WebEtch
January 8, 2001
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Once upon a time it was shareware, now WebEtch is a free HTML
program from Micro Resources that carries with it many attributes
normally associated with more expensive Web building programs.
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WebEtch's interface is not unlike so many other HTML programs on
today's market, but that lack of difference in appearance seems
insignificant considering the ease of use and variety of features
the program has to offer.
One negative about the program is that when a user starts a new
Web page, it is necessary to look for a startup page that has all
the basic HTML head and body tags. It is found by going to the
"Document" menu label and then selecting "Template." An easier
way to accomplish the same thing is to right click within the
page and select the "Template" option on the menu that pops up.
Further, by selecting the "Template" the user is given a dialog
box in which the appearance of the page can be set. Those two
methods of startup are only found by search and discovery.
Through "Preferences", the user is given the option of starting the
program by not opening any files, re-opening the last document
that was open, or starting with a blank page.
Once inside the program with a page open, WebEtch offers several
nice features. It has the usual wizards (make that "guides" in
WebEtchese) to help construct tables, frames, links, and the
importing of images. Those wizards feature dialog boxes that
offer almost every option a user needs to include the element
correctly.
The "Tables" guide allows the user to establish rows, columns,
padding, and overall size simply by filling in the blanks.
WebEtch also allows the user to import tables from comma/quote
delimited files.
The program supports frames and forms, and those dialog boxes are
included. There is a client-side image map template available,
but it is not one of the program's better assets. The user has to
determine the coordinates for the links and input the entire path
to the graphic being used.
One feature WebEtch offers that so many programs fail to provide
is a selection that shows all of the elements referenced in a
document. Therefore, even if the user has the site or page in a
directory with many things that may not be used in the final
edition, the user can clearly see which items were used and need
to be sent to the server. Select the "Publish" command, and
WebEtch will copy selected resources to the upload directory of
choice.
WebEtch also does a nice job with tags, automatically inserting
them when the user selects specific buttons. This enables the
user to color highlight tags, including custom colors. Color
selection for fonts and backgrounds is another easy chore.
Additionally, right clicking on the mouse will cause a menu to
popup on the screen with appropriate tags to be inserted.
The program comes with a limited number of JavaScript "widgets"
that enable the user to include an alert, page dating, creation
of a window, an open window button, and an e-mail button.
The user can preview the creation by selecting the "Document
Preview" button, which opens a copy in the selected browser or
default browser.
Larger documents are no problem. Unlike many such programs
limited to 64K, WebEtch has no such limitation.
While WebEtch has some shortcomings, the overall value of the
program — particulary as freeware — is worth
exploring for users more familiar with the basics.
What is it called again? WebEtch 1.1
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Where can I get it? http://mrcc.com/
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How much does it cost? Nothing
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How big is the download? 1.6 MB
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Do you recommend it? Can't beat the price.
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