How do I export the project to HTML without visible USFM markers?

Question

I would like to export the project to HTML so that I can share drafts with people. I don’t want to export to PDF, because PDFs are unwieldy to use on smartphones and other devices with small screens.

I can export to HTML by opening Paratext and clicking the project menu button, and then “Advanced”, and then “Export project to HTML…”. I then click on the “Export” button. This successfully produces HTML. However, the USFM markers are visible, markers like \v 1 and \s and so forth. How do I hide the USFM markers from the exported HTML?

Answer 1

I found the solution!

It turns out, you need to make sure that the project is in “preview” mode first. Click on the project menu, then click “Preview” under the “View” heading. Now, when you export the project to HTML, the USFM markers won’t be visible. (They’re hidden or commented out in the source code.)

I haven’t found a way to hide the contents of the \toc1, \toc2 headers at the beginning of a book, but that’s not a big deal, I’m only sharing these HTML files as drafts any way.

Comments

Consider making incremental Scripture Apps. The display well on phones, in fact that is what they are designed for.
Home - Scripture App Builder - Scripture App Builder (sil.org)

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That’s a useful option to consider. Right now, exporting to HTML is simpler for us. But we will use Scripture App Builder eventually, I think. Do apps built using Scripture App Builder get the latest version of the text on Paratext automatically? How are updates to the text distributed to those who have the app installed? Do they have to download an update to the app itself?

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Text is not automatically updated in Scripture App Builder (SAB), you would need to:

1. Reimport the revised/new text into SAB
2. Complile the app installer with the new text
3. Publish/re-distribute/reinstall the APK installer

If your users have decent access to the Internet, you could also consider Scripture Forge: https://scriptureforge.org. You could create a “generic” account for anybody to access the text. This would provide up-to-date versions of the text as it syncs with Paratext.