Is it true that Microsoft has discontinued FrontPage?
Yes.  Microsoft has decided to split the FrontPage line into two new products: SharePoint Designer and Expression Web.  Both products have a lot in common with the current version of FrontPage. 

Will my copy of FrontPage stop working?
Not for a long time.  Microsoft has discontinued support for FrontPage 2002 last year, but FrontPage 2003 (the current version) is still being fully supported.  The table below shows Microsoft's support lifecycle dates for both products:

According to the Microsoft Support Lifecycle web page, "mainstream support" includes incident support (no-charge incident support, paid incident support, support charged on an hourly basis, support for warranty claims), security update support, and the ability to request non-security hotfixes.  "Extended support", on the other hand, includes only security update support (incident support is available for a fee).  Since Southeast Missouri State University FrontPage users get all the support they need from CSTL and IT, the really important part is the security update availability, which will still be offered until 2011 for the server products (included in FrontPage Designer 2002).

Which Frontpage replacement will be available to faculty at Southeast?
Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007 will be the FrontPage replacement for faculty to author course web sites on the CSTL web servers.  However, FrontPage 2002 and 2003 will still be supported in the foreseeable future.

Which product should I use?  Will CSTL still support my old copy of FrontPage?
You should use the application that you feel more comfortable with.  FrontPage will continue to be supported by CSTL, as well as the new SharePoint Designer.  The CSTL staff found SharePoint Designer a much better product in terms of stability and usability.  It is also better than FrontPage at creating cleaner HTML code--which translates into faster downloads and better browser compatibility.  For these reasons, CSTL recommends SharePoint Designer over FrontPage whenever a choice is available to the user.

Will I have to change anything on my web sites after I upgrade to SharePoint Designer?
No.  SharePoint Designer is fully compatible with the current server setup and can be used to author web pages and organize web sites just like FrontPage.  Some things are done differently, though, so some training may be required.  The CSTL will be offering SharePoint Designer for FrontPage Users workshops for faculty in the Technology Institutes from now on.

Can I have both applications installed on my machine?
Yes, FrontPage and SharePoint Designer can coexist on the same machine and both can open and save files on your web site.

Will FrontPage 2003 work on Windows Vista?
Yes. Both FrontPage 2003 and SharePoint Designer work on Vista, although the latter is much more stable in that operating system.

I heard a rumor about faculty having to move all their pages to Red Dot.  Is this true?
No.  Red Dot cannot replace FrontPage/SharePoint Designer as an authoring tool, nor is it compatible with OIS.  Faculty will continue to use either FrontPage or SharePoint Designer to author pages and manage their web sites for as long as those tools are supported.

What about server support?
CSTL has recently acquired new server hardware and will make the FrontPage Server Extensions 2002 available for as long as Microsoft offers security patches for that product.  Since the server version of FrontPage is tied to its 2002 client version (there was no Server Extensions 2003 release), Microsoft will fully support security patches for the server extensions until 7/12/2011.  During this period of time, CSTL will be evaluating other Microsoft products as well, including SharePoint Services, to find out if they would be a good replacement for FrontPage Server Extensions.  There are rumors that Microsoft may release a new version of the FrontPage Extensions sometime in the future.  If this is true, then support for the current system will be extended even more.

More questions?
Please contact us by email at support@cstl.semo.edu or phone x2298.