your favorite html editor?

[Josh42]

I want to make a web page soon. What editor(s) do you think I should use. I've tried download.com but most expire before I can get any real work done. I suppose I'll end up purchasing one, but for now what do you recommend for free? Thanks.

J. Ciolkosz

[samwichse]

Since I like to use pure text-based html, CuteHTML (http://www.cutehtml.com/products/cutehtml/index.shtml) is what I use, small, trim, and uses practically no resources.

[OuTpaTienT]

Notepad.

[Dove19983]

Well I use Notepad.
You may want to download 1st Page 2000 (http://www.evrsoft.com/download/) . Very well done program has easy, normal, expert, and hardcore modes. Usefull for when you know all most nothing about html and usefull for when you know everything and just dont fill like typeing everything. It has soem free scripts done in cgi, html, perl, javascript.

[RobRich]

On the freeware side of things, most opt for Netscape's Composer or Microsoft's FrontPage Express. Other free favorites I can recommend:


CoffeeCup Free HTML (http://www.zdnet.com/downloads/stories/info/0,10615,38921,00.html)

Arachnohilia (http://www.zdnet.com/downloads/stories/info/0,10615,19600,00.html)

Myself? I use FrontPage2K and AceHTML Pro for most basic content with straight manual coding for more advanced options, such as JavaScript. After a couple of debugs and cleanups, everything usually works fine. Then again, I've been known to publish straight FP code code when I feel extremelty lazy, but is not exactly a user-friendly idea. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif

Robert Richmond

[club_med]

Frontpage 2000 simple and easy to use.

cm.

[MiKe85]

In school I used Frontpage..
At my house I use Arachnohilia.

[club_med]

really ? hmm maybe i should look into dreamweaver then ?.

cm.

[rh71]

I use ColdFusion Studio at work, which is pretty much equivalent to HomeSite and the aforementioned 1stPage2000 is a copy of it. All really nice programs. It doesn't matter if you are an expert or beginner. The tools it provides help a lot...

Tell me Notepad gives you Remove Development Service (even thru FTP) or shortcut keys that can insert code for you around highlighted blocks of text. Don't forget the special characters and the extended find/replace through directories/subdirectories. This stuff rocks.

[Beemer]

samwichse is of like mind. I might start with Front Page 2000, work into Dreameaver for the Flash applications, finish off with CuteHTML for the cleanup. Front Page has some proprietary junk that can be weeded out of the source code. (shrink'er down a bit in file size.

eg:
<strong> </strong>
can be changed to
<b> <b>

You don't have to end off your ordered list tags either.

<ul>
<li>
<li>
<li>
</ul>

Beemer's Windows Tips (http://tips.beemerworld.com)

Take a look at the Source Code on other peoples web sites and you'll get the idea of what does what in no time. This will help you understand how things work.

If you upgraded from I.E. 5.0 or there abouts, you might have the Front Page Express program. The learning curve isn't a hard one to achieve and will get you up and running in no time. Here is a teaching link of HTML and web page layout and design. I had this as a link during the Internet Proficiency course I recently attended.
http://www.ingenius.bc.ca/course

It covers what is needed within the page code to make your pages, "search engine friendly" and easily found by your piers as well as strangers across the world.

Text relavency, Title match, alt tags, header tags, etc. Yahoo is a directory service which is the most populer way to search for stuff on the WWW. It is human browsed for ranking and subject relavency. You submit a URL and they go take a peek. Other sites are not so forgiving in their ranking practices. Alta Vista ranks according to a bot survey. Could be a spider. Essentially the same thing. You submit a URL, and via automation, a computer program checks your meta tag info.
Keywords
Description
Title
against the words used in the text of the body.

TIP: (spiders and bots, can't read Flash)

The more times the bot or spider finds a word in the body that is one of the keywords and the title, the more hits you gain in the ranking.
Some sites only rank you by the size of your wallet. This isn't really fair to the searcher as how do you know if you are getting the best page from your query?

Lots to learn. Lots of fun.

Cheers!

[Inanis]

I must agree with OuTpaTienT, Dove19983, and probably many others. If you know HTML, use Notepad.

If you dont know HTML . .. learn it, and use Notepad. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/redface.gif)

[NDC]

Adobe Golive 4 & 5!

[Yar1182]

I learned on Frontpage and have since moved on to Dreamweaver. It's just easier to get the formatting right.

[hawkman2]

UltraEdit32!
http://www.ultraedit.com

[OuTpaTienT]

Actually, maybe I should revise my answer to be more technically correct. Ya see, I have replaced my Notepad with a better text editor called Metapad. It's free. You can get it here:

http://www.liquidninja.com/metapad/

When I say I replaced Notepad with Metapad, I mean exactly that. I deleted Notepad.exe in my Windows directory, then renamed Metapad.exe to Notapad.exe and placed it in the Windows directory.

Metapad has many helpful functions, mainly search & replace, that Notepad doesn't have. But it's just as fast as plain ol' Notepad. I highly recommend it.

[KAknight]

Put in my vote for Dreamweaver.

[golfcart]

me use notepad http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[DanU]

vi anyone http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[DualShock]

I personally use TextPad, awesome stuff.
www.textpad.com (http://www.textpad.com)

[bdunn]

I'm with dan on this one. I have to use front page at work but I prefer VI. If I need a code generator Trellix produces much better html then FrontPage.

[Tekkitan]

i use notepad in windows
pico on unix ;p

[MindlessVictim]

Since I'm into web / graphic design, I have to ^Bump^, and put in my input.

I used FrontPage once... since then, I have converted, and put my faith in Dreamweaver.

Macromedia, http://www.macromedia.com , is always giving rebates and deals on it. Retail is $300, and the DW + Fireworks studio is $450. I've seen the studio drop to $270 (less than the price for just one of the components!) after $100 rebate and an Amazon.com price cut.

I use it every day. And I never had to read the manual, buy a book, or ask for help. It's ingenious. And the help that comes with it is great for when you're in a jam. It's got full HTML & JavaScript reference. Powerful, yet simple.

Download the demo and tell me if I'm wrong! http://www.macromedia.com

NO, I am not working for Macromedia. No, I do not hold stock in Macromedia. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif But when you use something every day and love it, you should brag about it a little, no? http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif

If you have questions, e-mail me:
imayak@hotmail.com

BTW, The Dreamweaver 4 Demo will work on your Windows system for 30 days with full functionality.... you get to see the works!

[This message has been edited by MindlessVictim (edited 07-10-2001).]

[DemonKnight]

I like netobjects fusion my self. but the demo ran out, and I aint got the money to buy it. (99.95, I'm lucky I have 5 bucks right now.. not having a job sucks.. and having a job sucks.. (at least till I buy out microsoft and divert all funding to linux deveolpment.. SHH.. its a surprise for the year 200093Q.L. :lol)

[Yar1182]

I agree that you need to learn some html, and coding in notepad is kind of cool. Still it's a lot of work. I can imagine if you designed pages for a living and a client wanted to see the page in a different format with different frames, colored text, etc, etc you'd have way more work in notepad. In a editor like dreamweaver you can click a few buttons and volia.

You really need to be able to do both. On one hand for quick editing and flash it's easier with an editor. On the other you need to understand html to trouble shoot problems and understand how the page really should work.

I think Frontpage is the easiest to learn, but it does a lot of odd stuff that makes your pages look funny in other browsers such as netscape. Plus don't get me started on those Frontpage extensions.

I'm very happy with dreamweaver. Not much harder to learn than Frontpage, and less headaches.

I've also heard good things about Adobe Go Live. I've got it on disk, but haven't played with it.

[NDC]

I think WYSIWYG interface applications are great for making web pages. Personally, I don't like to sit around and type every single HMTL code manually when I can do it using a GUI. Nowadays, you'll rarely see professional web designers build a web site purely by using a text editor. They use WYSIWYG interface applications such as Adobe Go Live, Dreamweaver, etc. as a tool for the layout and manually do the necessary coding for more precise control over the page layout... You'd be surprised how much HTML you could learn by making a web page using a WYSIWYG interface application and looking in the source page which most of them have so that you manually code the page.

[OuTpaTienT]

The thing is, I look at source for the sites that are built by these gizmos, and they're all full of trash. All kinds of unnecissary code. If people knew how to better optimize their sites the whole web experience might be a little more pleasant.

[Yar1182]

Unessasary code = Frontpage.

Very true. After I creat my pages I go in the source coding and delete all the unessasary code I recognize.

[Yar1182]

Dreamweaver does a much better job avoiding unessasary code

[This message has been edited by Yar1182 (edited 07-10-2001).]

[clutch]

I dual boot between Mandrake and win2k(mainly for the games), while in windows i'll use Allaire/Macromedia Homesite. I'll use any text editor in linux, such as pico/vi/emacs/nedit

[Beemer]

Welcome to the collective clutch!

Lets see your web page....if you have a personal one or other you would like to share.

Cheers!

[This message has been edited by Beemer (edited 07-15-2001).]

[jad1097]

notepad

[glitterin]

Notepad

[Ka0ticMiND]

gedit and vi for linux
notepad with windows

[hhh8785]

I would recommend using straight HTML in notepad for your first webpage. Learn the basics and get them down. That's what I did. Then we used Frontpage 2000 at school for our school's website. I found it was good to start with ntoepad and HTML, then to use Frontpage because it is point and click mostly along with the ability to edit the HTML. Then when Frontpage does something stupid or weird, you can go into the HTML and fix it manually. Then after uploading, I usually edit the HTML to edit pages.

So what I would say is start with notepad, then after getting it down, move on to something easier to use to make new pages (life Frontpage). Then edit the pages with notepad or something.

My 2 cents.

HhH8785

[qball]

Textpad! and a couple of different browsers to view files.

Far better than notepad and you can load HTML tags.

[Gentle Giant]

Thought I'd add another fine "NOTE PAD" - EditPad Pro
http://www.editpadpro.com/ Wonderfull program.

[PicassoEscobar]

I'm amazed that no one so far has mentioed either Homesite or NoteTab. I started out using Homesite and it's a fine program. I thought it got a little bloated with version 4.5 so I stuck with v. 4.0 and it's done a fine job. It will allow you to work in any style you choose, from a visual interface to handcoding HTML in the edit window. Has some nice features, too.

NoteTab is what I really use, though. It comes with HTML Clipbooks (which are kind of like a macro language). I've customized my HTML clipbook, so that all it takes is a double click to insert paragrah tags, images, etc. Great program, great support, and the Lite version is 100% free. Check it out. www.notetab.com (http://www.notetab.com) -- and, yes, I was on a previous version Beta team. Can't fault my enthusiasm for this program. It's great!

[nedvis]

There are two FREE HTML/WEB editors:

at http://www.serif.com
and
http://www.webdwarf.net

[spiffykitty]

I like EditPlus when using windows and NEdit when using linux. A flat out text editor (such as notepad) is a little too spartan for me. Atleast use something with syntax highlighting. Stay away from those point and click editors though. They can put MAJOR bloat in pages (atleast frontpage and dreamweaver do).

[DiscoLando]

I'll throw in my vote for UltraEdit32. It's fast and has great search and replace tools.

[DaHazeMan]

I like Metapad (http://www.liquidninja.com/metapad/) . It's similar to Notepad, but has more features (including active hyperlinks) and can hold a much larger text document.

http://www.liquidninja.com/metapad/

[izzzy12k]

Well I have to mantion that if you're into javascript, the homesite editor is great because you can turn on the line numbering display. Help troubleshooting code.

izzy

[Ka0ticMiND]

yeah
line numbering is an awesome ability if you're using javascript. 1st Page has it, and it truly helps a lot, not just with javascripting, even when the HTML pops up with an error, it'll help.

-Ka0tic

[otho]

notepad

[SickPup404]

I'm a masochist.

I use the same app for writing HTML, editing text, and writing letters... What is this "Wonder Product" you may ask??

None other than.... EDLIN! http://www.sysopt.com/forum/biggrin.gif

[ToolOfTheOligarchy]

Ha! Clearly, SickPup is aptly named...

I was just looking over this thread and had to go and register to add in my vote, b/c nobody has yet mentioned HTMLKit. I am very fond of this editor: it's open source, extensible, lots of people have written plug-ins to make it customizable for lots of different environments, and there's even a plug-in generator for rolling your own. I do a fair amount of php, along with plain 'ol SSI, and my favorite HTMLKit feature for that is its ability to map the web root on my local filesystem to the web root on my laptop's apache server, so I can get instant previewing of my coding.

Check it out: http://www.chami.com/html-kit/

[moebius]

Favorite html editor? That's easy: NoteTab. I can't believe more people haven't mentioned that one. That's an incredible program. It's small, fast and free!!
If you haven't used it, you have to check it out:
www.notetab.com (http://www.notetab.com)

[Cruez]

I use 1st Page 2000, I type most of it but its nice to have the tabs to type some of the repetative stuff, plus its go some scripts that you may want to use.

[deob197]

UltraEdit-32 is the best editor I've ever used. I write all my code and scripts in it.

Deo

[CujoRbd]

Well, my favorite (and really the only one I use) is Notepad...

however, you probably need one a little more robust... so, CoffeeCup HTML Editor or CuteHTML are both nice free editors. I'm sure someone has a link already to these... if not, check out ZDNet.com (http://www.zdnet.com/) 's download section and look for them.

I hope this could help.

Later.

[^hyd^]

Visual Interdev for me! or if I wanna get crazy I use Notepad! http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif but if I upload anything to my site it is usually with Frontpage or via FTP.

[wahrez]

Textpad, is by far the best text editor for creating web pages!

[wahrez]

Textpad, is by far the best text editor for creating web pages!

[dopefeedback]

As far as wysiwyg editors go I prefer Dreamweaver over anything else. It gives me total control over everything and it's easy to learn.

[dbl_0527]

Started with Notepad and learned how to hand code good ol HTML. My site has since gotten a little more complex and I now use Frontpage, just for ease of use. Since I know html pretty well I can usually take out unnecessary code, and knowing html is especially helpful especially for spacing and page breaks. I have a friend who is an html and web design guru and he swears by Dreamweaver. If I had the money, I'd get that.