Preparing Documents for Use on the Internet

The final step is to take all of the pieces you've translated and transformed and get them on the Internet. Combining the pieces is much like desktop publishing, only you need to use codes and "references" rather than placing the actual elements on the page. The language in use on World Wide Web servers is HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) and is similar in many respects to the early word processors where codes were used to send printer commands for boldfacing, underlining, etc. - HTML is much "richer" in its options though. Any word processor can be used to place these codes into an HTML document, but you might find it more convenient to use an editor that was designed to help the coding process. There are a very large number of editors available for use on the Macintosh, from the $200 HotMeTaL Pro to the newest commercial editor; PageMill from Adobe, to a wide variety of shareware and freeware offerings. An often recommended editor is the Simple HTML Editor, a freeware product based on a HyperCard stack. It's the least cluttered and perhaps most responsive one available, probably due to the fact that it doesn't attempt to give a WYSIWIG representation. You'll quickly find that WYSIWIG editing is not easy to work with in Internet publishing due to the fact that some of your elements don't actually exist locally - the whole point of the Internet, right? There are becoming more and more export filters available that take documents designed in existing applications such as ClarisWorks, Microsoft Word, PageMaker and even Quark XPress and apply the necessary HTML codes to the elements as they exist on the page.

An alternative to HTML that is in use in many educational settings is the concept of HyperInternet®. This allows staff and students the opportunity to accomplish Internet reports and publishing while using software and techniques that are common to them in multimedia writing. That's right, HyperStudio in native form can also be used to publish on the Internet!

This will be the area that makes Internet publishing a reality for almost everyone. An even more exciting process is the use of videoconferencing software such as CU-SeeMe and Apple's Video Conference.

Once your HTML documents are complete, all that's left is to physically get them on the Internet for others to access. Your choices are to use your existing Internet service provider (i.e. InforMNs) and store items in your user directory or create your own Internet WWW server if you have a direct network connection. This brings us back to the beginning section of this document which means this must be the end! Good luck on your "skiing expedition" and your attempt at "taming the World Wide Web"!

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