Converting Data

Hi all-

I have 400 documents in Word for Mac format that I need to enter into my
database, saving as much formatting as possible (italics, line breaks,
superscripts for footnote markers, etc...). What is the best way to convert
this data, and how can I do it automatically?

I'm running Postgres on a Linux server, using PHP.

Parts of each document go into different fields. For example, a document
has information about a medicinal plant. The entire Word doc has it's
scientific name, popular names, usages, dosages, toxicities, bibliography,
etc., each corresponds to a different field in the database.

I figure converting into html ultimately will keep the formatting I need,
though there's a LOT of garbage in the Word files I DON'T want (horizontal
lines to make it look nice, etc.).

Any suggestions from the experts would be great!

Thanks,
Mike

mike(at)fieldco(dot)com
I am Canadian :-)