Compare Coffee Cup and HTMLPad 2014
I will start by saying, There are no Perfect HTML editors!
The choice you make on your HTML editor will depend on what you are going to do with it.
Are you going to use it for large projects containing hundreds of files?
Do you want to be able to test forms and scripts without jumping back and forth between tools?
Do you have experience or will you need step by step tutorials on setting up your editor?
Below you will find a comparison of 2 I have tried.
Both have great features, but both also have FLAWS!
HTMLPad 2014
Code Libraries
Includes extensive code libraries for HTML 5,XHTML,CSS and more.
Help System
Has a typical help system with screenshots and tutorials. As with most commercial software it needs improvement in relating to novices.
Forms and Scripts
You can develop forms and scripts on your PC using this editor. It does require the installation of a localhost server. There is no option for starting your server from within the editor.
Forms and php scripts must be saved in the htdocs folder of your apache server. Perl scripts should be saved in the cgi-bin folder of your server.
To test forms and scripts you can turn on a mapping feature that allows you to test right from the editor.
Find and Replace in Files
This is a very important feature if you are managing a large website. You can search for blocks of code or text in an entire folder including sub folders within it. You can use the Replace function to replace the code in all pages it locates.
This function is now consistent in this editor. Examples
Built In FTP
Pretty good help files for getting it set up. Has sort feature for modified files.
Error Notification
Lots of error notification features. See Screenshots
Support
Blumentals has answered every email I ever sent them within 24hours. They even let you submit suggestions for making the tool better.
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Student License Available.
Coffee Cup
Code Libraries
Includes extensive code libraries for HTML,XHTML,CSS and more.
Negative The HTML code libraries contain code that is not W3C compliant. There is a function to correct the code in the libraries.
Help System
Has a typical help system with screenshots and tutorials. As with most commercial software it needs improvement in relating to novices.
Forms and Scripts
You can develop forms and scripts on your PC using this editor. It does require the installation of a localhost server. There is no option for starting your server from within the editor.
Forms and php scripts must be saved in the htdocs folder of your apache server. Perl scripts should be saved in the cgi-bin folder of your server.
To test scripts you must open a browser manually and point it to the http://localhost server, select your files and run them from the browser.
Find and Replace in Files
This is a very important feature if you are managing a large website. You can search for blocks of code or text in an entire folder including sub folders within it. You can use the Replace function to replace the code in all pages it locates.
This function works flawlessly in this editor. Examples
Built In FTP
Help files are quite vague. Really hard to get it working. Took me about 2 hours to figure it out, but I've only got 15 years experience. Novices will have a hard time with this. Also lacks a sort feature for uploading project files you've edited.
Error Notification
None that we could find. See Screenshots
Support
You must buy the software to get premium support. They do provide forums, but our opinion of these types of forums are that they are the blind leading the blind.
Download Coffee Cup HTML Editor - Click Here
My Preference
I prefer HTMLPad because:
- It's easier to set up.
- I like the feature of being able to Preview forms and scripts from within the editor.
- The Help Files are slightly better than Coffee Cup
- The FTP function is easier to set up and use. The absence of a sort feature in the Coffee Cup FTP feature means you have to manually pick out the files you changed. HTMLPad let's you sort them to the top.
- The code editor with its error notification is far superior to Coffee cup.
- You can use email support during the trial period. Forums only in Coffee Cup.
Examples of Using Find and Replace in Files
Suppose you build a hundred web pages and then realize that you left out a key meta statement in the head section. You could add the statement to all pages with a click of a button.
Suppose you built an 800 page web site and mispelled a word 500 times throughout the pages. Correct it on all pages with the click of a button.
Error Notification
Type an error in HTMLPad and look what you get.
Type an error in Coffee Cup and you won't notice til you preview the page. Can you find the error in this code?
HTMLPad even notifies you if you miss a closing tag. Paragraph tag highlighted in red is missing a closing tag.
My Suggestion
Download the Free 30 Day Trial of each tool. Choose the one that suits your fancy or is easiest to set up and learn to use.