Expression Web Tips » Expression Web Addons

FP Cleaner for Expression Web 4

Patricia Geary — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 01:28:46 +0000

Steve Easton has just posted his FP Cleaner Tool which has been updated to work with Expression Web 4.0. This tool has been a staple in my arsenal for a number of years now and is one I always recommend to others for helping to clear up problems that may occur while using the program.

FP Cleaner for Expression Web 4

FP Cleaner for Expression Web 4.
Expression Web 4 Cleanup Utility

FP Cleaner does not require installation and will run from the desktop. According to Steve, the program will run on any of the current Windows system. I am running it on a Windows Vista laptop and a Windows 7 desktop with no problems.

You can download FPCleaner from http://www.95isalive.com/fixes/ew4.htm

What Do the Buttons Do?

The top button ‘Restore Default Menus and Toolbars‘ is not available as the ability to customize the toolbars is not available in EW 4.
Change the ‘Last Web Open Setting‘ allows you to change that setting to ensure the program is not trying to open a web when it starts. This can be useful if you have EW is set to open the last web edited and that web has a problem.
‘Clear the Hidden Temporary Files‘ checks for the location of the hidden Temporary directory for the logged on User, if the directory exists, pressing this button clears it and moves the files to the Recycle Bin. Files left behind in these directories by an improper computer or program shut down will cause problems when trying to open, save, and/or edit pages on your web site.
‘Clear the Hidden Web Cache files (*.web)’ - There is a .web file for each of your webs and if these files become corrupted, you may encounter problems opening or closing your web. Clicking this button deletes these files and forces creation of new clean files when each web is opened or published.
‘Clear the Find/Replace MRU List‘ clears the Most Recently Used ( MRU ) list of Find/Replace entries
Clicking ‘Start‘ will Launch Expression Web 4.
Clicking ‘Close‘ closes FP Cleaner for Expression Web 4 without starting the program.
Clicking ‘Properties‘ opens the Windows file properties dialog for EWFPCleaner.exe.
Clicking ‘Info‘ displays the basic information text.

The Fp Cleaner for Expression Web 4 is, as it always has been FREE, and can be downloaded from http://www.95isalive.com/fixes/ew4.htm.

Thank you Steve.

Expression Web 4 Add-ins from Ajatix

Patricia Geary — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:38:43 +0000

Ajatix has updated three of their add-ins so they now work with Expression Web 4.0. The include:

These are commercial add-ins. I have personally used the first two and you can read more about them from Expression Web Add-ins.

You can see a sample of the CSS Menu on my free Ocean Template.

WebAssist is BACK!

Patricia Geary — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:29:38 +0000

As many of you know, I have been a fan of WebAssist since they first released Eric Meyer’s CSS Sculptor for Expression Web quite some time ago. As Microsoft made changes to the program and dropped the ability to customize Expression Web with the release of version 3.0, WebAssist stopped selling CSS Sculptor while still supporting its current users. Well, WebAssist is BACK and will again be supporting Expression Web users with the release of Version 4. Expression Studio 4.0 was launched this morning at Internet Week in NYC. You can download a trial version of Expression Web 4

The announcement on the WebAssist">WebAssist site says:

Welcome Expression Web Users.

Experience Matters! For over ten years, WebAssist has been creating the leading design and development extensions on the market that help Dreamweaver users build better websites, faster. We are now excited to take the tools that have helped tens of thousands of developers and make them available for the Expression Web community.

WebAssist has a lot in store for Expression Web and we look forward to providing you the tools you need to help you achieve your goals!

What is an Expression Web Add-in?

An Expression Web Add-in is an external software package that provides additional or enhanced functionality within Expression Web 4.

The first offering is a add-in to help you add PayPal buttons to your site and it is offered FREE! Payment Buttons for PayPal quickly and easily add eCommerce to your websites without any coding knowledge.

Future Offerings for Expression Web Users

Watch for the next add-ins which will be coming soon CSS Site Building Tools which will include:

CSS Page Generator
CSS Forms
CSS Menu Navigation
Additional Commerce Ad-ons

Additional Solutions for EW Users

WebAssist also offers a a variety of complete pre-built PHP solutions to help users overcome common obstacles encountered with PHP web development. They include:

Solution Suite includes all five of the php solutions listed below.
PowerStore a complete pre-built online store.
PowerCMS is an easy to use content management system.
PowerGallery displays images with a photo gallery.
Contact Form which will make it easy to add a contact form to your site.
User Registration adds a pre-built user registration to your site.

So head on over to WebAssist and check out what they have to say about their commitment to Expression Web users.

FPCleaner for Expression Web 3.0

Patricia Geary — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 00:36:16 +0000

With the release of Service pak 1 for Expression Web 3.0, the ability to use addons is now back. All we need is for the developers to get them ready for us to use. One staple of my tools for FrontPage and Expression Web has been Steve Easton’s FP Cleaner. Steve has just released an updated version that works with EW 3.0 as a stand-along program.

FP Cleaner for Expression Web 3.
Expression Web 3 Cleanup Utility

FP Cleaner does not require installation and will run from the desktop. The program will run on any computer that runs Windows 95 and newer and with any operating system including Windows Vista and Windows 7. In other words, if your computer can run Expression Web, then it can run FPCleaner for EW.

You can download FPCleaner from http://www.95isalive.com/fixes/ew3.htm

What Do the Buttons Do?

The top button ‘Restore Default Menus and Toolbars‘ is not available as the ability to customize the toolbars is not available in EW 3.
Change the ‘Last Web Open Setting‘ allows you to change that setting to ensure the program is not trying to open a web when it starts. This can be useful if you have EW is set to open the last web edited and that web has a problem.
‘Clear the Hidden Temporary Files‘ checks for the location of the hidden Temporary directory for the logged on User, if the directory exists, pressing this button clears it and moves the files to the Recycle Bin. Files left behind in these directories by an improper computer or program shut down will cause problems when trying to open, save, and/or edit pages on your web site.
‘Clear the Hidden Web Cache files (*.web)’ - There is a .web file for each of your webs and if these files become corrupted, you may encounter problems opening or closing your web. Clicking this button deletes these files and forces creation of new clean files when each web is opened or published.
‘Clear the Find/Replace MRU List‘ clears the Most Recently Used ( MRU ) list of Find/Replace entries
Clicking ‘Start‘ will Launch Expression Web 3.
Clicking ‘Close‘ closes FP Cleaner for Expression Web 3 without starting the program.

This is one tool I could not be without. Thank you Steve for making it available. Did I mention it is F REE? Download it from http://www.95isalive.com/fixes/ew3.htm

SPAWN Addon for Expression Web 1.0 or 2.0

Patricia Geary — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:53:06 +0000

Jim Cheshire of JimcoSoftware is the author of a number of books on Expression Web including Expression Web 3 In Depth which is due to be released in October. Jim is also the author of Spawn, an addon for Expression Web 1.0 and 2.0 that allows you to create hyperlinks that will open in a new popup window with the window being a specific size or positioned at a specific place on the screen. Spawn will also allow you to create a link that will open in a new window BUT does not have certain features (such as the address bar, bookmarks bar, etc.). The window can also be locked to a certain size.

Spawn for Expression Web is an add-in to Expression Web that allows you to easily create JavaScript popup windows in your site without having to write any code. Simply launch Spawn, set your options, and Spawn does all of the work for you.

With the release of Expression Web 3.0, the underlying code was changed. Therefore, NONE of the addons for EW 1 or EW 2 will work with Expression Web 3. This includes Spawn. We HOPE that whenever the first service pack is released or V4 of EW is released, addons will once again work with Expression Web.

Spawn is available for the low price of $5. and you get both versions that will work with Expression Web 1.0 or 2.0. If you purchase Spawn now, you will receive a free upgrade to the EW 3.0 version once it becomes available.

Installing Spawn: Once downloaded (to my desktop where it is easy to find) I clicked on the exe file and the User Account Control for Windows Vista pops up. Once I clicked the Allow button, Spawn installed with no problem. You may have to right click on the exe file and choose Run as Administrator. I also had no trouble running Expression Web 2.0 once the addon was installed. Again, if you do have a problem, you may have to run Expression Web 2.0 as an administrator the first time. If you do not have a shortcut for the EW 2.0 on your desktop, the path to the program file is under Windows Vista Ultimate is C: > Program Files > Microsoft Expression > Web 2 > WebDesigner > Exprwd.exe

Launching Spawn: Once you have installed Spawn, you will find a Jimco Software menu item on the Insert menu in Expression Web 2.0. When you hover over it, you’ll see a menu of any of the Jimco Software add-ins that you have installed. Select Spawn Popup from the menu (shown below) to open Spawn.

Once Spawn has been launched, the only information you are required to enter in order to create a Spawn popup is:

The URL for the popup (what you want to appear in the popup window)
The size of the popup window

Any additional information you choose to add is optional. Once you click ‘Add PopUp’ the javascript code will be added to your page. You can preview your new popup by choosing File > Preview in Browser and clicking on the link for your pop. Jim also provides a ‘Help” file available from within Spawn.

Spawn is an inexpensive $5., easy to use program that takes much of the work out of creating javascript popup windows for you webpages. Spawn is available from JimcoSoftware. And remember, when the upgrade of Spawn for Expression Web 3.0 is available, it is a free upgrade tor those who have purchased the program.

CSS Sculptor for Expression Web

Patricia Geary — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:54:40 +0000

It appears the CSS Sculptor for Expression Web is no longer available. It is not listed on the WebAssist site. I have asked for confirmation from WebAssist but nary a word as yet. Too bad as it was a product I used quite often.

NOTE: October 5th. This product is no longer available although they will continue to support those who have purchased it in the past. WebAssist will be concentrating on addons for Dreamweaver.

Expression Web Community Toolbar

Patricia Geary — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:33:27 +0000

Would you like to have a toolbar with all of your Expression Web links in one place and easily accessible? Look no further. Tina Clarke and Pat Geary, both Microsoft MVP’s Expression Web are introducing the Expression Web Community Toolbar on their Migrating from FrontPage to Expression Web site.

View a screenshot of the toolbar installed on Firefox.

The Expression Web Community Toolbar includes:

Expression Web links including EW 3.0
Expression Web Blogs posts
Expression Web Tweets
Web Design Links
Chat Room for Expression Web
Ticker for latest news
Gadgets you can add to

The Expression Web Community Toolbar works with Firefox, IE 5 and above, as well as Safari. Did I mention that it is F REE? For more information and to download the toolbar, visit the Expression Web Community Toolbar

SALE EXTENDED! Eric Meyer’s CSS Sculptor for Expression Web

Patricia Geary — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:55:12 +0000

ON SALE though July 5th 2009 Eric Meyer’s CSS Sculptor for Expression Web for $39.99 which is ten dollars off the regular price.

Let Eric Meyer, renowned CSS master, help you create the custom Web standards compliant, CSS-based layout you want and flatten the CSS learning curve. Start by choosing from any of the 30 included layouts-and then modify the design to the max: change the page width and position or number of columns. Specify margins and padding for any page element along with type properties for paragraphs, headings and link states. Bring in background colors, background images (repeating or not) or any style of border. Eric Meyer’s CSS Sculptor generates styles sheets for both screen and print in one operation. You can even save your modified layouts as new presets to be easily re-created or modified further. Bring the master’s touch to your designs with Eric Meyer’s CSS Sculptor. ~ from WebAssist ~

You can see some of the free templates I have created using CSS Sculptor at Expression Web Tutorials and Templates. Download them and try them out then see if this addon for Expression Web will work for you.

Get it now – Eric Meyer’s CSS Sculptor for Expression Web for $39.99 which is ten dollars off the regular price.