Help! Trying to Use Pub 97 & WPW in Vista

[Clive Tobin]

Hi,
I have installed Publisher 97 in my new Vista computer. I have
downloaded Web Publishing Wizard. It claims it is installed under
Internet Explorer but this folder does not exist. Pub 97 does not
recognize that WPW has been downloaded. How do I tell it where to look
for it? Thanks.
p.s.- I have tried newer versions of Pub and didn't like them.

 

[DavidF]

Perhaps instead of trying to get WPW working on Vista and IE7, consider
downloading and installing the free FTP client FileZilla:
http://filezilla-project.org/ and use it to upload your files.

DavidF

 

[Clive Tobin]

Perhaps instead of trying to get WPW working on Vista and IE7, consider
downloading and installing the free FTP client FileZilla:http://filezilla-project.org/ and use it to upload your files.

DavidF

OK thanks I'll try it and see if I can figure it out. I'd still like
to get WPW working though.

 

[DavidF]

Sorry, but somehow I doubt that you will. I don't think it was designed to
play well with Vista...but then that is true of a lot of things.

A dedicated FTP client is usually faster and easier to use once you learn
how to use it. In your case just direct your web page output to your hard
drive somewhere you can find it, and then upload those files via FileZilla.

DavidF

Perhaps instead of trying to get WPW working on Vista and IE7, consider
downloading and installing the free FTP client
FileZilla:http://filezilla-project.org/ and use it to upload your files.

DavidF

OK thanks I'll try it and see if I can figure it out. I'd still like
to get WPW working though.

 

[Clive Tobin]

Well, I have run into another snag. Pub 97 says it is unable to
establish a temporary working area, or something like that. All of the
website pictures came out totally mangled and distorted. (I fixed this
by re-making the Publish file and re-uploading from my old computer
instead.)

I guess I will have to bite the bullet and buy Pub 2007?

FileZilla works OK once I figured out the settings and discovered
after much frustration you have to drag the files, after searching in
vain for an Upload button.

 

[DavidF]

I wish I could give better advice, but my copy of 97 is installed on an old
Windows 98 machine and it has been several years since I even looked at it.
I use Pub 2000 for most of my work but have the newer versions installed for
testing purposes. It may be that 97 just isn't compatible with Vista, as are
a lot of legacy apps. You might try running it under "compatibility mode"
and see if that helps...

One thing to keep in mind is that you can have more than one version of
Publisher installed at a time. When you buy a new version, just do a custom
install and specify that you do not want to overwrite the old version. I
have each version installed in their own folder rather than the default.
This way you can continue to use Pub 97 for other purposes if you choose.
Pub 97 was a great version of Publisher and many felt that it was the best.
Pub 2007 has some advantages over 2003, but if you can find a cheap copy of
2003, you would probably be ok. The coding engine has changed quite a bit
since Pub 97 and you will find that you can do more things than you used to
when it comes to web building, but you might prefer 97 for print documents.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

DavidF

Well, I have run into another snag. Pub 97 says it is unable to
establish a temporary working area, or something like that. All of the
website pictures came out totally mangled and distorted. (I fixed this
by re-making the Publish file and re-uploading from my old computer
instead.)

I guess I will have to bite the bullet and buy Pub 2007?

FileZilla works OK once I figured out the settings and discovered
after much frustration you have to drag the files, after searching in
vain for an Upload button.

 

[DavidF]

I had another thought...perhaps post this question in the Vista group.
Perhaps they can tell you what you need to do to get Pub 97 running. As I
said before, there are a lot of favorite old programs that simply won't run
on Vista, but I think it worth your time to post in the Vista group. If
possible make note of the exact error messages you get, and include as much
detail as possible. There are some really smart people over there...

DavidF

 

[Clive Tobin]

a lot of legacy apps. You might try running it under "compatibility mode"
and see if that helps...

Thanks. I had no idea what Compatibility Mode is but one of my friends
told me how to find it. Pub 97 does run mostly OK under the Win 98-ME
Mode. Some of the stuff looks a little off though. It looks like the
Web Publishing Wizard will work now also but I didn't want to risk
using it until I have the fully Vista compatible version on hand.

I have ordered Pub 2007 just to be more up to date. Will this make the
pictures look better? Pub 97 only does GIF images which look rather
coarse.

 

[DavidF]

Good. Glad it at least mostly works...guess that is progress.

I would get used to use FileZilla as Pub 2007 does not have the Web
Publishing Wizard and it is going to take you a while to get used to the
differences. Once again, be careful to do a Custom install, and that should
give you the option of not overwriting Pub 97. Also, I hope you will be able
to open your 97 files ok... Assuming that you do, you will not be able to go
back, so make backup copies and keep sets of Pub 97 files.

As I said, I don't remember much about web building with Pub 97, but I think
that it tended to turn everything...or most everything to .gif files. Pub
2007 handles images differently, and you should be able to get pretty good
quality. If you insert a .jpg file, Publisher will export a .jpg file, but
you need to remember to use the Compress pictures feature.

Compress graphics file sizes to create smaller Publisher Web pages (2003):
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/publisher/HA011266301033.aspx
Read this article first and it will explain that this feature was added to
Pub 2003 in a service pack. The feature comes with Pub 2007.

Compress Pictures dialog box (2007):
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA100363901033.aspx?pid=CL100605171033
This article will explain how to use the feature depending on how you are
going to use the publication...print, web etc.

Another big difference in 2007 is the option of using a subfolder. You will
Publish to the Web to produce your web page files and unless you change the
defaults you will get an index.htm file (your home page) and an index_files
folder that contain your other .htm page files and all the supporting
graphics. You might want to read: Prepare, publish, and maintain your
Publisher Web site:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/publisher/HA100947601033.aspx
And here is a list of articles for Pub 2007:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/publisher/FX100649111033.aspx?
And since Pub 2007 HELP section is really lacking, you might also reference
these articles about 2003....most will apply to 2007:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/publisher/FX100649121033.aspx?

Good luck.

DavidF

a lot of legacy apps. You might try running it under "compatibility mode"
and see if that helps...

Thanks. I had no idea what Compatibility Mode is but one of my friends
told me how to find it. Pub 97 does run mostly OK under the Win 98-ME
Mode. Some of the stuff looks a little off though. It looks like the
Web Publishing Wizard will work now also but I didn't want to risk
using it until I have the fully Vista compatible version on hand.

I have ordered Pub 2007 just to be more up to date. Will this make the
pictures look better? Pub 97 only does GIF images which look rather
coarse.