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Microsoft Word users will find a Save as Web Page... command in the File menu. Selecting this option will take you through screens/dialog boxes that prompt you to convert and save your file as a web page in an .htm (or .html) file.
Normally, you would then upload your .htm or .html file to a server using a ftp (file transfer protocol). However, Manila works is an entirely different way, and ftp is normally not used.
There are two ways you can include html from documents created using the Word Save as Web Page... command on your Manila web site. One method is quick but creates pages that do not match the design of the rest of your site; the other method is more complicated but will better integrate materials into the design of your site.
Both methods begin with the same first two steps:
- Open your Word document and then go to the File menu and choose Save as Web Page...
- Word will display the web version of the file as in this example
At this point you have an html or htm version of your document saved on your computer. The next steps differ depending upon which method you use to actually incorporate the web version of the page into your web site.
Upload the converted file as a gem
- Go to your site and login.
- Go to the Gems page by clicking on the Gems link in the Editors Only menu.
- Click on the Create a New Gem link.
- Click the Browse button to locate the htm or html version of your file on your computer.
- Give the gem a Title that will make a good shortcut.
- Click on the Post New Gem button.
- When you return to the Gems page you will see your new gem in the list. Either use the full URL listed beneath it in the list or type its shortcut to go to this page.
Advantages:
- This is a very simple way to create a web version of your Word document
- Uploading the file as a gem allows it to easily open in the browser.
Disadvantages:
- Pages converted to html and then uploaded as gems will not look like the other pages on your site.
- This works best for pages without graphics since Word turns the graphic elements of your page into separate files than must be linked together. This can be done with gems but the process can become quite complicated.
Extract needed html from the converted file and add to a Manila page
Another option is to copy the required text from the htm or html file that Word creates, and then to paste it directly into your Manila story.
- Some of teh information in your .htm or .html file is already included in your Manila web page and must be removed from the .htm or .html file before using it. To see the full content of your web page select HTML Source from the View menu
- In the sample document above, all of the text shown in red should not be included in your Manila page. In other words, select and copy everything between the <body> and </body> tags (the black text in our example) and paste it into your Manila Edit Story or Create a New Story page.
- Post your changes.
At first glance, Word's ability to convert .doc files to .htm files seems like a wonderful feature. However, frequent users of this feature often find that it is not quite as simple and reliable as they hope. Here is a brief summary of some important issues that you will want to consider.
Advantages:
- Word can generate web-ready files from pre-existing Word documents.
- This is quicker than manually converting documents to .htm or even than re-typing them in Manila.
- Much of Word's formatting is maintained.
Disadvantages:
- Word adds extraneous text to the files, some of which must be removed.
- Some of the formatting that Word creates will not work correctly on all computers.
- Graphics are not automatically included
- Some Word layout features are not possible on the web.
- The Save as Web Page... process must be repeated each time that the Word source document is changed.
- Your Manila pages will contain a lot of html coding when you select Edit this Page.
In summary, many users find that saving files as web pages in Word is not a good long-term solution.
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