Product Reviews

There's nothing big or clever about web pages. Just about everything you see on the average page is defined using a straightforward set of codes, or 'tags', called HTML (hypertext markup language). They define how text and images are displayed, or whether they form a clickable link to another page. If you learn HTML, there's nothing to stop you designing an entire site by typing text and tags into Windows' Notepad. But this is hard work, and there's plenty of software out there to cut out the donkey work.

HoTMetaL Pro 6.0 is a web design package that allows you to design and manage whole sites without ever having to dirty your hands with HTML. Instead, you use a graphical interface in much the same way as a word processor. If you want to, say, create a heading on a page, you type the text in, highlight it, and select a heading style from a drop-down menu. Creating links to other pages is just as easy. Again, you highlight the item, and click on an icon to specify a link to another file. There's plenty of software out there that does this kind of thing, some of it free, so what else does HoTMetaL Pro have to offer?

Although fairly novice-friendly,

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HoTMetaL really stands out in its support for experienced users. One of the big problems with creating pages using a purely graphical, no-HTML approach is that when you display the page in your browser, it may not turn out quite as expected. At times like this, a knowledge of HTML is a bonus. All web editing software enables you to view the pure HTML code. But as we've already mentioned, this isn't particularly friendly-looking. HoTMetaL Pro gives you the best of both worlds. Its 'Tags On' view displays the page graphically, but with icons representing the HTML tags. This makes spotting HTML-related quirks simple, but still shows how the site will look. In this latest version, the tags are collapsible as well, which means that by clicking on them you can show or hide everything on the page that's affected by them - removing clutter. Another powerful feature is the Attribute Inspector. This allows easy access to all the relevant parameters for an HTML tag - useful for experienced users. Again, this has been improved in this version, as you can dynamically change attributes while viewing the effects.

If you're a novice (or just lazy), HoTMetaL Pro has plenty of Assets - pre-defined buttons, Java applets and so on - to drag onto your pages. The Site Maker wizard can even build an entire site for you. HoTMetal Pro 6.0 has one of the best Site Managers around, too, with simple drag-and-drop access to the files on your remote web site.

HoTMetaL Pro 6.0 comes from a respected line of web editors, and this latest version offers some useful (if not essential) advances. If you're looking for the most powerful web editing package at this price, this is it. Complete novices, however, may find Microsoft FrontPage a bit friendlier.