Author: Jill Swift, Montgomery, Texas. USA (jswift@freenet.fsu.edu)
Although ASCII text is not automatically converted into WYSIWYG text, revisions of hypertext documents are possible. (A version of the Ant template which will WYSIWYG your HTML with a click of a tool or two is in the works.)
Two methods of attaching the Ant Template follow :
A macro called "Attach Ant HTML Template" has been included so that you may more easily change a document based
on Word's "Normal" template to the Ant_HTML template. (All documents
created in the Ant and saved with .HTM extensions become text files based on the Normal Template.)
If document revisions are necessary, the Attach Ant HTML Template macro automatically re-attaches
the Ant Template, makes imperceptible adjustments to paragraph marks so that the macros will function efficiently
and displays the Ant's Toolbar.
To make the macro readily
available, copy the macro to your "Normal" template.
Return to beginning of Creating a Hypertext Document
You may toggle (turn on or off) the hidden codes using the
VIEW HIDDEN CODES TOOL provided on the toolbar
(shaped to look as much like spectacles as possible) or by using any standard Word method.
If you place the cursor anywhere in a paragraph and click the tool, the contents of the
entire paragraph will be automatically selected and formatted with codes If there is no
text in the paragraph at the cursor location, the beginning and ending
codes will be inserted on each side of the cursor.
The NORMAL TOOL changes paragraph formatting to "Normal" Style. (You may also use
Word's Style Box.)You may also select headings, styles, as well as numbered or unnumbered lists via Word's
Use the Styles in the Style Box as you normally do. The codes won't be
inserted until you choose the CHECK STYLES FOR HTML CODES TOOL described below.
When you use styles from the Word Style Box (to the left of the font selections on
Word's standard formatting toolbar), you may quickly insert heading and style codes
by choosing the
It installs the appropriate codes around each style if they aren't there already. In addition to the above options, a
provides a dialog box with a range of style choices includingNote: If you use the style called CODE, Word changes some entries like "<code> & lt; <code> ". Word reads it as....{yes, you guessed it}, CODE!
The PRE ("Preformatted") style is useful for sections of text that require columns and fixed width
formatting. It's frequently used to create tables. (The HTML language requires that you remove the
formatting (i.e. the table itself) from your Word table. [If you find this somewhat unsettling, go and
have a toddy or a hot bath or both and concentrate on all the things the HTML language does
permit one to do. This is just a suggestion and not a formal instruction, however. You are expected
to bathe and toddy at your own risk.])
PRE uses a fixed width font. The PRE TOOL inserts the code
"< Pre> " on a line by itself to indicate where the preformatted formatting
begins and inserts "< /Pre> " on a line by itself at the end. Spacing (tabs, indents, etc. will
be determined to some degree by HTML browsers, so you may wish to preview your work in a
browser before finalizing your document. Currently, Mosaic likes spaces better than tabs and
likes tabs much better than indents. The PRE font looks like this:
This is a Pre Entry: 4567 8910
This is the second line: 7654 0198
Horizontal Rule is a style which inserts a line across the entire width of the page. It can be inserted either
by clicking the tool or by choosing Horizontal
Rule in Word's Style Box. Because of the way Word moves horizontal lines down the page, it's
easy to insert text into a paragraph formatted with a line and not know it. Ant_HTML attempts to
alert you that you have either accidentally or intentionally formatted in the Horizontal Rule Style
by making the paragraph marker gold. (A difference in shading is also visible in monochrome monitors.)
Inserts a < P> tag (i.e. code) at the cursor location.
If you are creating a new document, you won't need it. The CONVERT AND SAVE TOOL
will add these for you. ( Don't worry, It will not do any harm, if you use it. )
Inserts a <BR> code at the cursor location or at the end of each line in a
selection and changes
each selected paragraph to single line spacing. The <BR> code at the end of a
line acts as a line
break in hypertext documents. (If you use this in conjunction with any of the other tools, use the
BR TOOL first.)
If you are creating a new document you don't need the BR tool. The CONVERT AND SAVE TOOL will insert these for you wherever you have inserted a line break (SHIFT+ENTER) ( It will not do any harm, if you do use it. ).
Use the standard BOLD and ITALIC TOOLS in any combination.. HTML codes will be inserted
during conversion with either the CONVERT AND SAVE TOOL or the SAVE CODED TOOL.
(The normal underline feature is not shown in HTML browsers
so it's not supported in this template.
Each paragraph in the selected text is converted to a list item
(Use Word's Style Box styles if you prefer, or a combination.)
The DESCRIPTION LIST TOOL inserts
<DL>,<DD> and </DL> codes either
at the cursor location or
around selected text. You will be prompted and asked whether you wish to add a Descriptive
Title entry, a <DT>. If so, you may enter the text in the space provided or you may simply
click OK and add the
text immediately after the <DT> code in your document.
Below is an example of a Description List entry:
This is the first paragraph of a description list entry. It wraps around like this: and just goes on and on and on and on and on and on forever almost and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on.
And on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on til the words have no more meaning and so on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on until you realize that okay, enough is enough.
( URL Links to locations outside the document or set of local documents)
URL LINK TOOL<
Inserts the appropriate Universal Resource Locator code around
selected text. and presents a dialog box in which you type the URL destination.
For more examples, read A Beginner's Guide to URL's located on the Web at http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/demoweb/html-primer.html.
(Links within documents and to other local documents):
You can create a hotword (or phrase) called a LOCAL ANCHOR REFERENCE
to point to a specific destination called a
LOCAL ANCHOR DESTINATION
within your document or in another local document.
TO CREATE A LOCAL LINK:
</A>
All this is easier done than said. Just try it.
When you select the GIF TOOL three options are presented.
2... Inserts the appropriate .gif reference and the actual picture into the current document. Note that certain graphic filter requirements must be met or the application can crash. Save often! (The placeholders should not present this problem.)
3... Permits you to type the name of the .gif reference into a text box, then inserts the appropriate codes. This option does not automatically insert a placeholder, You can insert a placeholder in several ways should you wish to do so. Create your own or place the cursor next to your .gif reference and click on the PLACEHOLDER TOOL.
Gif Tip
Sometimes importing .gif files and other graphics into a Word
document can cause the entire application to crash.. The ANT-HTML options,
provide two alternatives that eliminate this problem. If your application is prone
to crashing because of the .gifs, choose to use a placeholder or refer to
the file using "text only" as described in the GIF TOOL options.
Back to Index
Back to Creating A Hypertext Document
will convert the document and save it with
whatever name you choose to give it and an .HTM extension.
The tool inserts the codes around bold and italic text if they're not already installed, checks each Style Box
style and inserts codes where required, removes bullets from unnumbered lists and
saves the file with whatever name you choose and an .HTM extension..
Back to Index
If you choose to close the .HTM document after converting and saving it, Word will display a
dialog box with the following message:
Answer "NO" to this question. Your document will be saved in the correct format
(The Ant_HTML template will display a dialog box reminding you of this if you choose to save it
immediately after the conversion.)
While working on your document you might wish to add or delete some hidden codes.
Two Ant Tools Menu Items facilitate the removal of hidden codes and text during the document
creation process.
ZAP CODES FROM THE SELECTION when selected, deletes the codes from whatever text you have selected.
ZAP CODES FROM DOCUMENT, when selected, deletes all the hidden codes from the entire document. ( Since some entries are ambiguous, it skips the questionable entires. When you select this menu item, a message will ask you if you're sure you wish to continue
In addition, two other Ant Tools Menu Items may be helpful:
MAKE HIDDEN and MAKE UNHIDDEN.
The names are not clever, but the macros may come in handy.
When clicked...displays Ant info and acts as a spacer separating the two converting
and saving tools. If you wish, you may remove it by pressing ALT and then dragging it
off the toolbar with your mouse.
If the ANT_HTML toolbar is not displayed, click anywhere on the toolbar with the right mouse button and select the ANT TOOLBAR or from the View Menu, choose Toolbars, ANT_HTML and OK.
Three characters are special characters and are used to specify HTML tags. None of the three
may be
used "as is" within an HTML document. They are the left angle bracket ( < ), right
angle bracket ( > ), and ampersand (& ). You may use these characters in your document. The
CONVERT AND SAVE tool is designed to convert them (if they do not appear as red or as
hidden text in your document) into code that HTML browsers can read or you may insert them yourself.
If you save your original document,
after clicking on the CONVERT AND SAVE TOOL, the codes are inserted as red (and
unhidden) text to make them easy to locate, if and when you revise the document.
If you wish to insert them yourself,
<
>
&
CTRL+Spacebar easily changes hidden characters into normal text. The entry called MAKE UNHIDDEN on the Ant Tools Menu will do it for you, too.
CTRL+Q is handy for restoring the default paragraph formatting.
Just so you don't puzzle over it, HTML language (and therefore, browsers) ignore extraneous spaces,
tabs and paragraph marks (unless they're inside your HTML codes) . Among
other things, this means that tables and other special formatting features possible in Word
but not supported by the HTML language, must be created in some work-around manner. You can
create the appearance of tabs with "< UL> " tags
and create tables with "< Pre> " tags.
Please note that the Ant sometimes adds extra paragraphs at the end of a document because of the way Microsoft Word reacts when it encounters the last paragraph mark in documents. If, after saving or converting your document, you find that additional paragraph marks have been inserted at the end of your document, you may delete them if you wish, but they will have no affect on the appearance of your HTML document.
The answer might be that you imported a text file which contained ANSI characters not supported by Microsoft Windows or Word. If you are importing an ASCII file which contains characters (like ANSI character #127 which generally looks like , for example), you can easily remove them before pasting into Word with an editor like Q Edit. (To remove them in Q Edit, open the file, press CTRL-K, then press X, then ESC to quit. Save the file. The offending characters will have been removed.). Paste the remaining text into a Word document,
Hidden codes (in Tools Options View) should be turned on during the Save process. The template tools are designed to turn hidden codes on, if they were off, and to restore your preferred settings afterward. If this procedure goes bananas for any reason (and special pains were taken so it should not go bananas), your document won't convert properly. Turn Hidden Text ON and try again.
The name ANT_HTML was selected for several reasons. One was to name it so that it was conveniently located near the top of alphabetically arranged lists of filenames. It had to be an acronym and appropriate for the endeavor. (The acronym is a secret.) Also, it had to be short. It had to be unpretentious. It had to be lively. The result is the Ant, a program designed to do any hypertext preparation drudgery for you. Let me know how you like it.
.
This software is distributed as is and no warranty of any kind is made. You may distribute this template in it's entirety for use in non-commercial ventures provided that it's source is acknowledged. Under no circumstances may copies be sold or incorporated in other materials which are sold without prior permission from the author, Jill Swift. Please feel free to send any email to jswift@freenet.fsu.edu. No promises are made regarding responses, but your comments are welcome.
Jill Swift
Montgomery, Texas
jswift@freenet.fsu.edu
August 30, 1994
