Transferring Word docs to FP

  • Thread starter Thread starter Terry Pinnell
  • Start date Start date
Brett... said:
I can't work out what you are doing here.
Just treat the .pdf file as you would any other type of file...
Upload it to your web and create a link to it as you would a html page.
There is no concept of conversion.
Click to expand...

I think you misunderstood my query. I know how to add a Word (or PDF)
document as a new page, or a link. What I want is to use the file's
*content* in an existing page. Please see my reply to Jack for
details.
 
Terry Pinnell said:
Quite a lot of my client's input is in the form of nicely-formatted
Word documents, with tables etc. I had the devil's job with the first
of these I worked on a few months ago, after first using Word's
File|Save As|HTM. The resultant code had a lot of very strange stuff
in it. This time I reckon I'll save as text and then piece it together
in FP via the clipboard.

What approach do more experienced FP users take please?
Click to expand...

Terry,

To save yourself a lot of headaches, I'd recommend this as an example
process:

Open Notepad side by side with the MS Word Doc
Open a FrontPage template file (your table template, or a blank file if
there is none)
Spend a few minutes making the basic tables as they appear formatted in the
Word Doc
Copy chunks of text from the Word Doc to Notepad (ctrl-c / ctrl-v)
Copy the chunks from Notepad to FrontPage.
Rinse repeat, adjust tables as necessary.

Other points (to keep me from ranting about it):

- Never, never never use "Save as HTML". Total complete garbage is the
result.
- Specify up front in no uncertain terms the client is _wasting their time_
if they format anything for you, and _wasting your time_ because you have to
clean it up. Balance that with a second loop in your process for them to
review in detail the HTML.
- Make them submit plain text "txt" files to speed the process.
- You provide the design, they provide the content. Content is plain text.
Design is tables, colors and formatting.
- You may have some success if you ask them to use a free HTML editor such
as the one that comes with Mozilla or Netscape full installs, at least then
it's HTML if they insist on "helping" you.
- Specify that "web !== print, web !== print", say it when you get up, say
it when you go to bed and say it repeatedly to the client and make them say
it back.*

I have seen many many web projects become unprofitable time-sinks due to
these things, and as you have found out you may want to protect yourself
from them. Good luck.


* !== is the opposite of "equals" i.e. "web does not equal print"
 
Sparky Polastri said:
- Specify that "web !== print, web !== print", say it when you get up, say
it when you go to bed and say it repeatedly to the client and make them say
it back.
Click to expand...

This amuses me greatly.

One of my first paid-for gigs was building a website for a print copy shop.
These folks are Pagemaker/Quark types who are used to complete layout
control.

I think "explaining why you can't have pixel precise layout and fixed font
sizes on the web to print people" can easily qualify as a substitute for one
of the twelve labors of Hercules. I still have a dent in my forehead from
banging repeatedly against that brick wall. :-)
 
Terry,

Sometimes I have a Word file that I need to add to my site, but I don't want
to repurpose or relayout the content. When I do this, I use the file type
"Web Page, Filtered". It removes a lot more of the excess markup and you
may have even better results with the Office Filter. One other important
thing this does is remove the extra folders that you are seeing.

Hope that helps
 
Back
Top