Mosaic to Internet Explorer Hotlist Converter

			Copyright (c) 1995
			Steven A. McCluney


Mosaic to IE Convert is a simple program with one purpose in life: to
convert the web links in a Mosaic 2.0 (possibly earlier) hotlist file
into a form compatible with Microsoft's Internet Explorer. This is a
32-bit Windows 95 program, and has only been tested under Windows 95.
It probably won't run under any other version of Windows, but you're
welcome to try at your own risk.

In the following text, "Mosaic" refers to the web browser developed and
distributed by NCSA; Mosaic 2.0. This program may be compatible with 
earlier versions of Mosaic, but such use is not claimed or supported.
"Internet Explorer" is developed and distributed by Microsoft Corporation.
Each program is copyrighted by its respective developer.

This program is freeware. Share and enjoy!


Summary
-------
Mosaic 2.0 stores web links in a text file (generally DEFAULT1.HOT). Web
links are grouped into menus and submenus.  Internet Explorer, on the other
hand, stores each link in a separate .url file, and groups these files into
folders (directories).  These folders are grouped under a single directory,
usually called Favorites, under the main windows directory.

What M2IE does
--------------
Mosaic to IE Convert creates a folder (within a user-specified directory)
for each Mosaic hotlist menu.  For each web link within the menu, M2IE
creates the appropriate .url file within the appropriate folder. Because
the description of an URL becomes a file name, there are some characters
that are not legal (namely /\:*?"<>| ). These characters are replaced
with underscores. Likewise, Mosaic menu names become directory names, and
so are also filtered for the above characters.

What M2IE doesn't do
--------------------
M2IE does not preserve the entire menu tree hierarchy from the Mosaic
hotlist. Rather, each menu/submenu becomes a folder within the specified
target directory.  All menus are converted, but they are all on the same
level.

This shouldn't be much of a problem. Since the Favorites list is a
directory tree, you can drag and drop the folders to get the desired
arragement.

Example
-------
Consider this segment from a Mosaic hotlist file: The top-level menu is
called Hot Lists, with a submenu called Fun which has 2 items. The top-
level menu also has items in addition to the submenus.


[User Menu0]
Menu_Name=Hot Lists
Menu_Type=TOPLEVEL
Item0=MENU,UserMenu1
Item1=MENU,UserMenu2
Item2=MENU,UserMenu3
Item3=Webster,http://c.gp.cs.cmu.edu:5103/prog/webster,23-Oct-95 22:14:45
Item4=WeatherNet,http://cirrus.sprl.umich.edu/wxnet/,23-Oct-95 16:10:52
Item5=B/CS Weather,http://www.ipt.com:80/weather.htm,23-Oct-95 22:13:12
Item6=City Net,http://www.city.net/,23-Oct-95 22:18:00

[User Menu1]
Menu_Name=Fun
Item0=Interplay,http://www.interplay.com,23-Oct-95 16:09:23
Item1=The Comic Strip,http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/,30-Nov-95 13:49:41


This translates into the following directory structure and .url files
(as used by Internet Explorer). Assume that you specified c:\temp as the
target directory:


c:\temp
    |
    |--- Hot Lists
    |     |
    |     |--- Webster.url
    |     |
    |     |--- WeatherNet.url
    |     |
    |     |--- B_CS Weather.url
    |     |
    |     |--- City Net.url
    |
    |--- Fun
          |
          |--- Interplay.url
          |
          |--- The Comic Strip.url


Note that "B/CS Weather" was changed to "B_CS Weather", because "/" is not
allowed in a file name. Also note that "Hot Lists" is a folder on the same
level as "Fun", although "Fun" was a submenu of "Hot Lists". To recreate
the original arrangement, simple drag the "Fun" folder into the "Hot Lists"
folder using Explorer.


Recommended Procedure
---------------------
a. Run Mosaic to IE Convert
b. Specify the location and name of the Mosaic hotlist file
c. Specify the target directory to create the Favorites list.
	To be on the safe side, this should probably be an empty
	dummy directory.
d. Using Explorer (not Internet Explorer) drag the newly created folders
	into the Favorites folder (this folder is usually in the main
	Windows 95 directory).
e. Rearrange as necessary to recreate the desired hierarchy.


Legal Stuff
-----------
This program is free. You may freely use and distribute it, as long as
you do not charge for it or include it in a commercial package. All files
must be included intact and unmodified. The author retains the copyright
to this software. This software is presented as-is, and the author makes
no claims as to usability or suitability for any purpose. The author will
not be held liable for any damages caused by the use of this software,
including but not limited to loss of data and downtime.

Comments
--------
Comments and suggestions are welcome, and should be sent to

	s.mccluney@bre.com