Presented by

Neil S. Krasnoff

Introduction

In the early days of the Web, individuals wishing to publish online had to know a complex code, most commonly HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language). As the World Wide Web became the widely-used tool it is today, the code became more complicated, and continues to evolve at a rapid pace. Additionally, the act of writing HTML code is a painstaking and tedious process. Most computer users don't wish to indulge in "code crunching" simply because the process is difficult and requires arcane knowledge.
Software companies, realizing this is the case, have created numerous interchangeable tools that make publishing Web-accessible documents a very simple procedure, requiring no knowledge of code. This guide illustrates four methods of making existing computer files and paper documents available for retrieval on the World Wide Web.

· Converting word processor files to HTML Files
· Converting word processor files to Adobe PDF Files
· Converting paper documents to Adobe PDF Files
· Converting paper documents to HTML

Each approach is useful for certain situations and requires special software and hardware. This tutorial explains the useful application of each method, and the software requirements and step-by-step procedures necessary for success with each method. Each example requires a Windows 95/98/ME operating system for a PC or a Macintosh with an equivalent capability. The last two methods require a scanner.

Word Processor File to HTML File

Useful Application: This procedure will preserve most of the style and formatting of your word processor document and create an accessible Web Page readable by most Internet browsers.

Software Requirements:
-A recent word processing program (example uses MS Word 2000)
-A HTML editor program (example uses Macromedia Dreamweaver 4)

Procedure:

1. Create or open your document using MS Word.
2. From File Menu, select Save as Web Page. It will save this as .html.
3. Open Dreamweaver 4 and open your .html document.
4. From Command menu, select Clean up Word HTML.
5. Save your document and open in different browsers to check format.

Other downloadable tools to convert text to html can be found at:
http://www.w3.org/Tools/Word_proc_filters.html

Word Processor File to Adobe PDF file

Useful Application:
This procedure will make your document accessible to the Web while preserving the formatting of your original document. Converting to HTML often results in a change of appearance. This procedure is especially useful for forms or any other document where formatting is important. The downside of this method is its reliance on the user having a PDF reader. However, the software is free and most computers can run it easily.

Software Requirements:
-A Word Processing Program (Example uses MS Word 2000)
-Adobe Acrobat 4.0 (full version)

Procedure:
1. Create or Open your document in MS Word.
2. From File menu, select Print.
3. In Printer Name box, select Acrobat PDFWriter.
4. Save PDF Document using an appropriate name.
5. Open Acrobat Reader 4.0 and Open PDF document.
6. Edit document if you wish.

Converting Paper Documents to Adobe PDF Files

Useful Application:
This procedure can directly transfer any paper document to a readable Web accessible PDF file. It is especially useful for publishing items not created by a computer or not available as a computer file.

Software Requirements:
-Adobe Acrobat 4.0 (full version)
-Also requires Flatbed Scanner and supporting software

Procedure:
1. Open Acrobat 4.0.
2. From File menu select Import-Scan.
3. Name and Save file.
4. If document is more than one page, repeat procedure and select "current document as Destination.
5. Preview and edit document.

Converting Paper Documents to HTML

Useful Application:
Process can transfer any paper document with text into a readable Web Page. May be used on handwritten, typed or photocopied documents. It is more time-consuming than all the other procedures.

Software Requirements:
-OCR (Optical Character Recognition) Program. CAERE-Omnipage is recommended,

Procedure:
1. Capture text in OCR Program.
2. Select and edit text using helper program.
3. Save as a Word Document.
4. Follow Procedure for converting word processing files to HTML.