HTML Editor Reviews

ReVol Web Worker 1.2

Overview:

Windows 95/NT
Stand alone program
Text Based Editor
No HTML Checking
Somewhat stable - Crashed once while saving a link using the web viewer and I lost some work.
Score = B+
Cost: Shareware $19 USD
Screen Shot
User Comments

Nice features found in this package include:

Dialogs ("builders") for almost everything: This packages provides dialogs for almost everything, including lists, horizontal rules, paragraphs, applets, forms, and frames. For example, you can build up lists using a dialog where you enter the text into an input box and then add the item to a scrolling list box. Then when the list is complete, you add the entire structure to the document. However, this becomes unwieldy at times, and it would be nice to turn off the dialogs (so clicking on list item, would just insert LI without asking for all the options). The dialogs are also consistent. Once you master one, the others will fall into place quickly.
Great support for Netscape 2.0/Explorer/HTML 3.0: This package includes support for all (as far as I can tell) the latest extensions to HTML. These includes frames, applets, client side image maps, and Explorer's animation support. All are provided with the same builders mentioned above that provide control over all options of each tag. Although the dialogs are somewhat complex, they do offer complete control to the author. New authors might become confused because the dialogs do not offer graphical previewing of the tables or frames, but experienced authors should welcome the help the dialogs provide.
Nice drop down menus on button bar: Web Worker uses a technique that I find appealing but is only available in a few packages. Selecting a button on the button bar will cause a drop-down menu to appear. Each button represents a class of tags. This limits clutter on the screen, and makes the interface very logical. For example, clicking the list button, brings up a a drop-down menu with all the lists available to insert.
Right mouse button menu: Keeping with the tradition of having every possible option, Web Worker includes a right button, pop-up menu with the entire Insert menu included (every tag supported is available from the menu). Unfortunately, the editing selections (cut, copy, paste) are placed in a sub-menu within this menu. Personally, these items are what I use most on the right button menu and would like to see them at the root level.
Built in previewer: The package includes a built in previewer to show what a page will look like. The previewer is actually a browser which can grab pages to edit and save links to pages in the custom links used by the editor. It is a relatively good browser for checking your pages, including the ability to view tables. You may find this previewer more convenient than opening a full featured package like Netscape or Explorer.
Other useful features: A few other features are provided which provide some additional benefits. First, the package can colorize tags. Also, the package includes a homepage wizard, and will insert basic table, frame, and form structures without using the detailed dialogs. Also, the package supports dragging and dropping selected text and some dialogs allow you to drag from them and drop into the document. (Personally, I think selecting and dragging text, like Microsoft Word, should be a basic editing feature)

Missing/Poorly Implemented Features:

Quirky cursor control and wrapping: When entering a tag by hand, the cursor skips an extra character ahead which is bothersome when editing in the middle of a document. Also if you delete press the delete key at the end of a line, the characters on the next line will be deleted. This is different than most editors which will bring words from the next line to the end of the current line when delete is pressed.
Mouse pointer will disappear and not return: When you type, the mouse pointer disappears. However, unlike other programs, it does not reappear until you click the mouse button. Unfortunately, this also moves the cursor, and slows down editing. Although this is a minor annoyance, I think it's important to point it out. These problems could indicate that other issues with the basic editing functions exist which I may have missed.
Undo does not always work: Often when using the button bar to enter tags, the undo will not perform any action. I would expect it to remove the inserted tags and the results of a paste operation.

Conclusion:

ReVol Web Worker is a good product. It provides a clean interface and dialogs to help authors with complex tags. However, it still needs some polish and some work on basic editing features. Once authors master the dialogs, they will find an efficient way to build the complex structures found in many of the latest extensions to HTML. This editor is close to a great package, but falls a little short. However, it provides enormous power at a very low price, I think authors (especially budget conscious ones) should give the package a look.

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