| FAQ: Using HTML in SuperMemo |
Using HTML
Use HTML filters on unruly pages
HTML headers are always bold
Integrating pictures with HTML pages
Saving remote objects within the collection
Images in HTML can become unavailable
Inspecting the hyperlink
Ignore font sizes option
Default font in HTML
Increasing the font size in all texts
You can insert HTML code directly in formatted text
You can insert a horizontal line in HTML
Latest Internet Explorer is needed for full
functionality
How to determine the default HTML editor for SuperMemo?
Live pages should only be used for elements with dynamic content
Location of resources determines the HTML import method
You can type Unicode in HTML (e.g. Arabic, Chinese, etc.)
You will hit many snags when using Microsoft filters
Cannot use HTML template
Using text-less HTML
Unavailable objects in imported articles may invoke automatic dial-up connections
You can drag pictures to HTML components in editing mode
You can remove HTML tags from a portion of HTML text
When importing formatted Q&A, use HTML components, but do not rename your file to HTML
HTML comparisons are made in plain text (if possible)
It is possible to use Acrobat Reader files with SuperMemo
Choosing template for e-mail processing
Problems with HTML
You need Internet Explorer 6.0
Windows monopoly is safe for quite a time
Use HTML filters on unruly pages
Extract from multimedia pages only most important pieces
of information
Problems with extracts
Filtering HTML styles
Del does not work
mshtml.dll errors are harmless
Problems with intercepting accelerators in HTML editor
Problems with pasting HTML to SuperMemo are an indicator of problems with
Internet Explorer
Wrong extract highlight
Wait for document loading?
Wholesale import from Internet Explorer hangs up
Outdent does not work
You can insert pictures into HTML using FrontPage
Why not IE5.5
Mshtml error on click
Error: Interface not supported
SuperMemo cannot import from a hung IE
Error setting focus on HTML component
Subscript conversion problems
Use HTML filters to avoid trouble with unsupported tags
Undo on HTML filters
Problems with upgrading RTF to HTML
Mouse click error
RPC server problem
Internet Explorer 0.0?
Original Internet Explorer 6.0 includes bugs that can easily be eliminated with Windows Update
Using the latest Windows Service Pack may help resolve some HTML import problems
You need Internet Explorer 6.0
(Beta, Oli, Feb 13, 2002)
Question:
Ctrl+Alt+N results in: Access violation at address 0062ee8f in module
'sm2002.exe'. Read of address 000000305
Answer:
This is a typical problem with HTML templates if you are using an older
version of Internet Explorer. To use HTML-based incremental reading, you need to
install Internet Explorer 6.0 (free). Alternatively, you could reverse your
default reading template to use RTF components, but this will throw your SM2002
functionality back to SM2000 level
Use HTML filters on unruly pages
(Beta, Max, February, February 2002)
Question:
I imported a page from cnn.com but cannot edit it. In addition it shows many
script errors
Answer:
Use HTML filter with F6. Check Scripts to remove scripts from the page. If
you have editing problems (e.g. deleting objects, texts, etc.), check other
relevant filtering options. Tables are particularly troublesome. If you do not
need tables, filter them out
Extract from multimedia pages only most important pieces of information
(Beta, Jiri, Feb 17, 2002)
Question:
After pasting a CNN.com page, it opens for hours, sometimes it is blank or shows
script errors
Answer:
Pasting whole multimedia pages into SuperMemo is not a good strategy. There
are millions of HTML compatibility issues that may come into play, generate
errors, hang up mshtml processor or even produce system-wide errors. SuperMemo
can do little to remedy this but providing you with HTML filters. In similar
cases, import to SuperMemo only the core article. If possible, always look for
printer friendly version (i.e. without adverts, scripts, Flash references,
etc.). Once you import your material, use HTML Filter with F6 to filter out tags
that may cause problems in incremental reading. If possible, filter out tables
too. Unfortunately, these inconveniences cannot easily be solved
programmatically as HTML processor in Windows is still quite unreliable and it
will take a year or two to smooth up all wrinkles
Problems with extracts
(Beta, Len, February 2002)
Question:
On some HTML pages, Remember Extract does not work correctly. After
extracting the fragment, the file scrolls back to the top
Answer:
Use HTML filter with F6 to remove components that slow loading up the file.
For example, filter out tables on remote access pages to make sure content loads
sequentially
Filtering HTML styles
Question:
Part of my imported HTML file is invisible. Only when I click on it, I see the
full text. What's up?
Answer:
Your file might be using style="DISPLAY: none". Use HTML
filter F6 with Style checked to permanently display the text by
removing this style attribute. SuperMemo never generates such styles. They must
have been pasted along with your HTML file
Del does not work
(Robert, Feb 13, 2002)
Question:
Sometimes Del does not work in HTML. I need to use Backspace to
get deletion of text
Answer:
Some functions are not available in HTML until the document loads
completely. If its portions are left out on the Internet, this may take a while.
SuperMemo keyboard handler (including the Del key) is assigned only when
the document loading is complete. Backspace is handled by MSHTML
and can be used immediately. Due to compatibility problems, Del key does
not work in raw HTML and needs a dedicated keyboard handling procedure provided
by SuperMemo for processing Del keystrokes. This is why Del will
not work until the document loads. This does not affect Backspace which
can be used in partly loaded documents
Wrong extract highlight
(Beta, Robert, Fri, Feb 15, 2002 15:07)
Question:
I used the Read toolbar and clicked the button "Extract a fragment
and memorize it" The correct text was extracted, but the wrong text was
highlighted
Answer:
This is a bug in mshtml.dll in character count on non-text HTML constructs.
Currently SuperMemo cannot work around this bug. However, you may often remedy
this problem by means of HTML filters (F6 in SuperMemo). Filter the styles,
spacing and, if possible, the tables. Most often, MSHTML trips over on tables or
table-formatted figures
Wait for document loading?
(Beta, Germany, Sun, Apr 07, 2002 9:48)
Question:
Why do I get the message "Wait for document loading?"
Answer:
When SuperMemo tries to obtain a text selection in an HTML document, it
occasionally receives a null pointer. To prevent erroneous processing, it stops
and repeats the request with a delay. By the time you click Yes, the
document is usually ready for processing. This null pointer error usually
happens when a document is reloaded and the selected text is to be marked (e.g.
in Remember Extract). This error is most likely on long texts with links
to remote servers and on texts using tables. Using text filter (F6) helps
to reduce the occurrence of this error. It is also less troublesome on
NT/2000/XP platforms. Upon release of SuperMemo 2002, the source code of HTML
processing unit will be published to better illustrate similar problems in hope
of gathering feedback from programmers who have experience with MSHTML bug
workarounds
Wholesale import from Internet Explorer hangs up
(Beta, Germany, Tue, Apr 09, 2002 10:01)
Question:
I tried to import nine web pages from Internet Explorer and SuperMemo hung up. I was forced to shut it through the task manager
Answer:
Unfortunately, SuperMemo is here at the mercy of Internet Explorer. Once it executes a call to Explorer's interface, it can only hope the call returns the page (or at least an error). Occasionally, however, Explorer hangs up and so does SuperMemo. If you need to resort to task manager, try to close the offending instance of the Explorer first. Usually, this will kill all instances. This should, however,
un-hang SuperMemo in most cases. Once the Explorer hangs up, the only way to recover the previously located pages is to reenter them via the History option in the Internet Explorer. We will look for workarounds that could help SuperMemo detect Explorer problems before executing import calls
Outdent does not work
(Beta, Piotr, Feb 08, 2002)
Question:
Very often, the Outdent option does not work in HTML. Why?
Answer:
Outdent will not work on tags such as <DIR>, <SUB>, etc. Those
tags are frequently generated if you upgrade your texts from RTF format. If Outdent
does not work, choose the Bullet option to achieve a similar effect
Why not IE5.5
(Beta, Poland, Thursday, February 28, 2002 2:48 PM)
Question:
Maybe the information "SuperMemo requires Internet Explorer ver. 6.0"
should be displayed only once? It becomes annoying after several times. I think
many people won't change their IE5.5 yet
Answer:
It is true that IE6 has gained a reputation as "buggy". It is also
true that the said warning should only be displayed at critical points where an
operation could not be executed. However, the drive towards IE6 and beyond is
inevitable. This comes from the constant refinement of Microsoft's
implementation of W3C DOM standard. IE5.5 implementation is incomplete. IE6
implementation is buggy. Consequently, all users of SuperMemo will probably wait
with impatience for further upgrades to ensure full W3C compliance without
frequent error messages in unpredictable contexts that SuperMemo can do nothing
about
Mshtml error on click (#9038)
(J.P., Tuesday, April 30, 2002 9:24 AM)
Question:
I wanted to create a cloze deletion. When I went to select the word I received an
"access violation at 635BD90 in module mshtml.dll". I am using Windows XP Professional edition
Answer:
This
on click error in mshtml.dll is occurring unpredictably in SuperMemo. Good news is that it is unlikely to affect your data. Bad news is that it comes up unexpectedly in various contexts where SuperMemo executes a valid call to
mshtml interfaces. In other words, this bug has until now eluded all attempts at implementing a workaround
Error: Interface not supported
(Beta, JP, Sun, Feb 17, 2002 14:27)
Question:
What does the error "Interface not supported" mean? (when
opening the window for importing web pages)
Answer:
This error is most likely if your use an older version of Internet Explorer.
Occasionally it may crop up in Internet Explorer 6.0 due to bugs in explorer
libraries. In addition, it would crop up in earlier betas (before Beta F) if
SuperMemo tried to mistakenly import from Windows Explorer
SuperMemo cannot import from a hung IE
(Beta, Feb 09, 2002)
Question:
I wanted to import some articles from Internet Explorer and got the following
error Cannot import document #27 The object invoked has disconnected from its
clients
Answer:
Some articles do not load correctly to Internet Explorer. Others hang up the
browser. In such cases, SuperMemo cannot communicate with the browser and will
not be able to import the article. You can ignore this error, select to close
imported browser articles, and import the remaining articles. The offending copy
of Internet Explorer will be the only one left on your desktop. You can then see
if you can paste portions of the article directly from the browser. Most likely,
this will not be possible and you will need to locate this article again (e.g.
via browser History). Occasionally, you will not even be able to see the browser
itself. You could try to see Windows Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del) :
Processes and look
for IEXPLORE.EXE (sort by memory used to bring explorer close to the top)
Subscript conversion problems
(Beta, February 2002)
Question:
When I apply an HTML template to an RTF component, some of subscripts get
converted to normal text
Answer:
This is a problem with Microsoft conversion filters. Use subscript and
superscript buttons on the Format toolbar to reformat this text. You can also
open the source code of your text (Ctrl+Shift+F6) and enclose the
subscript in <sub> and </sub> HTML tags
Use HTML filters to avoid trouble with unsupported tags
(Beta, Feb 17, 2002)
Question:
I extracted a fragment of text with Remember Extract but the generated
extract was empty. I have not noticed that and executed Done on the parent
element. Only then I discovered the empty extract. As a result, I lost this
data!
Answer:
For maximum safety of your data use HTML filters (esp. styles). At least
some MS Office XML namespace declaration have been found to produce empty
extracts due to mshtml.dll bug. If you paste files from MS Office to HTML, you
may fall into a similar pitfall. Luckily these cases are extremely rare (2-3 in
all documented). Your best safeguard is to filter most valuable texts before
processing them with incremental reading. Again, SuperMemo is helpless in
preventing that. It could alert you on empty extracts but oftentimes only a
portion of text will be lost
Undo on HTML filters
(Beta, P.W., Feb 17, 2002)
Question:
Can I undo changes produced by an HTML filter?
Answer:
Currently there is no such option. However, you can partly undo the changes
by opening the HTML source in a Notepad (Ctrl+Shift+F6) and replacing 'zzz'
strings with an empty string (press Ctrl+H and type zzz in Find what field)
Mouse click error
(SuperMemo R&D (Beta 2002), Fri, 15 Mar 2002 00:27:33 +0100)
Question:
I got this error when clicking the HTML component: "Error processing mouse
click"
Answer:
This is only one of many errors that occur in Microsoft HTML DLL (a dynamic
link library included
with Internet Explorer 6.0). It happens when SuperMemo attempts to select a point
at a given (X,Y) coordinate pair. It executes a documented call to mshtml.dll,
but on some occasions this call fails. Fortunately, this error is harmless. At
worst, you will need to repeat the mouse click.
You can use HTML filter (F6) to minimize the occurrence of this and similar errors.
Some of the causes of this error as reported by mshtml.dll are:
See also: http://www.supermemo.com/source/tweb.htm for the source code.
RPC server problem
(J.P., Fri, 5 Apr 2002 20:46:40 +0200)
Question:
I tried to import a page from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_1913000/1913252.stm.
I got a message that: "The RPC server is unavailable"
Answer:
This error occurs outside SuperMemo, and should be transient. RPC server problem indicates an error in communicating between your computer and the BBC site (e.g. some dependent RPC service might have terminated or run in error in your Windows/network)
Internet Explorer 0.0?
(Beta, Mar 20, 2002)
Question:
Why does SuperMemo say I am using Internet Explorer 0.0?
Answer:
SuperMemo asks Internet Explorer about its version data. Earlier versions
did not have this function. In such cases, the function used inside SuperMemo to
test the version number returns 0. Unfortunately, in those cases the version
number is irrelevant as the user will not be able to use HTML editing anyway.
SuperMemo 2002 requires Internet Explorer 6.0 or later for optimum operation
Use HTML filters on unruly pages
(Beta February ..., February 2002)
Question:
I imported a page from cnn.com but cannot edit it. In addition it shows many
script errors
Answer:
Use HTML filter with F6. Check Scripts to remove scripts from the page. If
you have editing problems (e.g. deleting objects, texts, etc.), check other
relevant filtering options. Tables are particularly troublesome. If you do not
need tables, filter them out
HTML headers are always bold
(Beta, Feb 07, 2002)
Question:
Ctrl+B does not seem to work in some texts in HTML?
Answer:
Your text could be part of a header. See the source with Ctrl+Shift+F6
and look at the tags enclosing your text. Here is an example:
<h4>api: Launching applications in Windows</h4>
To make this code sensitive to Ctrl+B you could remove the starting
<h4> or move the closing tag.
If you change to:
<h4>api:</h4> Launching applications in Windows
The text following the closing tag will become sensitive to bold setting again.
If you do not want to deal with HTML tags, simply select the offending text and choose Text : deHTMLize on the menu. This will convert the selected text to plain text
Integrating pictures with HTML pages
(Beta, Sun, Feb 17, 2002 14:27)
Question:
I save a web page to a disk while connected to the Internet. Then I pasted it to
SuperMemo. SuperMemo did not integrate pictures from that page with my
collection
Answer:
If you paste HTML, SuperMemo will redirect all pointers to external
resources without copying them. This refers to both local and remote resources.
If you want to integrate whole pages with the collection, use Import file on the
HTML component menu. This will integrate pictures, scripts, frames and other
objects associated with the page. Note that even small pages may point to
resources of considerable size. A better method might be to paste a portion of
the page to SuperMemo, apply an HTML filter and then localize the resources by
re-saving the page with Internet Explorer (see other FAQ entries for hints). In
addition, if you process an integrated page with incremental reading, you need
to keep the parent document in order to retain extracted objects in its children
You can insert pictures into HTML using FrontPage (#674)
(Jiri, Jun 30, 2004, 09:30:57)
Question:
I use FrontPage to edit HTML in SuperMemo. After I insert pictures in FrontPage, everything works ok. But after I run
File : Repair collection, SuperMemo reports pictures as "stray files" and moves them to
the Recover folder. Pictures are no longer visible in HTML
Answer:
Try the following remedy:
This will make SuperMemo relocate pictures saved by FrontPage into <name>_files folder as if the page was saved by Internet Explorer. This folder has a privileged status, and SuperMemo does not delete it or move it. Files saved by FrontPage, on the other hand may conflict with other files in the \elements folder, this is why SuperMemo moves them away to the \recover folder
Inspecting the hyperlink
(Beta, Feb 16, 2002)
Question:
How can I see what file will be opened when I click a hyperlink?
Answer:
Hover over the link with the mouse and see the status bar. If you are in the
editing mode, you will need to press Esc to get to the presentation mode for
this to work
Ignore font sizes option
(Beta February, February 2002)
Question:
When I try to change the size of fonts in HTML components nothing happens
Answer:
This will happen if your Internet Explorer is set to ignore font size. This
can be set in Internet Explorer (not in SuperMemo) at Tools : Internet
Options : General : Accessibility : Ignore font sizes
Default font in HTML
Question:
How can I save the default font with an empty HTML template? I want fonts in a
specific color
Answer:
Leave the font tag in the template and save it with objects. For example,
delete texts from the HTML component, type in Space and select it (you
cannot change color of empty text), choose the font color, and choose Template
: Save with objects. The following object (HTML text) will be stored within
the template: <FONT
color=#ff0000> </FONT>
Increasing the font size in all texts
(Beta, Feb 14, 2002)
Question:
What is the fastest way to increase the size of fonts in all texts
Answer:
Press Ctrl+] in the display mode. If no texts are edited, the whole element
will be affected
You can insert HTML code directly in formatted text
(Beta, Feb 08, 2002)
Question:
How can I insert a horizontal line in the text without playing with HTML
component source code?
Answer:
Type <hr>, select it, and
choose Text : deHTML-ize (Ctrl+Shift+1)
Latest Internet Explorer is needed for full functionality
(Fred, Deb, Cameron, Samuel, Tue, Feb 12, 2002 4:06)
Question:
When I go to select Import Web Pages, I get an error message saying
"Interface not supported..."
Answer:
This option requires Internet Explorer 6.0 (free). It communicates with the
browser by means of interfaces not supported by Internet Explorer 5.5 or
earlier. Hence the error
Live pages should only be used for elements with dynamic content
(Beta, Robert, Poland, 2002-03-05 14:56:52)
Question:
Implementing of "live pages import" is a bit reckless. If I add new
item to the collection I expect that the item will remain there until I delete
it. A live web page can disappear in any moment
Answer:
This option is specifically designed for pages that get periodically
updated. You should use add as Local pages if you want the page to be
imported permanently to SuperMemo (remote objects, e.g. pictures, may still
disappear if the remote server is down or is cancelled) or add as Links
if you want to process the page later. Live pages import can be useful to
load, for example, the latest science news. Once the science news page comes up
in incremental reading, you may opt to import some new science articles and
reschedule the review of the news page to a specific date in the future
depending on your workload and priorities
You will hit many snags when using Microsoft filters
(Beta, Max, Fri, Feb 22, 2002 19:18)
Question:
I learn linear algebra. If I generate some HTML files in Front Page and paste
them to SuperMemo, I lose some formatting. Then I get more surprises when I do
extracts and cloze operations on my matrix formulas.
Answer:
Unfortunately, Front Page and SuperMemo use different HTML editing
interfaces. Consequently, they will often behave in an entirely different way.
However, all the conversions will be executed by various Microsoft filters that
carry innumerous incompatibility issues. SuperMemo may have little or no
influence on the final outcome. You will get entirely different effects when you
paste via your browser, directly from Front Page, via MS Word, via WordPad or
via Notepad. You may needs lots of patience before you figure out your best
solutions. Sometimes, pasting to rich components in SuperMemo and then upgrading
to HTML will produce a better result than pasting directly from Microsoft
product to mshtml-based HTML editor in SuperMemo. At times, you may find it
least frustrating to use images to represent mathematical formulas and occlusion
templates to generate items related to mathematics
Cannot use HTML template
(Beta, Czech Republic, 8.3.2002 8:52:43)
Question:
There is no straightway to insert an article in the HTML form. When you insert
an article, the RTF component is used instead of HTML
Answer:
This can happen in your collections created with earlier SuperMemos. Only
SuperMemo 2002 uses HTML templates by default. To get similar behavior in your
old collections you must change the topic and/or item template in relevant
categories. You can use Add predefined templates in the template registry
to add a few most often used HTML template
It is possible to use Acrobat Reader files with SuperMemo
(Mala Kaur, Tuesday, July 24, 2001 6:03 AM)
Question:
I wanted to import PDF files to SuperMemo for reading and copying certain items for further analysis. I initially tried to use
Insert as an OLE object but I found OLE mechanisms unstable
Answer:
Another approach is to use the HTML
component. Use Insert HTML link : HTML file (on the HTML
component menu) and link to the PDF file. Using this option the PDF file is not immediately visible as only files of type
*.txt,*.htm, *.rtf are listed. To display the PDF files on your drive type in
*.pdf in the file name field and they become visible in the File window. Naturally, you need to have
Acrobat Reader installed to view the file in SuperMemo. You can, of course, copy the text with the tools provided for the PDF viewer and use it for further SuperMemo purposes.
The same method works for Excel files, Word files, etc.
Choosing template for e-mail processing
(Terje A.
Tonsberg, 19/05/2002 03:24:14)
Question:
How can I make e-mails use HTML automatically? They always come out RTF
Answer:
To change the template used by e-mail
added with Ctrl+Alt+E, open the current category, click
Topic template and select an HTML-based template (e.g. "Article").
By default, e-mail processing uses HTML templates. This may not be the case if you upgrade your collection from SuperMemo 2000 where RTF was the default format for
incremental reading. In such a case you may need to define your own HTML template or use
Add predefined templates from the template registry menu
Images in HTML can become unavailable
(Tom Kinderwart, Jun 12, 2002)
Question:
SuperMemo often displays the very same HTML-article with the images loaded and sometimes without (the same happens in IE)
Answer:
This happens when SuperMemo cannot access images. The most likely reasons are:
You can drag pictures to HTML components in editing mode
(Nathan Forsdyke, Mon, Jun 10, 2002 22:39)
Question:
I cannot drag in a picture from Internet Explorer into an element
Answer:
You can drag pictures into HTML components as long as they are in the editing mode.
To drag a picture to SuperMemo, do the following:
Remember:
mshtml.dll errors are harmless
(Steven White, Australia, 4/08/2002)
Question:
This error occurs several times a day: Access violation at address 635B6305 in module 'mshtml.dll'. Read of address 00000008. Often after adding a web page with an image
Answer:
This error is harmless. In some installations, Microsoft's library that handles HTML tends to throw unexpected errors while SuperMemo processes HTML. No data loss has ever been documented as a result of these errors. The only annoyance is that you need to click the OK button. The best remedy against these errors is to keep your Internet Explorer and Service Packs up-to-date. Using Windows 2000 or Windows XP also seems to he helpful (as opposed to Windows NT, Windows 98 and particularly Windows ME). These errors are not caused by SuperMemo itself
Error setting focus on HTML component (#17460)
(sverrir,
11/05/2003)
Question:
I received the following error:
"Error setting focus on HTML component
Abstract Error"
Answer:
This is a harmless error that should not interfere with your work. It is thrown by Internet Explorer when SuperMemo attempts to set focus on an HTML component.
"Abstract error" indicates that Internet Explorer cannot find the definition of the procedure SuperMemo wants to call. It is probably a result of a bug in Internet Explorer that is difficult to replicate. For that reason, SuperMemo can do little to work around it.
Advanced reading:
The procedure that causes the error is very simple and easy to analyze. It is mostly made of direct or indirect (i.e. via VCL library) API calls. Here is the code:
procedure TWeb.SetFocus;
begin
try
SendMessage(Handle,wm_Activate,1,0);
if TheWind<>nil then {Internet Explorer Window must
exist}
TheWind.Focus;
if TheParent.Visible then {Parenting window hosting the web
browser}
if Visible then
if CanFocus then
inherited SetFocus;
except
on E:Exception do EError('Error setting focus on HTML
component',E);
end;
end;
Depending on the context, Internet Explorer is know to throw the following errors in the exactly same context (all are harmless):
You can remove HTML tags from a portion of HTML text
(John Adamson, Jul 17, 2002)
Question:
I
pasted a text file with line breaks. How to get read of the line breaks?
This is my text, which I want to flow continuously:
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic systemic disease
characterized
by inflammation of connective tissue.
Joint deformity and disability,
accompanied by pain,
often result.
Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by
spontaneous
flares and remissions.
Answer:
If this was imported to HTML components, you can select the text and press
Ctrl+Shift+1 (deHTML-ize). This will remove all HTML tags (including line breaks)
Location of resources determines the HTML import method
(Jens, supermemo Quito,
Ecuador, Friday, May 31, 2002 7:25 PM)
Question:
When importing web pages
(Shift+F8), I was importing files stored on a floppy. After this SuperMemo tries to access the (no longer available) floppy when loading the page.
Grrr!
Answer:
You always need to choose the appropriate import method depending on how the files are to be made available. Every web page is composed of HTML and of accompanying objects (e.g. pictures). Your
imported files can be made locally internalized (inside your SuperMemo collection),
locally external (outside of your collection but on a local network) or remote (on a remote
web server, accessed via HTTP).
For various combinations of resource locations, you will use various import methods.
Here are the most typical combinations:
| HTML | Objects | Methods |
| internalized | internalized |
|
| internalized | external | Paste HTML from your browser:
Do not delete the external file that keeps the objects. If your network connection fails, objects will become unavailable |
| internalized | remote | Paste HTML from your browser (as above) or use Import web
pages.
If your Internet connection is not available, objects will become inaccessible. This is the most popular method that internalizes HTML but saves space on your hard disk by leaving objects remote |
| external | external | Use Links : External file on the HTML component menu |
| remote | remote |
|
Usually you will want to keep your HTML internalized and objects remote. However, if you want to internalize both HTML and the objects, save the web page on your disk (use Web page complete option in Internet Explorer) and use Edit : Add to category : HTML file (Ctrl+Alt+H)
Original Internet Explorer 6.0 includes bugs that can easily be eliminated with Windows Update
(Eric, Jul 20, 2002)
Question:
I moved SuperMemo to a new computer, but I started getting this error:
"Error detecting HTML font
Invalid variant operation".
It happens each time I increase the size of the font. The font increases, but this error is annoying.
Answer:
This is a problem with
your Internet Explorer. You may need to apply some more recent updates patches. Use
Tools : Windows Update in Internet Explorer to resolve this issue
Windows monopoly is safe for quite a time
(LGN,
Brazil, Sunday, July 14, 2002 8:07 AM)
Question:
You say:
"No escape from Internet Explorer, those who refuse only hurt themselves", this is ridiculous! You got the right to develop using whatever component you want, but users got the right to use whatever product they want
Answer:
Many people swear they will never use Windows, Internet Explorer, MS Word, etc. but they ultimately return to these product for lack of better options. They refuse to hurt themselves. Microsoft monopoly may drive many mad, but, as death and taxes,
the monopoly is inevitable for some time to come. Incremental reading is available only on the Windows platform due to the fact that this platform currently offers best development tools and SuperMemo has historically grown mainly in Windows. In contrast, the effort to port SuperMemo 2000 to Linux failed due to compatibility problems, imperfect tools
(Kylix requires a conversion from VCL to CLX and does not provide web browser
support) and other technical limitations. SuperMemo indeed takes the line of least resistance, but this comes from the fact that it is supposed to provide best learning tool for as many people as possible. It would be counterproductive to take on a anti-Microsoft anti-monopoly guerilla warfare. Here SuperMemo refuses to hurt itself.
This is how locked-in monopolies develop
HTML comparisons are made in plain text (if possible)
(Dustin J. D., USA Educational, Sun, Jun 30, 2002 3:29)
Question:
Why doesn't SuperMemo notice that the <img>
tag makes a unique new html file?
Answer:
HTML texts are compared at the registry level (i.e. as plain text). For that reason, you cannot keep two identical texts with different formatting even if the differentiating tag contains an image. You can resolve your problem by naming your image in text (e.g.
"Fig. 1" or "Pronuncation:", etc.). HTML tags are compared only in
textless HTML
Problems with intercepting accelerators in HTML editor
(Zoran, 02.03.2002 16:32:54)
Question:
I have an HTML article imported with Ctrl+Alt+N. When editing and pressing
's'
key, SuperMemo moved focus to the next element. I think that the reason for this
is that my button Next is localized to &Sledeci (Next in Serbian)
Answer:
Yes. In some installations you will need to remove shortcuts from your
localization table (i.e. replace &Sledeci with Sledeci). When you edit HTML,
SuperMemo needs to activate a separate message handler for the whole application
(due to peculiarities in IE Active X and Delphi VCL keyboard handling
procedures). This handler is still unable to intercept some accelerator keys.
The rule of the thumb is that this problem is more frequent in outdated
installations (e.g. Windows ME, Internet Explorer 5.5, national versions of the
operating system, etc.). If this occurs with the English interface, you can
download trimmed.tra
from the localization page at supermemo.com. If this seems too complex, you could also try
this procedure
Problems with pasting HTML to SuperMemo are an indicator of problems with Internet Explorer (#17689)
(Geraldine, Sun Jun 15, 2003 10:15 am)
Question:
I tried
Ctrl+Alt+N, and nothing pasted. I had an empty HTML component
Answer:
You can insert a horizontal line in HTML
(pw,
Nov 08, 2003)
Question:
How can I insert a horizontal line in HTML components?
Answer:
Type
<hr>, select it, and press Ctrl+Shift+1 (de-HTMLize)
Problems with upgrading RTF to HTML
(Norm Wilkins, Apr 15, 2004, 02:56:52)
Question:
I receive the following error that leads to loss of data:
Warning! RTF->HTML upgrade has not been completed at
Item #247: "Initialization Sequence Priority Definition Frame Reason"
Answer:
SuperMemo uses procedures inbuilt in MS Windows for upgrading your material stored in the RTF format to HTML. Unfortunately, if these fail for any reason, you may be left with unformatted text. First thing to try is to make sure you update your Windows with all patches and service packs available. You should do the same for your Internet Explorer. If this does not help, you might be better of to paste your material directly to HTML components (instead of RTF components)
Unavailable objects in imported articles may invoke automatic dial-up
connection
(Christian & Aimee, Saturday, January 18, 2003 3:27 AM)
Question:
How can I prevent SuperMemo from connecting to the Internet when I am reading HTML text?
Answer:
It happens very often if you import web pages into SuperMemo by means of the wholesale import option (Edit : Import web pages (Shift+F8)) with the Local pages option selected. This option imports web pages into SuperMemo but all objects (e.g. images) nested in an imported article remains available over the network (i.e. if you disconnect from the Internet all these objects will become unavailable). You must also have the automatic attempt to connect using your default Internet connection set in your Windows settings. Therefore, while making repetitions you hit an article with objects available over the network, your Windows will automatically dial your default connection. There are two basic solutions:
Using the latest Windows Service Pack may help resolve some HTML import problems (#12321)
(Jiri Pik, Germany, Wed, 7 Aug 2002 08:41:23 +0200)
Question:
When importing an HTML article I got an error
"The object invoked has disconnected from its clients"
Answer:
This is a
rare DCOM error that occurs outside SuperMemo. You might try applying the following fix available from Microsoft:
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - Q293631 http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q293631
How to determine the default HTML editor for SuperMemo?
(Jiri , Wednesday, October 01, 2003 6:15 PM)
Question:
I want to use Front Page to edit HTML in SuperMemo. I use
Control Panel : Folder Options : File Types : Advanced : Edit to determine the default editor. However, my value is replaced by
"C:\Programme\Microsoft Office\Office10\msohtmed.exe" %1
Answer:
You need to refer to Microsoft documentation to solve errors in associating HTML extensions with FrontPage (several have been documented). MsoHtmEd.exe is a multipurpose utility that should launch FrontPage and warn you if the default HTML editor set in Internet Explorer is different. Once you change
Internet Explorer : Tools : Internet Options : Program : HTML editor to Microsoft
FrontPage, your choice should be respected by SuperMemo
You can type Unicode in HTML (e.g. Arabic, Chinese, etc.)
(Martin, Sep 09,
2004, 02:53:53)
Question:
I would like to type in a couple of Unicode characters to SuperMemo, but I do not
have the keyboard setting to get them. For example, how could I get character with the code 1692?
Answer:
In HTML component, type the following:
ڜ
Then select the entire code (from ampersand & to
semicolon ;) and choose Ctrl+Shift+1
(Text : Convert : de-HTMLize). Your code will be converted to the appropriate glyph
(in this case to: ڜ). Remember
that you need to have the corresponding font installed for the glyph to show
correctly
Using text-less HTML
(Cezary Gorzeñski, Poland, Jul 26, 2004, 19:34:06)
Question:
I would like to import HTML files that are "picture only". SuperMemo often gives them the same name and is "blind" to the difference
Answer:
Pictures are best kept in the image component. Use
Ctrl+V to paste the picture to the element or to an image component (do not paste to HTML).
A remedy to ambiguous registry names is to use registry Rename. If you provide picture-only HTML files with unique names, SuperMemo will not confuse
them
When importing formatted Q&A, use HTML components, but do not rename your file to HTML
(Alexander A Klimenko, France, Mar 19, 2005, 02:12:27)
Question:
I
was advised to format my Q&A file in
HTML; however, the import process takes place; but, in the end,
nothing comes out on the page
Answer:
Make sure of the following:
To create an HTML-formatted Q&A file importable to SuperMemo do the
following:
Create a standard Q&A file. For example:
Q: hist: When was the Internet born?
A: 1969Q: hist: When did we land on the moon?
A: 1969 (July 20)Q: hist: Hiroshima was bombed on Aug 6, [...]
A: 1945
Format the file using HTML tags (do not rename the extension to HTM/HTML). For example:
Q: hist: When was <i>the Internet</i> born?
A: 1969Q: hist: When did we <b>land on the moon</b>?
A: 1969 (July 20)Q: hist: <font color="#FF0000" face="Arial">Hiroshima</font> was bombed on Aug 6, [...]
A: 1945
In SuperMemo choose: File : Tools : Import : Q&A text to import the file.
The file should import as:
hist: When was the Internet born?
1969hist: When did we land on the moon?
1969 (July 20)hist: Hiroshima was bombed on Aug 6, [...]
1945
See an example file from SuperMemo Library: History