Announcing the
WP6x2HTM Utilities for OS/2

Table of contents

Use WordPerfect for DOS for Internet Publishing!

The WP6x2HTM utilities are intended to facilitate the use of WordPerfect for DOS 6.1 in the creation of Web documents (HTML 2 format). This should be of particular interest to OS/2 users of WordPerfect for DOS who are in the process of developing an Internet strategy. With the WP6x2HTM utilities, there are fewer reasons to abandon the current office automation tools for Windows version. This very motivation triggered the development of these utilities by CONNOTECH Experts-conseils Inc. for internal use.

Hypertext links, which were the key success factor for the HTML technology on the Internet, are well supported by the WP6x2HTM utilities. This includes

1. automatic conversion of a WP table of contents into hypertext links,
2. automatic conversion of WP cross-references into hypertext links,
3. WP hypertext facilities are converted to their Internet counterparts, with either relative or absolute target specifications, and
4. support for ftp: and mailto: links.

The phrase "facilitate the use of WP for DOS in the creation of Web documents" has a few implications that potential users should be aware:

1. "Web documents", as opposed to "Web pages", are mainly concerned with textual contents. Although any image that WP can print on a black & white laser printer can be included in a document, support of images by the WP6x2HTM utilities remains limited in comparison to full-fledged page creation software. If you want flamboyant pages, advertising style, pages the WP6x2HTM utilities may not be the bes choice.
   
   
2. "Creation of Web documents", as opposed to (unqualified) "transparent Internet publishing", refers to the fact that limitations of HTML can not be ignored when creating contents for the Web. Everyone who attempted to convert a nice-looking document into HTML with an automatic conversion tool experienced frustration with the limitations of HTML (when compared with the formatting capabilities of WordPerfect).
   
   
3. This shareware does not include a tutorial on Internet publishing. Many well written books are available on the subject, as well as on-line resources. We used reference [1] to our own benefit.

Software License

A general, and unlimited license to use the Version 0.1 of the WP6x2HTM utilities is granted to anyone interested, provided the credits to the authors are not obliterated from the documentation.

If you want to obtain the latest release of these utilities, or specific support services, please contact our web site for the terms of an upgrade license or support options.

What files are needed?

The complete set of files can be obtained using anonymous ftp as the compressed file ftp://www.connotech.com/ConnoFTP/wp6x2htm.zip.

The documentation also serves as a sample document prepared for the WP6x2HTM utilities. It comes in two versions:

• a WordPerfect 6.1 document file, with a sample figure in the .BMP format, and
• the HTML version of this file, with the sample figure in the .GIF format.

A dedicated WordPerfect Style Library is strongly recommended. These styles may be modified as you see fit, it is the style names that are important in the conversion process.

• a WordPerfect Style Library file.

The OS/2 executable files comprise three parts:

• The wp2html program, that reads the WordPerfect file and creates an intermediate file.
• The crehtml program, that reads this intermediate file and creates the HTML file.
• The pcl2gif program is optional, but it greatly facilitates the preparation of images.

Reference

[1] Ready, Kevin, and Warner, Janine, Hybrid HTML Design, News Rider Publishing, Indiana, 1996

[ CONNOTECH home page: http://www.connotech.com/ | about us | web editorial policy | e-mail to: info@connotech.com ]

CONNOTECH Experts-conseils Inc.
9130 Place de Montgolfier
Montréal, Québec, Canada, H2M 2A1
Tél.: +1-514-385-5691 Fax: +1-514-385-5900