Can you save and browse a website while offline?

[AlecBGreen]

I am studying Chinese and there is a great site called www.zhongwen.com which has LOADS of good resources, all contained "on site." I was wondering if its possible to save the whole website to my computer so I can browse it while Im offline. I have a laptop and Im often away from a good connection, which is just usually the time when I have an opportunity to study. So...fellow DU'ers, can I save this website and use it later? Check it out and see for yourself - very useful for anyone studying Mandarin!

:toast:
-Alec

p.s. I know its possible to save a single web "page" but Im looking to grab the whole thing... (thats not greedy, is it? :evilgrin: )

[AlecBGreen]

1. Ive use Safari

though I could easily use Firefox or MIExplorer.

I tried the "save as" function w. safari and it creates an archive. While I am offline, I can go back and see any page I had previously visited in the site but nothing new. Is it possible for the computer to basically "explore" the whole site while Im connected so that all the stuff will be availible when offline? Can it be cached?

:confused:
-Alec

[charlie]

2. HTTrack is probably the most oft-recommended

website archiver:

http://www.httrack.com

It's fairly straightforward to use, but take the time to look over the instructions anyway or you might wind up downloading quite a bit more than you intend. Also, a gander at how NOT to use HTTrack is a good idea:

http://www.httrack.com/html/abuse.html

[CK_John]

3. That is a very complex site (3 frames) but I did notice a book recommended by the site owner.

Also I would contact the site owner, he might be able to give you a ftp download solution. He said he was slow answering eMail.

Normally I setup a folder and just follow the links I want and save page as ... in that folder.

[AlecBGreen]

4. thanks for the suggestions

I dl'ed HTTrack but it looks like its setup for PCs and/or Linux but not Mac (?) Can you make any sense of this? Its from the HTTrack FAQ:

--------------------------------------------------------------

Q: Is HTTrack Mac compatible?
A: Yes, using the original sources:

tar xvfz httrack-*.tar.gz
cd httrack-*
./configure --prefix=/usr/local && make && make install
/usr/local/bin/httrack

But there are no official binaries, because of a lack of time.

--------------------------------------------------------------

I guess Im suppose to edit the install file somehow...? :shrug: Any ideas?

[charlie]

6. You have to compile it

Sorry, I didn't know you had a Mac. Here's a more detailed overview of the process:

http://www.cfi.au.dk/publikationer/archiving/webhttrack

Note that it's a bit dated, from 2004. I'm not a Mac user, so I couldn't tell you if the tools and dependencies he lists are part of the default configuration on a Mac or not. Also note that for a Mac, HTTrack will be a terminal program, so you'll need to learn the command line parameters to make it work the way you want.

There are a few other free site rippers for the Mac, none of them as feature-rich as HTTrack, but they may be enough for your needs:

Site Sucker

Proxy Offline Browser - this is an odd one. It works by archiving pages as you visit them, so you'll have to trawl the site with your browser to get a complete copy.

CocoaWGet - a GUI for the venerable WGet program. For a screenshot of the English version, go here and click the tiny monitor icon.

Web Grabber

Here's some payware programs, in case you want to either buy or just try to snag the Chinese site during the demo period:

http://www.limit-point.com/BlueCrab/BlueCrab.html
http://www.pagesucker.com/
http://www.maximumsoft.com/products/wc_mac/overview.html
http://www.chaoticsoftware.com/ProductPages/WebDevil.html
http://www.maxprog.com/WebDumper.html

[lpbk2713]

5. OT .... Good luck with Mandarin.

I tried to learn it a few years ago, didn't take long to realize I was in over my head. :crazy: Russian was hard enough.