Cleanup extra code generated by MS FrontPage using Adobe Dreamweaver
Question:
I have just taken on a web project that was originally created in Microsoft FrontPage. Is there any way to cleanup all the extra code that has been generated by FrontPage. I am using Dreamweaver and I need to clean it up rather than redo the whole site all over again.
Answer:
Normally, I would recommend just redoing the entire site from scratch, but if you have to maintain that site I have this nifty method that will do the job in minutes.
Well the old FrontPage nightmare. What a mess, I feel for you already. Luckily, I cam across this extension supplied by Macromedia originally for Dreamweaver MX and version 8. I have tested it in the C3 environment and it seems to work just as well. This extension is for relatively static pages. I have not tested it on a dynamic environment (and I can only hope that i never see a dynamic site created by FrontPage).
This MXP Extension claims it will clean up the code sitewide... I would be very careful using that operation as could potentially lose or corrupt the entire project. I personally recommend doing it page by page. There are a couple of anomolies about it, but nothing major. The one thing I notice is that it can remove mouseover functions, so be sure to look over your documents carefully after the cleanup process.
**NOTE**
Always work with a backup copy of your files. Maintain the original in a separate folder.
Extension available from Adobe Exchange:
Sign In | Download
From Adobe:
This tool will remove any extraneous code - such as WebBots, navigation-related comments and META tags - which are all added by FrontPage. This extension can run on individual pages or an entire site. It removes extraneous code including: proprietary tags, data and comments inserted by Microsoft FrontPage and presents a report detailing what has been done. You can specify which areas of the code will be cleaned up.
How to install:
- Download "CleanupFPHtml.mxp" from Adobe Exchange.
- Double click downloaded file or open within "Adobe Extension Manager"
Access From within Dreamweaver:
To access this extension choose:
- Commands > Clean Up FrontPage HTML Sitewide.
- In the reports dialog, select the Clean Up FrontPage HTML report
