publisher code? how to get plain html

[Peter Grambitter]

hi, i am NO user of publisher, so I don't know anything at all about it.
I design my webpages with dreamweaver and if needed via html-, css-,
javascript-handcoding.

One of my customers has several web-projects, all realised with publisher.
he asked me to integrate dynamic pages like php-scripted pages.
Unfortunately this should fit into the design he managed to do with
publisher.
When i looked at the code of his pages, my shock was great: NO HTML at all,
something that looks like xml, and very, very complicated.
No chance to read it and get it in conjunction to what is displayed in the
end.

1. Academic question: What kind of code ist that? Why do they do it this
way?

2. How do I integrate "foreign" code (which is nothing else than normal
html-code, an <iframe> to a php-page e.g.). Of course how do I do this, if
possible, in a way that it does NOT get destroyed or overwritten, next time
publisher opens the file.

3. Is there a way to "convert" these code-monsters to "normal" html with
css-sheets, js-files and all the stuff, people are used to? or is there the
opportunity to export a publisher project to a plain html-coded site with
css and javascript?

I need help with that

Thank you very much
Peter from Germany

 

[Rob Giordano \(Crash\)]

it's pub's code.
just redo it in DW or whatever you are using.
trying to convert it will make you nuts.


| hi, i am NO user of publisher, so I don't know anything at all about it.
| I design my webpages with dreamweaver and if needed via html-, css-,
| javascript-handcoding.
|
| One of my customers has several web-projects, all realised with publisher.
| he asked me to integrate dynamic pages like php-scripted pages.
| Unfortunately this should fit into the design he managed to do with
| publisher.
| When i looked at the code of his pages, my shock was great: NO HTML at
all,
| something that looks like xml, and very, very complicated.
| No chance to read it and get it in conjunction to what is displayed in the
| end.
|
| 1. Academic question: What kind of code ist that? Why do they do it this
| way?
|
| 2. How do I integrate "foreign" code (which is nothing else than normal
| html-code, an <iframe> to a php-page e.g.). Of course how do I do this, if
| possible, in a way that it does NOT get destroyed or overwritten, next
time
| publisher opens the file.
|
| 3. Is there a way to "convert" these code-monsters to "normal" html with
| css-sheets, js-files and all the stuff, people are used to? or is there
the
| opportunity to export a publisher project to a plain html-coded site with
| css and javascript?
|
| I need help with that
|
| Thank you very much
| Peter from Germany
|
|

 

[Geoffrey]

Peter,
Open the Publisher-created web files with Frontpage, GoLive, ZoneLabs HTML
v4+, or any other suitable in-line editor then get the source file, which
SHOULD reflect normal HTML code. I've done this before a few years ago and it
worked for me.

 

[analog]

Then you are the only human on the planet that has succeeded in doing it.
Publisher generated web code is a total PITA to try to import into even
FrontPage, another member of the Office family. Is this sane? No, and it is an
unforgivable oversight on the part of M$.

 

[DavidF]

Peter,

Beginning in Pub 2002 MS introduced the use of XML and VML coding, tweaked
it a bit in 2003, but it is unique in itself, from what I understand about
code. All the code is generated from the Publisher document, and revisions
are made in the Pub doc and then new code is generated. It is not code
editor. It is intended to produce simple, static web sites, and if your
customer wants dynamic features he would best served using other software.

You can "integrate foreign code" to a degree using the Insert HTML code
fragment feature in Publisher, but as you have found it might be impractical
to try to edit the code, as indeed it would need to be redone every time the
page is modified through Publisher, and new code is produced.

And number 3....nope. As analog said, trying to import the it into
FrontPage, or other, simply does not work well.

Perhaps your best bet is to switch your customer to other software, and
start over. However if they still want to use Publisher for the bulk of the
site, you could probably use some of the design elements of the Publisher
pages to build other pages with dreamweaver, etc. and then link those pages
to his. Unfortunately you cannot right click and save images from a
Publisher 2003 generated page, so you would probably have to have your user
publish to his hard drive, copy and zip the file and send it to you, for you
to access those elements.

Once again, if your user wants a dynamic site, then its probably time to
switch to different software.

DavidF

 

[Geoffrey]

analog,

A little clarification is in order:

All I claim is to have opened Publisher-created pages (that's HTML pages) in
Front-Page, GoLive, and ZL Html4. In these programs' edit mode, the source
file differed from the Publisher source file, from which I concluded that the
programs had converted the code into standard HTML.