Posts Tagged ‘Web’
Keys Software Must Haves: CSSEdit by MacRabbit
Posted in Software, on April 20th, 2010 by Carlos.
There are tools that I use so frequently that I don’t even realize that I’m using them anymore. They integrate themselves into my workflow practically to the point as to which they ARE my workflow. One of these tools is CSSEdit by MacRabbit.
CSSEdit makes laying out your web templates as comfortable as it possibly can be (thanks IE, you do suck, as per the CSSEdit icon pictured above). As the app’s official site suggests, it truly is an app for CSS newbies and power users. In fact, I would take it one step further and say it turns CSS newbies into power users. CSSEdit takes a different approach from other web design packages like Coda, Espresso (also from MacRabbit) and Dreamweaver in that it strictly focuses on CSS file editing. There are a few features that really make this app shine.
Live Preview Live preview let’s you override a site’s current CSS file with one that you specify. Then, with its built-in Webkit based browser, you can see live changes to your layout as you edit your CSS file. You don’t have to hit save, you don’t have to refresh. It happens right before your eyes as you type.
X-Ray Inspector This nifty feature let’s you view CSS elements on a given website, and tells you what styles are applied to it, and even the parent CSS elements that it belongs to. I find this tool specifically useful for beginners who want to understand how the various CSS elements interact with each other to create a layout. I also find it useful to see what is broken on a layout I’m working on. Identifying the ‘broken’ element with the X-Ray Inspector saves time hunting for the pesky DIV box that isn’t cooperating.
Group Styles When you start getting familiar with CSS, you will quickly realize how large CSS files can become, and just how much of a pain in can be to find a particular style in a swamp of lines of code. CSSEdit allows you to create groups and sub-groups that help you manage your styles a lot easier.
Milestones Ever try to fix one CSS problem only then to realize you broke another? CSSEdit will let you save Milestones so that you can quickly go back to a version of your CSS file that was working.
These are only a handful of the features that make CSSEdit a powerful tool. As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, this is a tool that really defines my workflow. I have found it to be an indispensable tool. Even as I get more and more comfortable with CSS, there are still problems that CSSEdit helps me debug with ease. Sorry Windows users, CSSEdit is Mac only. It retails for $41.30 CAD, and a trial version is available. Check it out! [CSSEdit on MacRabbit]
Create Applications from Websites using Fluid
Posted in Software, on March 16th, 2010 by Carlos.
The Apple Blog has a posting regarding Fluid, a nifty Mac app that creates Applications from your favourite websites. The beauty of this is if you use web-based mail, calendars, music (Sirius, Pandora, etc.) you can treat each site as its own application, rather than opening it up in Safari. This means you can have a dedicated icon in your dock that acts just like other applications would. I often forget I have windows I want to keep open and quit Safari and lose them all which is why I gave up on listening to music online – this might change that! Check it out! [Fluid via The Apple Blog]
Browser Wars: Chrome Surpasses Safari
Posted in Web, on December 15th, 2009 by Carlos.
It looks like Chrome has sneaked past Safari as the 3rd most popular browser according to Net Applications. IE currently dominates at 63.6%, followed by Firefox at 24.7%, Chrome at 4.4% and Safari at 4.37%. Although I’m a fan of Safari, I’m glad to see that Webkit browsers as a whole are gaining popularity. [via Tuaw]
Forms Made Easy with Wufoo
Posted in Web, on December 11th, 2009 by Carlos.
If you’re looking to implement a form on a site for yourself or for your clients, have a look at Wufoo. It makes form creation and design extremely easy, giving you a drag and drop interface to build your form fields. What’s best is that the backend support for the form is completely handled by Wufoo so the most code you need to use is the bit of Javascript they have you add to your site. And because the form creation and editing is so easy, you can even have your clients modify their own forms and don’t need to worry about making changes to the site itself.
Wufoo also provides powerful metrics to see just how well your form is performing. They allow you to create custom reports to view your forms entries, activity and conversion rates and much more.
Wufoo has different tiers of service, with a Free option for 1 user, up to 3 forms, up to 3 reports and a maximum of 100 submissions per month. Its worth checking out as it makes a simple site even simpler when you don’t need to worry about setting up any code or backend for a simple Contact form. [Wufoo]
Software Must Haves: MAMP
Posted in Software, on December 10th, 2009 by Carlos.
If you do any web development on your home Mac, MAMP is a must. It’s an application that allows you to run a local web server powered by Apache, MySQL and PHP at the click of a button. Local web testing has never been easier and robust. Saving the need to upload to a remote server to view changes comes in handy, especially if you’re working on the road and don’t have access to an Internet connection. A handy Dashboard widget comes included making it even easier to start/stop your testing server. The software lets you specify your root folder location, so you’re not necessarily stuck to its default location which unfortunately exists in the Applications folder.
There are two flavours of MAMP, a free version and a pro version. MAMP Pro allows you to setup multiple sites amongst a whole set of other features, while the free version allows for one (though if you know your way around an Apache httpd.conf file, there are workarounds for that by assigning different ports to different folder locations).
Similar alternatives exist for Windows and Linux, WAMP and LAMP respectively, though I haven’t had any personal experience with those. If you aren’t already running it, try it out today! [MAMP]
Advanced CSS Type Techniques
Posted in Web, on December 5th, 2009 by Carlos.
1stwebdesigner has compiled a list of advanced CSS typography techniques to bring more style to your websites without having to use images. I’d be interested to see how these effects behave across the various browsers. I’m looking forward to trying these out in my upcoming site designs. [via 1stwebdesigner]
DesignSnack – The Ultimate Inspiration Tool
Posted in Uncategorized, on December 4th, 2009 by Carlos.
DesignSnack is a unique web design inspiration tool that uses peer review to rank the sites that are submitted. Your design gets bumped out if it doesn’t receive enough positive votes.
Google’s New Simplicity
Posted in Web, on December 3rd, 2009 by Carlos.
If you head over to Google.com you’ll notice a new super clean search page by the search giant. Until you move your mouse, nothing but the Google logo, the search bar and the Google Search and I’m Feeling Lucky buttons appear. Move your mouse and the rest of the text links and nonsense appear. Unfortunately they find this too advanced for us Canadians, and as such it isn’t showing up on google.ca yet. What do you think? Do you like it? I wish you could save an option so that even when you move your mouse none of the other clutter appears. [Google via Gizmodo]
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