Convert Word files to HTML and Install Editor2 to Use Instead of NotePad
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Getting the HTML Converter Installed and Then Making It Work

In our Microsoft Office Word ’97 we converted a normal Word .doc to HTML. If you go to Save As and scroll through the Save file name extensions, you should find HTML as a choice and you should choose it. If an error message tells you the converter is obsolete, not installed, or using the restroom at Microsoft headquarters, you need to select Help and scroll down to the word Word in the index and select components installed with. You'll see why you need the Custom installation, not the Typical one, since the latter supplies no HTML converter. Anyway, get the converter installed via Custom installation or via teleportation or even via ringing Bill’s doorbell until he gives you one to make you go away, and get your web page text paragraphs converted by saving the files with an HTML extension as already noted. The code is clean and helpful—which isn't at all true about later Office version HTML converters.

If you have Office XP, you have to go to Save As and once you're in the Save Dialog look over the file extension possibilities. The one that’s best is Filtered.html and not WebPage.html. If this option won't work or is missing—i.e., if you do not see any html options in your list of file types in the Save As dialog box—you will need to go back to the Office or Word install CD and install to your computer the Text Converters that include the HTML options. After installing these options, follow the instructions you see on your screen (restart Windows, if necessary), and the next time you open Word, you should see the html options in the Save As dialog. See your Office XP documentation for more details. Now, assuming you finagle a way to get the conversion working, we must warn you that the HTML codes you'll get are sadly full of muck you won't want (so you're better off using Office ’97), and the best way to get rid of the muck so you get clean HTML code is with Editor2 (see below). Good news: it’s free!!!

If you have Office 2000, you'll need to go to Microsoft to get the Office 2000 HTML Filter 2.0 and use it to filter excess Office 2000-specific codes out of your HTML and save as Compact HTML under File Export. It’s simpler to just use a machine with Office ’97 or install ‘97 somewhere, since it does perfectly clean code that hasn't been mucked up by Bill’s boys. If you persist with 2000 in spite of our advice, you can always delete and/or replace their muck, but don’t use NotePad, use Editor2 which you can get free online. It’s our favorite program and it allows search and replace (replace with nothing = delete) on the whole file at once and other goodies all in a tiny 47k program that replaces NotePad with something 100 times better. Once you try it out and fall in love, you'll want it for viewing text files and HTML files from then on. Read on:

How To Make Editor2 Your Default HTML Source Code Viewer for Internet Explorer and for Text and HTML Files in General

1. Assuming you’ve installed xplorer2, you'll have installed Editor2 in the process since Editor2 comes with Pro or Lite versions of xplorer2; so go to your desktop and double click My Computer (keep in mind that for "lightweight Notepad replacement" to appear as an option in IE with the edit icon, you MUST have installed xplorer2 and not just Editor2, although just because you install it doesn't mean you must use it, in case you're real attached to Bll's Explorer)
2. In My Computer use the View menu to get to folder options
3. Once in Folder Option, click File Types tab and then scroll to "HTML document"; depending on what version of IE you are using and what other browsers you have installed on your system, you may find this further down the list under "Microsoft HTML document"; do not select "HTML application"
4. Double click the item you identified in 3, above
5. In the actions box, double click Edit
6. Browse to or enter the path to Editor2.exe on your computer and then
7. Add at the end: "%1" Be sure to put one space in front of the first quote
8. Click Okay and then close your way out of all the dialogs until you're at the File Types tab. Scroll to Text Document (.txt) and repeat steps 4 to 8, and then do the same for CGI Documents or whatever other files you want to edit with Editor2

1. Open Internet Explorer and in the Tools menu, select Internet Options
2. Go to the Programs tab and specify with the drop down "Lightweight NotePad Replacement" instead of "Windows Notepad" or blank, or anything else you might see in your drop-down

Important: You must use the Edit button to utilize Editor2 in IE (the menu options will still open Notepad and so will the right-click the View Source option). (Thanks Bill.)

If you can already easily see your Edit button in the IE tool bar, you’re ready to go; if not:

1. Go to the View menu, then Toolbars, then Customize
2. Be sure the Edit Icon is in the Current Toolbar buttons area
3. If not, add it from the left pane by selecting it on the left and clicking the "Add -> button
4. Use the Move Up button to move it into a prominent area of your toolbar so you can see it easily when you’re in your browser
5. Option: delete all of the extraneous buttons you never use from the toolbar at this time, too

We have made this work on three computers using Windows ‘98 and various versions of IE and we’re as pleased as can be. It solves a zillion problems; e.g., you'll never see the "file too large" warning again, recent files and folders will be remembered, ctrl F works, etc. and the macros are insanely easy to create and use. You'll want to use the xplorer2 which the same guy did since it beats Windows Explorer. Good news: it’s free!!! (But the Pro version has more features, and it costs a few bucks.) Go to http://netez.com/2xExplorer/ to get it now!

MY XP OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRES SOMETHING DIFFERENT! There's a genius named Kelly who has figured out what to do to get something besides NotePad as the IE html editor using XP. My thanks to him! It turns out that in XP (at least my XP), there is no way to tell File Types (under Folder Options under either View or Tools under My Computer) that you want to have html files open with IE but edit with Editor2. But if you go to here and select 132. Change and/or Add an HTML Editor, you can do it easily. After following the instructions there, do steps 9 and 10 above, as well. Neat, huh?

This should fix it so View Source (Alt V C) in IE will give you the path to the editor you type in above, such as C:\Program Files\Editor2\Editor2.exe which will get you Editor2, but it may not give you the use of the Edit icon. For that, just replace notepad.exe with Editor2.exe all over your computer. To do that, go to Notepad Replacements but use Editor2 instead of the editor suggested. Note: His procedure is basically right, but is insufficient. You need to search for all FIVE copies of notepad.exe in the Windows folder and overwrite the cache copy first and then copy YOUR notepad.exe that is actually a renamed copy of Editor2.exe, and then delete each of the others but immediately after the delete, use Ctrl V to paste the new notepad.exe (really Editor2.exe) in its place. Once all these are done, open IE, then close it, then go back and search for notepad.exe again and a couple of them will probably have been replaced by the real notepad, which you can tell because it's less than 70,000 bytes. Delete these notepads and Ctrl V your sneaky notepad in their place again. Now search the Windows folder again. They should all be over 100,000 bytes, so you're done. I did this and the notepad curse has not yet returned. As a result, the Edit icon will give you Editor 2, which Bill's boys have been fooled into thinking is notepad!