Converting from HTML

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Browsers

www -na "some-URL" > my-text

lynx -dump "some-URL" > my-text

(See the Lynx documentation)

Mosaic, Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer and other browsers will let you "save as" plain text, and in some versions also in other formats including formatted text and PostScript.

SGML tools

Some SGML tools will allow you to convert HTML to other formats. For instance:

• gf. A general-purpose SGML compiler.
• HyperHelp Bridge from Bristol Technology will convert to RTF.
• SGML2TeX will convert SGML to TeX on the PC.
• Fred will convert SGML to HTML, TeX (PostScript), ASCII etc.
• sgml2 will convert SGML to other formats.
• instant from OSF can be used with sgmls to produce various output formats from standard SGML inputs.
• An HTML to ICADD Transformation Service translates HTML into the ICADD DTD, suitable for further translation to Braille, large print or voice synthesis.

Further information is available on SGML resources and tools.

Other tools

• PostScript
  • html2ps is a Perl script to convert HTML to PostScript. It handles most tags but not in-line images. Contact: [email protected] (Jan Karrman)
  • Patched version from Arnaud and then patched by Jan.
  • Here is information about another script to convert HTML to PostScript.
  • And here is a service to do the job for you. Try it!
• MS Word / RTF
  • html2rtf translates HTML to RTF. Using this program and the standard windows help compiler, you can convert hyperlinked Web pages into Windows HLP files. Contact: [email protected]
  • hh2rtf is a set of freeware perl scripts that converts most HtmlHelp formatted HTML to WinHelp-ready RTF. Contact: [email protected] (Steve Atkins).
  • htm2rtf is another converter for PC/DOS. Contact: [email protected] (Yves Sagnier)
  • html2wrd.zip is a Microsoft Word Basic program to convert HTML documents (including lists, tables and other formatting) into WinWord documents. Contact: [email protected] (Yuri M. Lesiuk)
  • Here is another tool under development
• Frame
  • www_and_frame will convert HTML to MML for FrameMaker. See also an HTML to MIFconverter and toolkit by the same author. See Support Info for current situation and sources. Contact: [email protected] (Dan Connolly)
  • html2mif is an HTML to Framemaker MIF converter written in Tcl. Contact: [email protected] (Wayne A. Christopher)
  • HTML-2-Frame is an HTML import filter for FrameMaker for Windows 95/NT from .riess gmbh (Web site in German - auf Deutsch). Contact: [email protected] (Thomas Berendonck).
• WordPerfect
  • An HTML to WP 5.1 macro is available. Contact: [email protected] (E. Daniel Bors Jr.)
• LaTeX etc
  • html2latex is a program based on the NCSA html parser. Contact: [email protected].
  • Another html2latex can combine several HTML files into a single LaTeX file, converting links between the files to references. External URL's can be converted into footnotes or into a bibliography sorted on URL. Contact: [email protected] (Frans J. Faase)
  • Another html2latex implemented on Linux by yacc+lex+C. Also available from the TSX-11 Linux FTP site as nc-html2latex-0.97.tar.gz. Contact: [email protected] (Naoya Tozuka)
  • htmlatex.pl is a perl script to do the conversion (may be moving soon). Contact: [email protected] (Jake Kesinger)
  • There is also a sed script to convert HTML into LaTeX.
• Plain text and setext
  • Markup Remover from Aquatic Moon Software is a Windows application to convert HTML into plain text: there are several output options.
  • Remove-It from GME Systems is a Windows 3.1X based HTML Tag removal utility.
  • Here is a Visual Basic application to do the job.
  • HTMSTRIP by Bruce Guthrie for DOS/Windows processes and removes embedded HTML commands from Web pages. Reflows paragraphs, processes tables, etc as straight ASCII text.
  • HTMLCon for MSDOS converts HTML to ASCII.
  • HTML Markdown is a drag-and-drop Macintosh program that converts HTML files into regular text files.
  • An html parser in perl is available which will also convert HTML to plain text.
  • Here is information about some other html to ascii converters.
  • The dehtml option of htmlchek will produce plain ASCII from HTML.
  • html2setext will convert HTML to setext structured enhanced text which is human-readable. It is available from Serious Cybernetics. Contact: [email protected] (Andrew Pam)
• Other formats
  • An enhanced html parser handles HP-PCL and other printer formats
  • HTMLhelp converts to WinHelp
  • see html2rtf for another route to WinHelp
  • and hh2rtf for yet another route to WinHelp
  • cphtml converts an annotated HTML file into a perl script as an aid to writing cgi scripts.
  • HTMLDBF converts HTML pages into DBF files (dBase III+).

Check out word processor filters, some of which work both ways, and also HTML editors.

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