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Comments on HTML editors

Instructions for Editors

In response to an inquiry about recommendations for editing programs, here are some comments from editors. Editing programs are broadly divided into "blackbox" programs (typically WYSIWYG programs where you cannot actually see the html tags) and "full view" programs where you edit the html tags yourself. Please note FOTW does not endorse any of the programs listed below. We recommend you choose what suits you best.

From Ivan Sache:

I did my first steps in editing (I remember having started with Armenia, am.html) with the standard text editor for Macintosh (Simple Text), which is a very good way to learn the basics of HTML (which is mainly text editing) and understand the structure of a Web page.

In a second step, I got bored with all these text lines and discovered Netscape Composer. Using that sh.t, I made a terrible mess of Maldivian pages, and Rob was kind enough to recompose them properly. The Composer does a lot of things out of the user's control, especially in image linking (or may'be I have not been careful enough).

Now I am reigning over a vast editing empire inhabited by very turbulent peoples like Frenchies, and I use Claris HomePage. CHP has three different modes:

- a "black box" mode, in which you edit by drag-and-drops and clicks. This is particularly useful to avoid typos in URLs and image locations (you can select them in a specific window), and friendly because you see immediately the result.

- a full HTML mode, similar to a text editor, very useful to check for unnecessary tags and when a "manual" change has to be made (e.g. when a contributor's name needs a non-standard character, you see who I mean :-)

- a "pseudo-Web" mode, in which the page looks like a Web page and allows you to check the links without opening a browser.

Finally, I check the pages (or I should check them) with BigBrother for broken internal links.

From Phil Nelson:

I've used a variety of editors, but right now I am using RCEdit more than any other. It is similar to HomeSite which some of us use, except: