1: The Basics
Iosphere 2 is a web site management tool, similar to HoTMetaL Pro 5 and FrontPage 98. It differs in that it is cheaper, simpler and is aimed more at people needing to maintain a large site than casual users who want to create quick pages.
Currently Iosphere 2 does not offer WYSIWYG HTML editing - it does however offer:
- Drag and drop site creation.
- Automated index list and site-map generation.
- FTP upload capability
- The ability to have a uniform style throughout that site through use of theme files.
- Conversion of existing HTML to uniform style.
- Easy expansion to add new objects.
Drag and Drop Site Creation Pages may be added to the site structure by dragging them from the Object Repository or directly from Windows Explorer. This makes creating the site much easier, reducing the work you need to do.
Automated Index List and Site Map Generation Iosphere 2's object model allows index lists for each section to be created. These can be fully customised, displaying exactly how you want them to. A special site map object allows a page to be created with a structured list of every page on the site, while the alphabetical listing component can provide a full alphabetical list.
FTP Upload Capability
Whenever you modify your pages it is necessary to upload them to a server. The most common way to do this is via FTP (File Transfer Protocol). Usually new files have to be picked out by hand, but Iosphere 2 will automatically update the site for you. Simply configure FTP and press a button!
Site-wide Uniform Style
The main idea behind Iosphere is to give all pages in a website the same style, regardless of their source. The use of theme or template files allows this - because of the design of Iosphere each page on the final site does not correspond to a page on the tree shown in the project view. Pages are known as 'objects' - the properties of each of these objects are merged into the template files. The object may be anything - a standard HTML file an ASP or PHP page, a site map object or anything else that has been added.
Easy Expansion to Add New Objects
The object-based foundation of Iosphere 2 allows new objects to be added at any time. Expansion libraries can be downloaded from the Iosphere website when they become available. Each object decides what its associated HTML file will show, so this provides endless opportunities. The sitemap generation object is an example of this. As another example, the contents list for the Iosphere help file was created by an HTML Help expansion plug-in.
