HTML editor recommendations?

[mckitterick]

Hi folks -

My job, my CSSF activities, and my life require me to do a lot of HTML. Since getting my new computer and installing Office, I discovered that Microsoft no longer makes FrontPage. Yes, I know it sucked as a WYSYWIG HTML editor, but I learned how to work with it in ways that it couldn't hurt me. Features I liked best:

. Click the Preview and it takes you to the right spot in your code.
. Type text in the Preview and it shows up in the code.
. Open a bunch of files (say, an entire website) simultaneously, make one change and apply it to all of them, then save all at once.

I work mostly in the code section, so I don't encounter the typical coding errors FrontPage injects.

Today I needed to make a bunch of HTML changes to some files, and searched the internets high and low for a program that would serve my needs. The closest thing I found was good ol' HTML-Kit, but that doesn't do most of what I need. If I only want to work in code, I prefer Notepad++; I can open my own browser to see the result. I tried a few others and ended up uninstalling them right away.

Any recommendations of programs that have those features? I'd prefer free, but don't mind paying a little. Free is best because I can have it installed on the classroom computers, where students can use it and download something they know how to use at home.

Thanks!
Chris

Comments

[miischelle.livejournal.com]

I've been using Nvu lately because it's free, but it's not the best. But it's free. Given my druthers I'd use Dreamweaver, but it's expensive.....

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

Is NVU free? I would really like to get to know something I don't mind recommending to my students.

[miischelle.livejournal.com]

It's completely free. They have a donation button on the site, but that's it.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

Cool, thanks!

[sweetnightshade.livejournal.com]

For all those features, I definitely recommend Dreamweaver. It's what I've used for years and I love its functionality and ability to catch errors and test in multiple browsers. It might be possible to get an older version (when it was still Macromedia, not Adobe) for pretty cheap. However, if you want cheap, this is a pretty good list of alternatives: http://blog.webdistortion.com/2008/04/12/webdesign-on-a-budget-six-free-alternatives-to-dreamweaver/

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

Hi! Didn't know you were on LJ - friended!

I'm sure Dreamweaver would be grand, but it's not been keeping up with the times, and if I'm going to pay for something, I might as well get something truly modern. I tried Amaya, and it was pretty bad (as was SeaMonkey) - when it wasn't crashing. Ugh. I'll check out the others.

[geekmom.livejournal.com]

They just updated it with CS5. I'll let you know if it's updated to the times whenever we finally get the new license. Apparently Adobe screwed up with some portion of our media DVD set, so we have to wait for them to ship us another.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

Wow, CS5! I'm still at CS2....

[geekmom.livejournal.com]

No wonder your impression is that Dreamweaver hasn't been keeping up with the times! The newest version includes CSS previews, better php support, and integrated support for WordPress and Drupal.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

Well, the University has the most-recent (minus the current number) installation; I just find it clumsy and FrontPage-ey *g*

[geekmom.livejournal.com]

I've got Dreamweaver at work, but I don't use it much anymore. Microsoft does make a new Frontpage, Expression Web, if that's what you really want. If you're part of a campus license, chances are it's covered. It's nearly identical. I always hated the proprietary non-standard crap it seemed to want to put in everything.

For free, I like Komodo Edit because it does more than just HTML editing, so if you want to tweak the php in that Drupal shell, no problem. http://www.activestate.com/komodo-edit. But you might also want to check out Firebug. http://getfirebug.com

And if it's just something where I need to insert formatted HTML - I use Xinha! Here, a Firefox extension that turns every window into a WYSIWYG editor.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

KU no longer seems to have any licenses for HTML editing. At least English doesn't have it. Budget cuts, I'm sure.

Anything called Komodo Edit is worth a try!

[queza7.livejournal.com]

You can always sneak into the Journalism building and use Dreamweaver. Downside: you'd have to use a Mac.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

Heh. The problem is that I do HTML editing at times between breakfast and 4am - and it's usually a "Do it immediately!" kind of situation.

[amjhawk.livejournal.com]

Microsoft Visual Web Developer.

I'm a bit spoiled in that I have Dreamweaver at work, but when I have to do some .html editing in a pinch at home, Visual Web Developer works well. It's free.

My only problem with it (and it's minor) is that it can be wonky about drag-selecting long strings of code.