I'm using Microsoft FrontPage 2000 Server Extensions on IIS 5.0. My developers had no problems uploading content to the FrontPage web, but as my site grew, I decided to implement subwebs and assign administrators to each subweb. As soon as I added these subwebs, my regular administrators could no longer use FrontPage to log on and administer the root web. I've verified that all the permissions are correct. Why can't my administrators access the root web?
Subwebs and root webs are unique to FrontPage. A root web is a regular IIS Web site on which you've installed the server extensions. When the server extensions are installed, the IIS Web site is called a FrontPage-enabled Web site. One feature of a FrontPage-enabled Web site is that you can create subwebs and delegate administration to different people who can use FrontPage to administer the site. In other words, you use the FrontPage client software to create the subweb and delegate administration. You can also create subwebs on the server, but the point I'm trying to make is that when you've installed the server extensions on your Web site, the FrontPage client software has a lot of power to perform tasks such as changing NTFS permissions, creating subwebs, and assigning users as FrontPage Web browsers, authors, and administrators.
A root web (an IIS Web site with server extensions installed) can have subwebs. Subwebs are nothing more than folders within the root web that also have server extensions installed. For example, you might use http://www.myrootweb.com as your root web and have a folder beneath that web as a subweb accessed as http://www.myrootweb.com/subweb. A subweb acts as a different Web site when (and only when) you use FrontPage to access it. Each developer works on just his or her subweb, so those developers don't overwrite other subwebs in error. You can assign to each subweb permissions and FrontPage properties that result in delegated administration and design.
The moment you create a subweb and delegate a new administrator for it, your root web administrator loses the ability to administer the root web unless he or she has administrative rights to all subwebs. This bug is difficult to construe as a feature, so Microsoft fixed it in FrontPage 2000 Server Extensions Service Release 1.2 (SR1.2). You can find that upgrade at http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/c-frame.htm#/workshop/languages/fp/default.asp.
