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Do you know a free HTML editor with real time preview in adjacent pane?
HankFriedman:
dear nepaltom,
if you read my response, I did indicate the weaknesses and strengths of Amaya, specifically the "fatal" lack of wordwrap
HankFriedman:
I did manage to install the Microsoft Visual Web Developer after a bit of effort (you have to download the Microsoft Web Platform Installer first, then go to the Microsoft Visual Web Developer page http://www.microsoft.com/express/web/ and click on the Install button and enter the path to the Microsoft Web Platform Installer on your PC to install it. And installation is quite sloooooow.
The Express version (supposed to be free) is clearly labeled "For Evaluation Purposes only" -- not my favorite ambiguity...
and then after loading an HTML file, I get the message: some bytes have been replaced with the Unicode substitution character while loading filename with US-ASCII encoding. Saving the file will not preserve the original file contents.
Not sure if this will mess up my HTML files or not.
on the positive side, it has dual panes, code and preview, with auto-updating and a vertical split option with the code on the left, which I prefer
but on the negative side, it doesn't have any way to automatically insert HTML codes, e.g. I cannot select a few words and change their color, size, etc.
so it's ok but certainly not great.
by the way, CodeLobster PHP Edition has all of the above except that the preview is on the left, but again has no support for inserting HTML tags easily.
steeladept:
The Express version (supposed to be free) is clearly labeled "For Evaluation Purposes only" -- not my favorite ambiguity...
-HankFriedman (June 12, 2010, 09:32 PM)
--- End quote ---
Huh. Don't remember seeing this caveat ever. Anywhere. I am going back to look again now. You are certainly right about one thing though...the installation SUCKS big time. It isn't difficult, but it is convoluted and, IMO, cumbersome and slow. That said, you do get a lot of functionality for free, so I deal with it without complaint (well major complaint anyway :P)
and then after loading an HTML file, I get the message: some bytes have been replaced with the Unicode substitution character while loading filename with US-ASCII encoding. Saving the file will not preserve the original file contents.
Not sure if this will mess up my HTML files or not.
-HankFriedman (June 12, 2010, 09:32 PM)
--- End quote ---
If I recall my encoding mappings correctly, it shouldn't. It looks like it is trying to change it TO Unicode, which is not altogether a bad idea assuming nothing else changes. The ease test is to copy the page, open the copy and see if there are any changes. Behind the scenes, it all gets converted to Unicode, which shares the ASCII mappings to prevent things from getting hosed, and everything then ends up looking the same (size on disk would change a little though because Unicode is larger by 1 bit/character IIRC).
but on the negative side, it doesn't have any way to automatically insert HTML codes, e.g. I cannot select a few words and change their color, size, etc.
-HankFriedman (June 12, 2010, 09:32 PM)
--- End quote ---
I am not exactly sure what you mean here. Do you mean like code snippets or something else?
steeladept:
The Express version (supposed to be free) is clearly labeled "For Evaluation Purposes only" -- not my favorite ambiguity...
-HankFriedman (June 12, 2010, 09:32 PM)
--- End quote ---
Just found what you meant. Here is the relevant passage resolving your concerns:
Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2010 Express requires that you register
your evaluation copy within 30 days of installation. Once you've
entered your Registration Key, the product is free.
-Microsoft
--- End quote ---
It is permanently free for anyone to use (even for commercial use from what I read in the license itself, though I don't recall the specifics). However, once installed, you do have 30 days to register it to make it a non-evaluation copy. Not unlike many other free software. Another nice thing about this page http://www.microsoft.com/express/Downloads/ is they brought back the ability to download the ISO for later installation. It is much faster and smoother that way, IMO, but I couldn't find it for a long time even for VS Express 2008. I strongly suggest downloading and keeping the ISO if you think you will ever reinstall it.
HankFriedman:
dear steeladept,
what I meant by automatically insert HTML codes is that I'm used to an HTML editor (the old Windows version of Arachnophilia, which is truly superb) where you can customize the right-click menu such that you can, for example:
highlight text and change its size, color, make it a link, etc.
or click on a blank area and insert text or links or graphics, etc.
very easily
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