If you only need to see the underlying code, a simple text editor works perfectly. Free options include (Windows), a lightweight editor with syntax highlighting for HTML and SSI commands. For a more full-featured web development editor, RJ TextEd offers syntax highlighting, code folding, and HTML preview capabilities—all completely free. On Linux, you can use the included Vim or Gedit .
Sometimes you don't need to render the page; you just need to read the code . This is the simplest free method.
Before diving into the "how," it is helpful to understand the "what." At its core, an SHTML (Server Side Includes HTML) file is a standard HTML file that contains special server-side commands. These commands, known as Server Side Includes (SSI), instruct the web server to perform a small action—like pulling in a common header, footer, or a current date stamp—before sending the final, complete page to the user's browser.
: Ideal for debugging, this browser-based application formats and beautifies messy strings of web code. You can paste the code directly to analyze its structural integrity.
Even with the right tools, you might hit snags. Here is how to fix them for free.
Move your .shtml files into the local server directory (usually named htdocs or www ). Ensure that SSI modules are enabled in the Apache configuration file ( httpd.conf ), start the server control panel, and navigate to http://localhost/yourfile.shtml in your browser. 3. Use Free Online File Viewers
Now, let's explore each of these options in more detail.
For offline viewing, install a local web server or use a text editor to access the source code. Comprehensive offline viewers like SysTools Document Viewer also work well.
If you are not interested in seeing the page as a final design but want to understand its structure or extract its content, any free text or code editor will work. These tools do not execute the server commands, so you will see the raw SHTML code, including the SSI directives. However, this method is excellent for accessing the core textual information within the file.
You can open SHTML files in your browser to view the final output, just like a regular website.
The extension is designed specifically for Chrome and Firefox to parse SHTML files locally. Its primary function is to support Apache mod_include compatible syntax, including directives such as #include , #set , #echo , and basic #if commands.
Think of it as an HTML file with "instructions" for the web server to include content from other files before sending the final webpage to your browser. For example, a website might use one SHTML file to include a common header, footer, or navigation bar across hundreds of pages.