Extensive Web Site Management Capabilities
Webmasters have long been screaming for an HTML Editor with advanced Web site management facilities. HotDog Professional 5 plugs the gap with full-featured Web site management tools. Inside the editor, it’s possible to assign tasks, filter files or perform multiple search and replace procedures on designated files.
HotDog Professional 5 WebSites is based entirely on a local mirror system and does not use proprietary formats to define a Web site. A HotDog Professional 5 WebSite defines a set of folders and files on a local computer and provides the ability to quickly publish these folders and files to another computer (usually an ISP’s Web server). This makes it possible to create, edit and preview a Web site on a local computer and then automatically copy the changes to a Web server where an entire audience can see the site via the Internet.
HotDog Professional 5 stores a Web site definition in a .HWS file. This file contains the following information:
- The location of the folders and files that have been defined as a Web site;
- All of the publishing and upload preferences that have been set for that Web site;
- The exact configuration of the HotDog interface and all the Web pages (page positioning, bookmarks, collapsed ranges) when the Web site was last saved;
- All tasks, defined, completed or otherwise when the Web site was last saved.
The file allows HotDog to automate many of the repetitive tasks involved in managing a Web site whilst not changing or affecting an actual Web site file structure or individual Web pages themselves. More importantly, it allows multiple Webmasters to work concurrently on a single Web site in a fully team-based environment – Web Site Co-ordinators can completely manage their team from within HotDog.
File Management
HotDog Professional 5 sports a powerful file management interface making it possible to create, add, remove and edit Web site files from a single view. Drag and Drop files from local or remote file lists to easily add files to a Web site. Full control is held over Web site structure and it’s easy to re-organize entire folder trees quickly. Choose to apply Web site features across single or multiple documents, folders or even an entire Web site.
Publishing
WebSites makes it easy to upload the site and any associated files that are needed to make the site work properly on a Web server by means of publishing. When publishing a Web site, the choice is given to:
- Publish to a local directory or a remote Web server;
- Upload any necessary support files (fully customizable);
- Only upload any changes that have made been made to the Web site;
- Replace user-definable sections of Web pages when uploading (for example, a legal notice that’s common to every page).
WebSites Wizard
The HotDog WebSites Wizard turns the process of defining a Web site into a simple step-by-step procedure. There are three ways to start a HotDog Professional 5 Web site:
- Create an entirely new HotDog WebSite and associated file structure;
- Define a HotDog WebSite from an existing Web site file structure on a local or networked computer;
- Define a HotDog WebSite from an existing Web site file structure on a Web server.
Tasks List
Tasks List is a list of user defined tasks relating to the Web site which may be assigned from one user to another, or simply as reminders to the current user. Each task can be associated with a particular Web page within the Web site, thus enabling the ability to quickly edit a file without hunting around the entire Web site. Tasks also have user definable priority and status flags to easily track individual task progress. This feature makes a Web Site Co-ordinator’s job a lot easier by being able to manage their team completely through HotDog.
Error Checker
A built-in mechanism is supplied for error-checking all of the Web page links across an entire site. The Error Checker will automatically:
- Check a Web site’s local links, displaying any broken links that it finds;
- Check a Web site’s remote links, which can be checked for validity;
- Allow editing of any broken local or remote links in place and automatically change all references to the link across an entire Web site.
Resource Checker
WebSites is also supplied with a built-in Resource Checker for locating external resources (links to files outside of the local Web site folder tree) across an entire Web site. Resource Checker will automatically:
- Validate a Web site’s local links, displaying any external resources that it finds;
- Automatically collect the resource and alter all links to it;
- Allow editing of any external links in place and automatically change all references to them across an entire Web site.
Local Browser
In addition to the WebSites Manager, HotDog Professional 5 also provides an internal Web site browser, thus allowing the ability to view a Web site as it will appear on the Internet. Whilst browsing the site, it’s possible to edit the current page, seeing the changes appear as they’re made. It’s also simple to add associated tasks for the current page. This is an ideal way for someone who may not be completely HTML literate (but is completely familiar with concepts and what it means to create a Web site) to browse a Web site and quickly and easily coordinate Web site updates (for example, a Web Site Co-ordinator, who orchestrates, rather than develops, a site project).
Global Web Site Replacement
WebSites possesses the ability to make major appearance changes across an entire Web site. WebSites can automatically replace
- Document properties (body tags);
- Document information (meta tags);
- Or plain text
across Web pages, a folder, or an entire Web site at once.
Multi-user Interface
WebSites now facilitates multiple users, which means that teams of Webmasters working on a local network are able to define their HotDog WebSite on a shared network drive. Each person working on the Web site starts HotDog and opens the same HotDog WebSite – that is, the .HWS file, normally located in the top-most folder of a Web site structure. All changes made to the Web site are reflected in the other users’ WebSites Managers.
WebSites also features file-locking, so that if one user is editing a Web page via WebSites, it is then locked away from all other users working on that Web site until the file is closed.
With the addition of Linkbot, it’s clear that HotDog Professional 5 Webmaster Suite contains the most comprehensive Web site management facilities available on the market today.
> State-of-the-art HTML editing functionality
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