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3: Adding Pages

In the bottom left corner of the Iosphere window is the 'Object Repository'. This is where all of the objects which can be added to your site are stored.

The Object Repository has five tabs:

Icon	Name	Description
	Containers	This tab contains all of the container objects - that is, those objects which can hold other objects - this includes the Virtual Folder and File System Folder. You can use these to set up the structure of your site.
	Documents	This tab contains all of the document objects. These do not hold other objects and create HTML, ASP or PHP files when they are generated. This includes the HTML Document and Sitemap objects.
	Resources	This tab contains all of the resource objects. These do not hold other objects and are copied identically when they are generated. This includes the general resource object and any additional objects which may be added later, such as GIFs and Java applets. Generally, you add these resource object by dragging from Windows Explorer, rather than dragging them from the repository.
	Pre-Configured	These are special objects which already have some form of content in them, for example a 'Terms & Conditions' document. They are installed by the main install program and you cannot change or add to them in the current release.
	User's Components	These objects are set up by you - you may add to them by dragging existing pages from the project tree into the list window. This is ideal if you have a common page which is used several times - they even stay between projects.

You can now add pages to your site. The first one we will add is a sitemap to provide a page where all of the other pages on the site can be seen - this is generally regarded as a must-have page on modern sites. Look through the Object Repository in the Documents tab and find the object, then drag it across to the root object.

You will then be able to give the sitemap a title - just name it 'Site Map' for the time being. Adding other pages is just as simple - select objects from the Object Repository, drag them onto the project tree, name them and then double click them to preview and edit them. The pages generate automatically, but press the 'Generate HTML' button on the toolbar when you are done - this will update the sitemap and index files and ensure everything is correct. If you only added the Site Map there will only be two HTML files in the publish folder. This will change shortly as we add more pages.

Pre-configured Objects

The pre-configured objects provide a basis for common documents which you may like to use. With this release only two are included. We're going to use the first one.

Select the 'Pre-configured' tab and drag the object 'Information About [Your Company]' to the object titled 'About Me'. Again, you will be able to change the name of the object - replace '[Your Company]' with your name.

You now have a page where you can add your information. Double click the object and select the 'Edit' tab. Go through the HTML source and replace the text surrounded by [ ] with the relevant information. Add any extra information that you feel is important. You will have to change some of the titles, as we're creating a personal site.

Note: You need to familiar with HTML to do this - don't worry if you are not, there are plenty of resources on the Internet. You might like to start at HTMLHelp.com

When you have finished editing the page, switch to the 'Preview' page. If you have followed all of the instructions so far you should see a page containing all of your company information.

Re-using Objects

OK, you now have a page with all of your details on it - you can also set one up for your company if you wish. The chances are that you'll want to reuse this at some point, so it would be really useful to store it somewhere, and then add it to another project later, wouldn't it?

The 'User's Objects' tab of the Object Repository contains objects that you have configured yourself. It is the only tab that you have direct control over. To move items from the Object Repository to the project tree you drag and drop the object - do the same thing in reverse to drag one back.

Drag an object over the 'User's Components' tab to select it, then drop the object into the the white window. Next time you need to use it, just drag it back. Easy.

By Ashley Brown, Email the author