FP2000: Listing Web Information in FrontPage or Web Folders Is Slower Against Older Server Extensions (219081)

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When the FrontPage 98 or earlier client opens a root web from a web server running the FrontPage 98 (version 3.0.2.1706) or earlier server extensions, the server extensions return a list of all files in the web to any FrontPage client authorized to author the root web.

The 4.0 and later versions of the server extensions greatly enhance the speed with which some webs can be rendered by not listing files in subfolders until the client explicitly requests the subfolder. Nevertheless, there is a performance tradeoff, because FrontPage 2000 and Web Folders clients retrieve a list of subwebs within the web in addition to the list of files in the root of the web you are opening.

In order to display a list of subwebs in the FrontPage 2000 and/or Web Folders client from the FrontPage 98 or earlier server extensions, the client sends an additional request for the list of subwebs to the FrontPage 98 extensions. If the web you are opening has many subwebs but not many subfolders or files, a FrontPage 2000 client might potentially perform slower at opening a web on a FrontPage 98 extended web server than a FrontPage 98 client.

The following two methods can improve the performance of the FrontPage 2000 or Web Folders client software when operating with the FrontPage 98 or earlier server extensions.

Method 1: Organize Your Web Content into Folders

If you have many files in your root web, you may see performance enhancements if you move most of them into subdirectories. This does not affect the performance or functionality of FrontPage 98 and earlier clients, but it does decrease the amount of time required for FrontPage 2000 and Web Folders clients to list the files.

Method 2: Upgrade the Server Extensions and Nesting Subwebs

If you have many subwebs and plan to edit only with FrontPage 2000 or Web Folders clients, request that your server administrator download and install the most recent server extensions from the following Web site:
The FrontPage 2000 and Office 2000 Server Extensions offer the ability to nest subwebs within each other. Consequently, it may be possible to organize your content so as to decrease the number of subwebs within the root web. By diminishing the number of subwebs in any given web, the performance when opening the web is enhanced. Note that FrontPage 98 and earlier clients cannot open nested subwebs.