Windows NT Internet and Intranet Development

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Developing Web Pages with Microsoft Office


Microsoft Office is a powerful suite of productivity applications that can be used for word processing, desktop publishing, managing databases/spreadsheets of information, and creating presentations. Internet publishing features of Microsoft Office can be used to create richly formatted Web pages and publish existing Microsoft Office documents on the Internet. There are many advantages to using the Internet capabilities of Microsoft Office to create content for your Web site. Many users are already familiar with the user interface of Microsoft Office. They can leverage these skills to publish information on the Internet without waiting for someone else to convert it to HTML. For example, the person who puts together a sales report is probably not a Web developer. Having someone else convert the sales report to an HTML file is not only a waste of resources, but is also time consuming. Using the Internet-publishing capabilities of Microsoft Word or Excel, the person who created the sales report can easily publish the information on an Internet or intranet Web site.

Visit the Microsoft Office Web site for the most up-to-date information about Office and how it can be used to publish information on the Internet. The Microsoft Office Web site is frequently updated with useful information on how Office applications can be used to develop content for the Internet.


URL: The Microsoft Office Web site is located at:

http://www.microsoft.com/msoffice/

Microsoft Office 97 includes many built-in features for publishing information on the Internet. This chapter covers both Microsoft Office 95 and Microsoft Office 97. If you are still using Microsoft Office 95, you can download Internet Assistants for Office 95 from Microsoft's Web site. Internet-publishing features are built right into Microsoft Office 97.

Microsoft Office and the Internet

The next few sections demonstrate how Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access documents can be published on the Web. Two sections are devoted to each Microsoft Office application, one covering Office 95 and the other covering Office 97. Before you use Microsoft Office 95 applications to publish information on the Internet, you must download and install the Internet Assistants from Microsoft's Web site. Internet Assistants are special add-on programs that are designed to seamlessly integrate with various office applications. Internet Assistants extend the functionality of Office applications by allowing Office documents to be saved as HTML files.


URL:Browse the Microsoft Office Internet Tools Web page to learn how Microsoft Office can be used to create content for the Internet.



http://www.microsoft.com/MSOffice/MSOfc/it_ofc.htm

Publishing on the Web with Microsoft Word 95

Microsoft Word is a feature-rich word-processing application. Internet Assistant (IA) for Microsoft Word can be used to effortlessly publish Word files on the Internet. As you will see, it can also be used as a WYSIWYG HTML editor. In addition to supporting various standard HTML 2.0 tags, IA for Word supports certain HTML enhancements such as tables, table cell colors, True Type fonts, and font colors.

IA is not part of Microsoft Word 95. Before you use Microsoft Word 95 to create content for the Web, IA for Microsoft Word must be downloaded from Microsoft's Web site.


URL:Microsoft IA for Word can be downloaded at:

http://www.microsoft.com/msword/internet/ia/

Installing IA for Word

After downloading IA for Word, simply execute the executable file and specify a directory where IA for Word should be installed. I recommend that you close all applications before you install IA for Word, because the installation program might need to copy several shared .dll files. When IA for Word is being installed, you might get a few message boxes similar to the one shown in Figure 6.1. Simply click the Ignore button to continue installing IA for Word. Later, if you encounter problems running IA for Word, remove applications from the Windows NT Start folder, reboot Windows NT, and then install IA for Word soon after logging in.

Figure 6.1. Shared .dll files that are open and being used by other applications cannot be replaced by the IA for Word installation program.

After IA for Word is installed, you will see a message box similar to the one shown in Figure 6.2. At this point, you can launch Microsoft Word and begin using it to create documents for the Web. Notice the Browse Web command added to the Word File menu.

Figure 6.2. Microsoft Word is capable of creating content for the Web immediately after IA for Word is installed.

Creating an HTML Document with Word

After IA for Word is installed, creating HTML documents is as easy as creating Word documents. This section demonstrates how features of IA for Word can be used to create an HTML document with True Type fonts, inline images, tables, and various other HTML attributes. To begin creating an HTML document, select File | New from the main menu. You are presented with a dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 6.3. Note the HTML document template that has been added by the IA for Word installation program.

Figure 6.3. The HTML document template can be used to create HTML files with IA.

From the dialog box shown in Figure 6.3, select the HTML document template and click the OK button. You are now ready to start creating an HTML document using Microsoft Word. Before you continue, select Tools | Customize from the main menu to customize the toolbar. Shortly, you will be shown how to add True Type fonts to HTML files, so make sure the Font buttons shown at the top in Figure 6.4 are added to your toolbar.

Figure 6.4. The Microsoft Word toolbar can be customized with useful HTML attributes such as True Type fonts.

Background Images and Text Colors

HTML documents created with Word can be customized with a background image and text-attribute colors. To do so, select Background and Links, which has been added by IA to the Format menu. Use a dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 6.5 to specify the text-attribute colors as well as a background image.

When using background images and special text colors, always use either a light-colored background and dark colored text or vice versa. Otherwise, users browsing your document will not be able to read the text. Before you put a document created with Microsoft Word on the Internet, use a Web browser to preview the documents to ensure that they are legible.

Figure 6.5. The Background and Links attribute specification dialog box.

To specify a background image, click the Browse button to bring up the Insert Picture dialog box, shown in Figure 6.6. This dialog box is handy for selecting backgrounds because it displays a preview of the background image in the right column. After selecting the image you want to use, click the OK button. You should work with a directory structure identical to that of the production Web server to make sure that directory pathnames are compatible between the production server and the development environment in which you work.

Figure 6.6. The Insert Picture dialog box can be used to add a background image to an HTML document.

Using True Type Fonts

Microsoft Word supports True Type fonts in HTML documents. To change the font of some text, select the text, and select Format | Font from the menu bar. You can then specify a True Type font typeface for the selected text using a dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 6.7. This dialog box can also be used to specify the size and color of the selected typeface. Special features of True Type fonts, including tinting and font smoothing, result in text that is easier to read. Be aware that not all Web browsers support True Type fonts.

Figure 6.7. The font specification dialog box.

Inserting Tables

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 6.8. 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 has been created.

Figure 6.8. The Insert Table dialog box.

Inserting Inline Images and Video

IA has modified the standard Word Insert | Picture dialog box, shown in Figure 6.6. Inline images and video clips can be inserted into an HTML document by selecting Insert | Picture from the main menu. In the dialog box shown in Figure 6.9, select an image or video clip to insert into a Word HTML document. When adding an image, use the Alternative Text data-entry field 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 6.9, a dialog box similar to the one in Figure 6.6 can be used to select an image. Keep an eye on multimedia file sizes. Although multimedia files load very quickly on your local machine, it takes a while for them to crawl over a slow modem connection. After designing a Web page, always browse it using a modem connection to ensure that your multimedia files do not take too long to load.

Figure 6.9. The inline picture insertion dialog box.

Formatting Table Cells

It is easy to format the table cells of an HTML document. Simply select the cell(s) you want to format and click the right mouse button. You will see a pop-up menu similar to the one shown in Figure 6.10. This menu can be used to specify cell-formatting attributes. For example, to change the background of a cell, select it and click the Background Color option of the pop-up menu shown in Figure 6.10. You can then define a background color for the selected cell using a Background Color dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 6.11.

Figure 6.10. The right mouse button can be used to format cells in a table.

Figure 6.11. The Background Color dialog box can be used to assign a color to one or more selected table cells.


Publishing an HTML Document with Microsoft Word

Attractive HTML documents can be created with Microsoft Word using the tips and procedures discussed earlier. An example of an HTML document created with standard HTML 2.0 extensions such as tables and True Type fonts is shown in Figure 6.12. Publishing a Word document on the Internet is as easy as saving the document as an HTML file.

Figure 6.12. HTML document created with Microsoft Word.

HTML documents created with Microsoft Word can be viewed with any Web browser. The HTML document shown in Figure 6.12 looks similar to the Web page in Figure 6.13 when it is viewed with Internet Explorer. As you can see in Figure 6.13, the inline image and text in the table are 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.

Figure 6.13. A Web browser, such as Internet Explorer, can be used to view HTML documents created with Microsoft Word.


Publishing on the Web with Microsoft Word 97

Internet-publishing features of Microsoft Word 97 are more powerful than the features of IA for Microsoft Word 95. Word 97's powerful (and now VBA- programmable) development environment can be used to develop Word applications to aid in the development of routine Web pages. They can be used to easily develop richly formatted Web pages and convert existing Word documents to HTML. Although Word 97 is a powerful Web-page development tool, FrontPage 97 is recommended for large Web projects because it offers a more powerful Web-page development environment.

Using the Microsoft Word Web Page Wizard

The Microsoft Word Web Page wizard can be used to easily create HTML documents for the Internet. To access this wizard, Select File | New from the menu bar (as shown in Figure 6.14).

The New document dialog box, shown in Figure 6.15, appears. This dialog box is a tabbed dialog box. Select the Web Pages tab, then select the Web Page wizard (as shown in Figure 6.15). Click OK to continue.

Figure 6.14. Select File | New from the menu bar to access the Web Page wizard.

Figure 6.15. Select the Web Page wizard.

The Web Page Wizard dialog box, shown in Figure 6.16, is used to select the type of Web page you are creating. Select a Web page from the list of predefined Web pages, and the Microsoft Word editing window is automatically updated with the selected Web page. For the purpose of this exercise, the 2-Column Layout Web page is selected. Click the Next button to continue.

Use the Web Page Wizard dialog box, shown in Figure 6.17, to select the style of your Web page. Depending on the style of the Web page you select, Microsoft Word automatically selects a background image, bullet icons, and other graphics. For the purpose of this exercise, the visual style Outdoors is selected. Click the Finish button to begin editing the Web page.

Figure 6.16. Select the 2-Column Layout Web page.

Figure 6.17. Select the visual style of the Web page.

The Web page created with the Microsoft Word Web Page wizard can be edited in the same way Microsoft Word documents are edited: using toolbar buttons and pull-down menu options. For example, to change the font, select the text, then select Format | Font from the menu bar. The dialog box shown in Figure 6.18 can be used to change the font and other text attributes. The best way to become familiar with the Web-page editing capabilities of Microsoft Word is to experiment.

Figure 6.18. The Font dialog box is used to change the font.

Changing Document Properties

The properties of the Web page, such as the title, are specified using the Document Properties dialog box. Select File | Properties from the menu bar to invoke this dialog box. Specify the title of the Web page (as shown in the dialog box in Figure 6.19). Use the three pull-down menus to select the encoding language used by your Web page. If your Web page is in English, leave the default settings as they are.

Figure 6.19. The Document Properties dialog box.

Adding a Background Sound

A background sound can easily be added to a Web page using Microsoft Word. To add a background sound, select Insert | Background Sound | Properties from the menu bar. Use the Background Sound dialog box (shown in Figure 6.20) to specify the properties of the background sound.

Figure 6.20. Specify the properties of the background sound.

You can use the Browse button in Figure 6.20 or the File | Open dialog box (see Figure 6.21) to select a background sound. When you add background sound files, keep an eye on the file size. Never add a background sound file that is over 50 KB. Having to wait for graphics is bad enough--the last thing you need is for your Web surfers to have to wait until that 2MB wave file crawls over a phone line. You might want to consider using MIDI files for background sound because they are typically much smaller than other audio file formats. However, the MIDI format is not very versatile because it can only be used to reproduce digital synthesizer sounds.

Figure 6.21. Selecting a background sound using the File Open dialog box.

Saving and Publishing the Web Page

Select File | Save from the menu bar to save the Web page. The dialog box shown in Figure 6.22 is used to specify the filename and directory of the page. Notice how HTML Document is selected in the Save as type field.

Figure 6.22. The Web page is saved as an HTML file.

Microsoft Word saves all the Web page's elements (graphics files, background sound file, and so on) in the same directory. Web pages created using Microsoft Word can be published on the Internet by copying the contents of the Web-page directory to the directory of a Web server. The Web page can then be viewed with Internet Explorer (as shown in Figure 6.23). Compare the Web page loaded in Internet Explorer with the same Web page being edited with Microsoft Word (see Figure 6.24). Notice the powerful WYSIWYG capabilities of Microsoft Word. What you see in Microsoft Word is almost identical to what you see in Internet Explorer.

Figure 6.23. The Web page created with Microsoft Word viewed with Internet Explorer.

Figure 6.24. The Web page shown in Figure 6.23 being edited with Microsoft Word.

Publishing on the Web with Microsoft Excel 95

IA for Excel can be used to effortlessly convert Excel spreadsheets into HTML documents so that they can be published on the Web. Visit the Microsoft 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 6.25 can be converted into HTML and published on the Web.

Figure 6.25. You will learn how to convert this spreadsheet into HTML.


URL:Use the following URL to reach the Microsoft Excel home page:

htmtp://www.microsoft.com/msexcel/default.htm

Installing IA for Microsoft Excel

IA for Excel can be installed by following a few simple steps after downloading it from Microsoft's Web site.


URL:IA for Excel can be downloaded at:

http://www.microsoft.com/msexcel/Internet/IA/default.htm

Follow these steps to install IA for Excel:

1. Download IA for Excel. This file is named HTML.XLA.

2.
After downloading HTML.XLA, place it in the \EXCEL\LIBRARY directory (if you are running a standalone version of Excel) or \MSOFFICE\EXCEL\LIBRARY (if you are running the Microsoft Office version of Excel 7.0).

3.
Start Excel and select Tools | Add-Ins from the main menu. You will be presented with the dialog box shown in Figure 6.26.

Figure 6.26. The Microsoft Excel Add-Ins dialog box.

4. Check Internet Assistant Wizard and click OK.

IA for Excel is now installed and ready for use.

Publishing a Spreadsheet on the Web with Excel

IA for Excel can be used to effortlessly convert a spreadsheet into HTML as shown in Figure 6.27. To do so, , simply highlight the spreadsheet area that you want to convert and select Tools | Internet Assistant Wizard from the main menu.

Figure 6.27. The selected area of a spreadsheet can be converted into HTML using IA for Excel.

After the Internet Assistant Wizard menu option is selected, a dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 6.28 is displayed to confirm the area selected in the dialog box shown Figure 6.27. At this point, you can change the area selected to be converted into HTML.

Figure 6.28. Step 1 of the Internet Assistant wizard for Excel confirms the area selected in Figure 6.27.

The next dialog box (Figure 6.29) asks whether you want to create a new HTML file or if you want the data to be inserted into an existing HTML document. Note that if you select to have the data inserted into an existing file, the file should contain the string <!--##Table##-->. IA for Excel will then insert the data from the spreadsheet where it encounters the string <!--##Table##-->.

Figure 6.29. Target HTML file selection dialog box.

If you select the option to create a new HTML file, a dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 6.30 is presented to you. This dialog box can be used to customize the HTML file created by IA for Excel.

Figure 6.30. HTML file customizing dialog box.

The next dialog box asks whether you want to preserve as much formatting as possible. Select this option if you want 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, preserving as much formatting as possible produces the best results. Afterward, provide the HTML filename of the new file, and the spreadsheet you selected in the dialog box shown in Figure 6.27 is saved as an HTML file. After the HTML file is saved, it can be viewed with a Web browser (as shown in Figure 6.31). Compare the HTML document in Figure 6.31 with the Excel spreadsheet in Figure 6.25; note how they closely resemble each other. As illustrated in this example, it is quite easy to publish Excel spreadsheets on the Web using IA for Excel.

Figure 6.31. The spreadsheet in Figure 6.25 after it is converted into HTML.

Publishing on the Web with Microsoft Excel 97

Internet-publishing features of Microsoft Excel 97 can be used to publish spreadsheets on the Internet. Although the Active Document technology (covered in Chapter 2, "Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0") can be used to publish Microsoft Excel files on the Web, doing so might make your Web pages inaccessible to certain users because not all Web browsers support Active Documents. To demonstrate how to use Internet-publishing features of Excel 97, you will be shown how to convert the spreadsheet in Figure 6.32 to HTML.

Follow these steps to convert the spreadsheet in Figure 6.32 to HTML. At the end of each step, click the Next button to proceed to the next dialog box.

1. Select the area of the spreadsheet you want to convert to HTML, as shown in Figure 6.33. Afterward, select File | Save as HTML from the menu bar to invoke the Microsoft Excel Internet Assistant wizard.

2.
The dialog box shown in Figure 6.34 is used to select additional portions of the spreadsheet to convert to HTML. Click the Add button to select additional portions of the spreadsheet.

3.
Microsoft Excel IA can either create an independent HTML file or insert the spreadsheet data into an existing HTML file. The dialog box shown in Figure 6.35 is used to specify whether IA should insert the spreadsheet data into an existing HTML file or create an independent HTML file.

Figure 6.32. A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

Figure 6.33.
Highlight a portion of the spreadsheet and select File/Save as HTML from the menu bar.

Figure 6.34. Select portions of the spreadsheet to convert to HTML.

Figure 6.35. Select how IA should convert the spreadsheet data.

4. The dialog box shown in Figure 6.36 is used to provide header and footer information for the Web page created by IA. Compare Figure 6.36 with Figure 6.38 to observe how information provided in Figure 6.36 is displayed in the Web page created by IA.

5.
IA is now ready to save the spreadsheet as HTML. IA can save the HTML file either as a local file or as a file in a FrontPage web. Specify the filename as shown in Figure 6.37 to save the spreadsheet data as a local file. To save the spreadsheet data as a file in a FrontPage web, select the Add the result to my FrontPage Web radio button. Click the Finish button to save the spreadsheet data as an HTML file.

Figure 6.36. Provide header and footer information of the Web page.

Figure 6.37. Select how the HTML file should be saved.

6. The HTML file created by IA can then be browsed with a Web browser, as shown in Figure 6.38. Notice how IA preserves the cell background and foreground colors of the Excel spreadsheet.

Figure 6.38. HTML version of the Excel spreadsheet shown in Figure 6.32.

Publishing on the Web with Microsoft PowerPoint 95

PowerPoint is a powerful presentation tool that can be used to create slide-show presentations on the Internet using IA 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 shown in Figure 6.39 into HTML. Visit the Microsoft PowerPoint Web page for the most up-to-date information about PowerPoint and IA for PowerPoint.

Figure 6.39. You will learn shortly how to convert these two slides into HTML.


URL:Find the Microsoft PowerPoint Web page at:

http://www.microsoft.com/mspowerpoint/default.htm

Installing PowerPoint IA

IA for PowerPoint can be downloaded from Microsoft's Web site. After you download it, copy it to a temporary directory and execute the executable file. This will decompress the PowerPoint distribution file. After the distribution file is decompressed, execute the file IA4PPT95.EXE to install IA 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 6.40.

Figure 6.40. PowerPoint IA installation program.


URL:The IA for Microsoft PowerPoint download site is located at:

http://www.microsoft.com/mmspowerpoint/Internet/ia/default.htm

Converting a PowerPoint Slide Show into HTML

PowerPoint slides can be easily converted into HTML by selecting File | Export as HTML from the main menu. A dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 6.41 is presented to obtain information about the output that should be generated by IA for PowerPoint.

Figure 6.41. The HTML Export Options dialog box.

The Output style radio button specifies whether IA for PowerPoint should output the slides in color, or grayscale format. It is recommended that you select that slides be exported in color unless your slides contain only a limited number of colors and you are concerned about the size of the slide files.

The Output format radio button specifies the file format of the exported PowerPoint slides. Generally, you should use the JPEG format for natural photographic slides that do not have too many sharp edges; use the GIF format for all other slides.

If you are using the JPEG format, use the slide bar shown in Figure 6.41 to define the image quality of JPEG files. High image quality results in large files, and lower image quality results in smaller files. You might want to experiment with the settings to determine the ideal level of quality for your slide presentation if you are concerned about bandwidth and file sizes. Due to an abundance of available network bandwidth, this is generally not an issue in an intranet environment.

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 6.42.

Figure 6.42. HTML conversion dialog box.

The PowerPoint presentation can now be viewed using a Web browser (as shown in Figure 6.43). Note that the first page contains an index of all slides in the presentation.

Figure 6.43. HTML slide-presentation index.

The index shown in Figure 6.43 can be used to view individual PowerPoint slides (as shown in Figure 6.44). 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 6.44. PowerPoint slides exported as HTML files can be viewed with a Web browser.

Publishing on the Web with Microsoft PowerPoint 97

Unlike PowerPoint 95, Internet publishing features are built right into PowerPoint 97. Microsoft PowerPoint can be used to create HTML presentations and convert existing presentations into HTML. Web pages created with Microsoft PowerPoint are optimized for the Internet and can be customized to fit 640*480 monitors. For the purpose of this example, you are shown how to convert the PowerPoint presentation in Figure 6.45 into an HTML file.

Figure 6.45. This PowerPoint presentation will be converted to an HTML file.

Use features of Microsoft PowerPoint to design a presentation similar to the one shown in Figure 6.45. After the presentation is created, select File | Save as HTML from the menu bar. The Microsoft PowerPoint Save as HTML wizard (see Figure 6.46) appears. Click the Next button to proceed to the dialog box shown in Figure 6.47.

Figure 6.46. The Microsoft PowerPoint Save as HTML wizard.

Figure 6.47. Select the layout type of the HTML file.

Use the dialog box shown in Figure 6.47 to select the layout of the Web page. You can either create a new HTML layout or use an existing one. Say you decide to create a new HTML layout. After the presentation is converted to an HTML file, you can save the HTML layout settings for future use. You can then use the same layout settings at a later time. This is particularly useful when you convert several PowerPoint presentations to HTML while and need preserve consistency. For the purpose of this exercise, you will learn how to create a new HTML layout.

Select the style of the Web page using the dialog box shown in Figure 6.48. PowerPoint can create either a standard Web page or a Web page with frames. If you select to create a Web page with frames, be prepared to tweak the HTML code if necessary. PowerPoint sometimes needs some help with frames!

Figure 6.48. Select the style of the HTML file.

PowerPoint can create graphics in GIF or JPEG format. Select JPEG if your slides contain pictures of natural subjects (trees, people, mountains). Select GIF if your slides are comprised mostly of text or contain many sudden variations of color and shapes. You can also select the graphics of the presentation to be exported as PowerPoint animations. However, this requires your users to download the PowerPoint animation player if it is not already available on their systems. Choose the graphics type using the dialog box shown in Figure 6.49.

Figure 6.49. Choose the graphics type.

The dialog box in shown Figure 6.50 prompts you to select the graphics size. Do not select a graphics size larger than 640*480 unless you are certain that all your users use a higher resolution. Select the appropriate monitor resolution and click the Next button.

Figure 6.50. Choose the graphics size.

Define information about the presentation using the dialog box shown in Figure 6.51. Type your e-mail address, your home-page address, and any other information about the PowerPoint presentation. Information entered in the dialog box shown in Figure 6.51 is displayed in the summary page of the PowerPoint presentation (shown in Figure 6.57).

Figure 6.51. Define options of the presentation.

Select the colors of the Web page using the dialog box in Figure 6.52. You can either specify custom colors or use the default colors of the Web browser. You can also select whether the Web-page buttons should have transparent backgrounds.

Figure 6.52. Select the colors of the Web page.

Web pages created with PowerPoint can have four different kinds of buttons. Use the dialog box shown in Figure 6.53 to select the button style, then click the Next button.

Figure 6.53. Select the button style of the Web page.

Microsoft PowerPoint can place Web-page navigation buttons in four different locations (as shown in Figure 6.54). Select the desired position of navigation buttons and click the Next button.

Figure 6.54. Select the desired position of navigation buttons.

PowerPoint now has all the information it needs to convert your presentation to a series of Web pages. PowerPoint creates a new subdirectory containing all the Web pages and graphics of the PowerPoint presentation. Use the dialog box shown in Figure 6.55 to specify where PowerPoint should create the directory containing the Web pages and graphics.

Figure 6.55. Specify the location of the HTML file folder.

Click the Finish button of the dialog box shown in Figure 6.56 to convert the PowerPoint presentation to a series of Web pages. Before you click the Finish button, you can review your settings using the Back button.

Figure 6.56. PowerPoint is ready to create the Web pages.

Locate the file index.htm in the directory you provided in Figure 6.55 to view the HTML version of the PowerPoint presentation. The HTML presentation can be viewed with any Web browser. The Web page in Figure 6.57 displays a summary of the PowerPoint presentation, including the contact information for the author of the presentation.

Figure 6.57. Summary information about the PowerPoint presentation.

Select the Click here to start link of the Web page shown in Figure 6.57 to view the PowerPoint presentation (shown in Figure 6.58). The navigation buttons to the left of the Web page can be used to browse through the slides of the presentation. As demonstrated in this exercise, Microsoft PowerPoint 97 can be used to easily convert a series of slides to HTML.

Figure 6.58. The HTML version of the PowerPoint presentation.

Publishing on the Web with Microsoft Access

Both Microsoft Access 95 and Microsoft Access 97 can be used to publish databases on the Internet. Internet-publishing features of Microsoft Access 95 and Microsoft Access 97 are covered in Chapter 12, "Developing ODBC Database Front-Ends." Chapter 12 also demonstrates how the Internet Database Connector, included with Microsoft Internet Information Server, can be used to publish Microsoft Access databases on the Web. You are shown how to build a guest-book application with Microsoft Access in Chapter 12.

Summary

Microsoft Office is a powerful suite of productivity applications. Various IAs available for Microsoft Office 95 can be used to effortlessly publish information on the Internet. Powerful Internet-publishing capabilities are built right into Microsoft Office 97. The Internet-publishing capabilities of Microsoft Office are especially useful for converting existing Microsoft Office files into HTML so that they can be published on the global Internet or on a local intranet.


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