MathSciCon Workshops – R.J. Bieniek

ADVANCED TOPICS FOR YOUR WEBSITE

Here are advanced tips that can make your own website more robust.

1.   This tip will be useful if you have a large website with many folders and files that reference each other.  If the web URL of the root folder might ever change (e.g., for archiving purposes), the specific URLs of all the self-referencing files in hypertext would be affected.  You would have to change them all.
      There is a way to avoid this.  You have gone through the procedure for producing a hyperlink in a MS Word document by highlighting a word and opening the Insert Hyperlink window.   Normally you type or copy in a URL into the hyperlink address window.  There is another way of linking to a file the file to be linked is on the same server.  Let us say that file.pdf is in the same folder as the controlling file, and you want a hyperlink to file.pdf.  In the hyperlink address window, one just need type file.pdf.  If the file were in subfolder NEXTDOWN, then one would merely type NEXTDOWN/file.pdf in the hypertext address window.  Alternatively, you can select the file listed in the Hyperlink window with a left click of your mouse (or find the desired one by changing the window’s folder) and click the OK button.  That's all!

2.   This tip will be useful if you would like to avoid including a file name of the main controlling file in any subfolder of your website.  For example, it was good that I did not have to include the name of a controlling file for our website at the end of the SciConsort main URL; e.g. “mainpage.htm” as in http://lead.mst.edu/mathscicon/main.htm.
      Here is the key.  Web browsers (Netscape, Internet Explorer) always look for a file of name "index.htm" or "index.html" in folder to where they are directed, and automatically open it if found.  For instance, when you enter http://campus.mst.edu/lead/mathscicon into your browser, you get the same result as entering http://lead.mst.edu/mathscicon/index.htmll.  You can produce a DOC file with suitable name (e.g., index-sciconsort.doc in the "sciconsort" folder of the "lead" public web server) and then do a Save As type *.htm with new name of just "index.htm".  This creates the desired index file.  I have attached them so that you can see the simple source to controlling the SCICONSORT website!

3.   You can copy and paste images from the web by right clicking on them (sometimes works) and saving them – or pressing keys Shift-Print Screen at the same time, which puts an image of the entire display screen onto the clipboard.  Open a paint program (e.g., MS Paint in the Start/Programs/Accessories/Paint menu) and simply Paste.  Then put a box around the desired image using the tool that looks like a dashed outline box.  If the program has Crop, use that to get rid of the remainder of the screen outside the box.  If Crop is not available (it is not in MS Paint), then open a New file in the paint program and Paste.  Save As the image in the format you desire, e.g. JPG or TIF using the Save As Type window in the Save As function.  Then you can insert this into any document you wish.

4.   If you word process a document with fancy symbols (Greek, math equations edited object, diagrams), the web document you get by saving as a HTML format may not correctly render all of these (e.g., diagrams and symbols missing or “changed”).  However, you can generate a perfectly rendered PDF (Portable Document Format) version ofany file using free printer driver software PDF995.  PDF files can be read by any browser on any machine as long as Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed (free download at http://www.adobe.com).
      a.   Go to PDF995 site at http://www.pdf995.com.
      b.   Download, save and install PDF995 printer drive (not PDFedit995) by clicking on “Download Now” button.  Follow the directions for downloading PDF995 Printer Driver and the Free Converter.  When asked, put the executable install files in a convenient folder (your Desktop is OK), and click on them after the download to install.
      c.   Once PDF995 is installed on your computer, you will find it in the list of printers.  To see how to it can be used, open your template.doc in MS Word.?
      d.   Click on File/Print in the MS Word toolbar (generally in upper left).
      e.   In the printer window that pops up, click on the down arrow to the right of the “Name” box that appears at the top of the pop up printer window.  Click on PDF995.
      f.    Click on “OK” button at the lower right of the printer window.
      e.   You will be asked where to save the PDF file that will be generated.  Change the folder to the you are using, and click the “Save” button.
      g.   A PDF version template.pdf now appears in your working folder.  Go to your folder and click on it to open it.  You will find the links are not active.  You will have to read the PDF995 documentation to find out how to do that.

You now know how to use and produce web sites on the electronic superhighway!