Various Microsoft Office applications can be used to publish information on the Internet. This capability is particularly useful for effortlessly publishing existing MS Office documents on the Web. There are many advantages to using MS Office Internet Assistants to create content for your Web site. One of the most significant benefits is the capability to enable those who create content to publish it on the Internet without waiting for someone else to convert it into HTML. For example, the person who puts together a sales report is probably not a Web developer. Having someone else convert the sales report into an HTML file is not only a waste of resources but can also be time consuming. On the other hand, using Internet Assistant for MS Word or Excel, the person who created the sales report can easily publish the information on the Internet or an intranet without waiting for someone else to go through the sales report and add a few funny HTML tags here and there.
Visit the Microsoft Office Web site for more information about
using various Internet Assistants to publish content on the Internet.
URL |
The Microsoft Office Web site is located at http://www.microsoft.com/msoffice/ |
The next few sections will demonstrate how MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint,
and Access documents can be published on the Web using various
Internet Assistants. Internet Assistants are special add-on programs
that can be downloaded from Microsoft's Web site. These applications
are designed to seamlessly integrate with various office applications
and extend their functionality by allowing office documents to
be saved as HTML documents. Note that most Internet Assistants
covered in later sections require Microsoft Office for Windows
95.
URL |
Microsoft's Internet tools for Microsoft Office Web page can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/MSOffice/MSOfc/it_ofc.htm |
Microsoft Word is a feature-rich word processing application. Internet Assistant (IA) for MS Word can be used to effortlessly publish Word files on the Internet. As you will be shown shortly, it can also be used as a WYSIWYG HTML editor. At the time of this writing, in addition to various standard HTML 2.0 tags, Internet Assistant for Word also supports various HTML enhancements such as tables, table cell colors, TrueType fonts, and font colors.
Internet Assistant is not part of Microsoft Word. Before using
it to create content for the Web, Internet Assistant for Microsoft
Word has to be downloaded from Microsoft's Web site.
URL |
Microsoft Internet Assistant for Word download site: http://www.microsoft.com/msword/internet/ia/ia95/chcklist.htm |
After downloading the Internet Assistant for Word from Microsoft's Web site, simply execute the executable file and specify a directory where IA for Word should be installed. Note that it is recommended you close all applications before installing IA for Word, because the installation program might need to copy several shared .DLL files. When IA for Word is installed, you might get a few message boxes similar to the one shown in Figure 13.1. Simply press the Ignore button to proceed installing IA for Word. Later, if you encounter problems running IA for Word, remove applications from the Windows NT start folder, reboot NT, and then install IA for Word soon after logging in.
After IA for Word is installed, you will see a message box similar to the one shown in Figure 13.2. At this point, you can launch MS Word and begin creating documents for the Web using MS Word.
Once IA for Word is installed, creating HTML documents is as easy as creating Word documents. This section demonstrates how various features of IA for Word can be used to create an HTML document with TrueType fonts, inline images, a table, and various other HTML attributes. In order to begin creating an HTML document, select File and New from the main menu. You will be presented with a dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 13.3. Note the HTML document template that has been added by the IA for Word installation program.
Figure 13.3: The HTML document template can be used to create HTML files with Internet Assistant.
From the dialog box shown in Figure 13.3, select the HTML document template and press the OK button. You are now ready to start creating an HTML document using MS Word. Before continuing to create a document, you might want to select Tools | Customize from the main menu to customize the tool bar. Because you will be shown how to add TrueType fonts to HTML files shortly, you might want to make sure the Font button shown in Figure 13.4 is added to your toolbar.
HTML documents created with Word can be customized with a background image and various text attribute colors. This can be done by selecting Format | Background and Links from the main menu. By using a dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 13.5, you will be able to specify various text attributes, colors, and a background image.
Figure 13.5: Background and Link attribute specification dialog box.
When using background images and special text colors, always use either a light-colored background and dark colored text, or light-colored text with a dark background. Otherwise, users browsing your document will not be able to read the text. Before putting a document created with MS Word on the Internet, use a Web browser to preview the documents to ensure they are legible.
If you wish to specify a background image, click the Browse button to bring up the Insert Picture dialog box shown in Figure 13.6. This dialog box is handy for selecting backgrounds because it displays a preview of the background image on the right column. After selecting the image you wish to use, click the OK button. It is recommended that you work with a directory structure identical to that of the production Web server to make sure directory path names are compatible between the production server and the development environment in which you work.
Figure 13.6: Insert Picture dialog box can be used to add a background image to an HTML document.
MS Word supports TrueType fonts in HTML documents. In order to change the font of some text, select the text and select Format | Font from the menu bar. You will then be able to specify a TrueType font typeface for the selected text using a dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 13.7. This dialog box can also be used to specify the size and color of the selected typeface. Note that not all Web browsers support TrueType fonts.
Figure 13.7: Font specification dialog box.
HTML documents created with Word can also have tables. Inserting a table into an HTML document is as easy as inserting a table into a Word document. Simply select Table | Insert Table, and you will see the dialog box shown in Figure 13.8. This dialog box can be used to specify the number of rows and columns the table should have. Table columns and rows can be inserted, deleted, and merged if it becomes necessary to make changes to a table after it is created.
Figure 13.8: Insert Table dialog box.
Inline images and video clips can be inserted to an HTML document by selecting Insert | Picture from the main menu. The dialog box shown in Figure 13.9 can then be used to select an image or video clip to insert into a Word HTML document. When adding an image, use the data entry field for Alternative Text to describe the image. Web browsers such as Internet Explorer show this text in a balloon if a user rests the mouse pointer on the image. If you click the Browse button shown in Figure 13.9, a dialog box similar to the one in Figure 13.6 can be used to select an image.
Figure 13.9: Inline picture insertion dialog box.
It is easy to format table cells of an HTML document. Simply select the cell(s) you wish to format and click the right mouse button. You will then see a pop-up menu similar to the one shown in Figure 13.10. This menu can be used to specify various cell formatting attributes. For example, if you wish to change the background of a cell, select it and click the Background Color option of the pop-up menu shown in Figure 13.10. You will then be able to define a background color for the selected cell using a Background Color dialog box similar to the one in Figure 13.11.
Figure 13.10: The right mouse button can be used to format cells in a table.
Attractive HTML documents can be created with MS Word using various tips and procedures discussed earlier. An example of an HTML document created with various standard HTML 2.0 extensions such as tables and TrueType fonts is shown in Figure 13.12. After creating an HTML document with Word, publishing it on the Internet is as easy as saving the document as an HTML file.
Figure 13.12: An HTML document created with MS Word.
HTML documents created with MS Word can be viewed with any Web browser. The HTML document shown in Figure 13.12 looks similar to the Web page in Figure 13.13 when it is viewed with Internet Explorer. As you can see in Figure 13.13, the inline image and text in the table is appropriately formatted by IA for Word. As demonstrated in previous sections, IA for Word is a powerful Web publishing tool that can be used to leverage the power of Word to the Internet and create richly formatted Web pages.
Internet Assistant for Excel can be used to effortlessly convert Excel spreadsheets into HTML documents so they can be published on the Web. You might want to visit the MS Excel Web page to obtain the most up-to-date information about Excel and how it can be used to create content for the Web. The next few sections illustrate how the Excel spreadsheet shown in Figure 13.14 can be converted into HTML and published on the Web.
Figure 13.14: Shortly, you will be shown how to convert this spreadsheet into HTML.
Incidentally, the spreadsheet shown in Figure 13.14 was actually
used when this book was being written. Internet Assistant for
Excel was used to regularly update the contents of the spreadsheet
in Figure 13.14 to an HTML file so my acquisitions editor could
monitor the progress of the book. The HTML file was stored in
a secure Web server directory protected with a password. This
is an example of how IA for Excel can be used to share information
with selected users using a secure Web server.
URL |
Use the following URL to reach the Microsoft Excel home page: http://www.microsoft.com/msexcel/default.htm |
Internet Assistant for Excel can be installed by following a few
simple steps after downloading it from Microsoft's Web site.
URL |
Internet Assistant for Microsoft Excel download site: http://www.microsoft.com/msexcel/Internet/IA/default.htm |
The steps you need to follow to install Internet Assistant for Excel are as follows:
Internet Assistant for MS Excel is now installed and ready for use.
Figure 13.15: MS Excel tool Add-Ins dialog box.
Internet Assistant for Excel can be used to effortlessly convert a spreadsheet into HTML. As shown in Figure 13.16, simply highlight the area of a spreadsheet you wish to convert into HTML and select Tools | Internet Assistant Wizard from the main menu.
After the Internet Assistant Wizard menu option is selected, a dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 13.17 will be displayed to confirm the area selected in Figure 13.16. At this point, you can change the area selected to be converted into HTML.
The next dialog box (Figure 13.18) will ask if you'd like to create a new HTML file or would like the data to be inserted into an existing HTML document. Note that if you select to have the data inserted into an exiting file, the file should contain the string <!--##Table##-->. Internet Assistant for Excel will then insert the data from the spreadsheet where it encounters the string <!--##Table##-->.
Figure 13.18: Target HTML file selection dialog box.
If you selected the option to create a new HTML file, a dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 13.19 will be presented to you. This dialog box can be used to customize the HTML file created by IA for Excel.
Figure 13.19: HTML file customizing dialog box.
The next dialog box will ask if you'd like to preserve as much formatting as possible. Select this option if you'd like the HTML file created by IA for Excel to resemble the original Excel spreadsheet as much as possible. Use the other option only if you notice other browsers having problems with some of the enhanced HTML tags used by IA for Excel. If your users use Internet Explorer or Netscape, using the option to preserve as much formatting as possible will produce the best results. Afterwards, provide the HTML filename of the new file and the spreadsheet you selected in Figure 13.16 will be saved as an HTML file. After the HTML file is saved, it can be viewed with a Web browser as shown in Figure 13.20. Compare the HTML document in Figure 13.20 with the Excel spreadsheet in Figure 13.14 and note how they closely resemble each other. As illustrated in this example, it is quite easy to publish Excel spreadsheets on the Web using Internet Assistant for Excel.
Figure 13.20: Spreadsheet in Figure 13.14 after it is converted into HTML.
PowerPoint is a powerful presentation tool that can be used to create slide show presentations on the Internet using Internet Assistant for PowerPoint. The next few sections illustrate how easy it is to create a PowerPoint presentation and save it as an HTML file. For the purpose of this demonstration, you will be shown how to convert the slides in Figure 13.21 into HTML. Visit the Microsoft PowerPoint Web page for the most up-to-date information about PowerPoint and Internet Assistant for PowerPoint.
Figure 13.21: You will learn shortly how to convert these two slides into HTML.
URL |
Microsoft PowerPoint Web page: http://www.microsoft.com/mspowerpoint/default.htm |
Internet Assistant for PowerPoint can be downloaded from Microsoft's Web site. After downloading it, copy it to a temporary directory and execute the executable file. This will decompress the PowerPoint distribution file. Once the distribution file is decompressed, execute the file IA4PPT95.EXE to install Internet Assistant for PowerPoint. Before executing this file, make sure PowerPoint is not running. The installation program will then install IA for PowerPoint and terminate with a message similar to the one shown in Figure 13.22.
Figure 13.22: PowerPoint Internet Assistant installation program.
URL |
Internet Assistant for Microsoft PowerPoint download site: http://www.microsoft.com/mspowerpoint/Internet/ia/default.htm |
PowerPoint slides can be easily converted into HTML by selecting File | Export as HTML from the main menu. After selecting Export as HTML, a dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 13.23 will be presented to obtain information about the output that should be generated by IA for PowerPoint.
Figure 13.23: HTML Export options dialog box.
The "Output style" radio button is used to specify if IA for PowerPoint should output the slides in color or grayscale format. It is recommended that you select slides to be exported in color unless your slides contain only a limited number of colors and you are concerned about the size of slide files.
The next radio button is used to specify the file format of the exported PowerPoint slides. Generally, use the JPEG format for natural photograph-looking slides that do not have too many sharp edges; use the GIF format for all other slides. Refer to Chapter 11, "Adding Multimedia to Your Web Site," for a more in-depth discussion of when to use the GIF format and the JPEG format.
If you are using the JPEG format, the slide bar in Figure 13.23 can be used to define the image quality of JPEG files. Higher image quality results in larger files and lower image quality results in smaller files. You might want to experiment with various settings to determine the ideal level of quality for your slide presentation if you are concerned about bandwidth and file sizes. Note that this is not an issue in an intranet environment where there is usually an abundance of available network bandwidth.
Finally, specify the folder that will contain the HTML version of the PowerPoint presentation and click the OK button to begin the conversion. IA for PowerPoint will then export the slide show presentation and display a message similar to the one shown in Figure 13.24.
Figure 13.24: HTML conversion dialog box.
The PowerPoint presentation can now be viewed using a Web browser as shown in Figure 13.25. Note that the first page contains an index of all slides of the presentation.
Figure 13.25: HTML slide presentation index.
The index shown in Figure 13.25 can be used to view individual PowerPoint slides as shown in Figure 13.26. Note the navigation aids at the bottom of the slide. These navigation aids are automatically created by IA for PowerPoint to make it easier for users to browse a PowerPoint presentation using a Web browser.
Figure 13.26: PowerPoint slides exported as HTML files can be viewed with a Web browser.
An Internet Assistant is also available for Microsoft Access.
As you will be shown shortly, information in a Microsoft Access
database can be easily published on the Web using Internet Assistant
for Access. Visit the Microsoft Access Internet tools Web page
for the most up-to-date information about publishing Access databases
on the Internet.
URL |
The Microsoft Access Internet tools Web page: http://www.microsoft.com/msaccess/it_acc.htm |
Internet Assistant for MS Access can be downloaded from Microsoft's
Web site. After downloading it, execute the executable file and
allow the installation program to detect the Microsoft Access
directory. After it detects the directory Access is installed
in, click the large Install button to install IA for Access.
URL |
Microsoft Internet Assistant for Access download site: http://www.microsoft.com/msaccess/internet/ia/default.htm |
The next few sections illustrate how a Microsoft Access database can be published on the Web using IA for Access. In order to publish an Access database, load the database into Access and select Tools | Add-ins | Internet Assistant from the main menu (see Figure 13.27). Internet Assistant for Access will then begin a welcome message. Click the Next button, and a dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 13.28 will be displayed.
Figure 13.27: The Internet Assistant for Access can be invoked from the tools menu.
Internet Assistant for Access can be used to export any combination of MS Access tables, queries, reports, and forms into HTML. This is done by selecting the object type and names of objects in that type using a dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 13.28. Note that one or more object types and object names can be selected. For example, you might want to select several reports and several tables.
Figure 13.28: Various MS Access objects can be selected to be exported into HTML.
After selecting various objects to export as HTML files, click the Next button to continue. IA for Access will then present you with a dialog box similar to the one in Figure 13.29 and ask you for a template. A template can be used to enhance the appearance of data exported by IA for Access by adding a background image, navigation buttons, and various graphics to its output. Various templates included with IA for access can be browsed by clicking the browse button. Note that templates with filenames ending with the suffix _r are used for reports and those without _r for data sheets. When several object types are selected, select the template without the _r suffix and IA for Access will apply the correct template based on its filename.
After selecting a template, type in a directory that will contain the exported HTML files. After typing in the directory, click the Finish button to export selected objects as HTML files. IA for Access will then export selected objects and let you know when it has finished creating the HTML files. The exported data can then be viewed using a Web browser as shown in Figure 13.30.
Figure 13.30: Data exported by IA for Access can be viewed with a Web browser.
Note that IA for Microsoft Access might not always copy all the graphic files that are part of the HTML files it creates into the target HTML directory. Use a Web browser to look at HTML files that IA for Access creates. If you see any broken images, look at the source code to locate graphic files it refers to and copy them to the target HTML directory. These graphics files are located in the \MSOFFICE\ACCESS\IA95 directory (assuming you installed Office 95 into the \MSOFFICE directory). If you do not feel like doing this, you might want to copy all the graphic files from the \MSOFFICE\ACCESS\IA95 directory to the target HTML directory.
Microsoft Office is a powerful suite of productivity applications. Various Internet Assistants available for Microsoft Office can be used to effortlessly publish content for the Internet. These Internet assistants are especially useful for converting large amounts of MS Office files into HTML so they can be published on the global Internet or a local intranet.
FutureTense Texture is a Java-based Web publishing system that can be used to create multimedia-rich, interactive content for the Internet. FutureTense uses the power and platform neutral capabilities of Java to publish content for the Web. The next chapter covers the various capabilities of FutureTense and demonstrates how it can be used to create visually appealing and highly interactive Web pages.