HTML Conversion Tools
Could They Be Magic?
By Scott Clark
Here's the good news: Your boss has finally given in. He's been hearing about the World Wide Web on television, on the radio, and from his kids, and he's finally decided it's imperative that the company be represented on the Internet.
Now here's the bad news: He's assigned the project to you to make sure it gets done, and you've got about 800 company documents in Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, and MS Write format to put up on the new site. You're an HTML pro, so you know what a hassle it's going to be to put in all those tags; what's more, you need a consistent document style. What you could really use is a product that can import the most common word processing documents and convert them to HTML according to the style you set. In this issue, we'll take a look at three such products, put them to the test, and let you know how they rate.
Each of the HTML converters reviewed is capable of converting the most popular word processing formats into HTML documents. They enable you to create your own style or use a default style to create the HTML code, and they will import graphics files and convert them to Internet-friendly GIF and JPEG formats. All three will generate a hyperlinked table of contents for your pages, giving visitors an easy way to navigate around your site. I tested the software on a 120 MHz 686-based system with 16 MB of RAM, running Windows 95, and using Microsoft Write, Excel, and Word 7.0 documents.
Using Info Access' HTML Transit, you could import the 48-page document on Internet-based commerce--still in MS-Write format--that you've been working on for the past two years. Preset the style to automatically format the headers to be <H2>, for example, and the hyperlinks at the bottom of each page to use your favorite Back button. About 13 minutes after clicking the Translate Document button, your HTML pages are ready for the Web, conveniently broken down into small, easily readable pages--barely enough time for a coffee break.
SkiSoft's Web Publisher Pro could also import your old 48-page document, but not in MS-Write format. You can, however, open the document in Write, save it as Rich Text Format (RTF), and then import it. Using the Long Document Utility, which is included in the Pro version, you could then convert the document to smaller, concise HTML documents in about 16 minutes.
Interleaf's Cyberleaf could import the same document, as long as it is also converted from MS-Write format into RTF. It tends to be a bit slow, however, taking more than two hours to convert that 48 pages into HTML. It also won't break the long document into individual HTML pages. But it will convert the graphics into hyperlinked thumbnails, saving download time for people looking at your pages.
PRODUCT
HTML Transit 1.1.1
COMPANY
Info Access Inc.
2800 156th Ave. SE
Bellevue, WA 98007
Phone: (206) 747-3203
Fax: (206) 641-9367
Email: sales@infoaccess.com
PRICE
$495
Available for:
Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows NT 3.5.1+
Requirements:
386 or higher processor; 15 MB disk space; 2 MB RAM
Info Access' HTML Transit is a full-featured document conversion tool that can import most of the popular word processing formats, including AmiPro (now Word Pro), ASCII, FrameMaker, Interleaf, Microsoft Word, RTF, WordPerfect (DOS and Windows), and MS-Write. It will also import many different graphic formats as well, including AutoCAD, Corel Draw, PostScript, MS Paint, and WordPerfect graphics, among others, converting them all into GIF or JPG format. HTML Transit also comes with a broad selection of useful Web graphics.
HTML Transit installed from the three floppy disks without a hitch, taking only 15 MB of hard drive space. Only 2 MB of RAM is needed, although the program runs much smoother with more. Along with the searchable Help system, the glossary, and the Quick Start online tutorial (which includes a word processing document you can practice with), HTML Transit comes with a printed 130-page Introduction/Getting Started Guide. It takes you through the installation, how to get technical support, what the menu buttons do, what formats are supported, and exactly how to use HTML Transit to its fullest capacity.
HTML Transit's interface is slick, intuitive, and convenient. All of the functions can be easily accessed via the main HTML Transit screen. From there, creating an HTML document using HTML Transit is a very simple process--just proceed through the eight steps of the main HTML Transit Window:
- Set up the files you wish to convert.
- Assign elements (styles used by the word processor, such as bullets).
- Format (assign font size, paragraph formatting, bold, and italics).
- Create the Navigation buttons (assign graphics for links and home).
- Set up the globals (background, text, link, and title).
- Translate the file into HTML.
- Edit it further if you wish, using your favorite HTML editor.
- Browse and test your new Web file using a Web browser.
I tested HTML Transit by using a five-page Microsoft Word 7 document that had a couple of embedded graphics in BMP format, featured different font sizes, and used bulleted text in various places. I set up my document so that it was the only file to be converted, and I gave it a title; HTML Transit then imported it without any problems. HTML Transit allows you to set up each of the files you wish to have on your site, their titles, and the order in which they are to appear. After setting up the format and the globals, I clicked the Translate Publication button and watched my hard drive's light flicker. In about a minute, HTML Transit had produced my HTML page, complete with bullets, and had converted my bitmap graphic into a GIF.
The one fault I found with HTML Transit is that if you make any changes in the configuration, the entire document must be retranslated before the changes can be seen. Other than that, this is a very useful utility that can put your information on the Web in a concise, very presentable context, with very little time or effort. Learning to use HTML Transit is about as easy as learning to use a word processor--like the one you originally created the documents on.
Editor's note: As this article was going to press, InfoAccess announced HTML Transit 2.0, scheduled for release in September. This will be a major upgrade, incorporating support for frames and advanced table support (including cell background colors and cell font colors). Custom HTML code can be added, including Java applets, and HTML Transit 2.0 will include a wizard to ease new users through the conversion process. The price will remain $495 for new users, with upgrade pricing available for
current users.
PRODUCT:
Web Publisher Pro 1.1
COMPANY:
SkiSoft Inc.
1644 Massachusetts Ave.
Suite 79
Lexington, MA 02173
Phone: (617) 863-1876
Fax: (617) 861-0086
Email: info@skisoft.com
PRICE:
$995 Pro (includes the Long Document Utility),
$495 Standard
Available for:
Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows NT 3.5.1+
Requirements:
386 or higher processor; 5 MB disk space; 4 MB RAM
SkiSoft's Web Publisher Pro is a fully automated Web page conversion tool. It converts word processing documents into HTML by using templates that format a document according to your specifications. Web Publisher Pro includes a Long Document Utility that converts very long documents into short, manageable Web pages.
Most of the popular word processing formats are supported, including Microsoft Word and Works, WordPerfect, Frame Maker, Ami Pro (Word Pro), and Microsoft Excel, and the program handles most graphic formats as well, whether they are included in the original document or linked to the document. Web Publisher Pro is also able to import many different types of tables within documents and convert them into HTML tables. It will convert a single file, or a whole directory of files as a batch process, while you sit back and wait.
Web Publisher Pro installed from a single diskette with no problems, taking only about 5 MB of space on my hard drive. The Web Publisher program comes to you in a very impressive package, enclosed in a slick three-ring binder that pulls out of a plastic-bound box, with a holder for the install disk on the inside of the binder. The nicely designed 288-page User's Guide takes you through installation, conversion of the most popular word processing documents, the design of templates, the use of the Long Document Utility, and a "How Do IÉ?" section that will answer most of your design questions. WPP also includes an online hyperlinked version of the printed documentation, making the total documentation package unquestionably the best among the three products reviewed here.
WPP automatically applies the rules you specify when it imports a document or a group of documents. These rules might tell WPP to insert a mailto: at the end of each HTML file or to place a banner at the top of each. The templates that WPP uses are simply a collection of such rules. You create a set of rules and save it as a template by choosing a combination of the various HTML tags on the tabbed window that WPP brings up when you click the Design button, as shown in Figure 3; the only limitation to the number of different template styles you can create is your imagination and creativity.
To create an HTML file from a word processing document in WPP, simply drag and drop the file(s) from File Manager or Explorer onto the WPP main window, as shown in Figure 4. The word processing file is instantly transformed into an HTML file using the import template you select from the dialog box that appears after releasing the word processing file onto the WPP main window. You can also just design the template by clicking on the Design button and setting all the styles you plan to use (such as background image, color, navigation buttons, and bullets), and then click on the Import button, which brings up the standard file dialog box, allowing you to select the file(s) you wish to import. You can view the HTML file in your favorite browser and store it as an archive on your hard disk by clicking on the View and Archive buttons, respectively.
Using the same Microsoft Word 7.0 document I used to test HTML Transit, I dragged and dropped the file onto the Web Publisher Pro main window and selected the "Normal" template for the processing of my document. After clicking the OK button, it took WPP less than a minute to convert my file into an HTML file. Using the View button presents you with a list of browsers with which to view the HTML file. You must already have the browsers installed on your system, but it is a nice feature to be able to test your pages on the most
popular browsers. My converted HTML page was formatted perfectly, with the italics, bold, paragraphs, images, and bullets exactly where they were supposed to be.
SkiSoft also sells a standard version called Web Publisher for $495, which has all of the features of WPP except for the Long Document Utility.
PRODUCT:
Cyberleaf 2.0 beta
COMPANY:
Interleaf Inc.
Prospect Place, 9 Hillside Ave.
Waltham, MA 02154
Phone: (617) 290-4990 ext. 2277
Fax: (617) 290-4966
Email: sales@ileaf.com
PRICE:
$995
Available for:
Windows 95, Windows NT 3.5.1+, SunOS, Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, OSF
Requirements:
486/66-MHz or higher processor; 40 MB disk space; 16 to 24 MB RAM; 50 MB swap space
Interleaf's Cyberleaf includes most of the features of the other two conversion tools we have reviewed, with the notable exception that it also is a Web site management system. Cyberleaf will import AmiPro (Word Pro), ASCII, Framemaker, Interleaf, RTF, WordPerfect, MS Excel, and Microsoft Word documents as well as most of the popular graphics formats, including AutoCAD, Windows bitmap, Sun Raster, DrawPerfect, PC Paint (pcx), and Windows metafile.
As you make changes or add new documents to the site, Cyberleaf maintains its integrity, letting you update the site incrementally and thereby eliminating the need to rebuild the whole site from scratch. Cyberleaf identifies (but does not correct) any broken links that require manual intervention, using previously defined styles and hyperlinks. Long documents are not broken into smaller Web pages, but are outlined based on style names that you select, such as chapter or section, creating a Table of Contents for the document. Cyberleaf is the only product in this review to include an HTML editor, as displayed in Figure 5. The Homepage Editor is very basic, but it does give you the option to visually create the home page for your site if you wish.
I downloaded Cyberleaf from Interleaf's Web site, and it installed from the 15 MB file with no problems. It took about 40 MB of space on my hard drive, and created two separate directories--one for data and one for the actual programs.
Interleaf is well known for its Unix-based document management software; most of the software the company develops is for heavy-duty systems, and Cyberleaf is no different. Cyberleaf is a bit of a resource hog, with the recommended amount of RAM being 16 MB to 24 MB. They also recommend 50 MB of swap space, and even using the 686 I tested it on, Cyberleaf was still by far the slowest software in this review, hogging so many system resources that I had to shut down all other programs that were running.
Cyberleaf comes with a fully searchable online help system that takes you through the basics, the four steps to building a Web site with Cyberleaf, and release notes, although the user interface is intuitive enough that these are not really needed.
The four steps to building a Web site with Cyberleaf, as shown in Figure 6, are:
- Select the files to include in your site (this step is done manually, and the following three automatically in succession).
- Analyze the formats of the files (word processing files are converted to Cyberleaf documents, and files that Web browsers can display or launch are simply recognized and passed along for conversion).
- Build links and hypertext-linked outlines in your Web site (Cyberleaf examines the link and outline settings you defined for the site and creates the specified links for you).
- Match paragraph, graphic, and table styles to HTML styles. (Cyberleaf matches certain paragraph style names to specific HTML styles. If you didn't use any styles in your word processing document, this is where you will define them.)
I tested Cyberleaf using the now-familiar Word 7.0 document. Cyberleaf processed the document in about four minutes; however, when I viewed the HTML file in Netscape, I found that not only were the headings ignored, but there were a lot of nonsense code characters at the top and bottom of the page. The paragraphs were all correct, as were the italic and bold characters, but nearly one-third of the HTML file was made up of the nonsense code characters. I tried the test using the same file three more times, but got the same result.
After consulting Interleaf technical assistance, I was informed that Cyberleaf can't handle Microsoft Word 7.0 files in this beta version, but that it will be able to in the final release. Word 7.0 files can be imported in the beta release only if they are first converted to RTF format. After I did that conversion, Cyberleaf imported the RTF file and properly converted it to HTML with no errors and no nonsense code.
Cyberleaf is a product that has a lot of potential, if they get all the bugs worked out. I also do not see the need for it to be so resource-intensive for what it does. I've tested many pieces of software that do a whole lot more using a whole lot less. Interleaf has obviously invested a lot of time in Cyberleaf, creating an intuitive, easy-to-use conversion tool. Let's hope that the final release, slated for late summer, lives up to the developers' expectations.
Wrapping It Up
If this were a contest, HTML Transit would be the clear winner. Its ease of use, intuitive design, and flexibility make it hard to beat. Web Publisher Pro has many of the same features and comes with outstanding documentation; however, I just don't think the extra $500 you have to pay for the Long Document Utility is worth the investment. HTML Transit does the same thing that Web Publisher Pro does using the Long Document Utility, and it is all included for the basic price of $495. Cyberleaf, for its part, needs a bit more work and a lot more speed before it can compare with these two fine products. Of course, if Info Access could find a way to make HTML Transit do my dishes and take out my trash, I'd be in heaven....
Scott Clark is technical editor of Web Developer®.
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