http://polaris.umuc.edu/~flazarus/
The Web designer's PC software tools complement
Though you are free to use whatever you wish, below I've listed the tools
I use and why I recommend them.
Authoring Tools (i.e., WYSIWYG)
Can't say I really like any any of the WYSIWYG tools. I will admit
however that, at times, a good WYSIWYG tool comes in handy. There is
only one that I find useful, Dreamweaver by
Macromedia. The primary reason, it doesn't mess with code
I already have in place and it gives me the flexibility of doing it
my way. Even so, like most WYSIWYG authoring tools, when used for
editing after the code is first produced degrades the results.
Text Editors
Here too I have strong feelings. My choice is HomeSite by
Allaire. I believe it to be head and shoulders above the rest.
When coupled with TopStyle by
BradSoft,
a CSS editor, you have a combination of tools that let you at the
code but which also provide extensive help and flexibility. Control
and help a nice combination.
Telnet
Another easy decision, NetTerm by
NeoSoft.
It is inexpensive and quite versatile. It makes winging around our server,
up/down loading files, reading UNIX based mail, accessing URLs et al.
easy. However sometimes quick and dirty works when you do not need the
exquisite control provided by NetTerm. In these situations an ftp
utility works well.
Site Map
Providing a map of your site for your viewers is very important. It is
also very tedious to do manually.
Link Sleuth by Xenu is a spidering software application that can
help. It checks Web sites for broken links. Link verification is done
on "normal" links, images, frames, plug-ins, backgrounds,
local image maps, style sheets, scripts and java applets. It displays
a continuously updated list of URLs which you can sort by different
criteria. A site map is among the sorts that can be generated.
FTP
Many ftp programs are available. WS_FTP LE is among the best and it's
free. You can access quite a few ftp programs
at Tucows.
Graphics
Like religion and politics it probably is not a good idea to take a
strong stand on graphic tools when in public. So I will just say I use
CorelDRAW by
Corel for heavy
lifting, Paint Shop Pro by
Jasc for
lighter loads and pixel level work, and i_view by IrfanView
for light loads. i_view is free so that's nice.
Browsers
You of course will need a copy of IE, Netscape, and Opera to test your
creations. Different browsers render Web pages differently.
Virus Scanners
Your choice. I favor VirusScan by
McAffee
(Network Associates) since it is among the top few, is inexpensive,
and it is easy to regularly update the dat files.
Last Words
It has been said that in the hands of a skilled workman any tool will
do. Well I guess this may be true, but I'm just not into
hairshirts.
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