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[kohelet]

I'm sure this question is incredibly basic to anyone who knows anything about this, but I can't figure it out.  I frequently write very simple HTML code to make webpages for my online course (and for some other stuff, like maintaining a list of internship opportunities, etc.).  My current process:  1) Write in notepad, 2) save with .html suffix, 3) open in a browser, 4) see everything I need to fix, 5) repeat until it's right.

This is really cumbersome.  My dream program:  I write HTML in the left pane, and the webpage displays in the right frame.  (Or, on second thought, something like this board--I type here, and then I hit the "preview" button to check it out.)

Does this exist?

Thanks.

[bacardiandlime]

TACO and KompoZer for mac will both do what you want. Taco used to be free but now have to pay (not much), and KompoZer - at least a basic version - is a free download.

[neutralname]

If the HTML code is really very simple, then why not edit the HTML file itself, using HTML code?  It's easy to do links, quote functions, font and font size, and simple pictures.  I guess that you actually want more than that.

But my main thought is that I'm not sure you will be able to avoid the iterative process you already do, even with a software program.  Especially if you want it to look basically the same in most browsers: IE, Firefox, Opera, etc.  I find that no matter how much a program promises to give you WYSIWYG, formatting nearly always screws up and you go back and correct it.  If you are copying and pasting part of another document in Word, then forgeddaboutit, you will definitely have to go back and forth several times until it looks right. 

[kohelet]

If the HTML code is really very simple, then why not edit the HTML file itself, using HTML code?  It's easy to do links, quote functions, font and font size, and simple pictures.  I guess that you actually want more than that. 

Maybe I'm not using the vocabulary correctly, but this is what I do now.  In other words, I type out everything with all the HTML tags in notepad.  But, no, I don't want more than that--no dreamweaver or whatever--I just want to type out my HTML code and see the pretty (and simple) web version pop up in a window beside it.

If could do the "View > source" from inside my browser, and then edit and save the source code, I'd be set, but I don't see how to do that in Firefox, at least.

And, FOR SURE, I don't want to use the MS Word "WYSIWYG" editor, because of all the HTML junk it puts in there.

Thanks, b'lime, but I'm on PC.  I do like free, though!

[dr_strangelove]

I'm on a Mac too (I use BBEdit for this), but did you try some googling? Aa quick search turns up, e.g. CoffeeCup, which looks like what you're looking for.

[kohelet]

I did, but I keep finding jargon I don't know (CSS?).  This one does look promising, though, thanks!

[namazu]

CSS = cascading style sheets.

These are instructions you set up to apply a uniform set of styles (i.e., fonts, colors, positioning) to documents.  You can set them up as separate files and then "call" them from individual HTML pages so that you don't have to re-invent the wheel every time.  And if you decide to change something, you can edit the stylesheet and then it will apply to all HTML pages that use the style sheet -- that way, you don't have to edit them one-by-one.  Some users with disabilities can opt to swap in their own style sheets with, say, large font sizes and high contrast in colors.  On the other hand, using them adds to the learning curve.

[zuzu_]

Microsoft Frontpage.

It's similar to Word. You make a page like you would create a word document, then you select the text and convert it to "code," and then you copy the coded text where you want it.

It's comes from Office 2003. Your college IT dept. has it and can put it on your computer.

[dr_strangelove]

Chime to what namazu said about CSS. But I would also add that if you're hand-coding web pages, you should know what CSS is and how to use it (and you should use it). I think I used this tutorial to learn about CSS.

[neutralname]

My experience is Microsoft programs in creating web pages is that they introduce way too much bizarre code that is often not very compatible with other programs and web browsers.  I know that programmers put up garlic and crosses when Microsoft is mentioned. 

With MS Word, the "Save As Web Page, Filtered" helps to get rid of much of that code though, and I use that very often. 

[kohelet]

Ummm ... nevermind.  I just figured out that I can do just what I want in IE, just not in Firefox.  (I had just assumed Firefox can do everything IE can.)  I can open something I've started in notepad via view>source, edit it, save it, hit refresh in the browser, and see the changes.  Really, for what I'm doing, this is super.  Thanks, all.

[neutralname, on preview: Yes--I've had the same problems with MS Office, so I've sworn off that route (after wasting a LOT of time designing an unnecessarily slick page that I couldn't get to open in Firefox).]

[namazu]

Ummm ... nevermind.  I just figured out that I can do just what I want in IE, just not in Firefox.  (I had just assumed Firefox can do everything IE can.)  I can open something I've started in notepad via view>source, edit it, save it, hit refresh in the browser, and see the changes.  Really, for what I'm doing, this is super.  Thanks, all.

[neutralname, on preview: Yes--I've had the same problems with MS Office, so I've sworn off that route (after wasting a LOT of time designing an unnecessarily slick page that I couldn't get to open in Firefox).]

Kohelet, I edit HTML using Wordpad (like notepad, but with lines on the icon), and do approximately the same thing - type the file path in the address bar of Firefox and hit refresh after saving.  Works fine for me. And then before I post, I check it in IE, too.

Wait... I'm not sure how what you're doing now is different from what you were doing before...what makes this easier?

[kohelet]

It's kind of hard to explain.  When I do this in notepad, I can't just hit save--that just saves it to .txt, so then I have to do "save as," file type>all files, add the .html suffix manually, get the "already exists, replace file?" warning, click "yes," and THEN I can refresh the browser to see the changes I've made.  I know it sounds whiny (and, well, it is, so yay for anonymity), but it gets aggravating when you need to make a string of changes.  I couldn't get wordpad to save to .html at all (no "all files" in the "save as" drop-down menu).

For whatever reason, when I open the source from inside of IE, while it does open in notepad, when I click "save," it saves to the same .html file, and I can hit refresh in the browser.  Two clicks instead of six plus some typing.

Back to easy html editing ...

[namazu]

Ah, got it.  Not "whiny", just "efficient".  Glad you found a way to make things go more smoothly!

[sporosarcina]

I would go with Kompozer.  It is a free download (unlike all MS and adobe products) and has almost all the functionality of Frontpage (which has be converted to Expression Web I think).  The WYSIWYG window has a code tab which allows on the fly tag editing and the fine control you are looking for, but frankly you will probably just stick to the WYSIWIG editor functions.