HoTMetaL PRO 6.0
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So Does it work?
All of these features are nice, but you could have found out about them by picking up a brochure. The decision that I have to make is, do I recommend this product?
The answer is, it depends. First of all, it should be clear to anyone that you don't need a program like HoTMetaL in order to create a Web site. So why should you buy it?
HoTMetaL offers a lot of convenience. HTML Source mode lets you edit HTML with little hassle, you can validate it at the press of a button, and upload it to your Web server with ease. Tags On view offers a friendlier face to your document and helps you visualize the structure. Assets help you quickly do things that would otherwise require a lot of work. All in all, it's a nice package.
But more to the point, the question is why should you not buy it? The answer is, first of all, if you want to develope a complete, interactive Web site with dynamically generated pages. That's the only reason that I'm not going to use HoTMetaL, really (well, that and the fact that it doesn't run on Linux). For everything else, HoTMetaL is very good at what it does. You might not like some of its functions, but you can just ignore these.
Most importantly, however, HoTMetaL is not for people who want to create Web pages without learning HTML. There's no program that does that so far. This doesn't mean that you should avoid getting HoTMetaL if you're a beginner; quite the opposite, HoTMetaL will help you along as you learn HTML. But do not mistake HoTMetaL as a substitute for learning HTML and CSS.
If there's one thing I really like about HoTMetaL, it's that the program doesn't try to second-guess you. HoTMetaL doesn't assume it's smarter than you, and doesn't tell you how to do things. All it does is make some of the more tedious tasks easier. It won't stop you from doing anything, including things it doesn't know about, such as using CSS positioning. It's an excellent HTML Editor, but it is not an excellent WYSIWYG HTML Editor, and shouldn't be mistaken for one.
What I also found appealing is that the program's documentation doesn't make any claims to that effect. Opening the manual and reading from page 1 will take you through a short tutorial that tells you what you're doing as well as why you're doing it, and promotes the idea that you shouldn't just switch to WYSIWYG mode and type away.
Conclusion
HoTMetaL will help anyone, from a beginner to an advanced author, to create, edit and maintain Web sites. It will not really allow you to do so without learning HTML, but it will help you along. HoTMetaL will only help you along, and it won't constrict you to certain ways of doing things. If you believe that the convenience it offers justifies the cost, I would recommend it for you. You can find more information about HoTMetaL PRO 6.0 on SoftQuad's site or HoTMetaL's own site.
