I've been using SWiSHmax (Flash) for ages and now want to be able to merge my work with HTML.
Given that I am a novice in this area, what would be the best software for me to use?

If you know your way around HTML, any good Notepad replacement, that highlights source commands (such as from C, Java, CSS, HTML etc. will do great.
Try EditPad Pro from www.editpadpro.com

If you need your hand held while 'doing' HTML, one of the leading applications is CoffeeCup HTML Editor
http://www.coffeecup.com/html-editor/

Microsoft Word will save a formatted document in HTML. It does a reasonable
job at static pages, but will not give you all the bells and whistles like CSS, DHTML, Javascript.

It does a terrible job at saving static pages! The code it produces is bloated and barely readable, not conforming to any web standard. Try opening a well coded page in Word and saving it as a different name, then compare the two.

Never EVER use MSWord to save web pages!

sadly this is oh so true! However, for a newbe to HTML, this is a short path to
getting A PAGE or two. As you note, no professional would ever take this route!

coffee cups the best for both beginners and those experienced....i tried a lot....html kit, nvu, tsw...but i find it the best

http://www.notepad.org/

Thanx for all your advice.
I'm using coffee cup at the moment, just to get a feel of how things work.
Create it in coffee cup, examine it in notepad.

Thanx again

I really dig Macromedia's Dreamweaver.
Code/Style view is absolutely awesome, but it'll cost you, it isn't cheap.

its worth it for the fact its such a good package

I agree with Kev Boy,
the Dreamweaver is the best you can get, and if you can get your hand on the whole Studio set, it'll be a dream!

However, it is pricey, so depending how far you're willing to go or how serius/professional you're about your work it's well worth it...

If you're really looking for the best, yet not hard to use, and a very good/nice interface, I wouldn't look further than Dreamweaver...

(sorry if I came off as a Macromedia representative or something , wasn't intended )