Expression >
Forums Home
>
Expression Studio Forums
>
Expression Web and SuperPreview
>
BEFORE POSTING - Read this Expression Web Forum FAQ - Important Information! - BEFORE POSTING
BEFORE POSTING - Read this Expression Web Forum FAQ - Important Information! - BEFORE POSTING
- Do not post questions in this thread! Search the Forum for answers and post a new question there if you can't find a solution.
User FAQs: There are things you can do that will help you get answers faster and make it easier for people to help you...
1. If you are asking a question about your site, PUT THE SITE ON THE WEB FIRST and POST A LINK TO IT IN YOUR QUESTION, otherwise the volunteers here will just be guessing--wasting their time and yours. There could be a dozen possible answers; without being able to see the site, everyone is just taking a stab in the dark. It's like showing a mechanic a photo of your car and asking him to tell you what's wrong with the transmission. Don't say it's not ready to be posted; we need to see it in order to help. Pasting the page code in your question doesn't help either. We need to see the site! Make it easy for us to help you!
2. If you are revising part (or all) of your site, and don't want the public to see it yet, just post the pages (or the whole new site) in a hidden folder, and post the link to it. We need to see the pages as they are operating--flaws and all--with the style sheet and graphics. And we can keep your secret.
3. This is a user-to-user forum. The people in this forum are NOT Microsoft employees (except for a few who visit and who are identified in their signature as such). MVPs and Microsoft Partners are not MS employees; they are very knowledgeable users who have been recognized by Microsoft by meeting certain standards.
4. Many of us use programs other than Expression Web. We have no vested interest in Microsoft or its software; venting to us about your feelings toward Microsoft does no good. We. Don't. Care.
5. Use the search function. This forum is a great resource, and your question may have been answered already. People have spent thousands of unpaid hours researching and answering thousands of questions--take advantage of it. But if you find an old, dead thread, don't add to it.
6. Be clear and specific about your problem/question, including the meaningful title of your post ("Need help" is a bad title.). Tell us what you have tried and exactly what isn't working right and in what way it isn't working. Tell us your hosting company, what OS the server uses, etc. If you are having a technical/operational problem, tell us your computer's operating system and version, etc. And post the site!
7. If you are new to Expression Web, click the "Learn" tab above, and also search this forum for recommendations for training resources, and see the links below. This is not the place to be tutored in HTML and CSS (although people certainly answer such questions).
8. Don't ressurect an old, dead thread that's been marked as answered; we won't notice your new question. If you can't find the answer after searching, start a new thread.
9. Don't create duplicate threads hoping to get an answer sooner. It's rude and pushes active threads off the first page.
10. When someone solves your problem, click the link at the bottom of THEIR post labeled "Propose as Answer" (not your post!). That way people will see the green check mark and know it's done. Then, if someone searches the forum for the same problem you had, that check mark may lead them to the perfect solution quickly. And...If you find any answer helpful, click the green icon in the top left corner of their post "Vote As Helpful" to show other people that this is what helped you. Don't delete your original question, the archive of questions and answers here is an invaluable tool for everyone.
11. The participants in this forum span the globe, so the perfect person to answer your question may be asleep right now. Have patience. We're all volunteering our time when we have a few minutes free.
12. Your site will render most accurately in Firefox, Opera, and IE8--very HTML-compliant browsers. Check your work often. IE7 is a bad gauge.
EW Problems/Questions
1. If EW is acting weird, go to http://www.95isalive.com/fixes/fpclean.htm (works for both FrontPage and EW) and clean out your EW cache using the tool there. Can't hurt.
2. If EW3 crashes when you start it up: EW3 has a problem with corrupt fonts. A fix was released in a service pack on Nov. 20, 2009. If, in the Application Event Viewer, you see a mention of Problem Event Name: CLR20r3 and Problem Signature 09: System.IO.FileFormatException or system.typeinitialization in the error message, you have a bad font. EW3 hangs when it finds one. Install the service pack (which also includes other improvements)
3. At the present time, you cannot customize the toolbars. Those features will be made available in the future (possibly in the form of a Power Toy). notice will be made in this forum.
4. Extensibility (the ability to use 3rd-party plug-ins) is now available via the service pack. The EW team is working with vendors to facilitate this feature; expect new add-ons soon after the service pack.
Installation FAQs:
1. The trial period is for 60 days and there is no trial key for EW3. Because this is a trial version, Microsoft has no official source for tech support. Do not uninstall a trial version; you will not be able to install it again. That's normal procedure with free trials from any company.
2. Make sure your computer meets the minimum configuration requirements as listed on the download page. If you have problems installing EW 3, the problem is with your computer. People have successfully installed EW 3 on both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows XP SP2, Vista, and Windows 7. Note: In early November 2009, MS found a problem that affected some Windows XP installations, causing a blue screen of death. The cause was tracked to a particular DLL file. The easiest solution to the problem is to install SP3 for Win XP, which replaces the problem version of the DLL with a new one. SP3 is not yet listed as a minimum requirement, but it is a good idea to install it first. See this blog entry:
http://blogs.msdn.com/xwebsupport/archive/2009/11/06/blue-screen-after-installing-expression-web-3-on-windows-xp-sp2.aspx
3. If you buy the retail version, the disc is a DVD, not a CD. Don't have a DVD drive? No problem. Just download the trial version from the Microsoft site, install it, and enter the activation key that you got with your retail purchase. The trial version is identical to the retail version; entering the key just keeps it from timing out.
4. Make sure you have first installed .NET Framework 2.0, 3.0 and 3.5 and its SP1. (See forum thread http://social.expression.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/web/thread/f0609960-cc25-4628-82a8-ba0db9ca3d05 which also details problems with corrupted .NET installations and cleaning them up.)
5. Update your mouse driver and video card driver with the latest drivers from the manufacturer (not standard Windows drivers). You may also have to drop the color depth to 16-bit and lower the video hardware acceleration setting. (http://social.expression.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/web/thread/2bded56e-a98c-4742-bf47-5fae6308e5fe)
6. If the installation is incredibly slow--seems to have stopped--and you are running Windows XP, minimize the setup/installation screen. There is a screen-draw problem with one graphic on the installation screen that effects certain XP computers with video hardware acceleration set to None or very Low (Display Properties, Settings, Advanced, Troubleshoot). Minimizing the window eliminates the problem and your installation should finish in just a few minutes.
7. If your installation crashes or is otherwise faulty, the MS Installer Cleanup Utility may help. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/290301
8. Installation support for EW used to be free, MS is now redirecting people back to this forum. Check for changes in this policy at...https://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?gprid=12105 People in this forum are users of EW, our experience with installation is usually limited to our one copy, on our computer, one time. We don't have access to troubleshooting information, as real tech support staff does. See below for MS e-mail support.
More Microsoft Resources for Installation Problems (Thanks to Steve Guttman, MS Moderator for the research)
If you are unable to complete the installation of Expression Web, please review the following Knowledge Base articles for help with specific error messages.
This helpful blog from the Expression Web Support Team: “Known causes for Expression Web 2 installation crashes” may help with some EW3 problems.
http://blogs.msdn.com/xwebsupport/archive/2009/04/21/known-causes-for-expression-web-2-installation-crashes.aspx
This blog post might apply if the installation fails:
http://blogs.msdn.com/xwebsupport/archive/2009/09/28/expression-web-3-setup-crashes-immediately-after-launching-not-the-fonts-issue.aspx
This blog post might also help:
http://blogs.msdn.com/xwebsupport/archive/2009/09/29/expression-web-studio-2-crashes-on-setup-exception-has-been-thrown-by-the-target-of-an-invocation-cannot-convert-string-pack-application.aspx
If the information above does not resolve your problem, please contact MS’s Expression Web Install Support via email (instal at microsoft.com--yes, that's one "l" in instal--MS has removed the ability to post that e-mail address intact in the forum, hence the obfuscation.), and include the following information: First and Last Name, Phone Number, E-mail Address, Expression Web version, Windows version, Error Message, and/or brief problem description. Microsoft will contact you via email within one business day from your submission.
Learning Resources and Reference Sites:
If you are new to Expression Web, HTML, CSS, or moving from FrontPage, here are good starting points--links that are often posted in response to questions.
by-expression.com/media/p/1300.aspx Download the asset file and work through the "Building a Basic Website" tutorial. Lots of good info on HTML, CSS, and using EW.
www.w3schools.com Tutorials about HTML, CSS
css.maxdesign.com.au/index.htm Tutorials that explain the workings of CSS
www.alistapart.com "From Pixels to Prose, Coding to Content"--all about web design.
http://www.ampsoft.net/webdesign-l/WindowsMacFonts.html Web-safe fonts and font families and how they display.
positioniseverything.net Troubleshoot browser differences in rendering CSS
www.456bereastreet.com Tips on design, layout, CSS tricks and accessibility.
gallery.expression.microsoft.com Code snippets, web templates, graphics (also on the tab above)
http://expression.microsoft.com/frontpage A must-read tutorial that will make your transition from FrontPage easier, especially updating an existing site and shared borders.- Edited byLori DirksMSFT, ModeratorWednesday, April 15, 2009 3:18 AMClarifying title
- Edited byBill Pearson Wednesday, April 15, 2009 5:18 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Wednesday, April 15, 2009 5:27 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Wednesday, April 15, 2009 5:31 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Wednesday, April 15, 2009 5:34 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Wednesday, April 15, 2009 5:44 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Wednesday, April 15, 2009 1:05 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Wednesday, April 15, 2009 7:13 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Thursday, April 16, 2009 2:04 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Thursday, April 16, 2009 8:28 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Thursday, April 16, 2009 11:44 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Saturday, April 18, 2009 12:43 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Saturday, April 18, 2009 12:27 PMadd links
- Edited byBill Pearson Saturday, April 18, 2009 12:30 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Saturday, April 18, 2009 12:50 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Monday, April 20, 2009 6:01 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Sunday, April 26, 2009 2:34 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Sunday, April 26, 2009 3:23 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Thursday, May 07, 2009 1:20 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Friday, May 08, 2009 1:05 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Sunday, May 10, 2009 9:14 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Thursday, May 14, 2009 12:35 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Thursday, May 14, 2009 1:31 PMOS notes
- Edited byBill Pearson Saturday, May 16, 2009 6:37 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Wednesday, June 10, 2009 1:18 AMadded Steve's links
- Edited byBill Pearson Thursday, July 09, 2009 2:24 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Monday, July 13, 2009 1:50 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Sunday, July 26, 2009 3:39 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Monday, July 27, 2009 2:20 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Tuesday, August 04, 2009 4:11 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Tuesday, August 04, 2009 4:16 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Tuesday, August 04, 2009 2:48 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Thursday, August 06, 2009 12:48 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Tuesday, August 11, 2009 4:05 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Friday, August 14, 2009 5:35 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Friday, August 28, 2009 4:19 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Monday, August 31, 2009 4:36 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Saturday, September 26, 2009 12:28 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Saturday, September 26, 2009 12:44 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Saturday, September 26, 2009 12:56 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Saturday, September 26, 2009 1:12 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:28 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:45 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Tuesday, September 29, 2009 3:27 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Tuesday, September 29, 2009 4:07 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Tuesday, September 29, 2009 4:19 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Tuesday, September 29, 2009 4:51 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Tuesday, September 29, 2009 5:01 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Tuesday, September 29, 2009 6:18 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Sunday, October 04, 2009 4:03 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Friday, October 09, 2009 4:14 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Friday, October 09, 2009 4:25 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Friday, October 09, 2009 11:31 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Thursday, October 15, 2009 7:58 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Saturday, November 07, 2009 5:33 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Tuesday, November 17, 2009 12:27 PM
- Edited byBill Pearson Monday, November 23, 2009 5:34 AM
- Edited byBill Pearson Monday, November 23, 2009 5:38 AM
All Replies
- Thanks, Bill!
I hope you don't mind that I took the liberty of making your post, itself, sticky. (And edited the title, just for clarity.)
I'd love to hear any other ideas people have, either here in the forums or directly through email. My email address is lori [dot] dirks [at] microsoft [dot] com.
Cheers,
Lori Dirks
Community Site Manager - How about, "Use a meaningful subject/topic name."
No, that doesn't include "Newbie needs help," "I'm confused," "Why is this happening?" or just "HELP!"
Meaningful topic names/subjects are important for later when the archives are searched, and they're important immediately because we have some idea what the questioner needs. Perhaps most importantly, thinking about the question hard enough to create a germane subject line helps the questioner to crystallize their thinking enough to actually ask a meaningful question in the message body, something that is often woefully lacking.
This, of course, goes hand in hand with my second request: "Ask your question clearly." This may include some or all of the following:
1. What I would like to display in the browser - Be explicit and thorough; include any display or active elements that bear on your question.
2. What I would like my visitors to do with my application - Describe the kind of interaction you expect from your visitors.
3. What I wish to happen when my visitor interacts with my application - What is the purpose of the interaction? Will a new page load, a data view update, a form be submitted, etc.?
4. What I have done so far and how the expected results vary from what I wish to accomplish - This is the meat of the question, of course, but often without some or all of the foregoing information it will exist in a vacuum.
It is absolutely amazing how far we have to go sometimes just to get to item four in that list.
cheers,
scott - Cool, Thanks, Lori.
Since you made it sticky, I edited it a LOT and made it cover the things I that I notice that could help everyone (and some of Scott's first comments).
I think this will make the process run more smoothly if people glance over the short tips.
Please keep the suggestions coming. - Good information which should help both questioners and the helpful volunteers who offer their knowledge for nothing.
Not wishing to be pedantic, but is there a typo at end of item 9? (guage/gauge). - Not pedantic - just correct :-)
Mart - Thanks, Andrew. It was about 1:45 AM when I finished that. I was a little bleary-eyed.
I didn't put links to the common training reference sites in there. I just don't want to leave anyone out. Should there be a few links in there?
And, to be clear, I had never thought that my post would be stickied; it started as a suggestion. There are lots of people in here who know far more and do more than I do. But if it helps the process, I thought I'd throw the ideas out. - Thanks, Bill! This is fantastic!
- I added a links section this morning-sites I use, sites referenced often in this forum, and some that Lori suggested.
If you have any more that you think would help people new to EW/HTML/CSS, please post them here
Thanks. - Dear Bill - I apologize in advance for what is probably a dumb question. I tried to install Expression Web2 via a purchased CD yesterday and the installation failed twice (first error not enough virtual memory, second error no registered JIT Debugger was specified). I appear to have a computer that exceeds all requirements. I tried the link you indicate for support in this posting and all options indicate a charge is involved (as of today May 17th). Does your comment indicate that when I actually call tomorrow they will waive any charge when I speak with them initially. Thanks, Doug Damon
- Doug
Okay, it's not a dumb question. now. (It has been in the past, when it was clearly stated that installation support is free, but you've discovered that they've changed the page--thanks for the heads-up.)
But--this isn't the regular place to post these questions--I'm going to start a thread in the regular Forum. Check there for answers. I hope MS staff can respond and I'll do some looking around too. I'll name the thread "EW Installation tech support--still free?" Check the forum for it.
Thanks,
Bill
P.S. 1000 hits on this thread--woo hoo! - Dear Bill - Dumb #2 what is the name of the "regular forum". I am having trouble finding the forum you are referring to. It appears there are hundreds of them. Thanks
- Doug,
He means start a new there with your install issue in the subject line instead of asking your question in a reply to this sticky FAQ thread.
MS MVP Expression Tutorials & Help http://by-expression.com and online instructor led Expression Classes - Dear Cheryl - Hi, thanks for responding. I am CPA who never uses these forums and I cannot follow your help. It is me not understanding forums. Mr. Pearson said "But--this isn't the regular place to post these questions--I'm going to start a thread in the regular Forum. Check there for answers. I hope MS staff can respond and I'll do some looking around too. I'll name the thread "EW Installation tech support--still free?" Check the forum for it." It sounded to me that Mr. Pearson is putting a question either in a different section of this Expressions Web forum or he was going to a different forum? I just do not know where to find his new thread? I do not understand the term sticky FAQ Thread. Sorry, Doug
- Doug: You're in the forum...this is just the first message in the forum. Look at the tabs at the top and you'll see the path to it:
Expression > Forums Home > Expression Studio Forums > Expression Web
The last one is the name of the forum you're in and this is the top post in that forum (it's been anchored here because the moderator decided it was something that should stay on top since it had information that applied to everyone, especially people new to the forum).
When you came here, you saw this as the first message (on top), and beneath it was one from Lori Dirks, titled "Forums: Answered? Helpful? Mark it so!". And then when you scroll down that first screen there are 4,500+ messages, starting with the most recently accessed ones, about 20 per page. Each one of those is a thread; it starts with a question and then people respond to it until it's answered. New questions get asked all day, and they appear toward the top of the page. One of those is the thread that I started in response to your question. - Bill,
Could you include the additional information in the sticky titled 'Expression Web Installation Support' into your installation section?
Moderator,
If Bill does this can we remove the other as a sticky? The FAQ should be the first post on this forum...
Too many stickies just pushes posts down and off the front page. Its annoying to have to scroll to see the first posts.
Just my .02...
--
Chris Hanscom - Microsoft MVP
Resource Center | Veign's Blog | Web Development Help
Get a Complete Website Analysis by Veign - Thanks for the suggestion, Chris. it is good to have a one-stop shop for that stuff.
I have copied Steve's links into the big sticky (and credited him, of course). So if a moderator thinks it wise, they can delete Steve's post to tidy things up.
Bill - Just a suggestion, Bill, but it's growing pretty large. May I suggest moving the User FAQs first, followed by the Installation Support section. Then, at the top, just before the User FAQs, put a named anchor that goes to the installation support section, so those looking for that first can get there quickly.
So, you might have html like so:
<a href="instSupport" style="font-weight:bold;">Click here to jump to Installation Support</a>
Then at the beginning of the Installation Support section, you would have something like this:
<a name="#instSupport">Installation Support first few words...</a>
I used bold for the jump, but you could use color or whatever you want.
[EDIT: Now that I look at it again, it wouldn't be that hard to create a basic TOC with jumps to each of the subcategories. If you don't have time or would like some help, feel free to let me know. I can get at the HTML by "replying with quote," do the mods, then pass it back to you if you wish.]
cheers,
scott
Plural's don't have apostrophe's. It seem's sometime's that any word's ending in "s" get a gratuitous apostrophe. Apostrophe's are used to indicate possessive's and elision's (contraction's or abbreviation's). - You beat me to it, Scott. That was my project for this weekend. I'm going to check all the links, consolodate the installation info, check that teh info is stiil good, etc. Probably tomorrow.
- Bill,
Do you want to move the FAQ to a page on Veign.com? I can re-recreate your post as help page on Veign if you like. Just a thought.
--
Chris Hanscom - Microsoft MVP
On Facebook | On Twitter | Resource Center | Veign's Blog | Web Development Help
Get a Complete Website Analysis by Veign - I can also put a copy on by-expression.com if you want.
MS MVP Expression Tutorials & Help http://by-expression.com and online instructor led Expression Classes - I think having copies spread around the Web in strategic places is a dandy idea. Copy away.
I think this should still be the main repository so that people coming here don't have to go elsewhere.
I didn't finish making all the changes this weekend that I planned (bookmarks, etc.). Maybe in a day or two. - Wonder if a forum Admin can remove the Edit lines in the original post since they shortly will out number the actual post.
--
Chris Hanscom - Microsoft MVP
On Facebook | On Twitter | Resource Center | Veign's Blog | Web Development Help
Get a Complete Website Analysis by Veign - Bill you asked for other resources .. might I suggest my free ebooks
Setting up Expression Web Ebook... there are ebooks for each of the versions 1.0 2.0 and 3.0
http://any-expression.com/expression-web/ebooks/setting-up-expression-web-ebook.htm
and also Expression Web Dynamic Web Templates Ebook
http://any-expression.com/expression-web/ebooks/expression-web-dwt-ebook.htm
There is also a free Expression Web Community Toolbar
http://www.frontpage-to-expression.com/expression-web-community-toolbar.html
which Pat geary and I work on and add new ew resource links all the time ( any suggestions welcome its a continuing work in progress )
Tina
Tina Clarke http://any-expression.com/ http://www.expression-web.net/
