Character entities dialog which is displayed by selecting Characters/More 
characters... .  When inserting HTML tags, selected text will be wrapped by the 
tag if it is two sided.  One sided tags will be inserted before selected text.  
Character entities will be inserted before selected text.  

    More detailed information on specific features of WebWriter/2 can be found 
in the on-line help.

    If you are not familiar with HTML you may wish to obtain one of the many 
books available on this topic.  "Teach Yourself Web Publishing with HTML 3.2 
in a Week, Third Edition" by Laura Lemay is a good book for beginners. A more
in depth treatment is also available as "Teach Yourself Web Publishing with 
HTML 3.2 in 14 Days, the Professional Reference Edition" also by Laura Lemay.
There are also many WWW sites which provide up to date HTML documentation and 
examples.  Although these are too numerous to list here, the HyperText Markup 
Language (HTML): Working and Background Materials page maintained by the 
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) at:

    http://www.w3.org/hypertext/WWW/MarkUp/MarkUp.html 

is an excellent starting point.  For specific information on HTML elements and 
attributes I recommended the Web Design Group's site at:

    http://www.htmlhelp.com

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WHAT'S NEW

See the whatsnew.htm file for information on changes included in this version.


TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Known Problems

    1. Well, it's a preview release. There aren't any problems that I'm aware
       of, but, as with all pre-release software, caution is recommended. I
       recommend doing frequent saves while working to avoid any loss of work
       that would be caused by a crash. While I'm not aware of any problems
       that will result in a crash, that's not to say that there aren't any.


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Getting Technical Support

    For technical support, suggestions or to report bugs in WebWriter/2, I can 
be reached at:

        jblumel@acm.org

    Or:

        John Blumel
        1949 Green Oak Drive
        Terrytown, LA  70056

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(C) Copyright 1995, 1997 John Blumel.
All rights reserved.
