Software like HTTrack and SiteSucker make it easy to create archival copies of fairly complex websites (including Drupal-driven sites). (Read our directions for this method of archiving Drupal course sites.) However, if you're most interested in creating an archival record of course materials such as syllabi, project handouts, course guides, and the like, then you might try one of the following methods. Use this method if you don't need or want to save blog discussions, blog postings, and the like. These directions apply to Drupal sites but you could use them for almost any site that you can print to PDF or capture with Adobe Acrobat.

Simple archiving of a Drupal site

Scoop and store the content . . .

1. Chances are you've published most of your course content as part of a Drupal book, so go to the top-level page in the book. For our default Drupal installations at Purdue, that's usually via the URL alias such as 420guide or "coursebook." So, for example, the course guide for my Fall 2007 ENTR 200 course is at http://www.digitalparlor.org/fa07/blakesley2/coursebook.
2. At the top level of your course guide, choose "Printer-friendly version"; you'll go to a page that shows all the book pages in the course guide in simple HTML format. The next step will be to save this page (so that you will have the content in simple HTML for later re-use) and print it to PDF so that you can archive it more permanently.
3. In your browser window, choose File >> Save page as (or something similar) and save the file as an HTML document to the place where you keep your course materials.
4. Still in your browser window, print this page to a PDF file. You can do this on any computer that has PDF printing capabilities (all ITaP machines at Purdue, for example). If you don't have PDF printing capabilities or Acrobat on your computer, there are some free solutions out there, like CutePDF (http://www.cutepdf.com/). If you use Scribd (iPaper; see below), you can just use your HTML file and can skip this step.
5. Save the PDF file to the place where you keep your course materials.

Publish the archive . . .

1. You can upload the PDF file to your website (e.g., in your career account, the www folder) in its present (and simple) form, then just link to it from your homepage or professional portfolio. However, I like to do a little preparation and design first, using Acrobat (which is installed on most lab machines at Purdue).
2. To spruce up the PDF of your course guide, try this using Acrobat. Find an image or banner that you want to use (such as the banner from the original course website) and stamp it to the PDF. Here's how I do that: I either do a screen capture of a banner using something like HyperSnap (PC, http://www.hyperionics.com; great program!) or Grab (Mac) and save the resulting file or copy it to my clipboard. In Adobe Acrobat, use the Stamp tool. On the Comment & Markup toolboar or by choosing Tools >> Comment & Markup >> Stamps >> Paste Clipboard as Stamp Tool, create the stamp and then place it on the page where you want it to go. You can move it and resize it as needed. Save your PDF after this step.
3. I like to add a watermark to every page also, so you can do that by going to Document >> Watermark >> Add. In the dialogue box, you can type the watermark (or apply a file/image), set the size, transparency, and location. You'll get a preview to help you with placement. I used my name, the course number, semester, and "Purdue" and placed the (small) watermark at the bottom of each page of the PDF (you can choose to apply it to all pages or just some in one step.)
4. Save the PDF. You can now upload it to your website and link to it from your homepage or portfolio. It will also print very nicely if you want it in that form (probably a good idea to store a copy this way).

Figure 1. Capturing the embed code for a Scribd document for placing it on your own website.

Simple and elegant dissemination . . .

1. I like to publish this new PDF in Scribd (http://www.scribd.com/), a free service that converts PDFs into "iPaper" (a Flash-based reading platform) that reduces the file size and gives users an easy way to view (and even comment on and share, if you choose) your PDF file without even having to download it. I put the course archive at the Scribd site and embed it in a simple page at my website.
2. Go to Scribd and open your account (or get a new one). Follow the directions for uploading your source file. You can upload the PDF you just created or you can even sent the HTML file of your course guide. Scribd will convert your file and publish it as their site (if you choose). You can then also get the "embed" code (see Figure 1.)
3. Set the access and other settings as you prefer. Your new document will have an URL that you can refer to on your portfolio page. You can allow others to comment on your materials as well, which can be useful (Scribd is like YouTube for documents). Here is a link to my course guide at the Scribd site: http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~blakesle/entr200.html
4. To create your own page with your Scribd document embedded, just create a basic HTML page (in Dreamwever or a simple text editor, for example) and copy and paste the HTML embed code between the body tags. I set my page properties so that there would be a colored background, with 150-pixel margins on the left and right and 50-pixel margins on the top and bottom. I also added some copyright, contact info, and a date at the bottom of the page. Here's the "live" Scribd archive of my Fall 2007 ENTR 200 course on my career account website:

http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~blakesle/entr200.html

Visitors can read through the course materials in a variety of cool ways, displaying it a page at a time, in thumbnails, or as a series of slides. They can email it to a friend, print it, or view it in full-screen mode. All very handy and fast for your readers and easy to keep track of for you.

Summing up . . .

There are a number of steps here, but once you've done it once, it goes fast. It took me about 15 minutes to do it all. You'll also learn about some useful new technologies along the way and have a permanent course archive for your portfolio while you're at it.