Papers in PDF format

version of Netscape 2.0 (Netscape was estimated to be preferred by approximately three quarters of the
browsing audience when we began this project). Cornell University student interns Daniel Cane and Timothy
Chi developed the file structure and coding methods used for the Explorations frames.
The use of frames offered several advantages in design and layout of the publication, establishing a
"place" for each major component of the pages (graphic image maps, text, illustrations) and, therefore, a
consistency of format. Frames also enabled us to maintain a logical and pleasing relationship among the
scrolling story, the illustrations, and utility items such as the buttonbar.
All of the top level pages are divided into three frames. On the left, a vertical frame presents a graphic
image that is usually a composite of illustrations from the pages at the level below. These images act as graphic
sidebars to the pages, enhancing the visual interest at the same time that they present an intuitive graphical
guide to the next level in the text. They are sized to fit the initial template and mapped with links to the pages
in the hypertext structure to which they refer. Brief text overlays give additional indication of links. The new
version of the server software NCSA HTTPd (HTTPd NCSA/1.5.0a), which was installed on our system soon
after we started, greatly simplified setting up the image map links.
The major frame for each page is the focal point for that level in the site. Each contains the body of the
text, the full illustrations, and often text links to other levels. This is the one frame that we expect to generate
scrollbars--since size and font are set by the viewer, we did not attempt to prevent scrollbars here. However, we
limited the text length for any segment to no more than three screens in a relatively large font (14 point Times
on a Macintosh, "huge" on an SGI). A horizontal frame at the bottom of the page allows the viewer to navigate
at a larger scale within the publication. Buttons access the top level of the current story, the entry page for the
entire publication, a text-based table of contents, and the navigation tips page.
Any frame on the page will automatically generate scrollbars within its allotted space if the files that are
called into it are wider or longer than the space provided. This was inconsistent on different viewing platforms
and it was necessary to compromise, determining the final image template sizes by trial and error. (There is an
HTML tag that will override the scrollbars, but the results are extremely problematic.) We attempted to
minimize the presence of scrollbars on the pages by offering a screen sizing page that functions also as a cover
page at the beginning of the site. Viewers are asked to size their browser window to fit the image on this cover
page. Because the images in the graphic vertical frames are standardized, scrollbars become necessary only to
view oversized illustrations or to scroll text that is larger than the area of the major frame.
2.2 Additional Features
2.2.1 Feedback
We elicit feedback from viewers wherever they may be in Explorations so that we can make continual
improvements in our online science publications. A feedback form is readily accessible via the buttonbar, and
the messages are sent to the project coordinator as electronic mail.
2.2.2 Search
Explorations is not only an information book, but also serves as an educational and reference tool. We
incorporated an ALIWEB* CGI search mechanism, available via the buttonbar, to improve access for students
and researchers. This search engine will permit major Web indexed sites to point to the articles in Explorations
for the entire World Wide Web audience. Searches are based on the IAFA (Internet Anonymous FTP Archive)
template and look for titles, keywords, and descriptions that are provided in the source code for individual
pages. This system requires an investment of time by the developers to index the pages manually, but ensures
the quality of their accessibility to broad searches.
3.0 Telling the Story with Words: Writing for Hypertext
CTC participated in the development of the National Science Foundation MetaCenter Computational Science
Highlights project (http://www.tc.cornell.edu/Research/MetaScience/) during 1994-95, generating new science
stories specifically for that site. This experience drove home the importance of breaking apart the text of a
traditional, linear feature article into "chunks" of information that are linked and yet stand alone, analogous to,
but more complex than, the use of sidebars in conventional print media.
In the hypermedia environment, conventional wisdom suggests that short pages are better. We began
with linear features on the research and then took out sections that could become related chunks. Once the
story was dissected, it was recast with references to the chunks. Top level pages averaged more than 500 words
in length.