Microsoft^TM Word

• Overview: MS Word as a Web Page Creation Tool 
• Getting Started 
• Creating a Web page in Word 
• Wizards 
• Saving 
• Headings, Styles and Fonts 
• Word's Font Policies 
• Available Styles 
• Size Options 
• Colors and Special Effects 
• Links and Images 
• Creating and Editing Links 
• Inserting Images 
• Working with Image Placement 

Lists 

• Simple Lists 
• Numbering Styles 
• Multi-Level Indented Lists 
• Tables 
• Creating and Editing Tables 
• Spanning Rows and Columns 
• Tables as a Layout Tool 
• Editing the HTML Directly 
• Document Information and Meta Tags 
• General HTML Editing 

This document discusses MS Word to Office 97, but Word looks for updates on the Microsoft Web site. You may see this dialog: 

MS Word has its own format for files. When it works with HTML files, it converts them into that format for editing; then when you save the file, it converts back to HTML. However: there are many formats Word can create that it can't save in HTML, so you have to be aware of the limitations of HTML as you work in Word. You may also find that Word changes what you do in subtle ways.

When you open the File...New menu, you get a window offering lots of help. One of the tabs in this window is Web Pages, and it lets you either create a blank page or use the Wizard to lead you through, some appearance choices step by step. 

"More Cool Stuff" allows you to link to the Microsoft Web site to update software and get other free goodies.

The Web page creation wizard offers several layouts (including two- and three-columns) and several forms. In addition, it offers a number of coordinated styles. Though limited, it provides a good start.

When you save a document that starts out as HTML, Word remembers to use HTML as the format. However, if you're using a document that started out in some other way, you need to find the File...SaveAsHTML menu option.

Word is very free about putting font names in the HTML code it writes. There is no simple option for "Variable" font, which leaves the actual font choice up to the browsers. In Word, you must choose a specific font. However, if you use Time New Roman, which is the default font with most browsers, Word will leave the font unspecified.

Is it really better to leave the font unspecified? There's room for debate on this topic! My opinion: Leave the font unspecified (in Word, use Times New Roman) because:

1. Unless you actually send a font along with your Web page, many viewers won't see it anyway, and...
2. The font tags put in by Word can add significantly to an HTML file's size: one file I created in Word using Optima (my default font in Word) was slimmed down by approximately 25% when I removed the font tags from the HTML code.

When creating an HTML document, Word's Style list may include both HTML and non-HTML styles. In particular, the styles Heading 1, Heading 2, etc. look like they might create <H1>, <H2> etc. tags. They don't! Instead, they specify a particular combination of sizes and non-standard fonts. You can get HTML <H1> tags, but they're further down the list of styles - you may have to scroll down to even see them. 

Why not use Word's styles in an HTML document? Well, you can! But...

• Because the use non-standard fonts, many of your users won't see them the way you do.
• If you have many headlines, the font tags can be quite bulky: they can add 25% or more to the size of your file, if fonts are used throughout rather than standard HTML formatting tags.

Normal

One size larger

Two sizes larger

Three sizes larger

Four sizes larger (max)

Back to Normal

One click smaller

Two clicks smaller (minimum)

These translate to standard HTML sizes, and so can be used without hesitation. 

However, you can easily color your text and your page background. The Formatting Toolbar has a font color button  and a background button.  When you use this, be sure to check the More Colors and the Special Effects options. They offer a very nice variety of colors and textured backgrounds!

If you want to format only a single cell in a table, don't use the background button: it colors the entire document's background! Instead, use the menu: Table...Cell Properties...Background.

You can insert anchors, or "bookmarks" as Word calls them, using the page by using the Insert...Bookmark menu selection.
 

• The toolbar button  gives you a selection of clip art files from the Microsoft Office directory on your computer, plus the ability to navigate to any other disk or idrectory on the computer. There is a Search the Web button there as well; if you're on line, this brings up your default browser and a search engine.
• The Insert menu gives you several other choices, including Clip Art, From File (same as the toolbar button), From Scanner, and a Chart option. If you're on line, Browse Web Art Page brings up your browser and points it to Microsoft's Clip Art Web page, which is updated monthly and allows both search and topical browsing.

You can also control the size of the picture by selecting it and dragging the "handles" at the edges to change the size. Hint: use the handles at the corners to change picture size with a minimum of distortion.

• Word easily supports single-level HTML lists, like the one you're looking at now. This is an "unordered" (bulleted) list.
• Numbered lists are also supported...

1. Numbers
1. arabic (normal) numerals 
2. roman numerals
1. capital
2. lower case
2. Letters
1. capital
2. lower case

1. Create and save a document as a Web page using MS Word
2. Use appropriate headings, styles, and fonts
3. Access HTML document information and meta tags
4. Create links
5. Create ordered and unordered lists
6. Create tables: normal and with cells spanning rows and columns
7. Insert images and provide some control over their placement