Portions Copyrighted 1988-1994 Quark, Inc. All Rights reserved.
Change history, pricing, and complete contact info near the end of the Read me.
* What is it ? *
Collect HTML is an XTension for XPress 3.1 or higher that allows you to convert text from Quark pages into HTML format.
- Styles can be converted into HTML pre- and suffixes.
- Collect creates JPEG or PICT previews from Quark pages or from text or picture boxes.
- You can put links to local or remote URL's on selected text from within Quark; these links are stored within the Quark document for subsequent collections.
Collect is not well suited to convert complete Quark pages; it better for 'clipping' articles from large pages (e.g. a newspaper) for Web publication.
HTML is not as rich in features as Quark is, so do not expect a WYSIWIG behaviour in HTML. Collect just tries to help you to create good-looking HTML documents from Quark pages.
The demo version time limited in two ways: it is usable until February 28,1996, and each time disables itself 5 minutes after startup of Quark.
If you want a non-time limited version, you should send me your payment and an e-mail address. Upon reception of payment, I will send you a little activator application by e-mail to personalise your copy, and to remove the time limit. Upgrades are easy: download a recent demo version, and run your personal activator on it.
* Configuring *
Before starting to use Collect, you must first configure it. The following configurations are advisable:
- Show Collect HTML where the root of your WWW structure is. Collect uses this information for calculating URL's when you create links to other pages from within Quark. Make sure you have write access into this root folder if you want to be able to look at previews during a collection.
- Show Collect HTML where your browser (e.g. NetScape) is located.
- Set up style translations (i.e. HTML commands to use as a prefix and suffix for certain styles)
- Set up the Collect preferences: (e.g. change the header to include NetScape backgrounds or other HTML commands you want to include at the beginning of your HTML documents).
- You need to have QuickTime installed in order to be able to create JPEG previews.
The default settings are:
- bold gets translated into <B>...</B>.
- italic into <I>...</I>.
- underline into <U>...</U> (ignored by NetScape!).
- a paragraph mark is translated into a space, in order to avoid getting ugly short lines when viewing the resulting page.
- a style change results in the insertion of a <BR>.
- nothing is inserted between texts from different text boxes.
- by default, styles are not pre- or suffixed.
- pictures are exported in JPEG format
- default scale for pictures is 100%.
Setup of style translations is done by activating the Collect Palette, clicking in a text with a certain style, and then defining the 'Style HTML prefix' and 'Style HTML suffix' on the Collect Palette.
If you want a complete list of all styles defined in a document, create a new, empty text box, and choose 'Insert Style Translation Table' from the Collect menu. This will fill the text box with all styles defined and their HTML translation (if there was one defined previously).
You can use the text lines in this text box to define or change your style translations: click on the line corresponding to a certain style and define the prefix and suffix using the Collect Palette. Attention: the text in this text box is not dynamic: it is not linked to the current translation table, but rather a snapshot. To avoid confusion, delete the text box after use.
Tip: when a style is used for a title, use <H1> and </H1>. For sub-titles, use <H2> and </H2>, and so on.
Tip: when a style stands out from the others, use <B> and </B>, or <EM> and </EM> to make it stand out.
Tip: The 'Preview' button on the Collect HTML palette will be disabled during a collection if you forget to show Collect HTML where the root of your web structure is, or where your browser is, or when you move your browser application to another folder.
* Collecting. *
Once the XTension is set up, you can start collecting and exporting text and images. The idea is to click in the boxes composing the article you want to export one by one. For each box, you click the 'Add as text' or 'Add as Image' button on the Collect Palette. Collect puts a floating text box above each collected box, showing the sequence number of the collected box within the collection.
When all boxes of a single article are collected this way, you press 'End Collection' on the Collect Palette. This creates an HTML file and optionally some PICT or JPEG files. The default name for the file is a unique name, derived from the name of the original Quark page.
Before you click 'End Collection', you can click 'Preview'. If you have set up Collect HTML correctly, this will show you a preview of your current, pending collection. After viewing the preview in your browser, you can switch back to Quark, and continue adding, editing, moving, and previewing it until you are satisfied. Finally, click 'End Collection'.
In order to move or remove a collected box within the collection, you must select the floating text box that contains the sequence number, not the collected box. After selecting a floating box, use the Collect Palette to move or remove the selected box.
If you want to include a text box in a WYSIWYG way, click 'Add as Image' to collect it. By doing this, it will not be converted to HTML - it will be exported to a linked JPEG or PICT image instead.
For collected boxes that are to be converted to images, you can define a scaling factor on the Collect Palette after selecting the floating text box with the sequence number. The scale is also visible in the floating text box.
Tip: IMPORTANT: When collecting text in linked text boxes as text, you only need to collect one of the boxes; the other boxes are included automatically.
Tip: Once you have collected the first box using the buttons on the Collect Palette, you can add subsequent boxes as text by just Option-Clicking in them. Option-Shift-Click to add a box as an images.
Tip: You can re-load a previous collection from the generated HTML file if you are not satisfied with it, in order to add or remove boxes from the collection, to change the sequence of the collected boxes, or to change the scale of the images.
* Links *
Before you start adding hot links to pages on your own WWW server, you should show Collect HTML where the root folder of your WWW server is. Collect HTML needs to know this in order to calculate the path names for the links.
If your WWW server is a Mac, you can start its personal file sharing, and log in to the WWW server via Chooser-AppleShare. You can then save your HTML files directly in their destination folder, and you can point to files on the WWW server using the 'Locate File...' button on the Collect HTML palette.
If your WWW server does not support AppleShare (e.g. it is a flat Unix box), you should first create a (partial) copy of the WWW server structure on your local hard disk, use Collect HTML to create links to the local copies, and save the collected HTML files in there. After finishing move the local copy of the structure back to the WWW server.
Before or during the collection, you can add hot links on text you select in the Quark page.
To set a hot link, first type the URL in the 'New URL' box on the Collect Palette, or use the 'Locate File...' button to select a file in the WWW structure below the WWW root folder. Then select some text in a text box on the Quark Page, and click the 'Set New URL' button on the palette. The hot link is marked in magenta, and the palette shows the linked URL every time you put the cursor somewhere in the colored area. If you want to change or remove a link, change or clear the 'New URL' text box on the palette, select the hot link area, and click the 'Set New URL' button.
Hot links are stored within your Quark document: when you close it, Quark will ask you to save it because it was modified by Collect HTML.
*Remarks *
The settings for Collect are saved within the XTension. This allows you to set up the XTension once, and then to distribute a single file with settings included within your company; there is no separate settings file.
Tip: There are also two pseudo-HTML commands: <DROP> and </DROP>. Styles that use these as prefix or suffix are not exported, but dropped. Attention: DROP is not a real HTML command! It is processed by the XTension while it exports the text. Also, be careful not to include spaces around <DROP> or </DROP> when setting up a style to be dropped.
Versions in languages other than English are possible; for example a Swedish version is already available. Collect HTML is written by Kris Coppieters. See below for contact information.
* Change history *
1.3.1
- Some minor bug fixes.
- Preview collection using an external browser
1.3.0
- Added support for Quark XPress 3.1. Collect HTML now runs with versions 3.1 or higher (previously this was 3.2 or higher).
1.2.9
- Collect palette instead of menu items: much easier user interface.
1.2.8
- Allow choice between PICT or JPEG format for exported images
- Global and/or per-image scaling percentage
1.2.7
- 'Insert style translation table' now creates a list of all styles used in the document, optionally followed by their translation. This list can be used to set up the translation table: click on a line corresponding to a certain style and choose 'HTML Style Settings...' to define it.
1.2.6
- Allow including JPEG previews of text boxes by holding shift while collecting them.
- Point to file for inserting URL's from your WWW server instead of typing them explicitly.
1.2.5
- Changed collected box marker to a small floating text box, so the collected box remains partially visible.
- Option-Click can be used to collect subsequent boxes after collecting the first one with 'Collect-Add box'.
- Manual URL links can be set on selected text.
- Picture boxes can be collected and are converted to JPEG.
1.2.4:
- Increased robustness in cases of missing QuickTime, low memory, low diskspace
- Moved a number of hardcoded strings into resource fork for easier editing with ResEdit
1.2.2:
- Visual feedback for collected boxes
- Reloading of a set of collected boxes from a previous HTML file
- Making changes to a set of collected boxes (adding/deleting/resequencing)
- JPEG preview of complete pages
- Standard file dialog for saving collected files and JPEG previews
1.2.0: First release
* Contact information *
In Scandinavia please contact:
MediaHouse Sell & Consulting MH AB
Box 6687
S-113 84 Stockholm
Internet: patrik@mediahouse.se
Tel: +46-8-33 79 21
Fax: +46-8-34 61 44
For the rest of Europe, contact
Logic n.v.
Derbystraat 25
B-9051 Sint-Denijs-Westrem
Belgium-Europe
AppleLink: BEL0303
Internet: didier@logic.be
Tel: +32-9-222 63 66
Fax: +32-9-220 54 71
For the rest of the world, contact the author
Kris Coppieters
7 Paua Place
Camborne
Porirua
New Zealand
e-mail: 100025.2724@compuserve.com
* Pricing *
- 149 US$ single user version.
- 599 US$ 5-user version.
This XTension is for use with a valid, registered copy of QuarkXPress 3.1 or higher.
QPS, PASSPORT, QUARKXPRESS PASSPORT, AND XTENSIONS ARE TRADEMARKS OF QUARK, INC. QUARK, QUARKXPRESS, QUARKCOPYDESK, QUARKDISPATCH, QUARK PUBLISHING SYSTEM, AND QUARKXTENSIONS ARE TRADEMARKS OF QUARK, INC. Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off.
QUARK, INC. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THE ENCLOSED COMPUTER SOFTWARE PACKAGE, ITS MERCHANTABILITY, OR ITS FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. QUARK, INC. DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF THE DISTRIBUTORS, RETAILERS AND DEVELOPERS OF THE ENCLOSED SOFTWARE.
WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL QUARK, INC. BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IN ANY WAY RELATING TO THE USE OR ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THE ENCLOSED SOFTWARE, QUARK, INC.'S LIABILITY SHALL IN NO EVENT EXCEED FIFTY DOLLARS ($50.00)
THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND/OR THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IS NOT ALLOWED IN SOME AREAS, SO THESE EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
