The HTML Editor

Made by Home Plan Software, The HTML Editor provides as many luxuries as one can expect for $49, but it is the ease of use the program offers that makes it worth at least that much.

In many respects, The HTML Editor is a text editor with the comfort of a WYSIWIG editor. The reason: It uses a split screen (either horizontal or vertical) that allows content to be updated as it is entered or by merely pressing the F8 key when desired. Instantly, the user can see what they have done and what they need to do.

Clicking on the viewer portion of the screen causes the cursor to move to the same position in the editing portion. Click in the editing portion, and the user will see the cursor move to that spot in the viewer section.

The screen divider can be adjusted to give either portion of the screen more or less space. Further, a mere click on an icon switches the screen to either full editor or full viewer. Another click takes the user back to the split screen mode. These actions can also be performed by hitting "F" keys. But this is just one way The HTML Editor provides convenience.

The second most notable way is that in addition to the extensive drop-down menus at the top of the page, just above an extensive collection of clickable icons, there is a bar that runs down the side of the editing window that allows users to place word buttons for their most used items, such as <b>, <br>, <hr>, and <center>.

The toolbar, selection of icons, and the word buttons are all customizable. The word buttons can be used as a floating, docked, or hidden toolbar.

Further, the program can be kept up-to-date by simply deleting a current tag and inserting a new one. For example, users may want to delete the <center> button and insert a <div align=center> tag. Users can also access colors and special characters there as well.

Should you find yourself with snippets of code you frequently use, these can be inserted into the document by creating a code library, placing the code in a file there, and then placing the code library among the tag options.

The HTML Editor allows users to have multiple files open, with selection as easy as clicking on a tab just above the editing screen. The number of open files is limited only by the system's resources. Find and Replace is available for one file, all the open files, or all the files in a directory.

Files can be viewed in Internet Explorer by simply pressing the F5 key. Printing of a file can be done from either from the viewer window or the editing window.

Entering a table in The HTML Editor is a dream, with a popup asking for a number of values to apply to the table. Once those values are established, click the "insert table" button and it appears in the preview window just as designed.

Lists, photos, and links can be inserted by way of the icon toolbar or drop-down menus. Link paths can be absolute or relative, and by selecting text beforehand, it becomes the link message.

In addition to having the usual "Help" files, the program offers an HTML Tour, designed to help users learn the basics of the markup language and to take best advantage of the program. In fact, the Tour leads the user through the process of setting up a template that can be reused endlessly.

Once a Web site is designed, it can be FTP'd to the server from within the program, which can be set to automatically dial and log on to a selected site. The included FTP editor is quite good, offering features that so many other companies use to justify the prices they charge for buying a standalone FTP program.

Users also receive free updates of the FTP Manager, Help file, Thesaurus, American English spell checker, and spell checkers in any of 15 other languages.

For less than $50, The HTML Editor provides users with a solid program to produce Web sites, giving enough help along the way to be useful to beginners and veterans alike.