Archive Web Pages for offline reference?

Infopackets Reader David J. writes:

" I sure do enjoy your newsletter! I was wondering if you knew of a software utility that allows me to copy and archive web pages (including the graphic files). Can you suggest anything? "

My response:

I tried searching Google for "archive web pages freeware" and "web page archiver" (plus a few few other variations), but couldn't come up with anything.

I do happen to know that Internet Explorer (version 6) has the option to archive a web page using File -> Save As. When the "Save As" window appears, click the "Save as Type" pulldown menu and IE will give you a few choices:

1. Save as Web Page, complete (in HTML format). This will save the web page and its picture files in a separate folder. For example, if you choose to save the web page file as "infopackets gazette 20040121", all its picture files will reside in a directory called "infopackets gazette 20040121".

2. Save as Web Archive (.MHT archive file). This option saves the web page and pictures into a single file. This option is very useful if you don't want to have lots of files and directories full of pictures (as in the option above), but may be difficult to edit because some web page editors will not read the .MHT format.

3. Save as Web Page, HTML only. This option will save the page without the graphic files; the graphic files will be referenced from a web site rather than your own computer. The only problem here is if the web site goes down or the page is removed from the site: the graphics in the archived page may not display.

4. Save as Text file (.TXT). This option strips all the HTML code and saves the text. This option is great if you only want the 'meat and potatoes' of a web page and don't care about graphics or layout. Side note: When I chose to use this option, the resulting text file was readable, but its formatting was jumbled up (I.E.: text was sprawled seemingly haphazardly over the page).

Offline Web Page Archiver / Manager: alternatives?

I'm always open for better ideas. If you know of a program that can archive or manage offline web pages, please send me your suggestion.

Update 2004/03/04: This article has been updated. Click here to read!