Best practice for writing for the web (and using CSS)?

[Mario]

I would like to author stylized web content using custom cascading
style sheets. I want to be able to type the document with the mindset
of a writer and momentarily forget that I am authoring web content.
Unfortunately, trying to author content while switching back and forth
between the wysiwyg view and the markup view interrupts the creative
flow of writing.

Presently, I write my copy in NOTEPAD and then apply the markup later.
I would like to write while applying formatting so that I can author
copy in one step.

To do this I was wondering if there was a good editor that meets the
following criteria:

1. WYSIWYG interface - similar to a MS Word kind of interface
2. It refers to a CSS file for formatting
3. I can easily select styles from a dropdown or other useful interface
4. Clean underlying markup...
Nicely formatted, indented, and no more than necessary.
If you've ever seen a Word document converted to markup you've seen
the crappy markup I hope to avoid.
5. May view/modify the underlying HTML if desired
6. Not concerned with tons of bells & whistles - lightweight is best in
my mind

Any tips/tricks you have for maintaining a writer's mindset while
authoring clean markup for the web would be appreciated.

[Gus Richter]

Mario wrote:

I would like to author stylized web content using custom cascading
style sheets. I want to be able to type the document with the mindset
of a writer and momentarily forget that I am authoring web content.
Unfortunately, trying to author content while switching back and forth
between the wysiwyg view and the markup view interrupts the creative
flow of writing.

Presently, I write my copy in NOTEPAD and then apply the markup later.
I would like to write while applying formatting so that I can author
copy in one step.

To do this I was wondering if there was a good editor that meets the
following criteria:

1. WYSIWYG interface - similar to a MS Word kind of interface
2. It refers to a CSS file for formatting
3. I can easily select styles from a dropdown or other useful interface
4. Clean underlying markup...
Nicely formatted, indented, and no more than necessary.
If you've ever seen a Word document converted to markup you've seen
the crappy markup I hope to avoid.
5. May view/modify the underlying HTML if desired
6. Not concerned with tons of bells & whistles - lightweight is best in
my mind

Any tips/tricks you have for maintaining a writer's mindset while
authoring clean markup for the web would be appreciated.

Give Nvu a try:
http://www.nvu.com/download.html

--
Gus

[Jeff North]

On 21 May 2005 09:44:14 -0700, in
comp.infosystems.www.authoring.stylesheets "Mario" <ml****@lycos.com>
wrote:

| I would like to author stylized web content using custom cascading
| style sheets. I want to be able to type the document with the mindset
| of a writer and momentarily forget that I am authoring web content.
| Unfortunately, trying to author content while switching back and forth
| between the wysiwyg view and the markup view interrupts the creative
| flow of writing.
|
| Presently, I write my copy in NOTEPAD and then apply the markup later.
| I would like to write while applying formatting so that I can author
| copy in one step.
|
| To do this I was wondering if there was a good editor that meets the
| following criteria:
|
| 1. WYSIWYG interface - similar to a MS Word kind of interface
| 2. It refers to a CSS file for formatting
| 3. I can easily select styles from a dropdown or other useful interface
| 4. Clean underlying markup...
| Nicely formatted, indented, and no more than necessary.
| If you've ever seen a Word document converted to markup you've seen
| the crappy markup I hope to avoid.
| 5. May view/modify the underlying HTML if desired
| 6. Not concerned with tons of bells & whistles - lightweight is best in
| my mind
|
| Any tips/tricks you have for maintaining a writer's mindset while
| authoring clean markup for the web would be appreciated.

Sounds like HTMLArea (http://www.dynarch.com/projects/htmlarea/) is
what you are looking for - although they no longer support this
product.

Other text area editors can be found at:
http://www.tcpiq.com/tcpIQ/HTMLRichT...a/Competition/
---------------------------------------------------------------
jn******@yourpantsyahoo.com.au : Remove your pants to reply
---------------------------------------------------------------

[Mario]

Nvu was a closer match than HTMLArea. NVu is nice but it is still
glitchy. When I use the cursor keys in the source view to move
sometimes I inexplicably jump to the top or bottom of the document.
Plus, even though I checked the preference that says "Retain original
source formatting", it reorganizes my markup (very much against my
will!) when I save.
Otherwise, it's almost exactly what I wanted.

[spool]

"Mario" <ml****@lycos.com> wrote in message
news:11**********************@g49g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...

I would like to author stylized web content using custom cascading
style sheets. I want to be able to type the document with the mindset
of a writer and momentarily forget that I am authoring web content.
Unfortunately, trying to author content while switching back and forth
between the wysiwyg view and the markup view interrupts the creative
flow of writing.

Presently, I write my copy in NOTEPAD and then apply the markup later.
I would like to write while applying formatting so that I can author
copy in one step.

To do this I was wondering if there was a good editor that meets the
following criteria:

1. WYSIWYG interface - similar to a MS Word kind of interface
2. It refers to a CSS file for formatting
3. I can easily select styles from a dropdown or other useful interface
4. Clean underlying markup...
Nicely formatted, indented, and no more than necessary.
If you've ever seen a Word document converted to markup you've seen
the crappy markup I hope to avoid.
5. May view/modify the underlying HTML if desired
6. Not concerned with tons of bells & whistles - lightweight is best in
my mind

Any tips/tricks you have for maintaining a writer's mindset while
authoring clean markup for the web would be appreciated.

aye-up
Causeway css editor lets you specify a sample html doc and then updates it
below as you edit css above - all in same interface. Dont know if its still
available though - got my shareware version some years ago. Actually prefer
it to Topstyle.

Penrose

[Blinky the Shark]

spool wrote:

Causeway css editor lets you specify a sample html doc and then updates it
below as you edit css above - all in same interface. Dont know if its still
available though - got my shareware version some years ago. Actually prefer
it to Topstyle.

Firefox and its Web Developer extension will do that, also split-screen
with the stlyesheet and pages of any web page you care to look at with
it, online. Pretty neat learning tool.

--
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