142 lines
5.7 KiB
HTML
142 lines
5.7 KiB
HTML
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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
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<HTML><HEAD>
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<title>HTML Editor ++ LG #46</title>
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<H4>
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"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
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<H1><font color="maroon">HTML Editor ++</font></H1>
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<H4>By <a href="mailto:chimbis@skjoldebrand.org">Martin Skjöldebrand</a></H4>
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<P> Being among the first in porting software from Windows to Linux
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can't be easy. Especially if you do not have any feeling for the
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Linux community. Still, it is nice to see software that you have
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played with - and sort of liked - under your new OS. This is what
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has happened to CoffeeCup Software's HTML Editor ++.
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<P>
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<IMG ALT="screenshot" SRC=gx/skjoldebrand.HTML_Editor.png WIDTH=758 HEIGHT=528>
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<BR CLEAR=all>
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<P> First let me say that feature-vs-easy-of-use wise it is superior
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to just about anything on Linux. I feel that Amaya is the closest
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rival if it just wasn't so eccentric. (At least I think it's
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eccentric). In HTML Editor ++ you get wizards, albeit limited,
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for creating tables and frames. You get three rows of buttons
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across the top and a set of handy menu short cuts along the right
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hand side of the screen (Align left, right, centre, new
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paragraph, new line, etc). And you also get - which I think shows
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a lack of understanding of Linux culture a big--no, gigantic--
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shareware banner across and towards the top of the screen. This
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is annoying but tolerable if you decide to use the editor. When
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you pay for this piece of software it presumably disappears is
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if by magic. There is nothing wrong with that but the banner is
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so large it actually provokes cracking. Another Windows standard
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that followed the product into Linux is that it is time-bombed:
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it stops working after 30 days. This together with the banner
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brought the anarchistic side of me to the front and at least the
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time bomb "feature" is extremely easily invalidated. CoffeCup
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Software has a lot to learn from J-M Jacquet and his
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<A HREF=http://www.littleigloo.org>IglooFTP-PRO</A>
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which also is shareware but the nag is implemented in a more
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subtle manner.
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<P> A main "selling point" is the directory and file navigation
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system pioneered by HomeSite. On the left side of the screen you
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get two boxes, one for directories and one for files. You
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navigate you site tree by double clicking on the directory name
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and open the file by clicking on the file name in the box below.
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Brilliantly easy.
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<P> Now, I don't have anything against shareware (I used to use
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several (payed-for) shareware applications on Windows). But there
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is a problem HTML Editor ++. It's flawed. In the brief period
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I've tried it out I've discovered several bugs. Most irritating
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is that it seems to handle existing documents badly. Not that it
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adds copious amount of own code, it doesn't, but the formatting
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tools freak out regularly.
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<P> For example: open a document, place the insertion point somewhere
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in the text and hit the hyperlink button on the right. You get
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a screen to fill in a text and the link. Click "Cool". You would
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expect it to insert the text and link at the insertion point,
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right? Unfortunately it doesn't; just now it scrolled down to the
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bottom of the page and inserted the text and link there. What you
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have to do is select a word, hit the hyperlink button insert the
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linktext and hit "Cool". (It didn't work now, but it usually
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does). HTML Editor ++ is plagued by this kind of problems.
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<P> Another example is the "New line" button which may insert the
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<br> tag at any random location in the text (although bottom of
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the page is preferred).
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<P> Most of these problems go away if you write a document from
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scratch. Then everything works as intended. Don't ask me why, I
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didn't write this port. And you can't help out either - it is not
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Open Software. The most serious problem though is that HTML
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Editor ++ is unstable. Various simple formatting actions can
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crash the editor; e.g., just inserting a new <p> tag. It took a
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couple of pages to discover this but one very good piece of
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advice is, ironically enough the same as for much software with
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Windows background, save your work often.
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<P> A last complaint is the "Save" function which is just plain daft.
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In a graphical application you really shouldn't be forced to
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enter the path manually. And why do you get a confirmation screen
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which you have to click "OK" on the make it go away?
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<P> In all, HTML Editor++ is a promising piece of ported software.
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It needs much more work to become stable and bug free but to
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those patient enough it is quite nice to work with.
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<!-- BEGIN copyright ==================================================-->
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<P> <hr> <P>
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<H5 ALIGN=center>
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Copyright © 1999, Martin Skjoldebrand<BR>
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Published in Issue 46 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, October 1999</H5>
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