To create a new document in Microsoft Word to import into Connexions, download and open either the template or the sample document from above. In Microsoft Word go to the File menu and select Save As. In the "Save As" dialog box that appears make sure that "Word Document (*.doc)" or "Word 97-2003 (*.doc)" appears in the Save as Type drop-down box. Give your document a unique name in the File Name box, and click the Save button. You have now created a new Word document with the template styles included in it. Delete the default text from the template and begin typing your document, adding styles as you go as described below.

Alternatively, you can install the template file into Word so that it is available through the New option in the Word File menu. Instructions to install this template are specific to your version of Word, so we recommend that you consult Word's Help feature if you wish to do so.

If you already have a document that you wish to import, you will need to apply the template styles to the document. To apply the template to an existing document, first open that document in Word. Then, follow the steps below:

Figure 1: Microsoft Word's template add-in window.

As an alternative, you can also create a new blank document with the Word Importer template styles as described in "Creating a New Document with the Template". Once you have done so, you can copy and paste the text from your original document into the new blank document as follows. Go to the Edit menu in the original Word document and select the Select All option. Then go to the Edit menu in the original Word document again and select the Copy option. This copies the text of the original document to your system clipboard. Next, go to the Edit menu in the new blank Word document with the Word Importer template styles and select the Paste option. The text of the original document is now copied into your new document, and you can begin modifying it with Word Importer style information as described in the next section.

If you are using Microsoft Word 97, you can find the style drop-down box on your format toolbar at the top of the screen (it usually displays the default style Heading 1 or Normal). In newer versions of Word the style menu is located under the "Home" tab. Click the pop-out icon in the lower right corner of the Styles menu to see a list of all styles.

Figure 2: The Styles menu in new versions of Word.

To apply a style to a specific piece of text, you follow the instructions below:

To create a new document in OpenOffice Writer to import into Connexions, download and open either the template or the sample document from above. In OpenOffice Writer go to the File menu and select Save As. In the "Save As" dialog box that appears make sure that "Word Document (*.doc)" or "Word 97-2003 (*.doc)" appears in the Save as Type drop-down box. Give your document a unique name in the File Name box, and click the Save button. You have now created a new document with the template styles included in it. Delete the default text from the template and begin typing your document, adding styles as you go as described below.

To apply the template to an existing document, create a new blank document with the OpenOffice Importer template styles as described in "Creating a New Document with the Template". Once you have done so, you can copy and paste the text from your original document into the new blank document as follows. Go to the Edit menu in the original OpenOffice Writer document and select the Select All option. Then go to the Edit menu in the original OpenOffice Writer document again and select the Copy option. This copies the text of the original document to your system clipboard. Next, go to the Edit menu in the new blank OpenOffice Writer document with the OpenOffice Importer template styles and select the Paste option. The text of the original document is now copied into your new document, and you can begin modifying it with OpenOffice Importer style information as described in the next section.

You can see the styles available to you with the template by going to the Format menu and selecting the Styles and Formatting option. This brings up the "Styles and Formatting" box. Paragraph styles (such as Heading 1, Heading 2, and CNXML Quote) are available by clicking on the leftmost icon at the top of the box. Character styles (such as CNXML Emphasis, CNXML Code, and the rest of the application-specific styles) are available by clicking on the second-leftmost icon at the top of the box .

Figure 3

(a) Paragraph styles. (b) Character styles.

To apply a style to a specific piece of text, you follow the instructions below:

We can use the text styles provided by the template to generate Connexions text markup tags when the document is imported.

Emphasis

The CNXML Emphasis style is used to give emphasis to important text. Use this style where you would have used bold or italics to emphasize particular words or phrases. Note that boldface and italicized text will both import as an emphasis tag with the appropriate effect attribute.

Foreign

The CNXML Foreign style allows us to designate a term which is in another language than the rest of the text. We can also point its usage at a website of our choice by marking it as a hyperlink in addition to CNXML Foreign. This will produce foreign text in a module.

Code

With the CNXML Code style, we can designate inline text as code written in a computer programming language. Use CNXML Code (Block) to designate blocks of code that should be set off from surrounding text.

Cite

The CNXML Cite style allows us to refer to non-electronic sources. If you are using Microsoft Word to prepare your document, you can cite a hyperlinked source by marking it as a hyperlink and then applying CNXML Cite. This is produce a citation in Connexions.

Term

With the CNXML Term style, we can designate key terms in our document. If you are using Microsoft Word to prepare your document, you can also point this term at an example of its usage by marking it as a hyperlink and then applying CNXML Term.

Quote

Using the CNXML Quote (Block) style, we can designate a section of text as a block quote from another source. Use CNXML Quote (Inline) to designate inline quotes that should not be set apart from the surrounding text. If you are using Microsoft Word to prepare your document, you could also point this at an online source by marking it as a hyperlink and then applying CNXML Quote (Inline).

Hyperlinks

Using the Hyperlink style, we can create a hyperlink pointing to a URL. This will become a link element in your Connexions module. We can also point at specific locations within the document by pointing, for example, at any section title created using the H1, H2, … styles, or at any bookmark we have inserted into the document.

Exercise

We can make exercises that only have problems by marking them up using the CNXML Exercise (Problem) style. We can also make exercises that have problems and solutions by following the text marked CNXML Exercise (Problem) with some more text marked CNXML Exercise (Solution).

Theorems

We can have theorems with or without proofs. To make a theorem statement, we can use the CNXML Theorem (Statement) style. To construct a theorem with both a statement and a proof, we use CNXML Theorem (Statement) followed by CNXML Theorem (Proof).

Definitions

We can have terms with definitions. To do so, we mark the term using the CNXML Definition (Term) style, and we follow it with the explanation marked using the CNXML Definition (Meaning) style.

Notes

We can create note boxes using the CNXML Note style.

Examples

We can create example boxes using the CNXML Example style.

We can do more than just mark up text using the Word/OOo importer. We can also add images to our document, create tables, add lists, and even insert mathematical expressions…

Sections

H1 applied to a section title produces a new section. The section lasts until the next H1-marked title. An H2-marked title in between produces a subsection (which lasts until the next H2- or H1-marked title).

Paragraphs

You can also use certain features of the Word or OpenOffice editor to produce other CNXML tags. Pressing Enter gives a new line and produces a new paragraph.

Images

You can insert images into your Word document as you would normally, and they will import into Connexions. It’s best to stick to image types such as with .eps, .jpg, .png, and .gif (or any format with a valid image type); avoid formats such as .wmf and .svg, and avoid Clip Art.

Use only images that are locally available on your machine. Make sure either that (1) the images are already available under a creative commons (CC) attribution license, or (2) you own the image copyrights and are willing to make them available under a CC attribution license.

Figure

We can precede images with text marked with the CNXML Figure Title style to give them a title, and follow them with text marked in the CNXML Figure Caption style to give them a caption. This will produce a figure in the module.

Tables

Using the built-in Word table editor, we can create tables which are easily imported into Connexions.

Lists

We can create both bulleted and numbered lists using Word or OpenOffice and bring them into Connexions using the importer.

Mathematics

We can include mathematics in a line of text. Mathematics set off from other text in its own paragraph will import as an equation.

In OpenOffice, choose Insert > Object from the menu and then select Formula.

In Word we can use the built-in Equation Editor 3.0. To do this, choose Insert > Object from the menu and select Equation Editor 3.0. Warning: It is very important that you insert and equation through the Object menu. Newer versions of Microsoft Word have an option to insert an Equation, located under the Symbols menu. Do not use this as it will not import correctly.

Figure 4: Insert equations through the Object menu.

If you can’t find the Equation Editor 3.0 option in the list, you must install Equation 3.0 from your Microsoft Office installation CD. Please consult your Microsoft Office help for more information on this procedure.

Figure 5: Microsoft Office object insert window.

Footnotes

Footnotes inserted using the native footnote tool will import as Connexions footnotes.

Glossary

Finally, we can designate a glossary section for our module. We must first give it a title and mark that with the CNXML Glossary Section style. This must be the last section designation used at the end of your word document, and it cannot be followed by H1, H2, etc. styles. Then, for each glossary element we wish to include, we mark the term portion with CNXML Definition (Term) and the meaning portion with CNXML Definition (Meaning), as we did before in the body of our document.

MathType 5 is a stand-alone equation editing package written by Design Science, makers of the Microsoft Equation 3.0 editor. When MathType 5 is installed on your system, equations written with the Microsoft equation editor will be saved as MathType 5 equations rather than Equation 3.0 equations. Even merely editing equations from a document with Equation 3.0 equations on a machine with MathType 5 will cause those equations to be saved in MathType 5 format. This is problematic, since the Word importer cannot properly convert MathType 5 equations to Presentation MathML.

We recommend un-installing MathType 5 from your system if it is currently installed. This will cause Word to revert to using Equation 3.0 for equation editing, which will allow the Word importer to properly generate mathematics.

Should you inadvertently include a MathType 5 equation in your Word document, in the Edit-in-Place interface where the mathematics should appear you will instead see the warning message shown in Figure 5.

Figure 6: Edit-in-Place warning for MathType mathematics import.

You can go replace each of these warning messages by hand using the following procedure. To begin, double click on the MathType equation in Word to open the MathType editor.

If this is your first time to use this procedure, you must configure MathType to properly generate MathML. Go to the Preferences menu and select the Translators option. In the window that appears, make sure that “Translation to other language (text)” is selected, and in the drop-down box next to “Translator:”, select the “MathML 2.0 (m namespace)” option. Also, make sure that “Include translator name in translation” and “Include MathType data in translation” are NOT selected (see Figure 6 below). Click OK to complete the configuration. This sets the translation preferences permanently, so you will not have to repeat these steps again.

Figure 7: Setting the translator in MathType to copy MathML to the system clipboard.

Once the Translators preferences are set, you can copy the MathType equation’s MathML equivalent by highlighting the equation in the MathType editor and copying to the clipboard (Edit menu, Copy option). This stores a copy of the MathML on your system’s clipboard.

Return to your browser and find the appropriate placeholder for the equation in the Edit-in-Place interface (appearing as in Figure 5). Double click to edit the paragraph and delete the text “***SORRY, THIS MEDIA TYPE IS NOT SUPPORTED***” (Figure Figure 7 below). Paste the contents of the clipboard into is place (Figure Figure 8), and click Save. Your equation should now appear in the Edit-in-Place interface (Figure Figure 9).

Figure 8: Editing the paragraph with the warning text

Figure 9: Pasting the MathML copied from the MathType editor into the paragraph where the equation should appear.

Figure 10: MathML equation appearing in the edit-in-place interface.

It is important that you follow the instructions on this page for each object. Do not use other objects or text, including: