Document, inline, and external style sheets are created using the built-in Style Sheet Editor. All font, text, background, color, layout, classification, positioning, and printing properties are available in the editor. External style sheets can also be imported for editing. The current style sheet can be rendered in the preview window at the lower left of the screen.
The program has several "visual tools" to aid in page layout. These include a Frame Builder, Image Map Builder, List Builder, and a Table Builder. Several
wizards are available to help the user create style sheets, forms, scripts, special effects, and other specialized tasks. In addition, there are several
JavaScript and VB scripts included with the program.
Even though its main thrust is XHTML code, Hypertext Builder offers features designed to help ASP and PHP developers. Also included is the ability to scan
ODBC data sources and import database schemas into the Language Tree.
The program doesn't require power much to run; all you need is a Pentium II or Celeron processor, with Windows 98 or higher, and Internet Explorer 5.5 or
higher. It's licensed as shareware for the incredible price of just $12.00! Registration includes a free upgrade to the next version. The download is good for 60 sessions with all the features being available during the trial period. While
the help file is somewhat limited, the simplicity of the program makes up for that deficiency.
The Bottom Line
Overall, Hypertext Builder 2003 is an excellent XHTML editor. I used it to create a fairly complex XHTML web page and, with the exception of a few of my
own mistakes (capitalization of table attributes, ending </p> tag omitted, "alt" attribute omitted from image code), it passed the W3C validator quite nicely. The coding went rather quickly once I got the hang of using the popup windows.
The validator will be especially useful to those that have written sloppy code and gotten away with it all these years.
The amount of features included in this program place it right up there on par with others that carry price tags in the $300-$500 range, and the additions of new features like the Language Tree and the popup windows make it an even stronger all-around editor. Not bad for an academic project!
