Web Design in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

HTML Tools

HTML documents are simple ASCII text files, which means you can use any minimal text editor to write them. Fortunately, there are a number of tools that make the process of generating HTML documents more quick and efficient. They fall into two main categories: HTML editors and WYSIWYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get) web authoring tools.

HTML Editors

HTML editors are text editing tools designed especially for writing HTML. They require that you know how to compose HTML by hand; however, they save time by providing shortcuts for repetitive tasks like setting up documents, tables, or simply applying styles to text.

There are scores of simple HTML editors available, and many of them are free. Just enter “HTML Editor” in the search field of Shareware.com (http://www.shareware.com) and wade through the results. For purposes of brevity, I’m going to cut to the chase.

Windows users should definitely check out HomeSite, a high-powered and inexpensive HTML editor from Allaire (recently merged with Macromedia). It features HTML shortcuts and templates, color-coded HTML syntax, an FTP function, HTML syntax checker, spell-checker, and multiple-file search-and-replace. In addition, it includes wizards for creating more complex elements (such as frames, JavaScript, and DHTML) and many other attractive features. For more information and to download a demo copy, see http://www.allaire.com/products/HomeSite/. HomeSite information is also accessible on the Macromedia site at http://www.macromedia.com/software/ ...