Fire and Ice: Puritan and Reformed Writings [Table of Contents]  [Fast Index]  [Site Map]

How Do You Create All These Pages?

You might have read about or seen fancy programs such as FrontPage, HomeSite, and so on. I don't use any of them! First, I read a Puritan sermon in an old book that just begs to be uploaded to Fire and Ice. Then, I scan the book on my computer, using a HP ScanJet 6300C flat-bed scanner and OmniPage Pro software. This results in pages that are from 99% to 99.5% accurate (not too bad considering the quality of the originals.) I then correct the errors by hand (up to 20 errors per page, or 400 per average sermon.) Next, I import the document into Microsoft Word and fix all the errors introduced by OmniPage. It is has a disconcerting tendency to turn all the "I's" and "!'s" into the numeral 1, for just one example. I have macros to fix many of these errors, but mostly it takes lots of careful proofreading. Once all the errors are fixed (I hope), then I modernize obsolete or confusing words, such as "want" for "lack" or "discover" for "reveal." Once the sermon is finished, I turn it into an HTML document using Word, and then I have a series of Word macros that then beat on the document to give it the proper formatting for a consistent look, etc. I also take the finished sermon and create a Word document for uploading. This document is then compressed into a Zip file. Then, finally, the Word document is "printed" to Adobe Acrobat Distiller (via a PostScript file) to create a PDF file. This file is then completed by adding document information, links, etc., via Acrobat Exchange. Finally, all the links to the document(s) are added to the Table of Contents, Fast Index, Author Index, New and Favourites, etc., by hand. Then I check the links for errors, and at last I'm ready to upload the whole lot. And then I read another Puritan sermon, and it's so good, it just begs me to be uploaded...

http://www.puritansermons.com/