What is Claris Home Page 3.0?

Claris Home Page is one of the earlier WYSIWYG HTML editors. It was known for its simplicity and the fact that its HTML was displayed fairly well across all browsers of its time. Version 3.0 also introduced the possibility to create database-driven websites using FileMaker Pro 4.1 and the Claris Dynamic Markup Language (CDML).

Of course, by 2022 standards, it is extremely dated. The latest standard it supports is HTML 3.2, and lacks support for many technologies that are now common, like CSS, PNG images, JavaScript, etc.

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The latest version of Claris Home Page earned the number two spot on FileMaker, Inc.’s product list — second only to namesake FileMaker Pro — and thus survived the dissolution of Claris. Deemed worthy of existence, Home Page provides easy Web-page authoring and, with this new upgrade, accessible integration with FileMaker Pro.

Home Page takes care of basic HTML editing and does so with a fairly mellow learning curve. People familiar with simple word processors will feel at home with Home Page and learn the quirks and traits of Web-page design quickly. This ease of use, however, sacrifices professional design features. Its Edit HTML Source mode, for example, offers nothing over SimpleText and doesn’t hold a candle to editors such as Bare Bones Software's BBEdit and GoLive CyberStudio. And for those with sites spanning hundreds or more pages, Home Page is probably not the right tool to use.

The best addition to Home Page 3.0 is its FileMaker Connection Assistant. Linking a FileMaker Pro database to a Web site can be a complicated process requiring users to learn CDML — the text-mark-up tags that enable you to access FileMaker functions from within Web pages. Home Page removes that necessity with the Connection Assistant and provides an easy step-by-step guide for linking a database to a Web site. Overall, the Connection Assistant is clear, complete, and genuinely helpful. Posting a FileMaker database to the Web becomes as easy as painting by numbers.

Home Page features several other new Assistants that vary greatly in worth. The Frame Assistant offers little to experts or novices. The Site Assistant, on the other hand, provides global page attributes, link checking, and other helpful features. Additional Assistants include site builders for newsletters, personal pages, and so on, that walk you through building customizable generic sites. The Assistants function as miniapplications that you can gradually give up as you become adept at using Home Page to build Web sites. They're an interesting approach to an application and work well, despite their quirky user interfaces.

Other features new in 3.0 include FTP (File Transfer Protocol) functionality, which enables Home Page to upload your site once it’s ready. One brilliant addition — lacking in many high-end tools — is the ability to upload only those files that have changed since the last posting. To fix a broken link on your site with Home Page, you only have to upload one page.

Claris Home Page 3.0 makes it easy for people who don’t know a

from a
to create decent Web sites. Purists may thumb their noses at WYSIWYG editors, but they will drool at Home Page’s easy FileMaker Pro integration. It’s the ease of use that the old Claris was famous for.

 

Love, Scott. (April 1998). Claris Home Page. MacAddict. (pg. 44).

Download Claris Home Page 3.0 for Mac

Architecture

68K + PPC (FAT)

System Requirements

From Mac OS 7.1

Compatibility notes

Emulating this? It could probably run under: SheepShaver