For years now, I've essentially been using Frontpage as a bloated
Notepad because I spend 99% of my time in direct HTML editing mode. I
never use any of the Frontpage themes, components, etc. The main
reason that I've stuck with it as long as I have is because I can
convenantly hit Ctrl+S and it automatically uploads my file, where I
can instantly view it. This is important to me because I'm either
writting in ASP (most of the time) or PHP and therefore cannot just do
a preview locally, on my system. The file has to be processed on the
server. I hand code *everything*: ASP, PHP and HTML and need a new
tool that isn't so "user friendly" that it ends up being "expert
hostile".

The past few days I've looked into alot of HTML editors and haven't
found anything suitable. Most of the tools make me save a file locally
then specifically go through an FTP process. I want something that
will automatically upload my file via FTP when I hit Ctrl+S to save
it. The only thing that I've found that does this (other than
FrontPage) is CuteFTP Pro. However, that program isn't really designed
to be an HTML editor and doesn't have many features related to those
tasks.

Features in the "would be nice" category include: doesn't use many
system resources, is relativly cheap, has a professional-grade tools
such as an XML/XHTML validator and maybe some site management tools.

Thanks for your suggestions!

I use Dreamweaver Ultradev daily, and find that it has a ton of useful
features. My personal favorite which im sure you can relate to is the
ability to see both code and visual layout together (split top to
bottom) or individually. Ultradev has a ton of database connectivity
benefits over any other editor I have used. Since most of my work is
in database connectivity..this is great for me. However...the reason I
bring this up to you is that you mention the restrictive feeling of
Frontpage. That's where Dreamweaver has the ultimate edge. Between
it's flexibility and it's user based developement, there are no
boundaries. I use about 20 different plugins that were designed by the
user community. So...my reccomendation for you is Dreamweaver MX.

I have included the following links to information about this product
as I feel they support the requested needs you specified.

>>>doesn't use many system resources  
I'm using it on an amd k6 3 450 with 512megs ram...never have a
problem even with photoshop and winamp and the mandatory open windows
we all use on a daily basis. It does tend to slow up a little on my
work machine (intel 4 1 gig 256 megs ram) when trying to update all
the 18 websites that it has details for locally...but thats pretty
much expected. and my machine is waiting for a nice big new slab of
mem.

>>>is relativly cheap:
ok...well...Cheap is relative..to me...Dreamweaver with all it's
functions is definitely worth it's 350$ price tag. But, if you can
prove you are a Student or a teacher, you can buy it for 115$ (don't
get to excited...you gotta prove it...LOL)

Keywords: Dreamweaver cost
 
>>>has a professional-grade tools such as an XML/XHTML validator 
As I mentioned before, Dreamweaver's best feature is its user support.
Users design things they need to be used in the product, and then
share them with the community. I've attached a small sample of links
below.

http://www.edgeofmyseat.com/tutorials/tutorial4.asp (xml/xhtml
validator discussion specifically on this page)
http://www.udzone.com/ (extensions galore and tutorials)
http://dynamic.macromedia.com/bin/MM/exchange/main.jsp?product=dreamweaver
(more extensions)
http://www.yaromat.com/dw/index.php (more)
http://www.z3roadster.net/dreamweaver/ (more)
http://www.cascade.org.uk/software/dreamweaver/ (and more)

Keywords: none, these are from my own personal bookmarks.

>>>site management tools.
It was originally designed as a site management tool


Also here is a nice side by side comparison of MX and GoLive
http://www.realworldgolive.com/six/DWvsGL.html  

If you find something on this page marked a no, check with the
dreamweaver extension sites or search for that feature and dreamweaver
to find out if anyone has developed a solution for it. I on rare
occasions have found some minor difficulties with usage, but that is
on ultradev 4 and not the new dreamweaver MX. On those occasions the
community has always been able to fix that problem.

I'm sure this will meet or beat your expectations,
Mother911-ga

---

Request for Answer Clarification by senseijamie-ga on 29 Jun 2002 21:59 PDT

I've demoed UltraDev and found it to be quite the beast. I do this for
a living, so I don't really mind coughing up the cash if it saves me
time or makes my job easier. It's also infinitely more complex than
Frontpage... which is again ok -- I don't mind learning the tool if
helps me do my job better. However, it does not have the simple
keystroke FTP upload that I was looking for in my question (that I can
see; maybe I'm wrong).

I'm guessing that we do similar work? I do a lot of SQL development
and use ADO within ASP to call stored procedures. Let's say that I
made a change on a page that pulls down a recordset and want to see
the output. How many steps are required to do this in UltraDev? Do I
have to open up a menu, select the files to upload to the FTP server
and then hit an "upload" button? In Frontpage, I write the code in the
HTML tab, hit Ctrl+S and then press the refresh button on my web
browser. I'm looking for a tool that allows me to work in a similar
fashion.

---

Clarification of Answer by mother911-ga on 30 Jun 2002 01:01 PDT

I use ultradev daily for sql insertions and recordset query displays,
I create approximately 3 query results based pages a day and handle
approximately 300k db insertions a month from the pages I created. So
I get tons of daily hands on Ultradev usage. Site uploads are simple.
To be sure it was clear, I grabbed it online.

the basic concept is simple. Make a local folder for your site, you
work on this one, and you also create your connection to your live
site. After making changes click file/save (or corresponding hotkey
ctrl s) and then click site/put, or use the little action button on
the top of the screen, little up and down arrows (and hotkey ctrl
shift U also works nice)

http://www.resources.hostway.com/w2kmanual/127.htm

Here are instructions on how to Connect to the server using UltraDev4:

1. Go To Site | New Site
2. Define Local info settings
    a. Site Name: (Whatever name you want)
    b. Local Root Folder: (You need to specify the location on your
hard
        drive where your web files are located)
3. Define Remote info settings
    a. Access: (Use FTP)
    b. FTP Host: yourdomain.com or yourdomain.securedata.net
    c. Host Directory: /yourdomain/www/
    d. Login: yourdomain
    e. Password: your master account password
4. Define Application Server Connection Info
    a. Access: (Use FTP)
    b. FTP Host: yourdomain.com or yourdomain.securedata.net
    c. Host Directory: /yourdomain/www/
    d. Login: yourdomain
    e. Password: your master account password
    f. URL Prefix: http://yourdomain.com/ or
http://yourdomain.securedata.net

To connect to your site:

1. Go To Site | Open Site
2. Select your Site Name (This will open a new window)
3. Go To Site | Connect
4. To Upload files to the Remote Side | Go to the Local Side and
    and right-click on the File and Select Put
5. To Download files to the Local Side | Go to the Remote Side and
    right-click on the File and Select Get


and another link with some nice pictures of it in action.

Google keywords: uploading  ultradev  website

Hello,

If you're interested in a utility that is similar to NotePad, with a
few more options, etc, I'd strongly suggest EditPlus. EditPlus is a
great tool for programmers/web developers, and I've used it for a long
time. It's fantastic because it is as simple as NotePad, yet has tons
of features, including Uploading to any number of servers with the
click of a button. You might want to look into this and see if this
might be of some use to you.

You can find more information about EditPlus by visiting
http://www.editplus.com. I hope you find this program as helpful and
useful as I have.


Good luck on your software hunt,
Brian

.
Have you tried 1st Page 2000?  It has an interesting feature in that
you can set the level of expertise from newbie to hard-core (that's
not what they call them, but just to give you an idea) and the program
will show different toolbars, etc.

If I remember correctly, it also validates the HTML, and will adjust
it for the different browsers, etc.

Best of all, it's free.

However, I don't know if it will do the direct upload you want - I no
longer have it installed (I'm one of the lazy ones that prefers to use
wysiwyg editors), so I can't check it out.

http://www.evrsoft.com/

=====

Namo WebEditor 5 "includes the ability to open and save files on a
remote site directly, without the need to explicitly download and
re-upload them."

While it's wysywig, it also lets you hand code your HTML and
immediately preview it by clicking on a different tab.

Another interesting feature:
"Namo WebEditor's source control features use the Microsoft SourceSafe
version control system to protect a site's files from version
conflicts when you work in a team. Commands for checking files in and
out, as well as updating local copies with the latest master copies,
are built in."

It costs $139 downloaded, $149 boxed, and has a 45-day free trial.

http://www.namo.com/products/webeditor/

=====

Hope that helps!

TexasT
.

I prefer UltraEdit-32 over EditPlus, because it's an almost infinitely
cleaner interface with almost as much power, and much more flexibility
and customizability.

It has a Save-to-FTP functions I use constantly; if you open a file
from an FTP site you can just press the regular save button/hotkey and
have it updated on the site.