Adobe Pagemill
Of all the Web page authoring tools we researched, Adobe Pagemill was our favorite. Adobe Pagemill was specifically designed for non-technical users to create or maintain web pages without getting involved with Hypertext Markup Language. I think that Pagemill sets the course which web page authoring tools are going to follow, as it provides an effective solution in one integrated package. You write or edit your pages in what seems like an ordinary WYSIWG word processor - You can change text styles, add pictures, drag and drop text, etc. What you are seeing in the "word processor" is exactly what people will see when they view your Web page through a browser.
There are many useful features provided by Pagemill. Some of the functionality which sets Pagemill apart from the competition are:
You can edit Web pages directly, without ever seeing HTML - This is what sets Pagemill apart from the crowd.
Test pages with the integrated Preview Browser - Without leaving Pagemill you can actually view the site you are creating with your favorite browser.
Create links without typing URLs or pathnames - This is rather handy as you can simply drag and drop a link to a local web page.
Insert and manipulate images within the same program - Included in the integrated package is a nice little graphic program which allows you to insert, convert and manipulate graphics.
Create interactive forms - This is the first editor we've come accross which attempts to allow interactive forms, and although it is a little bit crude right now, it is a step in the right direction.
Keep frequently used elements in a multipage pasteboard - This makes linking a simple drag and drop procedure.
Pagemill is a little pricier than the other editors we evaluated, but with the functionality it offers, we think it is well worth the extra money.
$149 (US) Suggested Retail Price
$99 (US) Direct from Adobe
Only Available for Mac - This is our favorite editor, but unfortunately it isonly available on Macintosh or PowerPC platforms.
Does not support tables - This is dissappointing as tables are very tedious to hand code. Perhaps a later version will support tables.
Limited editing tools - Pagemill does not have a Find/Replace function or a spell check tool.
Technical Errors - Pagemill was rushed out as Adobe wanted to have the first WYSIWG editor on the market, and there are several glitches and bugs to show for it. Several users have reported crashes, but they still refer to Pagemill as their favorite editor.
The basic funtionality was very easy to use, and require little to no knowledge of HTML. Some of the more complex tasks have a high learning curve, and there are some technical glitches
Since the interface is almost identical to that of a word processor, there is a positive transfer of skills from Word Processors which makes learning the basics very easy. However, some tasks (linking) were very tough to figure out
Click here to see a Pagemill screen snapshot
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