Word > clean HTML / SGML > HTML

[John Cornellier <cornelli -at- CLAMART -dot- SRPC -dot- SLB -dot- COM>]

[cross-posted to winhelp-L and techwr-L]

<background>
I have a 2000-page SGML doc set. I have decided discontinue this format
because:
a) I need a special server software to convert to HTML for web serving
b) SGML editors are expensive, not practical corporate solution

So I'm converting the lot to HTML, which I'll then publish via HTTP, or on
CD. So far so good, using Word macros (though if anyone has any Dynatext
conversion utilities, I'd like to hear from them -- I'm having to recreate
the links to graphics by hand).
</background>

<snag>
I need to enable everyone to edit the HTML pages, once they are created.
Netscape Communicator or Word are good because we already have the
licences. I was pleasantly amazed to discover that if you load a
well-formed HTML file in Word 97, then edit, Word hardly messes it up at
all (as compared to Word's .doc -> .htm export), apart from the following:
* on certain style tags (e.g. address) it applies inline formating (others
it leaves alone)
* its behaviour with ASCII values >127 is erratic.
* doesn't seem to retrieve CSS data
* redefines table widths pixel values to percentages
</snag>

<wish>
It would be brilliant if I could let people edit HTML with Word and still
have clean HTML. I'm looking at building a template (but then would have to
distribute it...) with macros to correct the above problems, but does
anyone have any other ideas or had any similar experiences? Is there some
detailed documentation about how Word 97 treats HTML files?
</wish>

 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=