Dealing with Different Types of Documents
Introduction
Pages on the Web are made up of text plus some formatting commands in a
simple language called HyperText Mark-up Language (HTML). URLs that end in
.html or .htm indicate that the file is in HTML and any Web browser
can understand it. However, not all links on the Web point to HTML files.
Some links will point to graphics files, some to text in different formats and
some to video clips. Web browsers can only display some of these files. To
deal with other types Web browsers use other computer programs depending
on the type of machine (i.e. PC, Macintosh or X terminal). These other programs
are often known as 'Helper Applications.'
Web browsers are usually
set up so that when a Helper Application has been set up for a file format
the program is automatically opened.
Some unusual file formats may not have a Helper Application available so you
made need to save the file to disc until you can find an appropriate program
to deal with it.
Different File Formats
File formats are usually indicated by the last part, or suffix, of a file name.
Current versions of all graphical Web browsers should be able to deal with these types of file format.
Some of the other formats can cause more difficulties. Consult ISS for
help but the problems will vary with the precise setup of your machine.
Other Common File Formats include:
- .rtf - A text file in Rich Text Format (RTF). Any word processor such as
Word should
be able to deal with this format.
- .ps - A file in Postscript format. This is combination of text and graphics in a
detailed format. On PCs there is a program called
Ghostview for Windows and on Unix/X Terms the
ghostview application should be used (both also
require Ghostscript to be installed). On Macintosh
computers there is a program called MacGS which can deal with it.
- .pdf - A file in Portable Document Format (PDF). PDF files
require a Helper Application called Adobe Acrobat.
The next section is: Other Introductory Guides and Resources
The previous section was: Finding Things on the Web
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Lancaster University
Produced by the IHE Project
Support for Learning Information Searching Skills.
Comments and suggestions to dmn@comp.lancs.ac.uk
Last revision: 13th December 1995