building a web site with html

[WebcastMaker]

the guideline for "Should I use Flash?" is whether
this behaviour is right or wrong for your particular circumstance.

That has been my mantra for the last 3 years

 

[Mark Parnell]

Someone put up the list of FREE html editors for this man

Oh, alright.

free:
jedit: http://www.jedit.org/
nedit: http://www.nedit.org/
ewisoft: http://www.ewisoft.com/
netpadd: http://www.netpadd.com/
araneae: http://www.araneae.com/
1st page: http://www.evrsoft.com/
crimson: http://crimsoneditor.com/
ezpad: http://www.mmedia.is/ezpad/
acehtml: http://freeware.acehtml.com/
notetab light: http://www.notetab.com/
tswebeditor: http://tswebeditor.net.tc/
html-kit: http://www.chami.com/html-kit/
context: http://www.fixedsys.com/context/
pspad: http://www.pspad.com/en/index.html
websmill: http://www.xtreeme.com/websmill/
metapad: http://www.liquidninja.com/metapad/
quanta (linux): http://quanta.sourceforge.net/
notespad: http://www.newbie.net/NotesPad/index.html
grey matter pro: http://www.pagetutor.com/misc/grey.html
editpad lite: http://www.editpadlite.com/editpadlite.html
stones webwrite: http://www.webwriter.dk/english/index.htm
matizha sublime: http://www.matizha.com/en/products/sublime/

not free:
textpad: http://www.textpad.com/ [$30]
notetab: http://www.notetab.com/ [$10+]
editplus: http://www.editplus.com/ [$30]
ultraedit: http://www.idmcomp.com/ [$35]
editpad: http://www.editpadpro.com/ [$40]
hypertext studio: http://www.olsonsoft.com/ [$100]
namo: http://www.namo.com/products/webeditor/ [$90]
acehtml pro: http://www.visicommedia.com/acehtml/ [$50]
ibm websphere: http://www-3.ibm.com/software/webservers/hpbuilder/ [$70]
spider writer: http://www.actiprosoftware.com/Products/SpiderWriter/
[$80]

 

[WebcastMaker]

You know, you've been challenged on this many, many times, but always
manage to evade this issue. Why is that? Because Flash can't really do
what you say it can? I know you don't care, but that's not the point.
The point is you keep making what appears to be a false claim.
Either prove it, or quit lying.
Show me where it says that the user can control text size in Flash like
they can with plain old HTML. Lack of user control, especially over text
size, is my biggest beef against Flash.
http://tinyurl.com/65hn9

Seems to me the medium isn't
designed to allow such things,

That's because you don't know how to do it, not because it can't be
done. But admittedly it was hard to find. I had to google "change text
size actionscript" to find it.

but you are claiming it can. So prove it.
Provide a link to either a site that has implemented such a thing, or
even to some page at Macromedia - anything that specifically shows it
can be done.
http://tinyurl.com/65hn9

Just don't bring up Flash's zoom feature because that is not the answer.

Your right it isn't

The user has no control over the zoom factor or the area of zoom, which
disqualifies it as a valid means of user control. Besides, the result is
most often no more usable than it was before. Sometimes it's even worse.

Apology accepted....

 

[Noozer]

http://tinyurl.com/65hn9

<snip>

Text size still doesn't zoom for me...

 

[WebcastMaker]

Text size still doesn't zoom for me...

Think for a second, and you will see why that was probably one of the
most un-inspiring replys you could have typed.

 

[Andy Dingley]

That has been my mantra for the last 3 years

So are you going to answer my question or not ?

 

[Andy Dingley]

http://tinyurl.com/65hn9

So the application coder can write per-page code that changes font
size, so long as they place it into every piece of Flash, they can
hand screen real-estate over to the selector control, and the PBU can
find the thing in the first place (which will be different from every
other Flash app they've seen before).

And you think _that_ is a solution ?

 

[WebcastMaker]

So the application coder can write per-page code that changes font
size, so long as they place it into every piece of Flash, they can
hand screen real-estate over to the selector control, and the PBU can
find the thing in the first place (which will be different from every
other Flash app they've seen before).
And you think _that_ is a solution ?

Gee what a shocker of a reply, yes, that is a solution. And yea, it
would be a real toughie to either include the code in a class or a
component and have to drag it into your movie.

Give it up, you said it couldn't be done, I showed you it could. Now
you say "it's too hard to do that..."

 

[WebcastMaker]

So are you going to answer my question or not ?

http://tinyurl.com/65hn9 was my answer, you just didn't like it. Go
figure...

 

[kchayka]

http://tinyurl.com/65hn9

ishy tinyurl things - I never know where they will go:
http://www.actionscripts.org/tutorials/intermediate/Control_of_Text_Size/index.shtml

You still don't get it. <sigh>

This isn't user control. It's still author control - *they* still
determine the text size. The "solution" here is to offer the user some
(limited) number of size choices, none of which may be right for them.
And putting the resized text in a scrolling box so the layout doesn't
get messed up is even more awful usability, so this gets double points
off. I'm not a Flash author, there may be alternatives to the
scrolling box, I don't know. Regardless, this still serves as a poor
example.

It's like those lame attempts I've seen at sites like ALA, where they
have alternate stylesheets with different text sizes. Their idea of
"large" text and mine aren't even on the same plain of existence. They
don't get it either. ALA at least stopped that stoopid practice.

BTW, on the second page of that article you point to, they suggest
hiding the text sizing buttons and programming in keyboard shortcuts
instead. Well, their shortcuts don't work in my browser, who knows
whether they work in any browser on any platform. Removing the buttons
because somebody thinks they're not attractive is just more
form-over-function crap, but not a surprising move from a Flash designer.

The bottom line is, you may think this is a perfectly acceptable
soltuion, but it is not a good solution by a long shot. It is nowhere
near equivalent to HTML text sizing, over which the user has *total*
control.

Apology accepted....

I surely have nothing to apologize for, I just asked you to put up or
shut up. Your solution is inadequate, certainly not nearly as good as
you think it is.

 

[Noozer]

Think for a second, and you will see why that was probably one of the
most un-inspiring replys you could have typed.

Who's trying to be inspiring?

It doesn't work. Your answer is wrong.

 

[WebcastMaker]

You still don't get it. <sigh>

This isn't user control. It's still author control - *they* still
determine the text size.

In _this_ specific example, look at the code, you can just as easily
give the user what ever control they want.

The "solution" here is to offer the user some
(limited) number of size choices, none of which may be right for them.
And putting the resized text in a scrolling box so the layout doesn't
get messed up is even more awful usability, so this gets double points
off. I'm not a Flash author, there may be alternatives to the
scrolling box, I don't know. Regardless, this still serves as a poor
example.

Your right, you aren't a flash programmer, that's why you don't
understand. That's why MANY people don't understand. Like the author
of this article, there are a few of us flash programmers that ARE trying
to deal with accessibility AND flash at the same time.

Throwing your words back at you (albeit with a nicer tone) Simply saying
"you can't use flash", or "flash doesn't work" doesn't cut it.

I surely have nothing to apologize for...

Well there was that calling me a liar bit...

 

[WebcastMaker]

It doesn't work. Your answer is wrong.

It works, you just won't let it. There is a difference... And it was
still a dumb reply, completely predicable.

 

[Neal]

It works, you just won't let it.

Will Grandma know how to "let it"?

 

[WebcastMaker]

Will Grandma know how to "let it"?

Actually she won't know how to turn it off.

 

[Andy Dingley]

In _this_ specific example, look at the code, you can just as easily
give the user what ever control they want.

I don't want to give the users whatever i want - I want my Flash code
to discover whatever the users have already chosen.

Maybe there's some environment property that Flash can find which says
"base font size for this window, on this desktop, according to today's
settings, is that one em is 16 pixels high". With that (and trapping
an event if and when the user changes it) I could build Flash that
_integrated_ with the user's existing text size management.

Is there such a property ? I've not yet seen it, or anything like it,
in use.

 

[Noozer]

It works, you just won't let it. There is a difference... And it was
still a dumb reply, completely predicable.

Just as your "I can't be wrong, so I won't admint it when I am" response
that your using.

It DOESN'T work. PERIOD.

- If the controls are too small to start with, how am I going to find them?
- You don't use the standard OS way of controlling the font size, so nobody
will bother to figure it out.
- It doesn't work!

 

[WebcastMaker]

I don't want to give the users whatever i want - I want my Flash code
to discover whatever the users have already chosen.

Fine

 

[WebcastMaker]

It DOESN'T work. PERIOD.

Fine

 

[Roy Schestowitz]

If you are a Linux user, use Quanta which is free.

Pah! Nedit is the One True Editor[tm].

It is! But it is not designated to deal with HTML efficiently.