Anyone using Allaire Homesite?

[Duff]

I have Homesite version 4 I think it is. I installed it once but it looked overly complicated and I deleted it. In fact, for the type of web design that I was doing, I needed editors that were especially good for tabes. Now that I'm switching many of my files over to PHP3, I'm starting to see that Frontpage and Dreamweaver aren't best suited for this. Especially Frontpage in that it keeps changing my code on me. Why must it be so rude? :(

Anyone use Homesite and have anything good or bad to say about it?

[sheila]

I started using Homesite 4.0.1 in August and used it almost exclusively for about 2 months. I did not find it complicated to use. Extensive help menus. I was also learning HTML at the time and found the included HTML reference very handy. Many of the shortcuts on the tool bars helped me to learn HTML. (I did also read HTML 4.0 by Elizabeth Castro from Peachpit Press at about the same time and visited several HTML websites.)

I liked Homesite so much, that after the 30 trial ran out, I purchased it. Since that time I've been fortunate enought to get a copy of Dreamweaver 2. But sometimes, I still pull out[nbsp][nbsp]Homesite. For certain things it is better to muck directly in the code, and I don't care espcially to use Notepad or Wordpad.

That said, you will find many others who use[nbsp][nbsp]such products as CuteHTML, Arachnophilia, UltraEdit, Programmer's File Editor and so on, who simply rave about their editors. And some of these are actually free (and some cost much less than $$$).

If you're interested in checking out a number of HTML editors, I have a list on this page:
http://www.thinkspot.net/sheila/computers/WebAuthoring.html

Hmm. I notice that Arachnophilia isn't there. You can probably find it by a forum search here. I'm sure the URL has been posted before.

[Dan Kaplan]

I suppose I'd be one of those ravers...[nbsp][nbsp]:)[nbsp][nbsp]Here's the link for Arachnophilia.[nbsp][nbsp]Even if it weren't free, it would be worth the price just for the cool "care ware" blurb.[nbsp][nbsp]Hmm, that's a heckuva catch-22...

http://arachnoid.com/arachnophilia/index.html

Dranged

[John Kennett]

I've been using HomeSite for several years now, and I'm still very happy with it.

You do need to understand HTML (the wysiwig editor in HS is worthless BTW). When I first started producing web sites I used notepad, then Ultraedit, but Homesite was the killer app that made me finally move to Win95!

I don't really use the full power of HS, as a lot of my editing consists of manually entering tags with plenty of copy-and-paste. What I find really useful is that it gathers all the useful bits together -- a file manager, tag lists, spell checker, HTML validator with some useful shortcuts like drag and drop hyperlinks.

When I've got some cash to spare I'll probably invest in a copy of Dreamweaver, but for now I'll be sticking with HS.

For a mine of useful HS information (from basic to super-advanced) have a look at www.hshelp.com (http://www.hshelp.com)

John

[Mandi]

Homesite . . . totally love it!![nbsp][nbsp]I am still back on version 3, haven't had the need for 4 yet.[nbsp][nbsp]Besides automating lots of tags (without adding/altering things because it thinks it knows best, LOL) . . . it has a super powerful find or find/replace.[nbsp][nbsp]You can tell it to recognize a ton of different file extensions, thus allowing .pl and .cgi files too . . . I would be insane by now, trying to customize each new UBB, with a less powerful "search this entire directory for . . . " function.[nbsp][nbsp]Of course, UBB *could* beta test a little more thoroughly and not HAVE to have hourly releases, but that is a somewhat divergent topic.

Love the color coded tags . . . love the HTML validator (although it's a bit "dumb" - won't realize I have the "missing" tags set aside in a txt file for shtml pages) . . . love the link validator (I have a few pages that feature extensive offsite links - every so often I hunt down the dead ones with this tool . . .soooo much nicer than doing it myself.)
[This message has been edited by Mandi (edited 02-22-00@09:19 am)]

[sheila]

speaking of special features, I was just using the link checker the other night.

[Duff]

Thanks for the response. I currently use a very old text editor call dwHTML and I sometimes use CuteHTML. I'm going to go ahead and give Homesite another try but I'll probably try to continue using Frontpage and Dreamweaver for tables.

[Brian]

I use Netscapes Composer, and have found that it works well, and does not muck with things such as ssi calls etc. In addition to that I use notepad to "clean" it up, but all in all Composer does a good job doing most things, and is FREE :)

[wolfstalks]

Let me add a BIG endorsement for Netscape Composer. It's free, it has two different built in HTML editors, and between the built in editor and the WYSIWYG abilites I can do almost everything I try to do. It has a built in capibilty to take a group of text and tabelize it, which for me comes in real handy.[nbsp][nbsp]All in All I will take Composer over all the others.[nbsp][nbsp]But as with everything else is OMHO or only my humble opinion. :P
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Have a Good One
Bob

[Vroomfondel]

I'm a BIG Homesite fan, I've been using it since version 2.5 and have followed it as it progressed up to the current 4.5. The new version is excellent and has far better support for PHP than the earlier version did. However, one editor you might want to consider if you like HomeSite is 40tude (http://www.40tude.com/html/). It's a LOT cheaper, is more customizable and does just about everything HomeSite does just about as well. Before you settle on one, demo them both. Right now I'm sort of up-in-the-air about which will be my everyday workhorse editor, but I'm beginning to learn towards 40tude.

Two others to look at are:

1stPage 2000: An excellent FREEWARE editor
HTML Kit: The best PHP support of any editor in existence. Also Freeware.

[sheila]

I used to use NS composer. But when I actually got to the point where I wanted to start learning HTML and trying to read the code and fix up the code myself, I found that the formatting was terrible. (Of course, that was Netscape Gold 3.? ). I had the hardest time reading it and making sense of it.

Homesite and Dreamweaver are both excellent at formatting code properly. I can't speak for any other apps, since I haven't really used others.

[Monica]

I'm the Grandma here... I'm using HS 2.5![nbsp][nbsp]I LOVE IT![nbsp][nbsp]I tried 3.0 (I tried a dear friend of mine's, not mentioning any names... don't want to imply any bootlegging, LOLOL).[nbsp][nbsp]I[nbsp][nbsp]twice did the 30 day trial of 4.0 as well.[nbsp][nbsp]One day, I actually plan on purchasing 4.0.[nbsp][nbsp]Lots of nifty stuff.

I too learned/started out html'ing in Notepad, then to HomeSite.[nbsp][nbsp]Good golly... it was like going from Foldgers Instant to fresh ground beans![nbsp][nbsp]

For now, I live and breath HS 2.5.[nbsp][nbsp]I'm very comfortable with it.[nbsp][nbsp]Something about being an old dog, eh.[nbsp][nbsp]Anyhoo... Ditto everything Mandi said, plus what I like best, is the search and replace, which is a G_d send when having to edit multiple files![nbsp][nbsp]Snip, snap...[nbsp][nbsp]I can edit 200 pages in a matter of seconds![nbsp][nbsp]LOL... If I could only upload as fast![nbsp][nbsp];)[nbsp][nbsp]

I also love the color codes for various attributes.[nbsp][nbsp]Though... with 2.5, you only get about 6 or 8 colors to choose from (as well as attributes), and with 4.0, you can pick your own attributes and colors, as well as[nbsp][nbsp]bold, italic, highighting.... awesome on the ole eyes!


[This message has been edited by Monica (edited 02-23-00@1:19 pm)]

[Duff]

That's great. I re-installed HS and am going to give it another try. My hope is that it leaves my html and php intact. Frontpage likes to scramble it all up.

Thanks again everyone!