How
To Choose a Good HTML Editor
SolveYourProblem.com Article Series: Web Site Design
Once you've decided to write your own HTML,
and you've got some idea of how it all works, there's one thing
left to think about: which program are you going to use to
do it? While you can use programs like Notepad or Wordpad that
come with Windows, they don't have any specialised HTML editing
features, and that can slow you down more than you'd think.
The choice of HTML editors out there, though, is bewildering:
there are literally thousands. Here's a guide to things you
should look for when you're searching for your perfect HTML
partner.
Syntax Highlighting
One of the most vital features for any editor is syntax highlighting.
This means that it understands how HTML works, and will make
tags a different colour from text, making it easier for you
to see what you're doing.
You should try to find an editor that has up-to-date syntax
highlighting and checks whether your tags are valid or not.
Instead of just colouring anything you put between angle brackets,
it should check whether what you're entering is valid HTML,
and warn you if it isn't (usually by turning it red).
Another thing to look out for when it comes to syntax highlighting
is what the editor supports that you might want to use with
HTML: it's good to have highlighting for CSS and Javascript,
as well as PHP or Perl (or whatever you use server-side). Some
editors mark them in the same colour to indicate 'not HTML',
while some highlight them in a useful way this is what you
want.
Tag Suggestion
It's good to get
an editor that knows about valid HTML tags and how they're
structured, as that means it can let you know
what you should be including and let you browse through tags
to find the one you're thinking of. If you type '<form',
for example, it's useful for it to suggest that you include
the 'method' and 'action' properties, as they can be difficult
to remember sometimes. Doctypes are an especially useful thing
to have suggested to you, because you'd just be pasting them
in every time anyway.
Tag-suggesting editors can often save you typing, if they
come up with a drop-down when you start typing and allow you
to accept their suggestions easily by pressing tab or space.
This can speed up your HTML editing significantly.
FTP Upload
It will save you quite a lot of time if the HTML editor you
choose has a built-in FTP upload facility, allowing you to
enter your server, username and password, and upload the files
you've just edited to the server. If your program doesn't do
this, you'll have to use a separate FTP program and mess around
finding where you saved your files.
Easy Text to HTML Conversion
If you're making
a lot of text content into HTML, one important feature to
look for is easy conversion otherwise you'll spend
a long time putting <p> tags at the start and end of
each paragraph. Ideally, the software should be able to spot
pieces of text that are headings, lists and so on, and add
HTML tags for you automatically. It won't be helpful for everyone,
but for text-heavy pages it's indispensable.
You might also be able to find editors that can accept input
in text formats that aren't plain text Microsoft Word documents,
for example and turn it into sensible HT
A Few Suggestions
Metapad (www.liquidninja.com/metapad). A good drop-in replacement
for Notepad, but lacks HTML-specific features.
SciTE Editor (www.scintilla.org) has excellent syntax highlighting,
making it easier to be sure that you're writing correct HTML
tags and you haven't made any layout mistakes.
Crimson Editor (www.crimsoneditor.com) is popular, although
you might find it a little technical. Its biggest advantage
is that it has built-in FTP uploads.
HomeSite (www.macromedia.com/software/homesite). Has good
tag suggestion features, although it might be a little bulky
for some tastes. Very good if you have trouble remembering
tags.
As a final note, you might try editing HTML in the 'code view'
of one of the visual editors Dreamweaver is especially good
at this, if you have it. This lets you switch back and forward
easily to see what effect your changes are having.
#
# # # #
SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
> Home > Website Design Articles: Main Page
|
