The TSW Blog

I think WebCoder 2007 is ready for the next step, final beta. The first one is now released, and once again, it comes with a bunch of bugs fixed, as well as a couple of new features, including webmappings for FTP editing. The reason for the long wait between beta 4 and final beta 1 is partly due to the documentation, which is now included in an almost finished version. It can be reached from the Help menu. Comments and suggestions for the documentation will be appreciated as well. As you hopefully already know, we give away 5 free commercial WebCoder 2007 licenses  to the best betatesters, once the final version has been released!

Download TSW WebCoder 2007 final beta 1 - please provide feedback in the beta forum

I'm looking very much forward to getting your feedback, so keep up the good testing! :)

Please notice that TSW WebCoder 2007 requires the .NET framework to run. The installer will try to install it for you, if you do not already have it. For more information about the .NET framework, please see our .NET info page. Also, please be aware that this is beta software. It's meant for testing only, and if you don't feel comfortable using software with known bugs and quirks, you should wait for the final version.

Hopefully you have already discovered the cool CodeSnippet feature, found in both WebPad.NET and the new WebCoder 2007 beta. If not, you can see it in action in this WebPad.NET product demo. Now, I would really like to see what you can do with this feature, and besides, it would be cool to have some standard CodeSnippets to include with the final release of WebCoder 2007 and the WebPad.NET update. If you have already created a cool CodeSnippet, or if you simply have a good idea for one, send it to us and enter the competition to win a free WebPad.NET or WebCoder 2007 (which ever you prefer) commercial license. So, send us all your best stuff, make your fellow TSW users happy and you may even win a free license! Here is how you do it:

• Write an e-mail to codesnippets {at} tsware [dot] net
• Include your full name and your e-mail address
• A short description of the snippet and what it does, as well as the target language
• Attach the CodeSnippet(s) that you wish to enter into the contest, to the e-mail

Please notice that by sending us your CodeSnippet(s), you allow us to distribute it as a part of our software.

Finding your CodeSnippets

Your CodeSnippets are saved in the WebCoder or WebPad.NET settings directory as simple XML files. You can find them by navigating to the following path or by selecting Start -> Run in Windows and copy/paste the path:

XP: C:\Documents and Settings\[Your username]\Local Settings\Application Data\TSW\WebCoder 2007\settings\codesnippets\

Vista: C:\Users\[Your username]\AppData\Local\TSW\WebCoder 2007\settings\codesnippets\

You should replace the [Your username] part with the username of your Windows user. If you're using WebPad.NET instead of WebCoder 2007, you should replace the WebCoder 2007 part with WebPad.NET.

In this folder, you will find a bunch of folders, corresponding to the languages for which you have created CodeSnippets. You will find your CodeSnippets inside of these folders, as simple XML files. 

The contest will be running right up until the final version of WebCoder 2007 will be released. We can't wait to see your best snippets!

TSW Webcoder: Color Management Feature

Hello, friends and fellow TSW Software fanatics!

Come in. Find a seat and get out your pencils and paper... and open TSW WebCoder 2005 while you're at it!
Let's take a moment to learn another cool, unique feature of TSW Webcoder 2005. For the web-standards evangelists in the audience, you may want to turn-off the iPods and listen-up as this might interest you especially.

Step #1:

With your current project, or active document loaded in Web Coder 2005, open the CSS Panel. Ensure that your global CSS Selectors are visible. For example, if you are using a Web Coder Project, you might tick the "View
for active project" radio button and follow any prompts for loading your main CSS file, or if you're simply using a single file, be sure to hit the "update" button in the CSS Panel.

Step #2:

Open the Web Coder 2005 Projects Panel. Locate the top-most icon of your current project. Directly beneath the Project folder-name-- above the file folders belonging to that project, there are a few default Web Coder
icons which indicate any Database associated with the project, the FTP location, the Project Template(s) and the "Project Colors".

Step #3:

Using the secondary mouse-button (i.e. right-click), select the Project Colors icon, revealing the Project Colors context menu. Select "Add Colors from Project Stylesheet". Webcoder will ask if you want to add the colors. Select "Yes".

Violla!

All of your current Project colors, as declared in your CSS, should now be conveniently summarized and accessible at the click of a button.

If you tend to design with a limited set of colors, or what we might call a "color scheme" ( as in something like this:
http://wellstyled.com/tools/colorscheme2/index-en.html ), you will definitely find this Web Coder 2005 feature to be of value.

ATTN: TSW Software Users and Advocates:

Big Deal...

I'm excited to have the opportunity to author some tips for you right here in the TSW Blog-- it's a great honor. I urge any other avid WebCoder and WebPad.NET users to become more involved in sharing your own thoughts, tips, success stories, and anything else you want to share with the community. Show the folks at TSW that you know how to put together a few sentences into a meaningful paragraph, and perhaps you'll be authoring text here on the TSW Blog too!

Best wishes, and Good Luck!

One thing that I always felt could use some improvement in WebCoder, is the project to FTP synchronization feature. With the latest version it became pretty good, but I was never fully satisfied. When I started to work with ASP.NET besides PHP, I really missed an application for doing complete site synchronization, beyond what I ever imagined implementing in WebCoder. I started working on "TSW SiteSync" a couple of months after I began creating WebCoder 2007, and it quickly reached a point where I saw some real potential in it. The idea of an external application, which could be used with or without WebCoder, seemed like a really good idea, so that's what I did. TSW SiteSync will be an individual product, with the possibility of synchronizing WebCoder projects very easily. It will be a cheap product, with a price somewhere near the current price of WebPad.NET, with a substantial discount for people purchasing both WebCoder 2007 and SiteSync.

So, what do you think? Have you ever needed a good application for synchronizing your websites? Did you ever think that the built-in sync options in WebCoder needed a bit more features? Feedback is more than welcome, as are questions. If you're interested, I'll be happy to post some more information about SiteSync, along with the first screenshots of it :)

As I'm working with next version of WebCoder intensely, I realized that there were a couple of things with WebPad.NET which I would like to change. They are mostly minor annoyances, from the Code Inspectors not looking exactly like I want them to, to the Project view flickering when using the Open/Save dialog. While this will mostly be minor changes, I'm open to suggestions, if there's something that the users are really missing, e.g. a feature which is already present in WebCoder. For instance, I've heard that some people are missing the Files tab, with the Explorer-like file interface. However, as you know, this is a light version, so there are limits to what I wish to implement in WebPad.NET, but if you have suggestions, be sure to let me know :). I'm planning to release a beta version of the update first, to make sure that no new bugs have been introduced, so stay tuned for more information :)

So, what would you like to see changed/fixed/added in a WebPad.NET update? Post some feedback here or in the forums :)

 One of the features I really like in WebCoder, which might not be used as much as I could hope, is the CSS overview tree. It can be found on the "CSS" tab, and it can give you a good overview of a CSS document. However, the really cool part about it is that it can give you an overview of the CSS code in your HTML files as well! It looks for a <link> reference to an external stylesheet, or a <style> block, and then parses the CSS code it finds and shows it in the tree structure. This allows you to see which CSS selectors you can use while you actually need them, in the markup. However, the feature goes beyond that, and allows you to doubleclick the selectors to edit the CSS code - again, without leaving your HTML code. They can even be previewed, and if you're using the QuickPreview feature, it will be updated whenever you edit a CSS selector. In other words, you can do almost anything with the CSS code, without leaving the HTML. Very cool, if you ask me :). In case you've missed this feature, then be sure to have a look at the description, screenshot and demo video at the TSW WebCoder page.

Anyway, for those of you who use this feature a lot, I'm happy to tell you that it will be in the next version of WebCoder as well, in a new and improved version. In previous versions, this feature would only show CSS from one source, but in the coming version of WebCoder, multiple sources of CSS code is not a problem. It can be from several <link> sources and/or several <style> blocks. You can also attach multiple stylesheet files to your project, and WebCoder will look for CSS code for project files in these instead of having to search for them in your documents. Have a look at the screenshot, which will show the CSS overview tree with selectors from both a linked .css file as well as an internal <style> block from the current document.

...and Happy New Year to all of you and your families. This has truly been an exciting year for TSW, but I do expect next year to be even more exciting! In 2007 you will see the next version of TSW WebCoder, which will combine all the great features you find in WebCoder 2005 and WebPad.NET. I have already made good progress on "WebCoder.NET", and without trying to hype it too much, I think it's safe to say that you may start looking forward to it. I hope to do some more blogging about it really soon, followed by some early screenshots within a couple of months. Until then, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Hello all,

I'm very happy to tell you that TSW WebPad.NET has just been released! You can find more information about it, including screenshots and a couple of cool video demos, on the WebPad.NET product page. You will also find a download link for the trial version, which will allow you to try the application for 25 times. Remember that it requires the .NET framework to run, so unless you're running Windows Vista, you might need to download the framework as well. More information can be found on the .NET info page.

As you may have noticed, a couple of the pages here at tsware.net has been updated too, with new information as well as a new look. I hope you will like it all. If you have any comments, be sure to let us know :)

WebPad.NET is a brand new application, and while it has been tested by lots of betatesters for the last couple of months, bugs may still exist. If you find any, then please contact us with as many details as possible, and we will look into it.

That's all for now. Enjoy WebPad.NET! :)

With the comments on my post about the WebPad.NET product page, I decided that it might need a complete redesign. Together with a very talented designer, I have given the product pages a new look, and I think it's a huge step up. While this was meant for WebPad.NET, I used it for WebCoder as well and you can already see it online on the WebCoder page as well as on the WebPad.NET page. If you wish to compare, this is how the old page looked.

I hope you all like the new look. Once again, I urge you to give us some feedback on it :)

Hello everyone. I've been working on the product page for WebPad.NET for some time now, and I think it's almost about ready. However, I would really, really like your feedback on it - I'm sure it can be improved :). Have a look at the WebPad.NET product page draft, and consider the following things:

• Do you like the description? Do I need to add to it or change parts of it?
• Is the feature list complete, and are the screenshots good enough? Am I missing your favorite WebPad.NET feature? Does it need more screenshots?
• Do you have anything you feel I should add to the WebPad.NET FAQ?

Please throw in a comment here on the blog and let me know what you think of the page :). Demo videos will be added later, but if you have suggestions for them, be sure to write down those as well :). Oh, and the download link does not work yet - that's on purpose though :P

Oh, and don't forget to download final beta 1, as mentioned in the previous entry. We still need your feedback on that as well :)