What Happens when
You Save a Word 97 Document as a Web Page?
When you save a Word document as a Web page, Word closes the document and then reopens it in HTML format. Word displays the Web page similar to the way it will appear in a Web browser. Some features you may have gotten used to in Word are lost in the conversion to HTML. Formatting and other items that aren't supported by HTML or the Web page authoring environment are removed from the file. This table shows some of the elements that Word changes or removes upon conversion, with some notes on how to compensate.
| Element | Word to HTML | NOTE |
| Bold, strikethrough, italic, and underline effects | Yes | Some special underline effects, such as dotted underlines, are converted to a single underline, and some underline effects aren't converted. Because hyperlinks on the Web are underlined, it is best to use italicized type or bold face type when citing the titles of books or journals rather than underlining them. |
| Emboss, shadow, engrave, all caps, small caps, double strikethrough, and outline text effects | No | These character formats are lost, but the text is retained. |
| Equations, charts, and other OLE objects | See note | These items are converted to GIF images. The appearance is retained, but you won't be able to update these items. |
| Font sizes | See note | Fonts are mapped to the closest HTML size available, ranging from size 1 to 7. These numbers are not point sizes but are used as instructions for font sizes by Web browsers. The conventional font size pull-down menu has been replaced by increase font size /decrease font size icons to the right of the font name. |
| Footnotes and endnotes | No | |
| Graphics | See note | Graphics, such as pictures and clip art, are converted to GIF (.gif) format, unless the graphics are already in JPEG (.jpg) format. Drawing objects, such as text boxes and shapes, are not converted. Lines are converted to horizontal lines. |
| Headers and footers | No | There aren't equivalents for headers and footers in HTML. |
| Line Breaks | See note | Inserting a
line break--though not always recommended because of
varying screen/font sizes among users--is one way to
ensure your text stays formatted. To insert a line break
while editing, simply press: <Shift-<ENTER. This is different from starting a new paragraph. Hitting the <ENTER key in HTML formatting ensures that another paragraph is started, with blank space between the two paragraphs. On the other hand, forcing a line break causes the text to separate, but without the blank line. |
| Lists | See note | When using any sort of numbered list, it is better to use Word's numbered list feature rather than number lines yourself. Numbering the lines yourself can present conversion problems when your document is converted to HTML, particularly with tabs after the numbers. |
| Margins | No | To control the layout of your page, you can use a table. |
| Newspaper columns | No | For a multicolumn effect, use tables. |
| Element | Word to HTML | NOTE |
| Page numbering | No | Because an HTML document is considered a single Web page, regardless of its length, page numbering is removed. Any reference you make to page numbers on your syllabus should be eliminated. Consider creating links within the document, or creating a separate page under a different file name (such as CALENDAR.HTM) and creating a hyperlink to that page from your main syllabus page. |
| Styles | See note | User-defined styles are converted to direct formatting, provided the formatting is supported in HTML. For instance, if you convert a style that includes bold and shadow formatting, the bold formatting is retained as a direct formatting, but the shadow formatting is lost. |
| Tables | Yes | Tables are converted, although settings that aren't supported in the Web page authoring environment are lost. Colored and variable width borders are not retained. It has been found through experience that common syllabus elements such as reading lists or course calendars are best placed within tables. |
| Tabs | Yes | Tabs are converted to the HTML tab character, represented in HTML source as 	. Tabs may appear as spaces in some Web browsers, so you may want to use indents or a table instead. |
CHECKING YOUR DOCUMENT
Once you've completed editing your syllabus, check it in a Web browser to ensure it will look the same as you think it will. Even with Word's ability to convert and save in HTML, not everything will look the same on the Web as it does in Word. The easiest way to get a "sneak preview" of your Web page is to click on the File pull-down menu, then select Web Page Preview.
Another method to preview your page in a Web browser is by opening the browser and selecting the File pull-down menu, then Open Page, then Choose File (in Netscape Navigator), or File, Open, then Browse (in Internet Explorer).
NOTHING LOOKS THE SAME!
Sometimes, even the best preparation results in a document that still looks nothing like you intended when you start previewing it in a Web browser. If this happens (and the more complex the original document, the more likely it will), don't worry. Although Word does a tolerable job converting documents to HTML, it is not a true HTML editor.
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Dirty Web Pages
K. Evans/E. Page
Elmhurst College
Last updated 2 August 1999