Purchased From:
Online (Trial Version)
Price Paid:
n/a
Introduction
A while ago I started to become interested in making websites, and had to learn HTML, CSS and everything that goes with it, and I was looking for a few applications that were code editable, not WYSIWYG editors, and I came across Ace HTML by Visicom Media.
Ace HTML is an excellent program which allows you to work with website code easily. Of course there is preview mode which shows you what the page looks like based on the code you've written.
In the code editing window, the text is colour coded so that you can easily distinguish different html commands and the written text you want displayed on the finished page. This makes editing nice and easy.
The interface for Ace HTML is really easy to get to grips with and the functionality in the program goes far beyond what I've ever used it for. In particular, one of the things i've found most useful is the code checker, which checks your code, line by line and reports any errors it encounters along the way, and tells you what errors you have on the page, and where you can find them, and gives enough information for you easily located and fix the cause of the problem.
On a similar note, the program also offers you a spell checker, which spell checks only the text that is due to be displayed on the finished page which is excellent, as it doesn't popup spelling errors on the HTML tags, which of course something like MS Word would do if you were to spell check your code in there.
I've never encountered any bugs in the software which is very good.
Good Points
Easy navigation, simple to use and the coloured text really makes distinguishing the HTML tags from the written text easy.
Spell / code checkers means you won't have any errors on your pages.
Loads of built in functions such as the Meta tag editor and the body editor.
Build in javascript applications that you can implement into your pages with the click of a button.
CSS pages are colour coded to make viewing them easy.
No software bugs.
Cheap to register.
Similar in ways to Dreamweaver by Macromedia, but a much cheaper alternative.
Can be used alongside Ace FTP which is also made by Visicom Media.
Mutliple files can be open at once, and can be jumped between seamlesly.
There is so many great things about this application that I simply cannot write about here. Download the trial and see for yourself.
All the special characters you can think of are listed at the top of the program for you to double click on and add to your site (ie the copyright symbol).
Comes with entensive help files and references.
Image browser makes adding images to your site simple.
Lots of available shortcuts which speed up the creation of your website by about 10 times compared to using something like Notepad to build your sites.
Bad Points
If you want to make use of the spell checking facilities or the external browser viewing facility, you must have Microsoft Word installed, and you must locate the program yourself within Ace HTML, whereas they could have made it autofind it for you.
Perhaps they could have included a software tutorial to help complete beginners get to grips with HTML.
The Verdict
If you frequently use HTML to build websites then I suggest you give Ace HTML a go via the free trial, and i'm sure that you'll register and pay for the program when the timer runs out, it truly is an awesome alternative to the more expensive applications such as Dreamweaver.
