[WEB4LIB] Favorite HTML editor and page authoring software?

[Kevin W. Bishop]

I too would stear clear of FrontPage, unless your server supports MS/FP
extensions.  Plus, the site-bloat, not to mention page-bloat, FP creates is
shameful.  (For instance, multiple copies of image-buttons in multiple
subdirectories?)  I've never used it, but have experienced extreme
difficulties working with others' pages created by FP (perhaps due to my
own shortcomings).  

Macromedia's Dreamweaver is a decent if not pricey product.  Featuring both
graphical and source editors, one can switch between the two and
immediately see the changes that were made (dubbed: Roundtrip HTML).  If
you don't like their source editor, it associates nicely with others like
BBEdit or HomeSite.  DW also suppposedly validates code with its "Property
Inspector", although I cannot say what level or type of validation this is
- apparently very basic errors.  You may also check your code against
particular versions of MSIE or NNav.

DW does not *add* extraneous code to your document, but it *can* at times
misinterpret your intentions when editing in the graphical editor.  It also
supports DHTML (esp. CSS-P and Javascript) with the use of the "libraries"
feature.  I've heard rumors that DW 2.0 has some limited support for XML.

If you're working in a distributed authoring environment, the Site Manager
will allow "checking in/out" of documents so that an author can tag a
document on the server as under revision.  This should avoid multiple edits
overwriting one another, assuming that all authors understand and agree to
use it of course.  (I have no experience with this feature.)

Perhaps the biggest drawback with DW is that for those with very little
authoring experience, the learning curve may be too much.  Those of us who
use it here have learned how to use it one piece at a time.  

Hope this is useful.
-kb



At 05:11 PM 2/17/99 -0800, you wrote:
>Although most of my HTML is done in a text editor, I'm thinking of getting 
>a program that will help write cgi scripts, as I'm told Front Page does. 
>
>Would anyone care to recommend their favorites, or steer me clear of the 
>ones they found difficult or frustrating to use?   
>
>Ideally, I want to have one that will allow me to "resist" its suggestions 
>about my current HTML.  I've found that with Pagemill and some other 
>web writing software, if you take an existing, reasonably clean HTML page 
>and try to add new text in the editor, it will also alter all your 
>previous tags, even if your HTML works and is is relatively clean.  (For 
>example, I find that existing tables will get new spacing because some 
>editors insist that a <P> tag start all text within a <TD> box.
>
>
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____________________________________________

Kevin W. Bishop                              
Campus-Wide Information System Coordinator
Libraries and Information Services
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute             
110 8th St. Troy, NY, 12180-3590    
(518) 276-8332   Fax  276-8559
<bishopk at rpi.edu>
<http://www.rpi.edu/rpinfo/>
RPInfo: Rensselaer's Information System
____________________________________________