Converting MHTML to HTML can be complicated due to binary data and embedded code. Few standalone programs can convert it accurately, and complex formats may not save properly. The best approach is to find incremental conversion programs or manually decode the binary MIME information.
Although an MHTML-encoded file contains parts that are pure HTML code, complications can arise when trying to convert MHTML to HTML. Several programs are capable of reading MHTML — or Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) HyperText Markup Language (HTML) — files and derived formats, but a special type of program is needed to convert and write the file contents into HTML. Problems may arise, as the website’s digital data is encoded within the file, and rebuilding the website with the correct links to all the information locally can be a daunting task. There are programs for most operating systems that allow for MHTML to HTML conversions, although some additional work may be required on your part.
The main issue for converting MHTML to HTML files is the binary data written to the file. The data is saved in a way that allows the MHTML file to be read and viewed by a web browser, but does not make it easy to convert the same file. MHTML is stored as a kind of embedded code that uses several variables to keep digital file locations organized. Binary information, such as an online image, is stored on the original website with links to online locations. This information is stripped and translated into local variables with MHTML files, making it difficult to actually match the binary support to the correct location and formatting within the HTML document.
There are few programs available that can convert MHTML to HTML. There are plug-ins and other add-ons that can allow a program to load, edit, and then save the file back to MHTML, but there are only a handful of standalone programs that will attempt to convert it to HTML. Often, these programs require the user to look at the code to locate where the binaries should be placed in the code, allowing them to rebuild the page from the archive.
Not all web pages can be saved accurately as MHTML files. A variety of complex formats that may be embedded as media files in a website will not save properly, if at all. This includes Java® applets, streaming media and many scripts that rely on other files on the server that the navigation computer does not have access to.
The most effective way to convert MHTML to HTML is to find standalone programs and plug-ins that incrementally convert files from one format to another and eventually possibly to HTML. Some operating systems don’t even support MHTML files within their browsers. Failing all else, it is possible to manually decode the binary MIME information in the file by hand with a base 64 decoder, extract only the HTML, and attempt to manually rebuild the website contained in the archive, but this process would be very time consuming.
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