When software works well it becomes invisible, and you can forget that you are using technology at all. At number four in my list of the top ten best most forgettable software apps is CoffeeCup HTML Editor 2008.
The best technology is transparent: so good you don’t think of it as technology at all. When technology reaches maturity it disappears into the fabric of our lives. It’s only when I use other editors that I appreciate the clever bits of CoffeeCup HTML Editor 2008 that make it one of my favorite and transparent applications.
CoffeeCup HTML Editor 2008 is the summation of a dozen years of refinement of the product which was the company’s first product in 1996. It is available as a free download for trial purposes, and the license fee is under $50 for ongoing use. The first impression is that it’s just a text editor, so why pay your $50, when Notepad can do that for free. CoffeeCup HTML Editor 2008 has some neat features which make a big difference to its usability, and make me happy to pay for it.
It is highly tailorable and by using these options you can reduce the effort required quite dramatically. The ability to open the document as a template for HTML 4.01 or XHTML 1.0 not only saves time, but increases your chances of writing compliant HTML code. Similarly, HTML & CSS code completion not only increases productivity, but again decreases coding errors. Usability and transparency can be as much about preventing errors as promoting productivity. The integration of FTP uploading can remove the need for an FTP client application altogether. Its value to you will depend on how much HTML code you write, and how much you value your time. I write lots of code, and value my time highly, so it’s a bargain!
One of the tailorable options in CoffeeCup HTML Editor is the ability to link directly to a range of Internet browsers to check that your code works with them. To Firefox you can add the Web Developer Add in, which provides all sorts of further facilities eg CSS and HTML compliance checker. In this way and with the built-in FTP client facilities, CoffeeCup HTML Editor can form the basis of a complete Web development suite. For further facilities you can add additional CoffeeCup applications.
CoffeeCup HTML Editor 2008 is one of my favorite applications to use. In particular, it has lots of little features which make it more transparent in use, and particularly help you get your code right. Finally, it’s only when you try and use something else that you appreciate its true worth. True transparency!
