Can you save it as a text file, and from that, print it ? ?

CR





----- Original Message -----=20
From: "Dr Skip" <drskip@gmail.com>
To: "Microcontroller discussion list - Public." <piclist@mit.edu>
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2010 10:15 AM
Subject: [EE] eng manuals from web pages to single file


> Greetings all,
>
> I've got a task that needs automation, but I have yet to find the answer=
=20
> (and I
> don't have any interns to help me in the form of forced labor ;)
>
> I have to convert sets of html files that are manuals into something=20
> printable
> or readable on an ebook reader (kindle for instance). These pages (html=20
> pages)
> are in the hundreds, and typically in a simple tree with a contents page
> linking to chapter pages linking to pages. Some have next> <prev=20
> functionality,
> but that doesn't change things. Readers like the kindle don't like web
> hierarchies or local (stored on the reader) html - they like pdf, text,=20
> mobi,
> etc files. They were created a while ago. Rewriting is not an option, and=
=20
> I
> have to do quite a few like this.
>
> The 'manual' way would be individually printing each page perhaps to a=20
> pdf, and
> merging. Even with drag-drop and a few clicks each it could drive one to
> insanity! Canon once had an app that could take a web page, fetch all the=
=20
> links
> on the page, and cat them in order into one doc. I can't find anything=20
> like
> that now, but that's the idea!
>
> I can put the pages on a server and mirror them locally for a tree, or I=
=20
> can
> mirror them and put in one directory (spider tool doing the link=20
> translation).
> Either way, Cat'ing html files doesn't work, obviously. I just need a way=
=20
> to
> get the text of the pages into one file, in original link order and=20
> without
> garbling paragraph (and heading) format (nothing fancy, just paragraphs=20
> should
> still be paragraphs and headings should be lines of their own). No=20
> graphics at
> this point, but I may need that later, but either way is good.
>
> Just in case I'm not being clear, the tool would have to take a web page=
=20
> (url
> or html file) and output at least the text to a file, followed by the tex=
t=20
> of
> the file in the first link on the page, followed by the text of the next=
=20
> link,
> and so on. A page break between each might be nice too. ;)
>
> Any ideas? Write to me off list if this is a bore to folks. However, I=20
> think it
> might be useful to a lot of us who deal with engineering documentation an=
d=20
> I
> don't know why someone hasn't come up with something or if they have, why=
=20
> it's
> so hard to find. Hopefully someone knows where one is and I'm just not=20
> looking
> in the right places. Google has not been my friend...
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Skip
>
>
> --=20
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> http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist
>=20


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