Hello. I am using a windows 98 operating system, and building a basic
web site using Netscape Composer as my HTML editor. However, Composer
has proved lacking in one key feature, so I am looking for another
simple HTML editor similar to Netscape Composer. Composer has a
preview screen, an hmtl screen, and a gui type of screen where you can
copy and paste elements to a page, edit text on that page, etc. This
is what I am looking for in an HTML editor. The only problem with
Composer is that after pages have been created, if you need to make a
change on every page, such as adding two links to a navigation bar,
you must create the new links each time. I want an HTML editor where I
could "copy" the new links and "paste" them into the new page. This is
still not the fastest proces in the world but that would suit my needs
for this generation of my web site. I would consider this question
answered if someone:

1. Recommends an HTML editor that fits the above description and
addresses the "copy and paste" issue I described.

2. The person answering the question has either used the HTML editor
in question or has a good testimonial from someone who has;

3. That HTML editor is from a fairly reputable player in the market -
I tried one online only to realize that the company was already on the
way down and wouldn't be supporting their product.

I am open to paying as much as $75 for a quality HTML editor at this
point, however, I do not need something fancy with all the bells and
whistles, in fact, I would prefer a pared down, but easy to use and
reliable, interface.

Thanks in advance for your help! You will see from my history I pay
promptly and reliably if you meet my criteria.

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Request for Question Clarification by robertskelton-ga on 05 Sep 2003 19:46 PDT

Am I right in thinking that you are looking for a HTML editor with a
global "find and replace" feature - ie you tell it the original code,
and the code you wish to replace it with, and you have the option of
changing every file in a folder or site with that one action.

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Clarification of Question by johnwr-ga on 05 Sep 2003 19:50 PDT

yes, some type of efficient "global replace" would be excellent. That
is exactly what I have in mind. I am flexible as to how that global
replace would work, as long as it is effective.

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Request for Question Clarification by justaskscott-ga on 05 Sep 2003 21:47 PDT

Will this do?

Arachnophilia
http://www.arachnoid.com/arachnophilia/

I don't have the latest version, but I like version 4.0.

I'm not an expert at HTML editing, so I'm not completely sure that
this is what you want, though I suspect it might be.  If it is, I'll
be happy to post it as an answer.

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Request for Question Clarification by answerfinder-ga on 06 Sep 2003 03:00 PDT

Dear johnwr-ga,
I recommend without hesitation 1st Page 2000 by Evrsoft. I also
started with Netscape Composer and then moved onto 1st Page. I've
tried others but always come back to 1st Page.
What do I like about it?
You can quickly switch screens from the html to preview the page.
You can have several pages open at one time (tabs) and it is easy to
switch from one to other.
You can build up a library of your own favourite snippets of code and
easily cut and paste them into your pages.
Change browser window resolution.
Tags are easy. For instance, press 'ctrl' 'b' and the tags <b></b>
appear.
It has a tool to check your HTML and automatically correct mistakes.
It's free!
No global replace though.
More information and screen shots is on   
http://www.evrsoft.com/1stpage2_features.shtml

I see you're a regular customer. Have a look, give it try. Let me know
whether I can post this as an answer.

answerfinder-ga

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Clarification of Question by johnwr-ga on 06 Sep 2003 13:09 PDT

lots of good comments below. In the next week, I'm going to check out
a few of these HTML editors that are recommended below. I'm leaning
away from arachnophilia, only because it doesn't seem to have the
feature I am looking for, however, I will definitely try it also.
Whichever program works the best I will nominate for the answer.
THANKS for the informed comments, much appreciated!!!

I know this doesn't pertain directly to your question, but are you
willing to use server side includes?

What this would do is you would have one html file that contains your
links (So you would only have to update one file) The rest of your
site would "include" this file. Meaning when you update the one file
the rest of your site would reflect the changes.

This would be simple to do, and you wouldn't have to switch html
editing programs.

I have always been fond of Globalscape's CuteHTML, precisely because
it handles updates across multiple files with just a few clicks.

Alas, it does not have a preview functionality, so likely wouldn't
meet your needs.  I like it for quick & dirty updates of multiple
pages, perhaps you might find it helpful:

CuteHTML
http://www.globalscape.com/cutehtml/

Oh!  My default HTML Editor is CoffeeCup HTML:

CoffeeCup
http://www.coffeecup.com/html-editor/

Love it, love it, love it, have been using it in various versions for
the past 4 years.  Adore it! I use this one for more detailed updates
and design.

It too offers a "global find & replace" function, as well as a preview
screen...but it also comes with scads of extras and all of the buttons
can be confusing if you never use them.  Still, the 45 day trial is
free, it might be worth your time to look.

--Missy

As you only want to pay $75, you might want to try eBay for an old
version of Dreamweaver.  I'm not sure what the big deal about
copy-and-pasting links is.  It sounds as though you want to copy from
the GUI and paste to the GUI.  Dreamweaver will do this.  However,
after building the new links the first time, why not copy-and-paste to
and from the source code rather than the GUI?

Since you apparently don't want to bother and learn HTML, you are not
going to create a very good web page anyway.  So, just use frames and
your navigation will only be one page for your entire site.  I don't
recommend frames for a commercial site for several reasons that are
probably beyond you at this point in time.  another lazy way out of
your dilemma is to use templates.  They are predesigned web pages
where you simply plug-in your information.  They are very inexpensive
and some are free.

By the way, learning HTML you can create your page in Notepad (free)
and save it as an HTML or HTM extension.  You can then drag the file
to your Netscape window and the page will appear.

Might I suggest Vim ( http://www.vim.org/ )?  :->

Seriously, though, I saw that justaskscott-ga mentioned Arachnophilia,
and that is the first thing that came to my mind.  It is not WYSIWYG,
but is a very powerful HTML editor.  I never use anything but Vim to
write code, but if I were to use an HTML editor on the Windoze
platform, it would most certaily be Arachnophilia.

Another good thing about Arachnophelia: it is now written in Java (it
used to be a Windows-only app).  So if you ever find yourself using
another operating system, you won't have to switch editors (as long as
the OS has Java support--most do).

I got a good laugh out of this FAQ:
http://www.arachnoid.com/generalfaq/index.html#link9

:)
bikerman

I'm a longtime Arachnophilia user - though haven't really taken to the
java version - and I love it. But it doesn't do the global 'search and
replace' you seem to need.
For that I use a simple text s-and-r program, TexRep.
http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Utilities/Text_Search_and_Replace_Tools/TexRep.html

I'm sure there's a bunch of similar programs out there. However, you
have to know your HTML :-).

Johnwr--

Too many choices for you.  I use and like HotDog Professional. 
There's a down-sized version of the product called HotDog PageWiz and
like many vendors they offer a 30-day trial version:
http://www.sausage.com/pagewiz/overview.html

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

You can also try MS FrontPage Express, the slimmed down version of
FrontPage. http://www.microsoft.com , search their site for "FrontPage
Express."