WebSucker (TM)

Version 2.8 is here - see below for new features!

Big Bug Fix

Version 2.8 fixes a nasty bug, which I was finally able to duplicate. The bug caused the text of a story to vanish from your screen, but only happened on some systems with an indeterminate configuration. (Read: What a pain!)

Compatible with Pagemaker 6.0!

The WebSucker is now fully compatible with Pagemaker 6.0 (and still works great with 5.0).

What is it?

Pagemaker WebSucker was written for Clark University's newspaper, The Scarlet . If you wish to see the output of WebSucker, take a look at their page. Also please browse Clark University's Homepage .

What do I need to use it?

Please note that as of version 2.5, you don't need Applescript or the Progress Bar! Yeay!!!

Click here if you have a PC, or if you use Quark XPress.

How do I get it?

Just grab it here.

Both of these are the same version, 2.8, updated 11/10/95

Get WebSuckStack_sit.hqx (200K) if you have Hypercard 2.2/2.3 or the Hypercard 2.2/2.3 player. You really do need version 2.2 or 2.3 to use this.

Get WebSuckApp_sit.hqx (1.3MB) if you don't have Hypercard 2.2/2.3 or the Hypercard 2.2/2.3 player. This is an application that contains the stack. Fat-binary for speedy use on both 68K Macs and PowerMacs.

How much does it cost?

If you are a for-profit entity, or wish to have WebSucker customized for you, please send mail to mcohen@proactiveinteractive.com.

If you do use it in any way, I do ask that do Send me mail (please include your URL!). Also, please post a link to this page from your site to let others know how you created your pages.

Feel free to modify the stack all you'd like, but please don't distribute the modified version. Please note you can't make alterations to the runtime version. If you come up with interesting alterations, please let me know!

What else should I know?

• You really really do need Hypercard 2.2 or 2.3, or grab the application version. Half the problems people have are with using Hypercard 2.1, which simply doesn't support AppleEvents as required.
• One user has pointed out that Pagemaker's "fast saves" don't always eliminate text boxes you think you've deleted. If the WebSucker finds text you think shouldn't be there, try doing a "Save As." (Doing Save As often isn't a bad idea anyway!)
• Why make the WebSucker work with Pagemaker 6.0? PM6's HTML features are terrific for individual stories (or if your entire document was one long story). The WebSucker is designed for long documents (it was created for a newspaper), so is better suited to for this task. If you just want to export one-page documents, Pagemaker 6.0 is a better bet.
• When you open Pagemaker, open a Pagemaker file too! WebSucker doesn't open the file for you.
• Since you generally use different formats of photos in Pagemaker as you would on the web, WebSucker pays no attention to the photos in the PM file. The field for adding a photo is for you to type the filename of a graphic (usually a jpg or gif) which will be placed in the top-left of the page of that particular story. You should place that graphic in the same folder/directory on the web server, or type the filename with the path if the graphic will live in another folder/directory.
• Pay no attention to the ugly fields in the upper-right of the main screen. They are the fields that store the HTML information as you go along. I was too lazy to make them invisible or turn them into variables. You might find them interesting if you're new to HTML. Be careful not to change their contents as you might screw up your links. (I recommend doing your HTML editing, if needed, post-WebSucker in something like BBEdit.)
• Oops! There's no QUIT button on the WebSucker. If it isn't obvious, just hit Command-Q to get out.
• WebSucker does work with foreign-language versions of Pagemaker. Make a duplicate of your Pagemaker application. Use ResEdit or any other of many utilities to change the CREATOR to ALD5 (for PM5.0) or ADL6 (for PM6.0). Open your document in this changed version, and you'll be fine. The next WebSucker update will provide a cleaner solution.

Will there be updates?

Version 2.2 added customization to the section names. 2.1 was the first released version.

Version 2.5 removed the requirements for Applescript and the Progress Bar! It should also run a bit faster.

Version 2.6: Pagemaker no longer has to be named exactly "Aldus Pagemaker 5.0". So, you new Adobe Pagemaker owners can be happy. I call the application based on its Creator code, so this will probably break when Adobe issues a major Pagemaker upgrade. Also, you no longer need to enter a name in the table of contents field. If you don't touch the default name ("Optionally enter TOC name here"), the WebSucker will use the same name you type in the headline field.

Version 2.7: Optionally convert bold/italic/underline'd text!!! It works well, but it's *slow*. That's why I left that option on the main screen - turn it on and off as needed for each story if you wish. If I come up with a faster method (anyone willing to write me a XFCN? :-) ) I'll also add font sizes. **Current Pagemaker 6.0 rumors say PM 6.0 will handle this stuff for me! Yeay!** Also, fixed a little bug in the HTML code that put paragraph marks around the HTML title.

Version 2.8: Got rid of the nasty disappearing-text bug, which a small number of users reported (but reported very loudly and often!). Unfortunately, it was related to the bold/italic/underline conversion, so that's out for now. 2.8 also added compatibility with Pagemaker 6.0 (yeay!), added some error checking, cleaned the user interface (just a tiny bit) and provides some user feedback and reminders.

Miscellanous Stuff

There's another PM to HTML converter for the Mac out there, Dave. Dave is a simpler method of conversion, but what it does it does well.

I only know of one PC utility to do this sort of thing, simply called PM2HTML. I have no plans to convert the WebSucker to the PC; just too much work involved.

Have a PC, or Quark, or something else?

Quark user? The next most-often question is "What about Quark?" I might even update the WebSucker to support Quark XPress. Definitely on the Mac, perhaps on the PC. For now, BeyondPress (a commercial application) is your best bet.