HTML Editor Reviews

LiquidFX

[Main Menu] [Comparison Matrix] [Carl's Home][Selection Helper Applet]

LiquidFX 2.05

Found: http://www.access.digex.net/~liquidfx/

Overview:

• Windows NT/95
• Stand alone program
• Text Style
• No validation - Will check for Netscape/IE specific tags however.
• Very Stable
• Commercial:
• Screen Shot

Nice features found in this package include:

Built in simple image editor

LiquidFX includes a basic image editor with a few useful effects for your pages graphics. It can create button bevels, drop shadows, and emboss an image. The editor will also do color conversion (from 24bit to 8bit, for example). Although, rudimentary it does provide a few "tricks" for users who don't own high-end image editing packages

Batch graphics converter

The package also includes a tool to convert groups of image files to GIF or JPEG formats. Very useful for users with a large number of Window's bitmap files they want to use on their web site.

Image map editor

Also included is a simple to use client-side image map editor. This basic utility only supports rectangular buttons, but is very easy to use.

GIF89 animator

I was pleasantly surprised to find a GIF89 animator utility. This allows you to create simple animated images without resorting to Java or ActiveX. You've probably seen this technique used in advertising banners in many places. The utility is simple, but gets the job done. (Note: I haven't used any other animators, so I can't comment on whether it supports all the parameters you can define for this image format.)

Project manager with publishing

The application includes a basic project manager to track files associated with a site. However, the included tool to publish the final site is much more useful. Simply load the "root" of the site (index.html, for example), and the program will find all the files referenced by the web site, including graphics and inserted Java applets (see below). When your ready all the files can be saved in a directory for uploading, with links modified to be relative to the directory.

Table and Form editors

The package includes a basic table and form editor. As with other packages, the table editor provides a matrix layout to modify before inserting the table. As with most editors, this is a one-way process so you can't update existing tables. The form editor builds up the text tags in a dialog which you paste, when completed, into the document. This limits the ability to add form elements conveniently to tables or other structures (there is a way to add one element at a time, but it uses the same dialog structure and is somewhat inconvenient).

Support for Netscape 2.0 and Explorer 2.0

The package includes support for most of the tags associated with the newer browsers, including frames. A nice dialog is included to create frame based documents. The package includes a tool to find all the specific NS and IE tags in a document.

Java and ActiveX control support

The package includes dialogs to set up and use some standard ActiveX controls (found on Microsoft's site) and Java applets (included in the package). Examples of included applets are an image animator with sound, bullet and line animators, and a marque. The LiquidFX website has other applets available (referred to as plug-ins) for use with the application.

"Wizard Creator"

The wizard creator is a unique and potentially powerful feature. With this tool you can build up dialogs for HTML tags, Java applets, templates, embedded objects, and anything else you can imaging where a helper dialog would be useful. The user manual, shipped with the package, includes a detailed description of the tool. (Note: you may have to download the wizard developer separately from the web site).

Other features

The package includes color dialogs for the BODY tags, and a list builder. Color coding of tags is provided. The application's CD includes a number of clipart items for you to use. Finally, there is a multi-file find and replace feature.

Missing/Poorly Implemented Features:

Color coding causes odd editor behavior

When color coding is enabled, be prepared for odd editor behavior. For example, selections will become unselected, the cursor may jump, or other oddities occur when the package parses and colorizes the tags.

Needs attribute dialogs

Although menu items with all the attributes is found, I would like to see attributes associated with the appropriate tag.

Conclusion:

LiquidFX is a unique addition to the editor market. Although, It is not as powerful as other editors for pure HTML authoring, it adds a number of interesting tools which users will find useful. If you've wanted to dabble in ActiveX, GIF89, or Java applets, but were unsure where to start, LiquidFX will provide everything you need to get started. If you have a number of custom applets or media types to support and many users who demand a simple way of utilizing them, the wizard capability is worth looking into.

[Home] [Top]

This page is brought to you by: Carl Davis