3 May 2004

The Changing of the Guard

I have decided that it is time for me to stop using Microsoft FrontPage as my editor of choice for managing The Keep and start using something else.

The reasons for this are many and varied. Suffice to say that despite the fact that FrontPage is extremely easy to use and has served me well since the inception of The Keep, I cannot help but think that there has to be a program out there that allows me to do the same thing that FrontPage does, but better.

Simple enough in theory. In practice things are likely to be somewhat different.

First of all, a list of simple requirements:

1. Whichever program I decide to use MUST employ visually oriented design tools. When I think of the layout of this place and what I want to do with it I think visually, and any program which insists on making me alter source code without allowing me to see the immediate effects of my changes is completely and totally useless to me.

2. Whichever program I decide to use MUST allow me to update the site on the server via FTP ability built into the program itself. Ideally, this ability will allow me to update only those files that have been changed in the current session, instead of being forced to pick and choose, or, even worse, being forced to update the entire site at a time.

When it comes down to it, those two simple things are all that I really ask. Everything else is negotiable.

There are two contenders in this contest, both of them Macromedia products. They are Macromedia HomeSite and Macromedia DreamWeaver.

I’ve been looking at HomeSite off and on for several months now. I find that while there is a lot that I can do with that package, there is also a lot that I cannot do. However, the interface is intuitive and easy to use.

When I first looked at DreamWeaver I was somewhat impressed, but also somewhat unimpressed. My initial findings were that while DreamWeaver offered a significant assortment of features and abilities it was sorely lacking in visual design features. I have since found that this initial judgement was misguided on my part. The features are there, they just aren’t all that obvious.

When I first started seriously considering changing editors the first package that I looked at was HomeSite. I chose it first because the program doesn’t take up a lot of hard drive space, and doesn’t take up a lot of CPU horsepower either. This realization was about the only positive element of the experience. I’m sure that there are a lot of people out there who are productive on a daily basis with HomeSite. Alas, I cannot be one of them. The program has no visual design tools, forcing the developer to deal entirely with the HTML source code. Inasmuch as that is not outside my capabilities, the fact remains that it is a pain in my ass. As I said before, I think visually and I insist on the presence of visual design tools to help me lay out my site.

Despite my problems with it, I do find HomeSite to be very powerful and very easy to use. The code that it produces is clean and well written. HomeSite will allow you a high level of integration with CSS files to define the layout and appearance of your site, which is something that FrontPage does not encourage. If you’re comfortable with mucking around with HTML source, then HomeSite is the right choice for you. As I said, I am capable of it, but I think visually and I don’t have to time to screw around with toggling back and forth between code views and page previews.

DreamWeaver allows the same fine control over the HTML source. Indeed, the program seems to encourage it. For those that aren’t terribly inclined to do this there are some fantastic visual design tools. In retrospect I conclude that my initial misguided opinions on the program were entirely too rushed. The placement and usage of the visual tools is actually quite intuitive, when you sit down and think about them. I believe that on that day I was so set in my ways that I wasn’t capable of this kind of thought. Indeed, if I recall correctly, at the time I was engaged in marathon sessions on Moonshadow, which would explain my hasty judgement.

DreamWeaver also has an FTP capability built in, which allows me to update the server files from within the program without having to bother with an external FTP client, just like FrontPage does. The update facility in DreamWeaver will allow me to either update the entire site, or manually select a list of files to update. However, there doesn’t seem to be a function to allow me to automatically update those files which have changed since the last update, the way that FrontPage allows. This is a minor pain in my ass, one which can be overcome by keeping a written log of which files I’ve updated in a specific session and then updating those files on the server in the traditional manner. It’s a little bit of extra work, but not a lot.

HomeSite apparently has a similar FTP capability. I confess I’ve not fooled around with it. The discovery that visual design tools were entirely absent from HomeSite were such a complete and total turn off that I completely abandoned further work with the program.

Obviously DreamWeaver is the clear winner in this contest. That means I’m going to actually have to put aside some money and purchase a registered copy of the program. It’s expensive (in excess of $300) but I believe it will be worth it in the end.

For those who are inclined to use it, I have no problem with recommending FrontPage as a web site editor. It’s extremely easy to use and stood me in good stead for a long time. I just believe that DreamWeaver is better.