Copy Word .doc into Front Page

This applies to FP2002
(other versions may vary)

Many people make a Word document which they would then like as a web page in their Front Page Web. Usually the Word document gets saved as a web page, then imported into Front Page. Although the page will view satisfactorily on most browsers, troubleshooting can be awkward as so much weird and unnecessary code is added.

There is a quicker and much safer method of doing this.

Here is a link to a Word Document that was saved as a web page, then imported into Front Page. Right click on the page and "view source code" or click on your browser toolbar "view ... source code".  You will see all the unusual code that has been produced, here is just a sample:

What does all that code mean?? I haven't a clue! And if you copy directly from a Word Doc (not saved as web page) and paste into a blank page ..... you also get gobbledegook code in HTML view, as shown below!

So, how can you use a Word document within Front Page 2002 without getting all that foreign code stuff - Dead Easy!

Save your Word document as you normally would .... as a Word Document, no need to save as a web page. Open Front page and create or open the web page you want your Word document to appear on.

1. Then in Front Page, click on Insert/File

2. Then from the dialogue box that pops up, under "Files of Type" scroll down the list at the bottom and click on "Word 97-2002 (*.doc). You will then see in the main window any .doc files, select the file you want on your web page. Click on Open button.

3. Various boxes will now appear saying that Front Page is converting the Word Document. When I did this for the first time, a box came up saying I needed to install the feature that did the converting .... so I had to insert my Front Page disc for it to be installed. Once installed, that instruction will not appear again. Your Word Document now gets converted into HTML and put onto your page.

Not every feature of a Word Document can be converted correctly for a web page. For example lists cannot. Here is the web page that was produced from inserting the Word Document as a file. It will open in a new window so you can refer back to this page. As you can see, the list items, although indented have lost their numbers. That is easy to rectify, but first check out the source code and compare it to the Word Document that was saved as a web page. Totally different, and so little of it compared. Here is an image of what the HTML view looks like when using the Insert/File method:

Okay, now to correct the list that has lost its numbers, also it has been indented even further into the page.

1. Highlight the lines in the list:

2. On the top tool bar click on the "Decrease Indent" button - that will move the list back over to the left, with normal indent and give it bullets instead of numbers.

3. With the list still highlighted, now click on the Numbered List button on top tool bar.

4. And you now have your numbered list as in the original Word Document.

So, as you can see, there is an easy way to have a Word Document in your web, without all that surplus code. Any items on the document that do not get translated into a web page, it is better, I think, to then have to add to the web page rather than have all that bloated code.

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