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SoftQuad HoTMetaL Pro 5.0

SoftQuad HoTMetaL Pro 5.0

The newest version of SoftQuad’s popular program is updated and streamlined to handle more complex functions. The entire program is more flexible than its predecessors and, above all, easier to use. It is not the best program available, but for the money it costs, HoTMetaL provides a quality product.

The manual is well written, which is a change from most software products, not just Web site generation software. It can be difficult to find what you want at times, but once you do, the instructions are bound to help you. HoTMetaL also provides video help tutorials built into the software.

HoTMetaL offers you many different options for viewing your pages as you create them. For the most part you will probably stay in WYSIWYG mode, but you can generate using pure code if you wish. HoTMetaL has the ability to let you preview your site in up to four different browsers. This is a great feature to make sure that what you see is what you actually get. Too often this is not the case.

HoTMetaL offers an excellent code checker that is easy to turn off, has a built-in library of graphics you can use, and supports both CSS and dynamic HTML. These complex functions are great for the more advanced user but can be difficult to understand for beginners. Because of this, we feel that HoTMetal is not a program for the first-time user but for someone who has had some experience with HTML and has generated a basic site.

Site organization and file transfer are also handled well with HoTMetal, and there is a reasonably complete search and replace feature. The link checker is very functional as well, checking for broken links within your site.

* Source - Everything Online Business Book
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