Working with HTML

On this page:

Introduction
Which tool?
HTML Tag Editors (for HomeSite 3.01 / ColdFusion Studio 3.11)
HTML Tag Definitions (for HomeSite 4.0 / ColdFusion Studio 4.0)
Index DOT Html
Downloads

No, this section is not about the language HTML.

But it contains useful tips for the Code editing tools available in HomeSite and ColdFusion Studio and information about my own HTML Tag Editors and Tag Definitions which can be downloaded, of course.

You'll also find information about the excellent HTML reference by Brian Wilson, Index DOT Html which is integrated with these Tag Editors for tag-specific help information.

HomeSite and ColdFusion Studio offer several options for working with HTML and other tag-based code. Apart from directly typing your code into the editor window, HomeSite 3.01 and ColdFusion Studio 3.11 have Tag Insight and Tag Editors for entering and editing tags; there is also the Tag Chooser to select a tag for inserting into your code. In the versions 4.0 of these programs we now also have Tag Inspector, a property-sheet type interface.

All of these tools have distinct advantages and disadvantages. And exactly to what extent they are able to help you produce tight and legal code depends largely on the data files used by the tools. What to choose? And what is important?

This page about the Code editing tools available in these programs will tell you more.

HomeSite 3.01 comes with 42 Tag Editors for HTML. This set has more than double that: there are 88 Tag Editors! Not just fancy stuff added either: there simply are a lot of holes in the set of Tag Editors that comes with HomeSite and ColdFusion Studio. In my collection, every tag that takes attributes in HTML 3.2 or HTML 4.0 which are also supported by recent (release) versions of the major browsers now has its own Tag Editor. No more holes.

Even the browser-specific tags are covered: you'll find LAYER, MARQUEE and H7 here as well!

And there's more: More of everything, in fact. Like the fact that each Tag Editor links to the appropriate page of Index DOT Html for its associated help information. There's documentation available here as well, if you want to read before you jump. Tempted to use these Tag Editors? Move on to the download section.

HomeSite 4.0 comes with 44 Tag Definitions for HTML - just two more than the previous version had. Most of the holes still exist, therefore. Worse, some new holes were created: whereas in the previous version Tag Insight was fed by a separate data file which seems pretty complete, in the recent versions of HomeSite and ColdFusion Studio this tool uses information provided by the Tag Definitions which are pretty incomplete.

My set of Tag Definitions has exactly double the number that come with HomeSite: there are 88 Tag Definitions! In my collection, every tag that takes attributes in HTML 3.2 or HTML 4.0 which are also supported by the latest (release) versions of the major browsers now has its own Tag Editor. No more holes.

Even the browser-specific tags are covered: you'll find LAYER, MARQUEE and H7 here as well!

And there's more: More of everything, in fact. Like the fact that each Tag Editor links to the appropriate page of Index DOT Html for its associated help information. There's documentation available here as well, if you want to read before you jump. Tempted to use these Tag Editors? Move on to the download section.

So what's all the fuss about Index DOT Html? In my opinion, it's simply the best HTML reference available on-line (and in downloadable form) in the English language. While Stephen LeHunte's HTMLlib (a special version is included with HomeSite and ColdFusion Studio) gives you a nice introduction into the language, Index DOT Html is basically a thorough reference: the two certainly are complementary. Index DOT Html gives you information about W3C standards and browser support for each tag and each attribute - as well as a lot of useful background information, like a Cascading Style Sheets Guide. It's based on extensive research and of course user feedback.

For much of the information about standards and browser support built into my HTML Tag Editors and Tag Definitions, this reference served as the starting point, though I did quite a bit of research and testing myself. And because each tag has one (or more) separate page(s), it was very easy to integrate this excellent reference as the built-in help information with the Tag Editors.

So what happens when Brian Wilson publishes a new version of Index DOT Html on-line? I get an email because I registered with NetMind. Of course, you can be notified at the same time:

There are three main files available for download: the HTML Tag Editors (HS3.01/CFS3.11), the HTML Tag Definitions (HS4.0/CFS4.0) and a file with detailed instructions for downloading and installing Index DOT Html so it will be integrated with your Help Tree and also with the HTML tag Editors or Tag Definitions.

Archives will always contain the latest versions of all files; occasionally there will be FixPacks as well to upgrade previously installed packages to the latest version.

The download page has short descriptions of these files. A new installation program will let you choose to install the HTML set or the VTML set or both; files that might be overwritten will be backed up automatically. No more lengthy installation instructions!

Any revisions of the downloadable material will always be clearly indicated - so check back regularly!