Creating HTML Presentations

1. Creating HTML Presentations

• a discussion of some issues
• by Dr Lawrie Brown, ADFA

2. Lectures, Slide-Shows and the Web

• want to have lecture notes available on web
• want to have one master copy
• with multiple views for differing uses
• with minimum workload possible
• some personal history

3. MS Word OH Master

• original approach was to master overheads in MS Word
• printed directly for use in lectures
• translated using rtftohtml from RTF Save As for web
• issues:
  • care needed with styles
  • had to customise to suit those used
  • problems with transferring images
  • basically did most by hand
• used for CS1(E), ISComms3, CSC/CCS3

4. MS Powerpoint SS Master

• next tried Powerpoint to master slide-show presentation
• nice tool for presenting, worked quite well
• but much harder to translate to web
• rtftohtml with "special" trans from RTF outline
• issues:
  • only got outline, no graphics or other text
  • single file with nested list structure (good for notes)
  • relatively strightforward translation process
• used for DC2

5. HTML Notes Master

• "take three" was to master notes in HTML as nested lists
• focus on content & structure not look
• includes inline graphics and other text as desired
• then use perl script to translate into slide-show HTML
• optimised for presenting using Netscape
• over-riding principle - KISS (esp wrt HTML used)
• will trial use with new CSCA2

6. HTOL2SS Issues

• can author with any text/HTML editor
• master has just enough markup to provide content & structure
• very simple process to create slide-shows
• so does it work?
• You tell me - you're looking at it ....
• original file

7. The Gruesome Details

• authoring process quite straightforward (ease depends on tools used)
• translation to slide-show form uses the htol2ss PERL script, which:
  • slurps in entire original file
  • splits it up at start of every HTML tag
  • groks each tag, hacking as needed