How To Start WordToWeb

You can access WordToWeb from its icon under the Windows 95 Start menu or from one of two commands under Microsoft Word's File menu. The way in which you launch WordToWeb depends on what you want to accomplish.

1. Open the document to be converted in Microsoft Word.
2. From the File menu, choose Convert Document to HTML. The WordToWeb Wizard will appear.
3. Click the Select button and specify a name and location for your HTML file.
4. Click the Choose Standard Template button and select the format which comes closest to what you want for your publication. If you wish, you can then refine this format from within the wizard panels.

This method makes it easy to convert the document which is currently open in Microsoft Word but lacks some of the more powerful features available when using a WordToWeb project.

About WordToWeb Projects

A WordToWeb project is a special file which keeps track of the Word documents that will be translated into an HTML publication as well as all the formatting and layout preferences you choose for the conversion. Once you set up a project, you can reconvert the publication as often as you wish; this makes it easy to update your website when the source Word documents change. WordToWeb projects also allow you to incorporate multiple Word documents into a single HTML publication.

To Open or Create a WordToWeb Project

1. If Word is already running, choose Open/Create WordToWeb Project from the File menu. If Word is not running, select the WordToWeb icon from the Windows 95 Start menu.
2. The Open/Create WordToWeb Project dialog will appear (Figure 1). You can then follow the steps below, depending on whether you want to open an existing project or create a new one.

To Open an Existing WordToWeb Project

1. If you have recently opened the project, it will be shown in the Existing projects list. Double click in this list to open a project.
2. If the project is not shown in the list, click the More button below the list. You can then use the Open dialog box to find and open the project.
3. Once you successfully open the project, Panel 1 of the WordToWeb wizard will appear. The wizard panels are explained in detail in the next chapter.

To Create a New WordToWeb Project

1. Click the Create New Project button at the left edge of the dialog box. The Create New WordToWeb Project dialog box will appear (See Figure 2 - The Create New WordToWeb Project Dialog Box).
2. Click the Create button and specify a name and directory location for your project. All the HTML files created will be placed in this directory. It is usually best to keep each publication in its own directory. This makes it easy to find the files you need to upload to your web server.
3. To use one of WordToWeb’s standard project templates, click the Choose Standard Template button. The Template Gallery dialog box will appear. You can then choose the format which comes closest to what you want for your publication.
4. If you want to base the new project on one of your own projects, check the proper box and then click the Select button. This will display an Open dialog box which you can then use to select the project you want to use as a template. Once you select a template, it will become the default for future projects. See About Project Templates below for details.
5. Click the OK button. WordToWeb will create your new project and display Panel 1 of the WordToWeb wizard. You can then select the Word document(s) which you wish to translate into HTML format. The wizard panels are explained in detail in the next chapter.

About Project Templates

Project templates allow you to reuse the settings and preferences in a WordToWeb project. Any WordToWeb project can serve as a template. When you create a new project and specify that it should be based on a project template, the new project will automatically have all the formatting and layout preferences from the template project.

Project templates are very useful because most websites follow certain formatting and layout rules. Pages are more attractive and easier to understand if elements such as page background color, the style and location of horizontal rules, and the format of heading text are kept consistent.

With project templates, you can set up a WordToWeb project which conforms to the guidelines for your website and then use it again and again. Project templates can also be distributed among users, so the Webmaster could create a project template and then make it available to all the WordToWeb users in an organization. This would make it easy for any user to create HTML pages ready to post on the website.

WordToWeb comes with three standard project templates which allow you to quickly set up an attractive publication.

See Also:

Some Basic Terminology