Re: Converting HTML to text, preserving tables etc.

Subject: Re: Converting HTML to text, preserving tables etc.
From: quills -at- airmail -dot- net
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2001 14:21:38 -0500

Is there an easy way to convert HTML to text that preserves formatting in things like tables?

I can find utilities that just strip out the tags, but I need to keep my tables looking like tables, with all the columns aligned. I've tried viewing the HTML in Lynx, but it doesn't seem to handle tables well.

(Actually, the source document is in FrameMaker, which we convert to HTML via WebWorks, so if there's a way to convert from FrameMaker to text, and still get the tables looking correct, that would be even better.)

Thanks in advance,
Philip.

P.S.
This is for a Windows 2000 platform. But a UNIX or Mac solution would be useful too.



Philip,

I think we hit the wall with definitions here. HTML is text. ASCII text in fact. Formatting does not exist in ASCII text. HTML provides formatting instructions.

If you view the HTML in a TEXT browser you won't get any formatting.

If you view the HTML in a Web browser you will get formatting.

If you strip out the formatting instructions you won't have tables or any style formatting.

What do you really want to do?

Scott

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References:
Converting HTML to text, preserving tables etc.: From: Philip Sharman

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