Review: BBEdit 6.0

It doesn't take long to realize that BBEdit 6.0 is obviously a program that offers a wide variety of features designed to enable users to spend time on productivity rather than seeing how this particular wheel was invented.

When first opened, BBEdit does not appear to be as complete as advertised, in part because its editing interface is so clean and minimal. But the minute users open a file, explore the doorway menus, or open the HTML Tools palette, it is easy to see that not much has been omitted.

Further exploration finds more than most people will ever need, including support and special features for programming and software development. In all, it supports 15 programming languages, including C/C++, Rez, and Pascal.

However, that does not mean neophytes cannot use BBEdit. The HTML Tools palette is an excellent resource for learning HTML on the fly, as it offers virtually all the various options for each entity. Select an entity and a dialog box opens with the various available choices.

BBEdit 6.0 supports all the current HTML standards, including 4.01, XHTML 1.0, and WML 1.1. It also provides coloring and function navigation support for JavaScript, Perl, and PHP3. Direct MacPerl integration enables users to apply text filters or develop CGI scripts.

While the program allows users to validate documents to make sure they fulfill the requirements of those standards, one of its advanced features includes the option to hide all reported errors and warnings if desired.

For those who want to use GoLive and PageMill to create their web sites, BBEdit 6.0 contains cleaner tools to make the HTML more consistent with standards.

Throughout construction of a web site in BBEdit 6.0, users can find the resources they need in either the HTML Tools palette or the drop- down menus at the top of the program. Additionally, the program allows users to set preferences for an extensive variety of tasks.

The HTML portion of the program fully supports drag and drop creation of files or links, special characters, symbols, and Greek letters. Batch file and replace, built-in spell checking, and a web-safe color palette are also included.

New in this edition is one-button previewing of files in the major browsers. Users can also compare and find differences in files, folders, and projects.

The editing portion of BBEdit 6.0 is also feature-filled. The editor can handle programs up to 2 GB, depending on the amount of RAM available.

Among the editing features included in the program are multiple undo and clipboards, hard or soft text wraps, built-in text transformations such as changing cases, multiple file search and replace, a quick search window, file grouping for organization of work, split editing windows, and a floating window list.

The program allows the opening and viewing of any Quick Time- supported file and offers extensive support for AppleScript, including palettes and script actions.

BBEdit 6.0 also eliminates the need for a separate FTP program, having that feature built-in. From the Bare Bones Software site, BBEdit 6.0 users can download almost 30 plug-ins to use with the program, including a column maker, textures, HTML cleaners, and date/time additions.

There is a free edition of the program, called BBEdit Lite 4.6, but its features are extremely limited compared to the "real" thing.

The bottom line for Mac users who are serious about building web sites or other types of programming is that BBEdit 6.0 is about as complete a tool as can be found.