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Export content to HTML (Legacy)

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InDesign

InDesign

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  1. InDesign User Guide
  2. Get to know InDesign
    1. Introduction to InDesign
      1. What's New in InDesign
      2. System requirements
      3. Common questions
      4. Use Creative Cloud libraries
    2. Workspace
      1. Workspace basics
      2. Contextual task bar
      3. Customize your workspace in InDesign
      4. Toolbox
      5. Set preferences
      6. Properties panel
      7. Touch workspace
      8. Default keyboard shortcuts
      9. Undo edits and manage History panel
      10. Document recovery and undo
    3. Generative AI (Not available in mainland China)
      1. Text to Image
      2. Generative Expand
      3. Generate Effect in InDesign (Beta)
      4. Generative AI FAQ
  3. Create and layout documents
    1. Documents and pages
      1. Create documents
      2. Work with parent pages
      3. Work with document pages
      4. Set page size, margins, and bleed
      5. Work with files and templates
      6. Convert PDFs to InDesign files in InDesign (Beta)
      7. Create book files
      8. Add basic page numbering
      9. Number pages, chapters, and sections
      10. Convert QuarkXPress and PageMaker documents
      11. Share content
      12. Understand a basic managed-file workflow
      13. Save documents
    2. Grids
      1. Grids
      2. Format grids
    3. Layout aids
      1. Rulers
      2. Align and distribute objects using rulers
      3. Measure objects using the Measure tool
  4. Add content
    1. Text
      1. Add text to frames
      2. Threading text
      3. South-East Asian Scripts
      4. Arabic and Hebrew features in InDesign
      5. Create type on a path
      6. Bullets and numbering
      7. Insert MathML to create math expressions
      8. Glyphs and special characters
      9. Text composition
      10. Text variables
      11. Generate QR codes
      12. Edit text
      13. Align text
      14. Wrap text around objects
      15. Anchored objects
      16. Linked content
      17. Format paragraphs
      18. Format characters
    2. Typography
      1. Using fonts in InDesign
      2. Kerning and tracking
      3. Scale and skew type
      4. Apply color effects to type
    3. Format text
      1. Format text
      2. Auto Style text
      3. Work with Style Packs
      4. Tabs and indents
    4. Review text
      1. Track and review changes
      2. Add editorial notes in InDesign
      3. Import PDF comments
    5. Spell check and language dictionaries
      1. Check spelling, autocorrect, and dynamic spelling
      2. Create, add, and manage dictionaries and words
      3. Change dictionary preferences
      4. Duden dictionary
    6. Add references
      1. Create a table of contents
      2. Footnotes
      3. Create an index
      4. Endnotes
      5. Captions
    7. Styles
      1. Paragraph and character styles
      2. Map, export, and manage styles
      3. Object styles
      4. Drop caps and nested styles
      5. Work with styles
      6. Leading
    8. Tables
      1. Format tables
      2. Create tables
      3. Table and Cell styles
      4. Select and edit tables
      5. Table strokes and fills
    9. Interactivity
      1. Hyperlinks
      2. Dynamic PDF documents
      3. Bookmarks
      4. Buttons
      5. Forms
      6. Animation
      7. Cross-references
      8. Structure PDFs
      9. Page transitions
      10. Movies and sounds
    10. Graphics
      1. Understand paths and shapes
      2. Draw with the Pencil tool
      3. Draw with the Pen tool
      4. Apply line (stroke) settings 
      5. Compound paths and shapes
      6. Edit paths
      7. Clipping paths
      8. Change corner appearance
      9. Frames and objects
      10. Align and distribute objects
      11. Linked and embedded graphics
      12. Integrate AEM assets
    11. Color and transparency
      1. Apply color
      2. Use colors from imported graphics
      3. Work with swatches
      4. Mix inks
      5. Tints
      6. Understand spot and process colors
      7. Blend colors
      8. Gradients
      9. Flatten transparent artwork
      10. Add transparency effects
  5. Find and replace
    1. Find and replace text
    2. Find and replace fonts
    3. Find and replace glyphs
    4. Find and replace using GREP expressions and queries
    5. Find and replace objects
    6. Find and replace colors
    7. Search options to find and replace
  6. Share
    1. Save and access cloud documents
    2. Organize, manage, and share cloud documents
    3. View and manage versions in cloud documents
    4. Common questions about InDesign cloud documents
    5. InCopy on the web (Beta)
    6. Share and collaborate        
    7. Share for Review
    8. Review a shared InDesign document
    9. Manage feedback
    10. Invite to edit
  7. Export, import, and publish
    1. Place, export, and publish
      1. Publish online
      2. Publish online dashboard
      3. Copy, insert graphics
      4. Export to Adobe Express
      5. Export content for EPUB
      6. Adobe PDF options
      7. Export to HTML5
      8. Export content to HTML (Legacy)
      9. Export to Adobe PDF
      10. Export to JPEG format
      11. Import SVG files
      12. DPS and AEM Mobile overview
      13. Supported File Formats
      14. Export and import User Settings
    2. Printing
      1. Print booklets
      2. Printer's marks and bleeds
      3. Print documents
      4. Inks, separation, and screen frequency
      5. Overprinting
      6. Create PostScript and EPS files
      7. Preflight files before handoff
      8. Print thumbnails and oversized documents
      9. Prepare PDFs for service providers
      10. Prepare to print separations
  8. Extend InDesign
    1. Automation
      1. Data merge
      2. Plug-ins
      3. Capture extension in InDesign
      4. Scripting
  9. Troubleshooting
    1. Fixed issues
    2. Known issues
    3. Crash on launch
    4. Preference folder read-only issue
    5. Troubleshoot file issues
    6. Unable to export InDesign file to PDF
    7. InDesign document recovery

Learn to export a page, spread, or selected object to HTML (Legacy) type.

Exporting to HTML easily converts your InDesign content into a web-ready format. When you export content to HTML, you can control how text and images are exported. InDesign preserves the names of paragraphs, characters, objects, tables, and cell styles applied to the exported contents by marking the HTML contents with CSS style classes of the same name.

Export to HTML (Legacy)

  1. If you’re not exporting the entire document, select the text frames, range of text, table cells, or graphics you want to export.

  2. Select File > Export and select HTML (Legacy) from Save as type (Windows) or Format (macOS).

  3. Specify the name and location of the HTML document, and select Save.

  4. In the HTML Export Options dialog box, specify the desired options in the General, Image, and Advanced areas, and select OK.

A document with the specified name and an .html extension (such as “newsletter.html”) is created; if specified, a web images subfolder (such as “newsletter-web-images”) is saved in the same location.

HTML Export options

General

general tab showing various options
General Options

Export

Determines whether only the selected items or the entire document is exported.

  • If a text frame is selected, the entire story, including overset text, is exported.
  • If Document is selected, all page items from all spreads are exported, except for parent page items that have not been overridden and page items on invisible layers. XML tags and generated indexes, and tables of contents are also ignored.

Content Order

Specifies the reading order of page objects.

  • Based on Page Layout: The location of the items on the page determines the reading order. InDesign determines the reading order of page objects by scanning left to right and top to bottom. (Asian versions only) InDesign determines the reading order of page objects according to the document’s binding (left to right or right to left).
  • Same as XML Structure: The order of the tags in Structure View determines the reading order. See Tag page items.
  • Same as Articles Panel: The order of elements in the Articles panel determines the reading order. Only the checked articles are exported. 

Formatting Options
  • Bullets: Select Map To Unordered List to convert bullet paragraphs to List Items that are formatted in HTML using the tag. Select Convert To Text to format using the tag with bullet characters as text. If you have used native InDesign auto-bullets, sub-bullets are also included.
  • Numbers: Determines how numbers are converted in the HTML file. Select Map To Ordered List to convert numbered lists to List Items that are formatted in HTML using the tag. Select Convert To Text to convert numbered lists into paragraphs that begin with the paragraph’s current number as text.

 

View HTML after Exporting

Starts the browser, if present.

Image

Image options
Image Options

Copy Images

Specifies how images are exported to HTML.

  • Original: Exports the original image to the <document_name>-web-images subfolder. 
  • Optimized: Lets you change settings to determine how the image is exported.
  • Link to Server Path: Lets you enter a local URL (such as “images/”) that appears in front of the image file rather than exporting images to a subfolder. In the HTML code, the link attribute displays the path and extension you specify. This option is especially effective when you’re converting images to web-compatible images yourself.

Preserve Appearance from Layout (for Graphic/Media objects)

Select to inherit the image object attributes from the layout.

Resolution

Specify the resolution of the images in pixels per inch (ppi). The higher the number, the better the resolution. While operating systems have standardized on either 72 ppi or 96 ppi, mobile devices range from 132 ppi (iPad) to 172 ppi (Sony Reader) to over 300 ppi (iPhone 4).
You can select a ppi value for each object selected. Values include 72, 96, 150 (average for all eBook devices today), and 300.

Image Size

Specifies if image size must remain fixed or resized relative to the text on the page. Relative to Text Flow sets a relative percentage value based on the text flow relative to the InDesign page width. This option causes the images to rescale proportionally relative to the text of the reading area.

Image Alignment and Spacing

Specifies the image alignment - left, center, and right. You can also specify the top and bottom padding.

Image Conversion

Specify whether the optimized images in your document are converted to GIF, JPEG, or PNG. Select Automatic if you want InDesign to decide which format to use in each instance.

GIF Options
  • Palette: This lets you control how InDesign handles colors when optimizing GIF files. The GIF format uses a limited color palette, which cannot exceed 256 colors. Select Adaptive (no dither) to create a palette using a representative sample of colors in the graphic without any dithering (mixing of small spots of colors to simulate additional colors). Select Web to create a palette of web-safe colors that are a subset of Windows and macOS system colors. Select System (Win) or System (Mac) to create a palette using the built‑in system color palette. This option can cause unexpected results.
  • Interlace: Load the images progressively by filling in missing lines. The image appears blurry and progressively sharpens as it reaches full resolution if you deselect this option.

JPEG Options
  • Image Quality: Determines the trade-off between compression (for smaller file sizes) and image quality for each JPEG image created. Low produces the smallest file and lowest image quality.
  • Format Method: Specify how quickly JPEG graphics display when the file containing the image is opened in a browser. Select Progressive to make the JPEG images display gradually and in increasing detail as they are downloaded. Select Baseline to make each JPEG file display only after it has been downloaded. A placeholder is displayed until the image is downloaded.

Ignore Object Export Settings

Ignores object export options applied on individual images. See Apply Object export options.

Advanced

Advanced options
Advanced Options

Don't include classes in HTML

Select this option if you do not want to include classes in the HTML. It removes the class and id attributes present in the tag during HTML Export. Any redundant div tags present in the HTML are also removed.

Include classes in HTML

Select this option to include classes in HTML.

  • Generate CSS: Specify whether you want InDesign to generate a CSS for the exported file. 
  • Preserve Local Overrides: Include local formatting such as italic or bold.

Add Style Sheet

Specify the URL of the existing CSS style sheet, which is usually a relative URL, such as “/styles/style.css.” InDesign does not check whether the CSS exists or is valid.

JavaScript Options

Select Add Script to run a JavaScript when the HTML page is opened. InDesign does not check whether the JavaScript exists or is valid.

InDesign exports

InDesign exports all stories, linked and embedded graphics, SWF movie files, footnotes, text variables (as text), bulleted and numbered lists, internal cross-references, and hyperlinks that jump to text or web pages. Tables can be exported to HTML as well. InDesign retains the table formatting, such as table and cell strokes. Tables are assigned unique IDs, and can be referenced as Spry data sets in Dreamweaver. Placed audio and h.264 video files are enclosed in HTML5 <audio> and <video> tags. InDesign also exports objects you draw (such as rectangles, ovals, and polygons), pasted objects (including pasted illustrator images), and text converted to outlines.

InDesign doesn't export

InDesign does not export Hyperlinks (except for links to web pages and links applied to text that jump to text anchors in the same document), XML tags, books, bookmarks, SING glyphlets, page transitions, index markers, objects on the pasteboard that aren’t selected and don’t touch the page, or parent page items (unless they’re overridden or selected before export).

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Export to HTML5

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