How to Extract Text From Web Pages
Extracting text from a Web page can be done in several ways. The method you choose should depend on the purpose you have in mind for the text. If all your business needs is to print out the text for use as instructions or guidelines, you can extract the text as HTML only. If there are images and text on the Web page and you want to keep the page it in its original form, you should extract the full Web page. There are three ways to extract the text, and there are two ways to extract the text and images together.
Extract Text Only
Open the Web page from which you want to extract text. Click the “File” menu and click the “Save as” or “Save Page As” option. Select “Web Page, HTML only” from the Save as Type drop-down menu, type a name for the file and click “Save.” The text will be extracted and saved as an HTML file with the original page-formatting options intact. The file can be viewed in Web browsers and it can be edited in text editors such as Notepad.
Click the “Save as” or “Save Page As” option and select “Text Files” from the Save as Type drop-down menu. Type a name for the text file and click “Save.” The text from the Web page will be extracted and saved as a text file that can be viewed in text editors and document programs such as Microsoft Word.
Click and drag to select the text on the Web page you want to extract and press “Ctrl-C” to copy the text. Open a text editor or document program and press “Ctrl-V” to paste the text from the Web page into the text file or document window. Save the text file or document to your computer.
Extract Text and Images
Click the “File” menu in your Web browser and click the “Save as” or “Save Page As” option. Select “Web Page, Complete” from the Save as Type drop-down menu and type a name for the file. Click “Save.” The text and images from the Web page will be extracted and saved. The text will be placed in an HTML file and the images will be placed in a folder in the same location as the HTML file.
Double-click on the HTML file to view the extracted text and images. They will open up in your Web browser. The other method for extracting text and images is only available in the Internet Explorer browser. Open the desired Web page in Internet Explorer before continuing to the next step.
Click the “Save as” option in from the File menu and select “Web Archive, single file (*.mht)” from the Save as Type drop-down menu. Type a name for the file and click the “Save” button. The text and images will be extracted from the Web page to the file. Double-click on the file to view the extracted text and images in your Web browser.
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