Create an HTML Edition from StarOffice and OpenOffice

Like Word 2002, StarOffice enables you to Save As . . . HTML, but it then replaces the currently open source document with the new HTML document. Close this new document because you should edit only the source.Customize HTML output options from Tools >Options . . . >Load/Save, especially the HTML Compatibility section. I like to set the HTML Compatibility Export to HTML 3.2 when creating material for handheld reading.

Convert Word Documents to HTML with wvWare

wvWare can convert Microsoft Word documents to several formats, including HTML. It is a command-line tool developed on Linux that has been ported to Windows. It is free software and can be found at http://wvware.sourceforge.net.

Create an HTML Edition from Microsoft Word:Mac v.X

Word:Mac does not have a built-in Save As Filtered Web Page option, but it does include a Save Only Display Information option under File Save As Web Page that accomplishes a similar result. The Web Options button on that dialog also enables you to choose how some aspects of web page creation are handled.

How to Create an HTML Edition from Microsoft Word 2002 and 2003?

In Word 2002 and 2003 you can save your document as a web page or a filtered web page. A Word web page includes extra document information in case you want to edit it in Word later. A filtered web page omits this extra information, making it more suitable for distribution.

1. If you have been making changes, save your source document now (File Save). Otherwise, your changes will be lost.
2. Select File Save As . . . .
3. In the "Save as type" drop-down box, select Web Page, Filtered.
4. A dialog will open, warning you that this format doesn't contain Word's special tags. Confirm that this is acceptable by clicking Yes.
5. The side effect of this Save As . . . operation is that you are no longer editing the source document in Word. Instead, you are editing the filtered HTML document you just created. Close this document, because you should make edits only to the source.
   

Customize HTML output options by selecting Tools Options . . . General Web Options . . . . For example, you can enable old-fashioned HTML 3.2 text styling by disabling Rely on CSS for Font Formatting.

What is a multipurpose PDF?

You may want to try to give readers many editions in one package without tagging your PDF.

PDF makes a document portable by wrapping all its resources into a neat, single package. As people desire more features, more things get packed into the PDF. By attempting to make one file do all things for all people, that one file becomes large and unwieldy. Its portability begins to suffer.

In particular, Adobe has worked to add an information-oriented XML-ish layer on top of its presentation-oriented PDF features. The result is a single file that you can use for many purposes, such as paper printing, handheld reading, accurate text-to-speech, and accurate data extraction. However, creating these tagged PDFs is a slow and expensive process. The data layer is interwoven with the presentation layer, so accessing the data is difficult. Consequently, your readers have few options for utilizing this data. Finally, a tagged PDF file can grow to more than twice the size of its untagged counterpart.

In general, I advocate distributing a separate edition for each target medium. This is much easier on your readers and on your workflow. Eating sushi requires two chopsticks. Planar geometry requires five postulates. Some things shouldn't be reduced too far; don't feel compelled to make one edition do all things for all readers.

With that said, sometimes it makes sense to distribute multiple editions as a single PDF. For example, you might want to use PDF features such as encryption or digital signatures across all your editions. Instead of tagging your PDF, consider packing alternative editions into your PDF as attachments .

Candidates for attachments include the HTML edition, spreadsheet-ready document data, the handheld edition, or even the source document.

The concept of different attachments for different purposes makes more sense to readers than a single, shape-shifting (tagged) PDF. Also, they will immediately understand the benefits of each alternative edition. "HTML Edition" means reflowing text, easy data extraction, and easy text-to-speech. "Tagged PDF" means little to most people, so you might add: " . . . that acts like HTML sometimes. You own Acrobat, right?" You will have a struggle on your hands, assuming your reader has that much patience.

How to Create a Printable, On-Screen Edition from Word?

Most documents are configured to print letter-size pages with a vertical, portrait orientation. Yet computer screens have a horizontal, landscape orientation. Accommodate on-screen reading and paper printing by setting your document's layout to two-column, landscape-oriented pages. Sadly, Acrobat's PDFMaker can't create accurate bookmarks and hyperlinks in this kind of document.

Microsoft Word 2002
Select File Page Setup Margins. Set Apply To: to Whole Document. Set the Multiple Pages field to 2 Pages per Sheet. Set the Orientation to Landscape. Set the page margins to:

Top: 0.75 inch
Bottom: 0.75 inch

Outside: 0.50 inch
Inside: 0.50 inch

Click the Paper tab and set the Paper Size: to Letter. Click the Layout tab and set both Header and Footer to 0.40 inch. Click OK to accept these new Page Setup settings.

When you use the print preview, it will show you only one side of your "2-up" page. Print to PDF and review the results.

Microsoft Word 2000
Select File Page Setup Margins. Set Apply To: to Whole Document. Check the 2 Pages per Sheet checkbox. Set both Header and Footer to 0.40 inch. Set the page margins to:

Top: 0.75 inch
Bottom: 0.75 inch

Outside: 0.50 inch
Inside: 0.50 inch

Click the Paper Size tab. Set the Paper Size: to Letter and the Orientation to Landscape. Click OK to accept these new Page Setup settings.

When you use the print preview, it will show you only one side of your "2-up" page. Print to PDF and review the results.

Microsoft Word:Mac v.X (or any Mac application)
On the Macintosh, you don't need to make changes to the document in Word, because the operating system offers a range of pages per sheet on the Layout area of the Print dialog box. Format the document as you normally would, and when you go to print to PDF, select the Layout option. You can pick from 1 to 16 pages on a sheet, though 2 is probably best if you want people to read it on-screen. Again, you won't have all the features that PDFMaker provides.

How to convert to PDF in Wordperfect?

Newer versions of Corel WordPerfect have a File>Publish To>PDF feature that gives you options for adding PDF features. Or, you can use the PDF Tweaker macro for WordPerfect, which also adds links and bookmarks to your PDF. In addition to PDF Tweaker, you must also have Acrobat Distiller or Ghostscript. PDF Tweaker does not actually create the PDF; it just adds pdfmarks to the print job.

Visit http://www.wpuniverse.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=6136 to learn more about PDF Tweaker.