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17


Web Publishing with Microsoft Office 97


by Tom Hayes

What's New in Office 97


Office 97 applications make it easier than ever to publish documents on the Web. Several new tools and features create a seamless integration between Office documents and the Internet. I'll start by discussing some of the tools that are common to all the Office products. Later, I'll explore features unique to particular applications.

The Web Toolbar


Common to all Office 97 applications is the addition of the Web toolbar (see Figure 17.1). The Web toolbar can be hidden or displayed using the Web Toolbar icon located on the standard toolbar of any Office application. You can also display the Web toolbar by selecting the View | Toolbars menu and selecting Web from the list of available toolbars or right-clicking the standard toolbar and selecting Web.

Figure 17.1. The Office 97 Web toolbar.

Whenever you select a command or button from the Web toolbar, Microsoft Internet Explorer starts and connects to the Internet. If you're familiar with Internet Explorer, you'll notice some of the same controls and functions available in that application.


NOTE

Before you use the Web toolbar, make sure your Internet connection in Internet Explorer is set up properly, either through a remote dial-up or LAN connection.



Browsing the Web from an Office Application


Once you've displayed the Web toolbar, there are several ways you can easily browse the Web. If you know the URL address of the Web page you want to link to, simply enter the location in the address box on the Web toolbar. For example, to connect to Microsoft's home page, you enter http://www.microsoft.com.


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You can also use the address box on the Web toolbar to jump to any Office document. Simply enter the path and filename of the document you want to open.


Another way to browse the Web is through your favorite Web sites. If you've defined a list of favorite locations in Internet Explorer, you can simply select that site from the Favorites pull-down menu on the Web toolbar. Because Internet Explorer features are integrated in Office applications, you can also include Office documents in your Favorites list by following the next few steps:

  1. Open the document you want to include and select Add to Favorites from the Favorites menu on the Web toolbar. Office displays the Add to Favorites dialog box shown in Figure 17.2.

    Figure 17.2. The Add to Favorites dialog box used to create shortcuts to your favorite Office documents or Web sites.

  2. Enter a name in the File Name box and click Add. Office creates a shortcut to your document or Web site and adds it to your list of favorite sites.

Browsing the Web is easy if you know the URL address of a Web site. Often, you might not know the address or you might want to search the Web for a particular topic. By selecting Go | Search the Web from the Web toolbar or selecting the Search the Web icon, you can connect to a page on the Microsoft Network that includes six of the more popular and widely used search engines on the Internet. Figure 17.3 shows the Web page located at http://www.msn.com/access/allinone.asp and displayed when you search the Web from the Web toolbar. Simply enter a word or words in the edit box and select Search.

Figure 17.3. Searching the Web using some popular Internet search services.

Because each Internet search service catalogs information differently, your search results may vary depending on which one you use. The following list outlines some of the features unique to each service:


Inserting Hyperlinks in an Office Application


A hyperlink is used to jump to a location in the same file, another file, or even a URL location on the World Wide Web. Word is unique among the Office applications because it automatically formats Internet, network, or e-mail addresses as hyperlinks. However, you can format any text, graphic, logo, or scanned image as a hyperlink as well. The following steps show you how:

  1. Select the text or graphic.
  2. Select the Insert | Hyperlink menu to display the Hyperlink dialog box shown in Figure 17.4.

    Figure 17.4. The Insert Hyperlink dialog box used to create and edit hyperlinks.

  3. Enter a path and filename or URL address in the Link to File or URL box. If you're creating a hyperlink to another Office document, you can specify a location to a bookmark (Word), slide number (PowerPoint), range (Excel), or database object (Access) by entering the hyperlink in the Named Location in File box.
  4. Activate the Use Relative Path for Hyperlink checkbox if you plan on moving the file that contains the hyperlink. When you activate this checkbox, Office bases the hyperlink on the exact location of the file that contains the hyperlink, rather than the path to the file.
  5. Select OK.

Hyperlinked text is represented by colored underlined text. If you hold the mouse pointer over the hyperlinked text, the pointer changes to a hand and a note displays the location of the linked file. Simply click hyperlinked text to jump to the new location. If you used a graphic to create a hyperlink, you have to right-click the graphic and select Hyperlink | Select Hyperlink from the menu.

To remove or edit a hyperlink, select the hyperlink and use the Insert | Hyperlink menu to display the Edit Hyperlink dialog box. Edit the link in the Link to File or URL box or click the Remove Link button.


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You can also right-click a hyperlink and select Hyperlink | Edit Hyperlink to quickly display the Edit Hyperlink dialog box.



Converting Office Documents to HTML


Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is a method of marking up, or tagging, a document so it can be published on the World Wide Web. When you save an Office document in an HTML format, information on text formatting, graphics, and user controls is stored. You can then use a Web browser (such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator) to view HTML documents.

The easiest way to create a Web page from one of the Office applications is to use one of the wizards supplied with Office 97. However, you might sometimes have a document that you want to quickly convert to an HTML format. When converting documents, keep in mind that some of the formatting features used in Office applications are not supported by HTML and you might lose some data. It's always a good idea to keep a backup copy of the document in its native .ppt (PowerPoint), .doc (Word), .xls (Excel), or .mdb (Access) format.

The following procedure outlines the steps necessary to convert a Word document to an HTML format:

  1. Open the Word file you want to convert.
  2. Select the File | Save As HTML menu to display the Save As HTML dialog box shown in Figure 17.5.

    Figure 17.5. Using the Save As HTML dialog box to convert a Word document to an HTML document.

  3. Enter a name in the File Name box and click Save.

Saving Documents to FTP Sites


There are thousands of FTP sites on the Internet that allow users to download and upload anything from documents and shareware to graphic images and clip art. By saving a file to an FTP site, you can make your file available to anyone who has access to that site.

Some FTP sites are public and allow anonymous login. This means that anyone can download and upload information. For security reasons (for example, a private company's FTP site), some sites require a pre-approved username and password.

The following steps show you how to save a file to an FTP site:

  1. Select the File | Save As menu to display the Save As dialog box displayed in Figure 17.6. If you've already defined an FTP site, select that site in the Save In box and skip to step 3.

    Figure 17.6. Choosing an FTP site from the Save As dialog box.

  2. If you haven't defined an FTP site, select Add/Modify FTP Site in the Save In box to display the Add/Modify FTP Locations dialog box shown in Figure 17.7. Enter the address of the site in the Name of FTP Site box (ftp:// is automatically appended to the beginning of the FTP site name you enter). If the site allows anonymous file uploads, select the anonymous button. If not, fill in the User box and the Password box. When you're finished filling in the appropriate information, click the Add button. Choose the newly created site from the list.

    Figure 17.7. Adding or modifying an FTP site.

  3. Enter a name in the File Name box and choose a document type from the Save As Type list. If you have a dial-up Internet connection, Windows 95 starts your Dial-up Networking and connects to your Internet service provider. Otherwise, you are connected to the FTP site through a LAN connection.
  4. Click the Save button.

NOTE

You do not have to save a document in HTML format in order to save it to an FTP site. The document format is independent of the document location. You can think of an FTP site as another drive or subdirectory; the only difference is that this location is on the Internet.



Creating a PowerPoint Presentation for Use on the Internet


PowerPoint 97 has a complete set of templates specifically designed for online presentations. The easiest way to begin creating a presentation for the Internet is to use PowerPoint's AutoContent Wizard.

The AutoContent Wizard


Using the AutoContent Wizard in PowerPoint is easy. Here's how it's done:

  1. Start PowerPoint and select the AutoContent button under Create New Presentation Using. Click OK. PowerPoint displays the first dialog box of the AutoContent Wizard. Click the Next button. PowerPoint displays the second dialog box shown in Figure 17.8.

    Figure 17.8. Selecting the type of PowerPoint presentation from the AutoContent Wizard.

  2. Select the type of presentation you want to give from the list and click Next. The third dialog is displayed as shown in Figure 17.9.

    Figure 17.9. Choosing how the presentation is used from the AutoContent Wizard.

  3. Under How Will This Presentation Be Used, select the Internet, Kiosk button and then click Next. The fourth dialog box is displayed as shown in Figure 17.10.

    Figure 17.10. Selecting presentation options from the AutoContent Wizard.

  4. Select any presentation options you want and click the Next button. Follow the remaining instructions in the AutoContent Wizard. PowerPoint creates a sample presentation where you can add your own text, pictures, animations, and hyperlinks. After you add the content you want, save your presentation.

Remember, even if you're creating a presentation to be viewed on the Web, it's always a good idea to save it in a PowerPoint format. To save your presentation in HTML format, select Save As HTML from the File menu.


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When you save a presentation in HTML format, you can also save your current Internet Assistant settings so you can easily reuse them when you convert other presentations. For more information on using Internet Assistant for PowerPoint, see Chapter 19, "Using Internet Assistant for PowerPoint."



The PowerPoint Animation Player


The PowerPoint Animation Player is an Internet browser extension that allows you take full advantage of all the animation, hyperlinks, sound and special-effects functionality of PowerPoint. If you know how to use PowerPoint, you already know how to create and view dynamic Web pages rather than static HTML pages. With the Animation Player, you can also

You can download the PowerPoint Animation Player software from the Microsoft Web site at http://www.microsoft.com.

Authoring Web Pages in Word


When you author Web pages in Word, many familiar Word features, such as spelling and grammar checking, AutoText, and tables, are available. However, there are some features that aren't supported by HTML. Table 17.1 explains which features are changed or unavailable when authoring Web pages or converting a Word document to an HTML format.

Table 17.1. Word features changed or unavailable in HTML.

Word Feature Availability in HTML
Columns Columns aren't supported in HTML, but you can use tables to create a two- or three-column effect.
Comments/track changes Word's comments and track changes features aren't supported in HTML.
Paragraph borders You cannot place borders around paragraphs in HTML, but you can place borders around graphical objects or tables.
Updatable OLE objects When you save charts, equations, and other OLE objects in HTML format, a graphical image is created. These graphics appear on your Web page, but you won't be able to update the data they represent through an OLE link.
Text effects Shadowed, embossed, and engraved text aren't supported in HTML. Strikethrough, bold, italic, and underline are supported.
Headers and footers Web pages don't have headers and footers. If you convert a Word document to HTML, the data appears on the Web page, but it is no longer in a header or footer.
Footnotes Footnotes are not supported.
Cross-references Cross-references are not supported.
Master documents Master documents and sub-documents are not supported in HTML.
Mail merge Mail merge is not supported in HTML.
Shared documents Word's document sharing isn't available during Web authoring.
Styles Styles are customized so they reflect those supported by HTML.

Using Word's Web Page Wizard


Earlier in this chapter, I explored how to convert a Word document to an HTML format. A much simpler method, however, uses Word's Web Page Wizard. The following steps show you how to take advantage of this time-saving Web authoring tool:

  1. Select the File | New menu and click the Web Pages tab. Double-click the Web Page Wizard icon.

    NOTE

    If you don't see the Web Pages tab, the Web authoring components might not be installed. Rerun Office Setup and select the Add/Remove button. Make sure the Web Page Authoring (HTML) checkbox is activated under the Options for Microsoft Word.


  2. Select the type of presentation you want to create from the list of available templates. Click the Next button.
  3. Select a presentation style from the list of available styles. Click the Finish button to display an HTML template ready for customizing as shown in Figure 17.11.

    Figure 17.11. Creating an HTML document using a Simple Layout and Elegant Style from the Web Page Wizard.

  4. Make any changes you want to the file and save it as an HTML document. If you plan to use this page to create future Web pages, choose Word Template in the Save As Type box.

Inserting Graphics and Backgrounds


Once you've created your HTML document using the Web Page Wizard, you might want to jazz it up using some different graphics and a textured background. The following list shows the graphic file types supported by Word:


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GIF and JPEG are Web standard file formats. If you insert graphics into an HTML document, it's best to use one of these two formats so that your Web page can be viewed properly using a Web browser.


To insert a graphic in an HTML document, follow the next few steps:

  1. Position the cursor where you want to add the graphic. Select the Insert | Picture menu and then click From File to display the Insert Picture dialog box shown in Figure 17.12.

    Figure 17.12. Using the Insert Picture dialog box to add graphics to an HTML document.

  2. Locate the folder that contains the graphic and select the file.
  3. To maintain a link to the original file, activate the Link to File checkbox. If you want to place the picture in Word's drawing layer, activate the Float Over Text checkbox. Click the Insert button.

CAUTION

Large graphics or a large quantity of graphics increase download time. To decrease the file size of graphics, use fewer colors, decrease the size of the graphic, and repeat images when you can. For instance, you can use the same image for a bullet throughout all your Web pages. The image is downloaded only once, even if it appears on several pages.


Backgrounds are only visible when you display your document in Online Layout view. If you add a background to your Web page, it should contrast with the text color. Keep in mind that you want to design your Web page so that it's easy to read. You should avoid a dark background with white type because this might not print properly. The following procedure shows you how to change the background color or texture:

  1. Select the View | Online menu.
  2. Select the Format | Background menu to display a palette. If you want a solid background color, select a color from the palette or select More Colors to create a custom color. If you want a textured background, select Fill Effects from the menu to display the Fill Effects dialog box shown in Figure 17.13.

    Figure 17.13. Using the Fill Effects dialog box to change the background in an HTML document.

  3. Select a fill effect from the palette displayed or click the Other Texture button to choose a subdirectory and filename of a custom background.
  4. Click OK.

Inserting Scrolling Text


You can also add animated text that scrolls across your page to your HTML document. The following steps show you how:

  1. Place the cursor where you want the scrolling text to appear. The text should scroll on a line by itself.
  2. Select the Format | Scrolling text menu and click the Scrolling Text Options tab to display the Scrolling Text dialog box shown in Figure 17.14.

    Figure 17.14. Adding scrolling text to an HTML document.

  3. Enter your text in the Type Your Scrolling Text Here box. A sample of your text scrolls across the Preview window. Select how you want the text to scroll, the direction, background color, and number of times to loop from the appropriate boxes.
  4. Select the Size and Speed tab to customize the font.
  5. Click OK.

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Don't over-design your Web page with a lot of scrolling text. Keep the text short and use it to emphasize features on your Web page.



Adding a Video to a Web Page


Although videos can be exciting and certainly take advantage of the multimedia capability of the Web, they aren't supported by all Web browsers and they take a long time to download. You should avoid presenting essential information in videos and provide an alternative version of the material, such as a text-only version. Also, you need to create and edit your desktop video in an application such as Microsoft Camcorder 97 (not included with Office 97).


NOTE

Adding videos to Web pages with FrontPage is covered thoroughly in Chapter 11, "Adding Sound and Video to Web Pages."


Here's how you add a video to your Web page:

  1. Select the Insert | Video menu to display the Video Clip dialog box shown in Figure 17.15.

    Figure 17.15. Inserting a video into an HTML page with the Video Clip dialog box.

  2. In the Video Source box, type the address or URL of the video file you want. Click the Browse button to locate the video file.
  3. In the Alternate Image box, type the address, or URL, of the graphics file that you want to appear in place of the video in Web browsers that don't support videos.
  4. In the Alternate Text box, type the text that you want to appear in place of the video or alternate image for Web browsers that don't support videos.
  5. In the Start box, click an option to specify how the video plays in a Web page. File Open causes the video to play when the user downloads the Web page and Mouse Over causes the video to play when the mouse pointer is placed over the video.
  6. In the Loop box, enter the number of times you want the video to repeat.
  7. If you want to display video controls such as Start and Stop while you're authoring Web pages, activate the Display Video Controls checkbox.
  8. Click OK.

CAUTION

Because video files can be even larger than graphic files, you need to exercise the same caution when adding videos to a Web page as you did when adding graphics and backgrounds. Try reducing the height or width of the video, use fewer panels, or consider using black-and-white instead of color to decrease the file size and download time.



Previewing Your Web Page


Once you've customized your Web page with text, hyperlinks, graphics and possibly a video, it's time to preview your page. Select the File | Web Page Preview to display your Web page in Internet Explorer.

Web Forms and Databases from Excel and Access


Web forms can make your Web site extremely powerful by soliciting information from users and then adding that information to a database on your Web server. You can use this feature to take orders, track customer information and product requests, or even run contests and promotions from your Web site.

Before you can set up a data gathering system, however, you need to do some preliminary planning. The following lists some questions you need to answer before you begin using Excel or Access to design a form:


Form Controls


You can simplify data input on a form by using controls common to desktop publishing applications. These controls include buttons, edit boxes, drop-down list boxes, option buttons, checkboxes, spinners, and scroll bars. Word, Excel, and Access all contain a control toolbox to allow you to quickly create a Web form in any of the Office applications. To display the Forms toolbar, right-click the standard toolbar and select Forms. Figure 17.16 shows the Forms control toolbox in Excel.

Figure 17.16. The Forms control toolbox.

Controls are helpful because you can assign a macro to a control. Depending on the control and the action taken by the user, the macro can perform a variety of functions. For example, suppose you want to collect demographic information on users who visit your Web site and you want to know whether they are male or female. You could add two option buttons to a Web form and when a user selected one of the options, a M or F could be dropped into a database field named Gender. For more information about designing forms in Excel or Access, see the Help file.

Excel's Web Form Wizard


Excel's Web Form Wizard configures your worksheet to an HTML form to make submitting information to a Web database easy for the user. The following steps show you how to use this handy feature:

  1. Open the Microsoft Excel worksheet containing your form.
  2. From the Tools | Wizard menu, click Web Form Wizard to display the first step in the form setup process. Click the Next button to display the Internet Assistant Wizard Step 2 dialog box as shown in Figure 17.17.

    Figure 17.17. Using Excel's Form Wizard to create an HTML form.



    If the Web Form Wizard command does not appear on the Tools | Wizard menu, install the HTML Form Wizard add-in program. Select the Tools | Add Ins menu and make sure the Web Form Wizard checkbox is activated.


  3. Click the Add a Cell button and select the cell that contains your first field name. Enter a name in the Name box and click the Validate button to register the field name. Repeat this process for all the fields on your form. When you're finished selecting fields, follow the remaining instructions in the Web Form Wizard.
  4. When you click Finish, the wizard adds a Submit button to your form and saves the form. Depending on which interface you chose in the wizard, it also creates the files you need for the server database that captures the data. Each interface creates the following files:

The only thing you have left to do is copy the form and other files to the appropriate subdirectory on your Web server. Then, your form is online and ready to use.

Working with Internet-Based Excel Workbooks


The Microsoft Excel Viewer allows users to open and view Excel workbooks, but they can't save Microsoft Excel workbooks. Users who have either Microsoft Excel or the Viewer can open workbooks directly from an Office-compatible Web browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer. You can download the Viewer software from the Microsoft Web site located at http://www.microsoft.com.

Publishing an Access Database Using the Publish to the Web Wizard


In much the same manner that Excel's Web Form Wizard allowed you to quickly create a Web form from Excel, the Publish to the Web Wizard simplifies the Web form creation process from Access. There are some features unique to Access.

With the Publish to the Web Wizard, you can publish reports, forms, tables, and queries to the Web in an HTML format. In addition, you can specify an HTML template to give all your pages a consistent look. When you use the wizard in Access, each datasheet, each form, and each page of a report becomes one Web page.

The following example uses the Northwind Traders sample database that ships with Access to show you how to use the Publish to the Web Wizard:

  1. Open the database that you want to publish to the Web.
  2. Select the File | Publish to the Web menu to display the first dialog box in Figure 17.18.

    Figure 17.18. The Publish to the Web Wizard in Access.

  3. If this is your first time using the wizard, you won't have a publication profile saved. After completing the steps in the wizard, however, you have a chance to save your selections to a publication profile to make frequent publishing using this wizard a snap. Click the Next button to display the second dialog box shown in Figure 17.19.

    Figure 17.19. Selecting which Access items to publish.

  4. Choose the items you want to publish by selecting the appropriate tab and activating the checkbox next to the item. When you're finished making your selections, click the Next button to display the third dialog box shown in Figure 17.20.

    Figure 17.20. Specifying an HTML template.

  5. Enter an HTML template in the edit box or choose Browse to locate a template. If you selected multiple items in the previous step and want to use a different template for individual items, activate the checkbox and you are given a chance to specify individual templates. Click the Next button to display the fourth dialog box as shown in Figure 17.21.

    Figure 17.21. Choosing the type of page to create.

  6. You can choose to publish static HTML files or dynamic HTX files (see Figure 17.22). HTX is a file format that the Microsoft Internet Information Server interface uses to get data from an ODBC data source and format it as an HTML file. In much simpler terms, if you are publishing reports that do not require user input, choose the static HTML option button. If you are publishing forms and collecting user information, choose the Dynamic (HTX) Publications option. If you selected multiple items in Step 4, activate the checkbox to specify a publication format for individual items.

    Figure 17.22. Choosing a publication format.



Adding and Using ActiveX Controls in Access


In addition to the controls you see in the controls toolbox, Access supports ActiveX controls. Like the built-in tools, ActiveX controls allow users to interact with a form and input data in a user-friendly manner. The calendar control is an example of an ActiveX control.

In previous versions of Access, these controls were sometimes referred to as custom controls or OLE controls. Although Access ships with some ActiveX controls, you can also add third-party controls. Before you can use a third-party control, however, it must first be registered. Use the following procedure to register an ActiveX control that isn't included with Access:

  1. Add the files for the control to your hard disk. See the documentation that came with the control for information.
  2. From the Tools menu, click ActiveX Controls.
  3. In the ActiveX Controls dialog box, click Register and specify a path to the control in the Add ActiveX Control dialog box. Click the Open button.
  4. Click Close.

CAUTION

Because some ActiveX controls are supplied by third-party vendors, some controls might not work well in Office applications. To see a list of controls that have been tested and verified with Access, see the Readme file.


You can add a control by following these steps:

  1. Open a form or report in Design view.
  2. On the Insert menu, click ActiveX Control.
  3. Select the control you want from the list.

    NOTE

    If you've installed ActiveX controls with other applications, such as Microsoft Excel, those controls show up if you click the More Controls tool in the toolbox or select the Insert | ActiveX Controls menu.


  4. On the form or report, click where you want to place the control.
  5. Right-click the control, point to the appropriate object command (for example, the SpinButton object command), and then click Properties to open the ActiveX control property sheet.

    NOTE

    You can also set properties for an ActiveX control in the Microsoft Access property sheet. Microsoft Access displays ActiveX control properties at the bottom of the property sheet. If the Build button appears next to an ActiveX control property, you can click it to open the ActiveX control property sheet.


  6. Set properties as necessary.

NOTE

To get Help on any property, click the property in the property sheet and press F1. For more information on using ActiveX controls, see Chapter 28, "Exploring ActiveX and ActiveX Controls," and Chapter 29, "Creating Interactive Pages with VBScript and ActiveX."



Summary


Microsoft Office 97 provides an exciting gateway to anyone who wants to publish on the Web. Use the techniques covered in this chapter as a starting point. As you work with Office 97, you will learn more about using and creating HTML documents.

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