Mechanics of the Web

Save As...Text Only Files

Now that you have a really cool set of codes in a Word or Word Perfect document, you need to save it as an ASCII Text/Text Only document. How do I do that?
1. Go to File:Save As...
2. Towards the bottom you are given to save the document as a certain "type."
3. Scroll down the list until you see Text Only, or ASCII Text.
4. Select Text Only/ASCII Text
5. If you are working on a Mac, name your file filename.html
6. If you are working on a PC, name your file filename.htm. (PC's can only handle 3 letter file extensions
7. It is important to name your file .html or .htm because Netscape looks for the 3 or 4 letter extension, and will not let you view your document without it.
Once you have named your file, Save it. It's that easy!

Using Netscape as a viewer

Open Netscape. You do not have to have a modem connection to use Netscape as a viewer!!!
Go to File:Open File (Ctrl+O)
Select the file of your choice. Note: Only .htm or .html documents will be shown, making it easier to select your HTML documents.
Hit "OK," and the document will appear on your screen.

Your document should show up. If you have graphics (.gif or .jpeg) files in the same folder, then they should show up too (if you are using Netscape 3.0 or higher).

This is one of the best ways to preview your document as you are constructing it, without posting it on to the web.

Going between Word/WordPerfect and Netscape

One of the tricks to building a web-site is knowing that your HTML is doing what you want it to do. As a text only document it's pretty boring. The trick is to look at your HTML document in Netscape to make sure it looks right. Following the steps outlined above, you can open your HTML (Text Only) document and look at it in Netscape to check for syntax errors, composition, and design.

At the beginning of any web-session I always open up Word/WordPerfect and Netscape (I don't dial-in). Without a modem connection, Netscape (or any other web-browser) becomes a fancy viewer for documents in your computer. Having set this up before I start working, I can move easily between my word processor and my web-browser.

Assignment

In this assignment you will learn how to borrow the source codes for any document you see on the web. The purpose of this assignment is to combine all the mechanics of moving between your word processor and your web-browser, saving as a Text Only file with an .htm or .html extension and viewing an HTML document from your computer in the web-browser.

For this assignment, do not worry about substituting any text. The point is to make sure you are starting to understand the mechanics of the web. (Don't worry it will become second nature the more you do it.)

Document Source: How to "borrow" codes.

Let's say you really liked the format of this web-page. It's a basic ordered list, with some embedded unnumbered lists. Instead of having to figure out how its done, you can simply borrow the HTML codes in this document for yourself. How do I do that?
1. Go to View:Document Source (on the tool bar)
2. The HTML codes will appear
3. Copy (Ctrl+C) the codes.
4. Paste (Ctrl+V) into a Word/Word Perfect Document
Once you've borrowed the codes, substitute in your text. It's that easy!

More to come...

Mechanics of the Web

Save As...Text Only Files

Using Netscape as a viewer

Going between Word/WordPerfect and Netscape

Assignment

Back to syllabus