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Tools and New Ant Features
Although this guide contains many HTML tips and formatting suggestions, it is not intended as an instruction guide for HTML. If you are already familiar with HTML coding, the features will (I hope) seem "intuitive" and enable you to click on a tool and achieve the expected result.
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Tools and New Ant Features
You may toggle (turn on or off) the hidden codes using the
VIEW HIDDEN CODES TOOL provided on the toolbar
(shaped to look as much like spectacles as possible) or by using any standard Word method.
If you place the cursor anywhere in a paragraph and click the tool, the contents of the
entire paragraph will be automatically selected and formatted with codes If there is no
text in the paragraph at the cursor location, the beginning and ending
codes will be inserted on each side of the cursor.
If there is more than one paragraph selected, the codes
will be placed at the beginning and at the end of all the text in your selection.
The ADDRESS TOOL formats selected text within paragraphs with codes.
If there is no text in the paragraph at the cursor location, the beginning and ending codes
will be inserted on each side of the cursor. (The Address Style is not available via the
StyleBox because Word for Windows StyleBox styles format entire paragraphs, thus
prohibiting < Address> tags from being used in conjunction with other paragraph
styles.)
If there is more than one paragraph selected, the codes
will be placed at the beginning and at the end of all the text in your selection.
The NORMAL TOOL changes paragraph formatting to "Normal" Style. (You may also use
Word's Style Box.)You may also select headings, styles, as well as numbered or unnumbered lists via Word's
Use the Styles in the Style Box as you normally do. The codes won't be
inserted until you choose the CHECK STYLES FOR HTML CODES TOOL described below.
When you use styles from the Word Style Box (to the left of the font selections on
Word's standard formatting toolbar), you may quickly insert heading and style codes
by choosing the
CHECK STYLES FOR. HTML CODES TOOL
It installs the appropriate codes around each style if they aren't there already.
(If some codes are already inserted, it will ignore them so you may
use this tool as many times as you wish while preparing your document.)
In addition to the above options, a
provides a dialog box with a range of style choices includingThe BACKGROUNDS AND COLORS TOOL enters
the beginning < body > tag along with your background graphics and color preferences,
if you want it to.When an option is chosen, the codes will automatically be inserted at the cursor location. If no text is selected, the codes surround the cursor, so you can begin typing your entry immediately. If text is selected, the codes will surround the text. Use whatever method you find the most convenient.
If there is more than one paragraph selected, the codes
will be placed at the beginning and at the end of all the text in your selection.
Note: If you use the style called CODE, Word changes some entries like "<code> & lt; </code> ". Word reads it as....{yes, you guessed it}, CODE!
The PRE ("Preformatted") style is useful for sections of text that require columns and fixed width
formatting. It's frequently used to create tables for viewing in browsers that don't support tables.
(The HTML language requires that you remove the
formatting (i.e. the table itself) from your Word table. [If you find this somewhat unsettling, go and
have a toddy or a hot bath or both and concentrate on all the things the HTML language does
permit one to do. This is just a suggestion and not a formal instruction, however. You are expected
to bathe and toddy at your own risk.])
The new Word .DOC to HTML Table
conversions.
PRE uses a fixed width font. The PRE TOOL inserts the code
"<PRE> " on a line by itself to indicate where the preformatted formatting
begins and inserts "</PRE> " on a line by itself at the end. Spacing (tabs, indents,
etc. will
be determined to some degree by HTML browsers, so you may wish to preview your work in a
browser before finalizing your document. Currently, Mosaic likes spaces better than tabs and
likes tabs much better than indents. The PRE font looks like this:
This is a PRE Entry: 4567 8910
This is the second line: 7654 0198
Horizontal Rule is a style which inserts a line across the entire width of the page. It can be inserted either
by clicking the tool or by choosing Horizontal
Rule in Word's Style Box. Because of the way Word moves horizontal lines down the page, it's
easy to insert text into a paragraph formatted with a line and not know it. the Ant attempts to
alert you that you have either accidentally or intentionally formatted in the Horizontal Rule Style
by making the paragraph marker gold. (A difference in shading is also visible in monochrome monitors.)
New FANCY <HR> TOOL allows a variety
of Horizontal Rule tag options.
Inserts a < P> tag (i.e. code) at the cursor location.
If you are creating a new document, you won't need it. The CONVERT AND SAVE TOOL
will add these for you. ( Don't worry,.. it will not do any harm if you use it. )
Inserts a <BR> code and a Word line break at the cursor location or at the end of
each line in a selection and changes
each selected paragraph to single line spacing. The <BR> code at the end of a
line acts as a line
break in hypertext documents. (If you use this in conjunction with any of the other tools, use the
BR TOOL first.)
The CONVERT AND SAVE TOOL or the CHECK STYLES FOR HTML CODES TOOL will insert these
for you wherever you have inserted a line break (SHIFT+ENTER) if the <BR> tags
are not already there.
Numbered and Unnumbered (bullet) Lists
NUMBERED LIST TOOL
or
Each paragraph in the selected text is converted to a list item
Allow the template to enter the <LI> tag to each list item entry for you. If you insert
it yourself, the appropriate <OL> or <UL> tags may not be inserted.
(Use Word's Style Box styles if you prefer, or a combination.)
Or... you can insert the list tags you want as you go by using the
FORMAT LIST ENTRY TOOL.
The DISCURSIVE LIST TOOL inserts
<DL>,<DD> and </DL> codes either
at the cursor location or
around selected text. You will be prompted and asked whether you wish to add a Descriptive
Title entry, a <DT>. If so, you may enter the text in the space provided or you may simply
click OK and add the
text immediately after the <DT> code in your document.
Below is an example of a Discursive List entry:
This is the first paragraph of a Discursive list entry. It wraps around like this: and just goes on and on and on and on and on and on forever almost and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on.
And on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on till the words have no more meaning and so on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on until you realize that okay, enough is enough.
The FORM TOOL presents a dialog box with a list you can scroll to choose a form tag. The tool inserts
the tag
into a text box which you can edit if you like. You may alter or add to any of the entries inside the
dialog box, or add text later, after the tag has been inserted into your document. (If you wish to
alter or add to the form entries before inserting them into your document, you may either type the
text you want or paste it directly into the form tag.) An optional < P> tag can be
automatically inserted at the end of the form entry if you so choose. The template contains a
comprehensive list of possible form tag entries.
A simple fill-out form with two text entry fields and no default value looks like this:
The HTML code for the fill-out form above looks like this:
<FORM METHOD="POST" ACTION="http://www.your.site/somebin-post/post query">
A single text entry field goes here: <INPUT NAME="entry1" > <P>
Another text entry field goes here: <INPUT NAME="entry2" > <P>
To submit the query, press this button: <INPUT TYPE="submit"
VALUE="Submit Query" > <P>
</FORM>
The HTML code for the checkbox form with three user options looks like this:
<FORM METHOD="POST" ACTION="http://www.your.site/somebin-post/post query">
A single text entry field goes here: <INPUT NAME="entry1" > <P>
Another text entry field goes here: <INPUT NAME="entry2" > <P>
<OL>
<LI> <INPUT TYPE="checkbox" NAME="box1"
VALUE="activated" CHECKED>
<LI> <INPUT TYPE="checkbox" NAME="box2"
VALUE="primed" >
<LI> <INPUT TYPE="checkbox" NAME="box3"
CHECKED>
</OL>
To submit the query, press this button: <INPUT
TYPE="submit" VALUE="Submit Query" > <P>
To reset the checkboxes to their default states, press this button: <
INPUT TYPE="reset" VALUE="Reset To
Default Values"><P>
</FORM>
The first checkbox above is on by default.
The second checkbox is off by default.
The third checkbox is on by default.
VALUE within an INPUT tag of
TYPE "text" specifies the default value of that text field.
VALUE within an INPUT tag of
TYPE "checkbox" specifies the value that checkbox takes when it's on.
If it's left blank, the default is "on".
CHECKED specifies that the checkbox is on by default.
INPUT tags of TYPE"submit" and "reset" are special buttons.
( URL Links to locations outside the document or set of local documents)
URL LINK TOOL
Inserts the appropriate Universal Resource Locator code around
selected text. and presents a dialog box in which you type or paste the URL destination.
Offers multiple options including opening a dialog box
so that you may point and click on any filename on any drive or directory on your computer.
The Ant will enter the HTML tag, the path and the filename - or, if you prefer - just the
tag and the filename. You may also copy and paste (or type) any URL you wish and the
appropriate HTML tag will be inserted into your document.
(Links within documents and to other local documents):
You can create a hotword (or phrase) called a LOCAL ANCHOR REFERENCE
to point to a specific destination called a
LOCAL ANCHOR DESTINATION
within your document or in another local document.
TO CREATE A LOCAL LINK:
</A>
All this is easier done than said. Just try it.
When you select the GIF TOOL three options are presented.
2... Inserts the appropriate .gif reference and the actual picture into the current document. Note that certain graphic filter requirements must be met or the application can crash. Save often! (The placeholders should not present this problem.)
3... Permits you to type the name of the .gif reference into a text box, then inserts the appropriate codes. This option does not automatically insert a placeholder, You can insert a placeholder in several ways should you wish to do so. Create your own or place the cursor next to your .gif reference and click on the PLACEHOLDER TOOL.
Offers options for...
Alignment - None, Left, Right, Top, Texttop, Middle, Absmiddle, Baseline, Bottom,
Absbottom
and for Width, Height, Vspace, Hspace and Border preferences.
(Most are non-WYSIWYG.)
Gif Tip
Sometimes importing .gif files and other graphics into a Word
document can cause the entire application to crash.. The ANT-HTML options,
provide two alternatives that eliminate this problem. If your application is prone
to crashing because of the .gifs, choose to use a placeholder or refer to
the file using "text only" as described in the GIF TOOL options.
Back to Creating A Hypertext Document
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Converting and Saving Documents
The tool will convert any new or any previously coded document and save it with
whatever name you choose to give it and an .HTM extension. You will be given the option
of saving or not saving your original document in the process.If you choose to close the .HTM document after converting and saving it, Word will display a dialog box with the following message:
Answer "NO" to this question. Your document will be saved in the correct format
(The Ant template will display a dialog box reminding you of this if you choose to save it
immediately after the conversion.)
After clicking the CONVERT AND SAVE TOOL, a dialog box will appear which contains conversion options. You may choose whether or not you wish to have each entry checked for tags. If you are creating a new HTML document, the settings you'll need are already set as the defaults. If you have imported a previously coded HTML document, and the HTML tags are just the way you want them, you may wish to choose the Quick Save option. The file will be saved "as is" with an .HTM extension.
(Word imports all text in HTML documents as "Normal" style, so headings, list items and other entries which do not require < P> tags will automatically receive < P> tags if you are editing a previously coded document and do not use the Quick Save option. You may just delete them and select File, Save after the conversion, if you don't wish to use the Quick Save option.)
If you experience any temporary embogglement at the apparent complexity of the options, please note that they're easier done than said. Try them.. Some HTML editors do not permit any editing of HTML documents and thus happily avoid the necessity of presenting the user with explanations and descriptions of possible choices. I hope the options and features of the Ant template will compensate.
The CONVERT AND SAVE TOOL now provides an option to
either view or to hide the conversion process.
Click the HTML to WYSIWYG TOOL and revise or print your document. (You can easily remove all
HTML tags afterwards, if you wish, with the "Zap Codes from Entire Document" tool. The HTML
TO WYSIWYG Tool assumes that lists are not nested (i.e. inside each other). It also assumes
that for each beginning HTML tag in the document, an ending tag exists.
The HTML to WYSIWYG TOOL now provides an option to either view or to hide the
conversion process.
While working on your document you might wish to add or delete some HTML tags.
Two tools facilitate the removal of HTML codes.
Toolbar tools for each of the Zap macros have been included in the ANT_SUP toolbar.
ZAP CODES FROM THE SELECTION, when selected, deletes the HTML tags from whatever
text you have selected. (It deletes all brackets and all text in between the beginning
and the ending bracket, whether the text is hidden or unhidden, to simplify
removing the tags from non-WYSIWYG as well as WYSIWYG HTML documents.)
ZAP CODES FROM DOCUMENT, when selected, deletes all the HTML tags from the
entire document. When you select this menu item, a message will ask you if you're
sure you wish to continue (Like the other Zap macro, it deletes all brackets and
all text in between the beginning and the ending bracket, whether the text is
hidden or unhidden, to simplify removing the tags from non-WYSIWYG as well
as WYSIWYG HTML documents.) The tool depends on the presence of the HTML tags.
In addition, two tools may be helpful:
MAKE HIDDEN and MAKE UNHIDDEN.
The names are not clever, but the macros may come in handy.
MAKE HIDDEN TOOL and
MAKE UNHIDDEN TOOL
CONVERT SPECIAL CHARACTERS TOOL
Word for Windows supports some special characters that Word for Macintosh does not. (A table with the entries is provided in the ANT.DOC file.)
Four special characters are NOT converted when you select the CONVERT SPECIAL CHARACTERS TOOL. They are the left angle bracket, < ( < ), the right angle bracket, > ( > ), the ampersand, & ( & ) and the double quote character, " ( " ). You may convert these four characters during the Convert and Save process or during the HTML to WYSIWYG process, if you choose.
When clicked...displays Ant info.