Microsoft FrontPage Backgrounds

Type of Microsoft FrontPage Backgrounds

Understanding a Watermark Background

Adding or changing Microsoft FrontPage backgrounds on your website allows you to choose different looks for each webpage or to keep the webpages looking uniform.

There are two main types of backgrounds.

• Fixed backgrounds are also called watermarks. A watermark background is stationary and doesn't move when the visitor scrolls down the page. With a watermark background, all of the other elements on the page will appear to be in front of the background and give the effect of scrolling over it. (Not all browsers support watermarks. Watermarks won't work with a theme website.)

Backgrounds Not Fixed

• This type of background scrolls with the text and is created by leaving the watermark box blank.

How to Add Backgrounds and Watermarks

You can create either type of background using the steps below.

• Open FrontPage and website file
• Go to the page you wish to add background
• Right click mouse and in dialogue box click on page properties
• Select background tab
• Underneath formatting, check block beside background picture
• Also check box beside watermark. (Leave this blank if you do not wish the background to be stationary. It will then scroll with the text and other page elements.)
• Next click browse button and locate picture you wish to use
• Click OK
• Click save icon in menu bar

Other Background Styles

Graphics and photos are not the only design elements you can use for backgrounds. You may wish to make your background simple by using a color like a pale green instead of a graphic. You might prefer to select a theme or find another graphic on the Internet to use as a background.

Color as a Background

If you wish to create a colorful webpage without using a photo or graphic for the background, FrontPage offers a large color palette.

When you click on the page properties and select the background tab, instead of checking the box beside background picture, click on the drop down menu underneath colors. You will see a standard pallet of colors. If you don't fine the color you desire, click on more colors and customize the color. (Just remember, not all monitors are equal and what may appear as a dark color could be lighter or darker for a visitor.)

Once you make the background color selection, you need to choose the appropriate text color, hyperlink, visited hyperlink, and active hyperlink colors.

When finished, click OK, and your new background color should fill the page. Don’t forget to save your work.

Using Theme Backgrounds

If you prefer to use a pre-selected theme set that includes a graphic background, font styles, font colors, and automatically assigned hyperlink colors, then select the theme option.

When you select a theme, it populates all of your pages with the same background graphic and all of the other elements.

To select a theme:

• Start at the index page of your new website design
• Right click on the page
• Dialogue box will open
• Click on theme
• A window will open, scroll down list of choices in left sidebar
• To view themes, click on one at a time and theme will display in window to right
• Decide which theme to use
• Choose how you wish theme to appear by checking following choices:
  • Vivid colors
  • Active graphics
  • Background picture
  • Apply using CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) (Check box only if you’ve customized the theme fonts. Checking the CSS box is not advised because some browsers cannot read CSS.)

You can play around with these options until you achieve the look you desire. If you find a theme you like, but don’t care for the graphic background, you can change this easily by following the steps provided on Microsoft’s website.

Other Background Pictures

Another way to add a photo or graphic for a webpage background is to link to an existing one already on your site and currently being used as a background.

For example, if your opening page (index page) has a photo of a mountain scene as a background and you'd like to use it on the page where you discuss ski resorts, then you don’t need to upload it to your server a second time.

• Right click the page and select background
• Open the background tab
• Scroll down to vacant block which states Get background information from another page.
• Check this box
• Click browse
• This opens new dialogue box with listing of pages on your website
• Click on page where desired background is located
• Click OK
• Save

The picture now appears as the page's background.

Free Graphics for Backgrounds

Finding graphics for Microsoft FrontPage backgrounds is easy. There are many choices available from Microsoft as free downloads. You can also find several free ones on the Internet. Below are some links to get you started.