THE Web Developers HTML Editor (Allaire Homesite)

Name: satellite360

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Product:	Allaire Homesite
Date:	13/07/01 (124 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, Customisability, Useful tools and features to make coding quicker

Disadvantages: You need to know HTML

I've been working as a web developer for a few years now and have used a fair few html editing tools in my time but none of them compare to HomeSite. It is no surprise to me that pretty much all the other web developers I know use HomeSite too.

I learned to code using WordPad (ie by hand) and have never much liked WYSIWYG editors as they write pretty nasty code ... though they are improving. HomeSite makes the process of handcoding so much quicker as it has all sorts of shortcuts and options to finish off your code as you write it (eg by putting in the closing tags for you or creating complex tables using a visual matrix wizard). If you are able to code by hand then you will like HomeSite, if you can't then you will find it difficult to use - that said, using HomeSite is a great way to learn HTML - the included help files are invaluable whether you are a beginner or an expert.

One of the best features of HomeSite is it's code validator, which though not quite up to W3C standards does come close. Another invaluable tool is the multiple search-and-replace, great for when a regularly referenced url changes for example.

Another major plus is the customisability of it: toolbars and keyboard shortcuts can be changed as desired, but you can also add your own snippets of regularly used code so you won't need to keep re-coding the same stuff over and over. After you get the interface looking as you like it with all your shortcuts to hand, it becomes an incredibly useful and simple tool to work with.

Other plusses:
* Excellent support for ColdFusion tags and (limited) support for ASP and JavaScript.
* Problems with original 4.5 release (crashing, odd behaviour at times) have been resolved in the latest 4.5.2 update.

Summary: