Niall Mackenzie looks at using Netscape Gold for a more automated manner of Web page production. This article appears in the Web, and not the print, version of Ariadne.
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is similar to an iceberg - like most other programming languages, 90% of its bulk lies beneath the surface. Writing Web pages can be a hugely rewarding experience but it can also be extremely tedious. This is fine for believers in the 'no pain, no gain' philosophy, but cowards, like me, welcome a bit of pain relief.
Netscape Gold is one of the best HTML analgesics around. Within the browser window, on-screen editing facilities offer a welcome alternative to the tag-tweaking, window-hopping caprice that is sometimes the Web page author's life.
Sounds too good to be true? Well, perhaps, but we all know that,
{SHIFT left angle-bracket} B {SHIFT right angle bracket} "tags"
{SHIFT left-angle bracket} {forward slash} B {SHIFT right-angle bracket}
or <B>tags</B>
- will shortly be transparent. We're not there yet but Netscape Gold
seems further along the evolutionary process than a lot of the editing
software available.
Netscape Gold offers three ways of creating Web pages:
If your trans-Atlantic link is overly frustrating or your pathological hatred of Frames becomes unbearable or even if you just feel your creative juices have been stifled, forget wizards and look at templates.
The advantage with templates is that you can work off-line. They are also great for those amongst us who have a modicum of creativity but are terrified of a blank page. For brave-hearted artists a blank page offers unlimited possibilities.
Possibly the best feature of Gold is table manipulation. Raw HTML tags for tables are very difficult to work with and on-screen editing for tables is a massive step forward, particularly where page layout is concerned.
Like all other editing tools, Netscape Gold has its limitations. For example, we have found that it does not like tables with more than 99 rows! More seriously, Frames, forms and Java applets are not supported in editing mode. Tags can still be edited but appear as yellow labels and it is only in browse mode that Frames and forms can be viewed.
What Netscape Gold does provide is an HTML editing tool for the novice and the expert. It is certainly very accessible to those with little Web editing experience and it takes the tedium away for the professional. Give it a try and see what you think. Download it from Netscape [1] . It is also accessible from within the UK at mirror sites at Hensa [1], Imperial College [3] and Edinburgh [4]
Material on this page is copyright Ariadne/original authors. This article last updated/links checked on 18-May-1997