After you have downloaded the file, open it in your word processor or text editor. You will see that the file contains more text than you see on the browser's screen. Much of this extra text appears within pairs of angle brackets ("<" and ">"). This is HTML (HyperText Markup Language). We will be using only a small part of HTML, and you will be guided through every step of the editing process, so don't worry. Also, here are some links to other web pages that describe how to write HTML.
The basic way HTML works is that you write the text you want to appear on a page, and then you "mark up" the text to give instructions to a browser whenever you want the text to be displayed in a special way, or create a link between that part of the page and another page. HTML instructions are always enclosed between brackets "<>". There must be a left and a right bracket for each instruction. Most HTML instructions also have an "end" instruction which shows the end of the affected text "</>".
For example, to format the sentence:
If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
so that the sixth word will show in BOLD print we could write this bit of HTML:
If I am not for <b>myself</b>, who will be for me?
The result is:
If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
The instruction "<b>" means "begin bold here". All the text after that point will appear as bold, until the "end bold" instruction is given: "</b>". If we move the "<b>" back one word, to before the word "for", then both words will appear as bold:
If I am not <b>for myself</b>, who will be for me?
The result is:
If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
| <b>text</b> | bold |
| <i>text</i> | italics |
| <tt>text</tt> | teletype font (like a typewriter) |
| <u>text</u> | underline |
| <ul> a list of items here </ul> | defines a list |
| <li> item </li> | one item in a list |
| <p> | start a new paragraph (line break) |
| ALIGN=["left"|"right"|"center"|"justify"] | horizontal alignment on the page (e.g. ligned up with the left margin, ligned up with the right margin, centered, or ligned up on both margins) |
| <A HREF="http://linkedURL"> </A> | link this text with a URL (another page on the web) |
| <strong>text</strong> | emphasis (similar to bold) |
| <h1>text</h1> | top level header (large, bold) |
| <h2>text</h2> | second level header (not as large) |
| <h3> through <h6> | descending sizes of headers |
| <img SRC="filename or URL"> | designates placement of a graphic element |
Now let's step through the template web page's HTML to see how to adapt it to your own use. Every place that you will need to replace a word or a line, we will tell you in this document in red type. In addition, embedded in the template file for the home page or table of contents are comments that describe the function of each line. Comments always begin with <!-- and end with -->.
Not every line of the template file will be listed here. There may also be very slight differences between the formatting on this screen and what you'll see in the template in your word processor or text editor. Don't worry. We'll explain the important stuff, and anything that is not mentioned does not need editing.
Beginning with the top of the template, find these lines:
<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>ShtetLinks Page -- YourShtetl</TITLE> </HEAD>
Here are the first three encapsulating formatting instructions that must appear once on each web page. <HTML> and its partner </HTML> appear at the file's first and last lines, respectively. This pair tells the browser that everything in between will be HTML instructions. The next instruction, <HEAD> on line 2, is paired with the </HEAD> on line 4. This defines the region at the top of the browser window. Within the <HEAD> . . . </HEAD> pair is a <TITLE> . . . </TITLE>. This shows two important aspects of HTML code:
The text within the <TITLE> pair is the title of the web page. The title of this web page is "Editing the ShtetLinks Template". Look for this text at the top of the browser window.
<TITLE>ShtetLinks Page -- YOURSHTETL</TITLE>
Replace "YOURSHTETL" with the name of your shtetl.
<body link="ff0000" text="000000" vlink="0000ff">
The <BODY> of the HTML file describes most of the web page. Here we define some simple "global" formatting rules for this page. The values of each of these three formatting rules ("text", "link", and "vlink") are hexadecimal numbers describing colors. With these instructions, we make the text black, the links red, and each link that has already been visited once ("vlink") will turn from red ("ff0000") to blue ("0000ff"). The different elements describing the formatting can be listed in any order. You don't need to make any changes to this part.
<IMG src="/images/shtetlogo.jpg"></p>
This line describes the source of an image (IMG src) to be inserted here (the JewishGen logo) and tells the browser to insert a new paragraph (<p>). There are also some other lines describing the alignment and the size of the banner. Don't change anything here.
<H1>ShtetLinks: <I>YOURSHTETL</I></H1>
<DL><p>
Here are two formatting elements we haven't seen before. The <H1></H1> pair defines a headline. H1 is the biggest font, H2, H3, H4, ... are smaller and smaller. The <I></I> pair emphasizes text. Once more we have a <p> (new paragraph marker) to give us some space.
<H2>Other Names</H2>
<UL>
<LI><B>Alternate name 1 (Yiddish)</B></LI>
<LI><B>Alternate name 2 (Another language as
appropriate)</B></LI>
</UL>
This is our first section, called "Other Names". The font for this section title (<H2>) is slightly smaller than the font for the page's main title (<H1>). The <UL></UL> pair defines an unordered list (no numbering). The elements of this list, "Alternate name 1" and "Alternate name 2", are indicated within <LI> and </LI> pairs.
This section describes a link to another web page, in this case a CGI program at a site called Mapquest. In fact, this link has been used here to create a map of a part of Europe with a mark indicating the exact location of YOURSHTETL, at 47°00´ N, 28°50´ E. We use a CGI script on the JewishGen server to pass the Latitude and Longditude to Mapquest. Using this CGI method, if the syntax required by Mapquest should change, we can make a global change for all those Shtetls who use this link.
This is the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) address for the CGI script that creates a map using the coordinates you send it.
http:/www.jewishgen.org/cgi-bin/mapquest.pl?lat=470000&lng=288333
In order to create a map showing the location of your shtetl, you will need to know its latitude and longitude. You can use ShtetlSeeker to find the coordinates if you don't already know them. Once you have the coordinates, you will need to perform a simple calculation to get the right numbers to send to the mapping site. We will use Kishinev's coordinates as the example. They are 4700, 2850.
Perform the same calculation for the longitude:
So, for the latitude and longitude numbers, you will use 470000 and 288333, respectively in the places where you see "&lat=" and "&lng="
Replace the latitude and longitude here, to specify the coordinates of your shtetl which you have figured out above.http:/www.jewishgen.org/cgi-bin/mapquest.pl?lat=470000&lng=288333
So the full URL will be
<A HREF="http:/www.jewishgen.org/cgi-bin/mapquest.pl?lat=470000&lng=288333">Mapquest</A>
Example:- Mapquest
One final comment about this item. HTML has special codes to print out the degree and minute symbols used here: ° and ´ (note that you must have both the ampersand preceding the code and the semi-colon following in each case, with no spaces between any of the characters). See also lists of the many other special HTML characters. Use these special characters carefully. Some browsers may not display them properly, so your careful collection of Greek letters, umlauts, and cedillas may be seen as a series of "&#xxx" combinations. Try to transliterate into Roman (Latin) characters whenever possible.
If you want to include other maps in addition to MapQuest:
<H2>Maps</H2>
<UL><STRONG>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/PCL/Map_collection/commonwealth/Moldava.GIF">
Political Map of Moldava (1993)</A><LI><A
HREF="http://www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/PCL/Map_collection/commonwealth/moldavaethnic.jpg">
Major Ethnic Groups in Moldava (1993)</A>
</STRONG></UL>
These are interesting maps of Moldava. The University of Texas has an on-line collection of other maps that may be helpful in describing your ShtetLink project. The CIA also has useful maps. A third source of old European maps is the Federation of East European Family History Societies (FEEFHS). Consult the JewishGen Links page for more sources.
Since so many borders have changed over the last two centuries, it might be a good idea to feature both antique and modern maps whenever possible.
<H2>Pictures</H2>
<UL><STRONG>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.creol.ucf.edu/~eel/moldova/images/moldova.jpg">Photo
of a Demonstration near the Freedom Monument(recent)</A></STRONG></UL>
Sometimes a native of your ShtetLink location will post photos of life there. If you're lucky enough to find such a site, or to scan in your own photos, make them available here for all to see. Before scanning photos, be sure to read the section here.
Fill in any appropriate links to photos. If you don't have any links, just delete the entire section from "<H2>Pictures" all the way to "<UL>".
<H2>Background Information</H2>
<UL><STRONG>
<LI><A HREF="history.html">History</A>
<LI><A HREF="bibliogr.html">Bibliography</A>
</STRONG></UL>
It's always helpful to feature background and historical information about your ShtetLinks location. If you're not supplying original material, or, if your original material isn't ready for posting, have links to other sites with relevant material. The CIA website is again helpful for this section. Add line items if needed.
<H2>Documents</H2>
<UL><STRONG>
<LI><A HREF="pagetemp.htm">City Directory
for 1921</A>
<LI><A HREF="bibliogr.html">Cemetery
Listing from 1910</A>
</STRONG></UL>
The URLs in the template are "dummy" URLs which serve as place holders for any sort of information you might want to include under this heading.
Replace "pagetemp.htm" with a real file name and "City Directory" and "Cemetery" with a real descriptions of documents that you will put on your site. If you have additional documents, just add more line items. If you don't have anything in this category, just delete the entire section between <H2> and </UL>.
<H2>Memoirs and Family Stories</H2>
<UL><STRONG>
<LI><A HREF="pagetemp.htm">The Halpern
Family's Journey to America</A>
<LI><A HREF="pagetemp.htm">Any Other Memoir</A>
</STRONG></UL>
The URLs in the template are "dummy" URLs which serve as place holders for any sort of information you might want to include under this heading.
Replace "pagetemp.htm" with a real file name and "The Halpern Family" and "Any Other Memoir" with a real descriptions of documents that you will put on your site. If you have additional documents, just add more line items. If you don't have anything in this category, just delete the entire section between <H2> and </UL>.
This "tailored" link searches the JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF), to locate information about other genealogists who are researching Jewish ancestors in your ShtetLinks location. It is a rather complicated-looking paragraph, but basically what it does is send a query to the JGFF, giving all the variables that the JGFF needs to return a list of matching researchers.
<H2>Searchable Databases</H2>
<UL>
<LI>JewishGen Family Finder (for YOURSHTETL)
<P>Would you like to connect with others researching YOURSHTETL? Click the button to search the JewishGen Family Finder database.
<FORM METHOD="POST" ACTION="http://www.jewishgen.org/cgi-bin/jgff.pl">
<INPUT NAME="Town1" TYPE="hidden" VALUE="YOURSHTETL">
<INPUT TYPE="submit" VALUE="Search the JGFF">
</FORM>
</LI>
</UL>
All you need to worry about is replacing the word "YOURSHTETL" with your shtetl town name in the three places above. One important note: you must use the current modern native name and spelling for your shtetl. Check the JGFF before filling in this part, to make sure your searches will be successful.
The template has additional database searches for the JewishGen "All Country" databases. The comments in the template explain how to use the code, or click here for an explanation.
<LI>
<A HREF="http://www.jewishgen.org/cgi-bin/ushmm.pl?shtetl=YourShtetl">United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum archives on
YOURSHTETL</A>
</LI>
This "tailored" link searches the holdings of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's research archives. This link is the equivalent of typing "YOURSHTETL or Alternate Name" in the Museum's search form. Make sure to test whether there is any information available on your shtetl before adding this link.
If this database has information on your shtetl, replace the word "YOURSHTETL" with your shtetl name and any alternate names preceded by "plus" signs.
<H2>Additional
Categories of Information</H2>
<UL>
<LI><A
HREF="pagetemp.htm"><B>Line Item Description Here</B></A>
This is a "dummy" heading which serves as a place holder for any other sort of information you might want to include in your outline.
Fill in your real category name and replace "pagetemp.htm" with a real file name and "Line Item Description Here" with a real description of the URL. If you don't have any additional categories, just delete the whole paragraph in the template.
<H2>Other YOURSHTETL Links</H2>
<DL>
<UL>
<LI><A HREF="http://sampleURL/"><B>Fill
in the Name of the website or page here</B></A>
</UL>
This is a place to put any additional links to information about your shtetl. The template has a link to a document regarding the execution of Lithuania's Jewish community. If your shtetl is not in Lithuania, you can delete this or replace it with another link. There are two "dummy" links in the template which you can change or delete as needed.
Compiled by <A HREF="mailto:yourname@youraddress.com">Your Name
Updated
by YourInitials Here March 19, 1999
02:00PM EST
Copyright © 1998 Your Name
Now's the chance to sign your work and provide a means of communicating to you or your ShtetLinks group information about other resources, interested researchers with helpful material or relevant questions, or corrections that should be made.
Replace the email address after the "mailto:" with your own email address, or the address of the person who will be handling all contacts for your site. Also make sure to fill in the time and date of last update. Change the update each time you make changes to your page.
At the bottom of the page we have a navigation bar to get back to the main ShtetLinks webpage. You do not need to change this.
You may have seen counters at the bottom of web pages which tell how many people have visited the page. If you would like to add a counter to your site, please see the counters explanation and code.
</body>
</html>
And now we close the document with the closing "brackets" for two formatting commands found at the beginning of the file.
Important: save your document as "TEXT" or "ASCII" . If you save it in your native word processor format, it is likely that it will not be readable by a browser. To test your document and see how it looks, open your browser, go to the "file" menu and pull down the option for opening a file (not a URL). Your customized page should be viewable in your browser. Certain graphics might not work if they are located on the JewishGen server (like the ShtetLinks logo and the "back arrow" at the bottom of the page). Don't worry about this.
You've just created your first Web page.
Last Update 8 Oct 2003 WSB