PC Review: Webford 3.01

The reason for that is that Webford 3.01 uses many wizards to make various functions easy to accomplish, while at the same time it does not sacrifice the control that purists covet.

From the beginning, Webford makes it easy to set up pages through the use of a wizard, offering many options to make setup a small step rather than a major march through time.

Even something as simple as setting up text attributes is handled by a wizard, making child's play of getting the font, size, and color of font desired.

Throughout the program, editing of existing HTML tags is a simple matter, and typical functions, such as copy, cut, paste, undo, find and replace, and print, are easily accessed.

The program allows multiple HTML documents to be open at the same time, and it has no document size limit. Basic features include a few java scripts that can be selected and imported into a document, adding some dynamic elements to the page.

Those java scripts include a nifty paste e-mail form and sound embedding.

The program also features "smart fields," such as a time and date stamp that updates those items on the fly. Users can also insert the current time and date for the purposes of informing readers of the last update.

Another javascript will insert search forms for up to 32 search engines into a document. Those engines include all of the major web engines.

Further, the program enables users to insert the contents of any text, HTML, or Javascript file at the cursor.

While Webford makes it easy to insert meta information into a web page, it also has a time auto-load feature that is used to set the time a page will take before refreshing itself with another page, certainly a help when users want a fancier intro to their site.

One of the weaker elements in the program is its list-making abilities, which is one that could benefit from the use of wizards. Webford's list option offers only the basic start and finish tags, requiring the user to manually insert the style of bullet desired and each of the list element codes. Certainly not a back breaker, but it does seem inconsistent with the structure of the rest of the program.

Other features missing that are helpful are a spell checker and an HTML validation tool, but remembering the price, perhaps that is not so far out of line.

Webford has improved itself in terms of options since the previous version, now supporting drag-and-drop, frames, the use of tabs to make code more readable, and customizable Office 97-type toolbars and menus.

Users needing to make several pages for a site can make one, then turn it into a template to ease the use of building more pages.

The Image Wizard is another feature better than most. Not only does it allow users to preview the image, but it also automatically puts the size attributes into the HTML.

In keeping with its overall versatility, Webford allows users to designate up to seven browsers for previewing purposes.

The help files that come with the program are extensive, covering not only the program but HTML markup as well.

Webford is one of those programs that users can feel reasonably comfortable with regardless of HTML abilities, even from the moment the program starts.

Webford comes as a 30-day free trial that can be registered online, or users can download a free earlier version (2.01) to get a general feel - although there are numerous features in 3.01 that are not available in the older version.

What is it called again? Webford 3.01

Where can I get it? http://interplanetary.hypermart.net/webford/

How big is the download? 2.86 MB

What are system requirements? 486DX/66 or higher processor, 8 MB or more RAM (16 recommended), Windows 95 or higher or NT 4.0 or higher.

What does it cost? $45

Is it worth it? This is a great program for users in the beginners-to-intermediate range, or for those who may be expert but want to save some time.