Publish Web Pages at UVM:

Creating text files

Your Web pages are actually text files with codes typed directly into the document. To create them you need to be able to create plain text files. You can do this with either a text editor or by using a word processor and saving the files as text files.

Text editors are programs like Notepad in Windows or Pico on Moose, that is, they are programs that create and save files as plain ASCII text.

Word Processors create files that are stored in their own special format. This format includes codes to tell the printer how to align text, what font is used, etc. These formatting codes are saved with the file. However, all word processors also give you the ability to save your files as plain text files. This process varies from word processor to word processor. Here are some examples:

  1. Word for Windows:
    Go to File: Save As. Type the file name in the File Name box. The name should end with the extension .htm. Choose "Text" from the "Save as File Type: box.

  2. WordPerfect for Windows:
    Go to File: Save As. Type the file name in the File Name box. The name should end with the extension .htm. Choose "ASCII (DOS) text" from the "Save File as Type" box.

  3. WordPerfect for Macintosh:
    Go to File: Save As. Type the name in the "Save Document As:" box. The name should end with the extension .html. Choose "Text" from the "Format" box.

  4. WordPerfect for DOS:
    Press Ctrl-F5, choose 1-DOS text, 2-Save. When prompted, name the file something other than it's original name. For Web files, the name will have to end with the extension .htm

  5. Notepad in Windows:
    Notepad is a text editor, which means it will save your files as ascii text automatically. However it does have an annoying habit of trying to give them strange names and store them in the Windows directory. Be sure to use File: Save As and not File: Save when using Notepad. Name your files with the extension .htm, and be sure to place them in a directory where you can find them easily.

  6. SimpleText on a Macintosh:
    SimpleText is a text editor, which means it will save your files as ascii text automatically. However it does have an annoying habit of trying to give them strange names and store them in various directories. Be sure to use File: Save As and not File: Save when using SimpleText. Name your files with the extension .html, and be sure to place them in a directory where you can find them easily. A good choice is to save them right on the desktop.

  7. Pico on Moose:
    Pico is a text editor. This means that any text you type in Pico will automatically be saved as plain ASCII text--it can't do anything else! To use pico to create Web documents, connect and login to moose. At the prompt, change to your public_html directory by typing: cd public_html

    Type your document, including the HTML tags. Press ^x (CTRL-x) to save the document. When asked to "Save Modified Buffer" press y for yes. When asked for a file name, type in a name with no spaces and be sure it ends with .html. For example, myfile.html, index.html, great_stuff.html would all be acceptable but the names my file.html, or index would not.

    Copyright by
    Hope Greenberg (Hope.Greenberg@uvm.edu).
    Last major revision:
    6/25/1996.