Office X for Macintosh: The Missing Manual

chapter 7: word meets web 279

• Text flow and the positioning of images on your page may be different in Word

than in a browser. Using a table for layout alignment (see page 165) results in

more consistency between Word and browser views.

Viewing HTML Code for a Web Page

When you open an HTML document, Word does its best to show you the images

and text of that document just as though you’re viewing it in a Web browser. In

other words, you see the results of the HTML programming, not the HTML code

itself.

If you’re comfortable working in the HTML programming language, however, Word

is only too happy to show you the underlying code:

1. Open the Web page in Word. Choose View→HTML Source.

If that menu choice is grayed out, save the Web page document first. The Web

page opens as a document full of HTML code. A tiny, one-button toolbar, (“Exit

HTML Source”) also opens.

2. Edit the HTML in Word. Click Exit HTML Source when you’re finished.

Word returns you to Online Layout view, where the changes you just made in

HTML are reflected.

Creating a Web Page in Word

Most people who are serious about Web design use dedicated Web-design programs,

such as Dreamweaver, GoLive, or the free Netscape Composer.

But Word can convert any of its own documents into a Web page, ready to “hang” on

the Internet. Make no mistake: Professional Web designers may sneer at your ef-

forts, since Word fills the resulting behind-the-scenes HTML code with acres of

unnecessary computer instructions that can make a Web page take longer to load

into visitors’ browsers. Furthermore, they can also render your design layout impre-

cisely. But when you need to create only the occasional Web page, or when simplic-

ity and a short learning curve are more important to you than impressing profes-

sional Web designers, Word can suffice.

Designing a Site Map

Before you start working on your Web page in Word, it’s a good idea to have a plan

of action. Take a blank piece of paper or Word document, draw a box for each page

of your Web site, and label them to figure out how many Web pages your site will

have, and how they’ll be connected by navigational links. For instance, you might

have a home page, an FAQ (frequently asked questions) page, a page of scanned

photos, a long article on a page of its own, and a page with your contact informa-

tion. Figure 7-2 shows an example sketch.

Word as

Web Browser

280 office x for macintosh: the missing manual

Basic Web-Page Layout

Once you’ve figured out which Web pages you’ll need to create for your Web site, the

next step is to create individual Word documents that represent those pages. You’ll

probably wind up taking advantage of Word’s advanced graphics and design tools—

especially tables and hyperlinks—much more in a document that will ultimately

become a Web page than, say, a run-of-the-mill memo. But otherwise, editing and

designing a Web-bound Word document is much the same as editing and designing

any other Word file.

Tip: The following pages assume that you’re interested in designing your Web pages essentially from

scratch. The File→Project Gallery command, however, offers a Web Pages category filled with predesigned

Web-page templates, such as a Frequently Asked Questions page, a Personal Web Page, and so on. If the

Web page you have in mind is one of these basic types, by all means use the Project Gallery templates to

save time. See page 15 for more on the templates.

Themes

As you contemplate your site’s graphic design, think simple. Although Word’s Web

tools let you use a riot of background and font colors, nothing looks cleaner and

more readable on the Web than black type on a plain, light background.

Figure 7-2:

You’ll save yourself from temporary insanity if

you begin your Web design with a site map.

Draw arrows in all the directions that you’re

going to link the pages together, remembering

that you’ll want to link each page back to the

home page, or at least to the page before it.

Creating a Web

Page in Word