DFM2HTML Frequently Asked Questions

DFM2HTML runs on Windows 10 and Windows 11 in both 32-bit and 64-bit editions. Older Windows versions may work but are not the primary test environment for recent builds. Download the 64-bit installer if your system is running a 64-bit version of Windows, which is the default for all current Windows hardware.

SmartScreen warnings appear for desktop software from smaller publishers that do not hold a high-volume extended validation code signing certificate. The warning does not mean the file is unsafe. To proceed, click "More info" in the SmartScreen dialog and then click "Run anyway." If you want to verify the file before running it, check the SHA-256 checksum on the download page against the file you downloaded.

The standard installer requires administrator rights to place files in the Program Files directory and register the application. If you are installing on a work computer where you do not have administrator access, speak with your IT department. The installation process is straightforward and does not install drivers, system services, or browser extensions.

DFM2HTML requires the Visual C++ Redistributable runtime, which is included in the installer package. If the install fails with a runtime error, try downloading the latest Visual C++ Redistributable directly from Microsoft's download center and installing it before running the DFM2HTML installer again.

The editor exports a folder of standard web files: HTML pages, a CSS stylesheet, JavaScript files for menu behavior, and any images you placed in the project. The output is entirely portable. You can upload it to any web host via FTP, copy it to a local intranet server, or open the HTML files directly in a browser for local testing.

No. DFM2HTML produces pure static HTML output. No PHP, Python, Node.js, or database is required. Any standard web host that can deliver static files will serve DFM2HTML pages without additional configuration. This includes shared hosting, VPS hosting, static site platforms, and direct file server setups.

The editor preview renders in an embedded view that may not match every browser's default styles exactly. Common causes of visual discrepancies include browser default margins and padding being applied to elements the editor does not style explicitly, font substitution when the specified font is not available on the target computer, and CSS specificity differences between the editor preview and the standalone browser. Test your exported output in multiple browsers and adjust the project's CSS as needed.

DFM2HTML exports pages with UTF-8 encoding declarations. If characters in your content appear as garbled symbols after upload, the issue is typically the web server's default charset header overriding the page's own declaration. Configure your hosting to send Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 headers, or set a charset directive in an .htaccess file if your host uses Apache.

Switching templates on a partially built project is not straightforward. The template defines the fundamental layout structure, so a template change effectively requires rebuilding the page structure from the new template and re-placing content. For small projects this is manageable. For complex multi-page sites, it is worth choosing the right template before adding significant content.

Frame-based templates use HTML framesets to divide the browser window into independent regions, with a persistent navigation frame and a content frame that loads individual pages. Standard templates produce single, self-contained HTML pages where navigation and content are in the same document. For most modern sites, standard templates are the right choice. Frame templates suit specific cases like documentation systems where persistent sidebar navigation has clear user experience benefits.

This is a hover delay timing issue. The menu script's closeDelay setting controls how long the submenu stays open after the cursor leaves the parent item. Increasing this value to 150ms or higher gives users enough time to move the pointer from the navigation bar to the submenu. See the JavaScript menus page for the configuration syntax.

Hover states do not exist on touch screens. The menu script needs touch-specific handling to open submenus on tap rather than hover. The DFM2HTML menu script includes touch detection and a tap-to-toggle behavior for devices without a pointer. If your menus are not responding to touch, verify that the touch event handling section of the script is present and that the script is loading successfully on the mobile browser.

The most common cause is a path mismatch. DFM2HTML uses paths relative to the project structure. If you upload only some of the exported files, or if you move files into different folders on the server, image references will break. Upload the entire exported folder structure as-is, maintaining the relative paths between HTML files and images. Also check that file names match exactly, including capitalization, since Linux servers are case-sensitive.

Upload the complete exported folder, verify file name case matches the HTML references, confirm the root index file is named correctly, check browser developer tools for 404 errors on missing CSS or JavaScript files, and verify the web host is configured to serve static HTML correctly.

Browsers and CDNs cache static assets aggressively. After publishing updates, visitors may see cached versions of your pages for hours or days. For your own testing, a hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R in most browsers) forces the browser to bypass its local cache. For edge caching on platforms like Cloudflare, you need to purge the CDN cache after uploading new files. The Cloudflare cache purge documentation covers the exact steps for clearing cached assets on Cloudflare Pages and Cloudflare CDN.

Cache duration for static files is controlled by the Cache-Control HTTP header that your web server or hosting platform sends. For static assets that change infrequently, like images and CSS files, long cache times improve performance. For HTML pages, shorter cache times ensure visitors get updates reasonably quickly. Configure these headers in your hosting platform's settings, through a _headers file on Cloudflare Pages, or in an .htaccess file on Apache servers.