Need a utility to generate HTML

January 26, 2007 6:38 AM

Utility needed: I've been hunting online for a free utility to do the following, and have had no luck, so I'm turning to the hive mind. I need something Windows-based that will scan through a directory structure and create HTML pages for each directory below the starting point with all the files listed and each one clickable as a relative link to the file. For the brave or helpful, there's a bit

For example, the starting HTML page created would have links to additional HTML pages that represented the directories in the base directory and links to any individual files that were in the base directory. Then, each HTML page that represented a directory would be patterned after the first one, and so on, down the directory tree. I need this to be something that can be run periodically on a Windows PC to create the HTML files with all the paths in them being relative to the base directory. The base directory is local to the PC, although it is also out on the web, and it is acceptable that the utility only works with files out on a web server. Both is good, too, of course.

Thanks, MeFites!

posted by hankbear to Computers & Internet (9 answers total)

If it was me I'd install Apache, turn on FancyIndexing, and run wget over the result. There may well be an easier way, though.
posted by Leon at 6:44 AM on January 26, 2007

Response by poster: If I could do that, I would, but that's too complex for the person I'm hunting this for. Thanks for the suggestion, though!
posted by hankbear at 6:47 AM on January 26, 2007

It isn't free ($175), but Metadata Miner Catalogue sound like it does what you want. "Generate an html page from a windows directory capturing document properties."
posted by kirkaracha at 7:20 AM on January 26, 2007

This may sound dumb, but couldn't you take an open-source photo gallery app (one that generates thumbs, displays file stats, etc.) and hack it so that it looks for HTML files, rather than images?
posted by jbickers at 8:49 AM on January 26, 2007

you might want to try the utility Link Master found here -> http://www1.tip.nl/~t598214/flurin/gs/

I found it on NoNags freeware site; NoNags usually has pretty good software linked, hopefully this will do what you want/need, and it sure looks simple enough.
posted by dancestoblue at 9:47 AM on January 26, 2007

Response by poster: kirkaracha: I'll keep that one in mind, but I am looking for something for little to no cost. It just seems like I've seen something in the past that does this sort of thing, but, of course, I didn't need it then.

jbickers: I looked at a lot of those, but they seemed so geared toward images, only, that I couldn't see that it would be less than very difficult to adapt any of them I saw. Is there one you've used that would lend itself to my purpose that you are aware of?

dancestoblue: Thanks for reminding me of NoNags. I had checked a few other places, but forgotten about NoNags. If Link Master doesn't do it, there are sure enough other utilities there that I should be able to find something free for my purpose.

Thanks, everyone!
posted by hankbear at 10:13 AM on January 26, 2007

A Similar AskMe thread, in which I recommended AutoIndex PHP Script. Damn handy.
posted by wheat at 1:15 PM on January 26, 2007

I looked at a lot of those, but they seemed so geared toward images, only, that I couldn't see that it would be less than very difficult to adapt any of them I saw. Is there one you've used that would lend itself to my purpose that you are aware of?

Try this one - allows unlimited nested folders, so it can index any directory structure (I think). I wouldn't think it would be too tough to hack it so that it looks for HTML files rather than images.
posted by jbickers at 2:19 PM on January 26, 2007

Response by poster: Thanks to Ned (who said he didn't have an account to post with, but I'll shamelessly plug his website -- nedwolf.com -- since he came through for me on this one) for pointing out this Windows utility, that I hadn't found: dirhtml. Exactly what I was searching for.

Thanks to the hive mind and Ned!
posted by hankbear at 11:01 AM on February 8, 2007