briefcase problems and FrontPage and other editors
TeamSite Front Office Briefcase 5.6.3
Goals
Need to maintain HTML (ASP) and include files with HTML editing tools using a TeamSite file-based method. Until a forms-based entry is developed, First National has business users that use HTML editors such as Microsoft FrontPage, Macromedia Homesite and Dreamweaver. When the form-based system is implemented, limited file-based maintenance will be performed, but FrontPage will be retired.
Currently, FrontPage has been configured to edit pages only, and users maintain content formatting tasks. FrontPage users must be able to insert graphic images within the tool. Because of this requirement, the Web interface to TeamSite will not work. To be able to have user work with local copies, we do not wish to have the users work directly from TeamSite as a mapped file share. For this reason we attempted to use the Front Office briefcase.
Example Problems
Files inaccessible in Resource Tab using Homesite.
FrontPage and Homesite Opening files using File >> Open, The problem here is that you can’t do a File->Open reliably with these tools. Not all the directories or files show up in the list. In some cases none show up until you check-out a file via the briefcase. This usually requires a two-step process. Sometimes in Homesite you have to open a file twice to actually get to see the content of the file. The steps are: First, use the open dialog to navigate to content (all content is visible); upon open dialog dismisses but no file is open. Second, immediately open again and re-navigate to the file. However, only files that have been previously checked out and edited will be visible.
FrontPage inserting images: This is very hard/difficult to do via the briefcase.
Making files visible AND editable for FrontPage or Homesite: To both see and edit content via the open dialog, files must has been previously checked out and edited by the Window’s recommended application. To do this, the user must go to the briefcase on the Windows desktop, open and navigate to and select the needed files, then perform File >> Edit (Check Out) (this may also be accomplished by double-clicking the icon). Doing so opens ASP files in only in FrontPage. Extension mapping do not appear to be effected by Windows Explorer or briefcase folder options. Once the file is opened in FrontPage, a change must be made (such as adding a space character in the file) and saved. FrontPage may be closed. Often these steps will make the file visible and editable, however, if you try to repeat the same steps immediately a second time, it may not be visible even though its status is “Check Out” in the briefcase. Also, on some occasions, checking the file back in using briefcase will render the files invisible, sometime the will remain visible after checking in.
Using the TeamSite briefcase with HTML tools produces erratic results. Attempts at remediation of problems are not apparently consistent for workarounds.
Has anyone else had issues with briefcase that make using it with other tools like FrontPage/Homesite/etc problematic?
Are we not configuring things correctly?
Thx
