Word as Web Editor

 

There are two key issues when using Microsoft Word as a Web Editor.

1. Before beginning your project, create a folder on your hard drive and store EVERYTHING (pictures, sounds, files, clips, background textures--EVERYTHING) in that folder. If you do this, when you move your web pages, all the necessary information to be moved will be in a single file folder.  Word will create folders each time it saves as a web page.  These folders will also be in the folder you created.  So you will transport everything when you zip your folder to upload it to a server.
2. When you begin your web page, open a new document in Word and immediately save it as a web page.  If it is your homepage, save it as index.htm.  Every time you start a new document, first save it as a webpage and name it with the .htm extension.  File | Save as Web Page

 

If you follow these two key tips, you will be successful in creating web ready pages using Microsoft Word

 

Word has a Web Wizard to help you.  It will help you to quickly create pages ready for the Internet with preset layouts and graphics.  Simply run the Wizard and your pages are done.

• Select File | New…from the menu bar.
• Click the Web Pages tab on the New dialog box
• Highlight the Web Page Wizard | OK
• Click the Next button on the first page of the Wizard
• Title and Location | Enter a title for you web site and select the location on your computer where the files will be saved (This is the folder we just created to hold all the files)
• Click Next
• Now select the Type of Navigation your want.  Separate page is usually the best choice and is the easiest to use.
• Add pages next and you can click Add New Blank Page
• To add a page you have already created to the site click Add Existing File and select the page you want to add.
• IF you want the whole site to look the same click the Add Template Page
• This will insert a page with a layout
• Preview the template to be sure it is the look you want
• Click OK
• Organize Pages is next
• Reorder the pages
• Highlight the name of the page you want to move
• Use the Move Up and Move Down buttons
• You can also Rename pages here by selecting the Rename button
• Visual theme
• Select No visual theme for blank pages or select check Add a visual Theme then Browse Themes and select your look
• From the Themes window, highlight the themes in the list to preview them.  Check the Vivid Colors and Active Graphics boxes to apply those options.  Uncheck the Background Image box to remove the graphic from the background of the page.  Click OK when finished.
• Click Finish to create the web site.

 

If you want more control over the page you can start from scratch and avoid the wizard.  This way you create the page and add only those elements you want, not those that comprise a total theme.  When working on a web format document, view the page in web layout by selecting View | Web Layout from the menu bar.  Enter text and insert graphics just as you would in a normal Word document.

 

Hyperlinks

A hyperlink connects two web pages on the Internet, two files, or a bookmarked location further down the page.  Hyperlinks can be produced from text or graphics but they must have some anchor from which the linked page is activated.  To create links to other web sites and to pages within your website, follow these directions:

 

• Type the text you want to appear on the page (this is the anchor) or add a graphic
• Highlight the text or graphic (the handles show at the corners and sides of the graphic) and click the Insert Hyperlink button on the standard tool bar OR press CTRL+K
• From the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, change the Text to Display if necessary.
• Type the file or Web page name in the appropriate box, or browse to find the item (page, file, or bookmark), or select from the list
• Click OK and the link is created

 

Periodically select the File | Save as Web Page from the menu bar to avoid loosing your work.  Remember this was the first thing you wanted to do when you started so that your page already has a name and is located in the folder we created.  You are simply saving periodically to avoid disasters. 

 

Creating a Web Page from a Template

 

Word features several layout templates that you can add to your content.  To create from a template

• Select File | New… from the menu bar
• Click the Web Pages tab on the New dialog box
• Highlight one of the templates listed and click OK
• The template will now appear in the main window.  Replace the holding text with your own and save the new page by selecting
• File | Save as Web Page

 

Web Page Themes

You can use the themes from the wizard in creating any web page.  To add a theme to a blank page or existing page, select Format | Theme…from the menu bar.  Highlight the theme name to preview the look of the page.

Choose a theme from the list and click OK

The page content will remain blank unless a background image is part of the theme selected.  The style listings, default font, and bullet images have been changed to reflect the new theme.  To change the theme of the page, simply select Format | Theme and select some other theme.

 

Be sure that you Preview your page before uploading to the web.  Select File | Web Page Preview.  This opens the page in a browser so that you can actually see what it would look like on the web.

 

If you want a totally unique background, you can use any of the background textures found on the web.  Once you save the texture that you want in your folder follow the steps below:

• Format | Background
• Select Fill Effects
• Select the Texture tab
• Select Other Texture button and find the file you saved
• Click OK
• Then OK and you will see the texture on your page.
• The texture file is repeated over and over to fill the background of the page.

 

IF you want to take a picture and make it into a background you can by following these steps.

• First if it is a digital camera image you will need to wash out the look of it first so that it does not interfere with your text. 
• This is very easy to do using another of the program that comes free with Windows, Microsoft Photo Editor.
• Open Photo Editor (it is located in the Microsoft Office Tools)
• Start | Programs | Microsoft Office Tools | Microsoft Photo Editor
• Open your picture in this program  File | Open locate your file
• Now select Image | Balance
• Move the Brightness control to the right
• Move the Contrast control to the left
• The Gamma control will sharpen or make fuzzy the image
• When you have it changed for a background to your satisfaction, File | Save As | Give it a new name and save it in your web page folder.  Close Photo Editor
• Back in Microsoft Word Click Format | Background | Fill Effects
• Select the Picture Tab
• Locate the image you just created with Photo Editor and select it
• Click OK
• The Background will now be the picture you selected.  If the image was large, it will cover the page, if not it will be repeated again as much as necessary to cover the page.

 

Microsoft Word will work as an HTML Editor.  Of course, as you become familiar with HTML, you can then add new elements by entering the source code tags into the document.  In the mean time, this alternative will create web pages that look great with little or no knowledge of HTML code.