Which is the easiest and most frequently used Web page editor? The experts say it is Notepad, the simple text editor that’s bundled with windows. Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), the language used to define Web pages uses no special characters and can be written with any ASCII text editor. So in principle, a Web page can actually be produced without needing special software. But of course, one needs to be well versed with HTML. With the rapid expansion of the Internet, graphic artists and designers are being approached to create Web documents. And they in turn want to have nothing to do with HTML, which is why numerous Web page design programs and HTML editing programs are appearing in the market. A Web page designer no longer has to struggle with HTML commands (called tags) like <H1> for a large font or <IMG SRC="picture.gif> to insert a graphic picture. All you do is select the text and choose options from a menu to make it bold, italics, or change the size and color. These editors work graphically and the designer can view the progress of the Web document and its elements during the design stage. The previewed page appears exactly as someone on the Internet would see it. This feature is also called WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get).

NON-STANDARD NEW STANDARDS The WWW consortium (or W3 consortium) generally approves the HTML command set. Until recently, the latest approved standard was HTML version 4.0, which is adopted by virtually all Web page editors. But developers are moving in different directions and adding proprietary command sets (known as HTML extensions) to the standard set. On one hand there’s the W3 consortium which proposes HTML extensions for things like style sheets. On the other hand, there browser companies like Netscape and Microsoft that define their own HTML extensions. Style sheets are a new technology that lets you control the visual appearance of an HTML document by creating a series of descriptions about how the page’s elements should appear.. Once defined, these style sheet rules can be applied to all pages on a Web site, a single page or to sections. Web editors like Dream Weaver, FrontPage 98, and HotMetal Pro 4.0 have already implemented the W3 consortium’s "Cascading Style Sheets". Judging HTML editors only on basis of the features they offer would be unfair, as there is no clear standard defined for technologies like cascading style sheets. Still, new web browsers like Internet Explorer 4.0 and Navigator 4.0 support the cascading style sheets and other design elements defined by the W3 consortium, to some extent. Let us look at some of the hottest Web editors and highlight their features.

DREAMWEAVER-VERSION 1.2 - THE DO-IT-ALL It is the most expensive Web Page designer yet. However, it is packed with features and functions seen in a number of rival products. Macromedia, already famous for authoring tools like Director, developed the Dream Weaver together with professional Web authors. So the package has features that professional publishers can use to enliven Web Pages. For the home publisher this would be overkill. When compared to the other packages, Dream Weaver is by far the best developed WYSIWYG tool. It supports all the features that one would expect from a professional authoring program. In addition to standard functions like formatting and designing frames and tables, Dream Weaver also provides possibilities for defining Cascading Style Sheets. In comparison perhaps to Microsoft’s FrontPage, the features offered are more extensive and permit greater creativity. The HTML code, which the program generates, corresponds to the so-called plain HTML, thus having no superfluous additions, like unwanted meta or paragraph tags. Like most other publishing and design software, Dream Weaver does not have the conventional type of menu. There are multiple windows or toolbars that can be moved around on the desktop so that the designer can use the whole screen. To fully utilise the many features of the package, it would be better to have a 17" or preferably a 19" monitor. Macromedia’s Dream Weaver should be a great hit. No Web editor so far has so many built-in functions. But it isn’t perfect yet. There are a few bugs and fixes that would help make the product better. For example, you can’t combine individual cells while designing tables.

FRONTPAGE 98 - THE WEB SITE MANAGER. The desktop belongs to Microsoft, so the company believes. After all, it does have the most popular operating system and has already taken steps to ensure that it has a large share, if not all, of the Internet market. Not only does it give its browser away free, but it also keeps adding in features that seamlessly integrate with the development tools. FrontPage98 is Microsoft’s Web page designer application. A ‘lite’ version of this package, FrontPage Express is being offered as part of the new Windows 98 operating system. FrontPage 98 is simple enough for both the professional and the first time Web designer to use - and produce professional looking pages. With a look and feel similar to the Explorer, the opening screen shows FrontPage Explorer, which manages all files and directories belonging to a Web site. A new site can be built in a matter of minutes. The drag-and-drop feature allows one to link pages easily. aphic Web editors and can be activated by a menu item.

FUSION 3.02 - THE LAYOUT MASTER Its method of Web page creation is different from that of other editors. Every design element, whether text, picture, table, form field, Java Applet and others, is treated as a frame object that one can place at almost any position on the Web page. Rather than follow the conventional HTML programming style, it is more object-oriented and hence may be bit more difficult to use, especially for those who have worked extensively with HTML. Long time users of HTML will appreciate Fusion’s ability to position objects precisely on the screen, as HTML normally allows little scope for playing around with objects. Graphic Web editors manage this logically while working with elements. So how does Fusion achieve these great page layouts? A look at the HTML generated code makes it clear. Fusion enters a single, more or less interlocked, invisible table for each page layout. Tables, with invisible borders have been successfully used to modify the HTML source code for such a page is a superhuman feat. The overuse of table tags makes the source code extremely complex and difficult to track. And this is not the only problem area. Linking applets is another. The height and breadth of an applet or object determines the space that it takes up on the page. Fusion automatically produced these specifications depending on the size of the frame set in the page layout. One could also enter height and breadth with the help of the "Element Script" option. Among other things, one can also numerically enter the size of the applets.

HOTMETAL PRO 5.0 - THE HOT FAVORITE Hotmetal is probably one of the best known Web page designers available. Like other Web page editors, HotMetal also offers the user templates to build a Web page simply and easily. There is also an option to select an existing web page and use it as a template. Hotmetal does not display all the code in the editor view. The editor view only displays code that the user entered. There are no unwanted meta tags to complicate the code; only doc type tags which specify the HTML version used. Using the FX Chooser one can set text and background colours, buttons, lines etc, by simply dragging the desired element from a palette on to the page. As with other programs, tables can be created using dialog boxes and modified using drag-and-drop features.

PAGEMILL 3.0 Adobe Pagemill was one of the first Web page designers that provided users the facility to create and produce Web pages using WYSIWYG. However, there is little improvement since it was first introduced two years ago. Adobe has not added any other new feature that helps the user. It has, in fact, sought to confuse the user with this program.

VISUAL PAGE 2.0 - THE MODEST ONE Symantec’s Visual Page, like Pagemill, concentrates on the current HTML standard. This means it has no support for style sheets or for JavaScript or Vbscript . To format text, the appropriate options are available as menu items in the main menu. In addition, the usual HTML formats are provided in a listbox which refer to normal text, paragraphs, titles, addresses, format text or lists.

HOTDOG 5 WEBMASTER SUITE This is a tool made by Sausage Software. It supports DHTML animations and can do complex tasks. The interface is very complex and becomes daunting sometimes. The main advantage is the complete support offered on the website in the form of various addons downloadable from www.sausage.com. There are applications called supertoolz which do everything from real audio/video insertion to java scripts & java animations. There are atleast 10 utilities which have been integrated into this software.

CoffeeCup HTML Editor++ 5.5 This is a new tool from www.coffeecup.com which though not extensive in grasp like fusion or frontpage contains lots of nifty items along with it. Custom made Javascripts, VBScripts & CGI scripts can be put in at the click of a button. It comes with several gif animations as well to jazz up your site.

FINAL WORD : WEB PAGE AUTHORING TOOLS NEED TO IMPROVE This class of application software is only in its initial stages of development. There is still much to be done before a designer can create stupendous Web pages easily. Simple pages are a snap. The fancy tasks like links with Java Applets or joining with a JavaScript, almost all Web editors are restricted to linking the respective dialog supported HTML tag. Though FrontPage 98 includes functions to link JavaScript or VBScript codes, they are more suited for simple tasks. similarly, even the approach to Style Sheets by and large needs working on. Integrated editors needs working on. Integrated editors need to be built into the package itself. Using another package to design style sheets or manually coding in the HTML text should be a thing of the past.

There appears to be distinct target groups that the different products address. Users who want to fool around with HTML commands, simple design and put out a web page, should opt for Pagemill or Visual Page. The other group (DreamWeaver, FrontPage, Fusion) focuses on professional designers who paln and manage entire sites. They need to create the basic page structure quite quickly and design the site using a text editor as per their specifications.

There is much lacking in the current crop of programs. Developers should improve their offerings especially with regard to new techniques like Style Sheets or HTML 4.0 that will soon gain importance.

CONCLUSION:

Web page authoring tools have paved the way for all types of Internet enthusiasts, from the layman wanting to be heard, to the professional wanting to make an impact.