Program: Nvu
Category: WYSIWYG Web Design
My "Shareware/Freeware Pick of the Week" is Nvu (pronounced "N-view"). Nvu is a good web design solution for a beginner, especially if you’re not really sure you want to do this. Nvu is a free WYSIWYG editor (WYSIWYG = what you see is what you get).
You can download Nvu at www.nvu.com .
There have been a number of public beta and "release candidate" versions. Version 1.0 was released in late June.
If you want to work in WYSIWYG mode, the default, you use the "Normal" tab. If you want to code the web page using HTML, just click on Nvu’s HTML tab — that’s
also a great way to learn HOW the page is structured.
You can create the web page in WYSIWYG mode, then switch to HTML to begin understanding the actual code. Or, you can use the HTML tab to change the web page’s code and see the result in the WYSIWYG display.
Remember, though, the WYSIWYG display is not an actual web browser — when you save you page, always check it in your web browser to confirm that it looks good. Even more important, check it after you upload it to the web server. This is when you realize that you forgot to upload the picture you tried to put in the web page — and all you really displayed was a box with the "red x" in the corner.
Web pages are made up of text and links. They might be links to other sites. They might be links to pictures. Even if a web editor seems similar to a word processor, you don’t actually "embed" a picture into a web page, as you do with a word processing document. You actually have to upload the picture, too.
There is a pretty good beginner’s tutorial for Nvu on the web at www.thesitewizard.com.
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