Tom
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forum user since

AHA! Before going to a web format, one needs to check with the webmaster... oh, yea, that's me for our club :) When you are both the editor and webmaster (as in your case), the process is easier (a relative term). Sometimes the webmaster has a few tricks up his sleeve that makes conversion easier most straight forward approaches. Don't blame MS for conversion problems, blame W3C that defines the HTML standards. They are the ones who make limits on what can be done with many platforms, browsers and loaded fonts in mind. You can only come so close with HTML and a lot closer with CSS but, never the same. Also, what looks good on paper isn't necessarily good for the web. Reformatting is typically required. (don't want extra lines, font use, etc.)

Right now, I don't accept any pre-encoded HTML pages for the JCOF website for a variety of reasons. The same goes for this website too (see submission guidelines in the Library or Members areas). I have no intention of changing this policy. It is actually more work to fix and format HTML code than if it is submitted in Word or othe format.

Bottom line is that communication is required if the webmaster and editor are different people.

Some may not want to post the entire newsletter to the web. Selected items might be the preferred route for many. That is what I did while I did our club's newsletter. It was easier and quicker. Though it did miss some of the short blurbs and color photos that would have transfered nicely 'total newsletter' format.

Pascal Gademer
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forum user since

you're right, it's practical to be in full control....

I think it's nice to have a what you get in the mail is what you see, but it's not easy and full of compromise and trade offs.

My concern, is that it has to be fast... There is too much to do already to spend hours in putting the newsletter on the web.

I haven't tried this yet, but I wonder if it would be practical to publish the newsletter in HTML to start with instead of Publisher, Quark or whatever everybody uses...

Pascal

Tom
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forum user since

To see what you get in the mail on the web would be nice, especially in your case with your cover pages. B&W just don't give it justice.

You're right on the money... it needs to be quick and easy. One of the reasons I only published selected articles from when I was editor.

I only gave it casual thought about writing in HTML for both. Big problem is unless you are a whiz with style sheets, you'd be forever trying to fit a 21 line paragraph into a 20 line space. Easy to do with publisher (and I did it with powerpoint too) to squeeze a paragraph smaller to fit. Not so easy with HTML