How to create a custom Web package for use with FrontPage 2003

This article describes how to create custom Web packages for use with Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003. Web packages are bundled collections of files that you import or export for use in a Web site. Web packages can contain Web pages, templates, Web components, themes, graphics, style sheets, and other elements.

When you create a Web package, you can identify dependencies and files that the packaged file requires, and add them automatically. To create your own custom Web package, follow these steps.

Note Do not add Universal Data Connection (UDC) files to a Web package. A UDC file is an XML file that is stored in the _fpdatasources folder that contains configuration information for a data source. UDC files can contain passwords in plain text.

Note Do not package SharePoint document or picture libraries that contain files. When other users import the Web package, those files will be added to their Web site.

1. Use Microsoft Windows Explorer to locate the following folder:
   Drive:\Documents and Settings\User_Name\Application Data\Microsoft\FrontPage\Packages
2. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Folder.
3. Name the folder, and then append to the name the ".tem" file name extension.
   
   Note All folders that contain Web package files must end with the .tem extension.
4. Start FrontPage 2003.
5. On the Tools menu, point to Packages, and then click Export.
6. In the Files in Web site box, click the files or the folders that you want to add to a Web package, and then click Add.
7. Identify the dependencies. The dependencies are additional files that the selected files require to work correctly.
   1. If the Dependency checking list is not available, click Show Dependencies.
   2. In the Dependency checking list, use one of the following methods:
      • To show all dependent files, click Check all dependencies.
      • To show all dependent files except pages that are linked by hyperlinks or by external files, such as external cascading style sheets, click Check all dependencies, except hyperlinks.
      • To hide dependent files, click Do not show dependencies.
8. Click Add. Any dependent files are added according to the setting that you chose in the previous step.
9. Click Properties, and then follow these steps:
   1. In the Title box, type a name for the Web package.
   2. In the Description box, type a description of the Web package.
   3. In the Author box, type the name that you want other users to see when they view the properties for the Web package.
   4. In the Company box, type the name of your company, if you want.
   Note The properties provide information to users before they import the Web package. You must add this information before you save the package.
10. Click OK two times.
11. In the File name box, edit the default name for the Web package so that the name is the same as the folder that you created in step 2.
12. Locate the following folder, and then click Save:
    Drive:\Documents and Settings\User_Name\Application Data\Microsoft\FrontPage\Packages\Folder_name.tem
13. Quit FrontPage 2003.
14. Open the following folder:
    Drive:\Documents and Settings\User_Name\Application Data\Microsoft\FrontPage\Packages\Folder_name.tem
    In this folder is the following file:
    Folder_name.fwp
15. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Text Document.
16. Name the file Folder_name.inf.
17. Open this file in Notepad, and then add the following lines of text:
    [inf]
    title=Title Text
    description= Description Text
18. Save the file, and then close the document.

When you create a new Web page or a new Web site by using Web packages, you will have a new tab that is named My Packages in the Web Site Templates dialog box.