Journal
Freeware Solutions
25 January 2006 › 31 comments
This is a question I get asked occasionally: “What programs do you use to make websites?” Most of the time, people are expecting to be wow’ed by a list of expensive, high-end software. Either that, or they think there is some single miracle application that handles everything. If you’ve worked in the web for awhile, you will know that this is hardly ever the case. Sure, I love Studio 8 just as much as the next guy. Other than Fireworks though, I really don’t use the other programs that much on a daily basis. So, I just want to share several of my favorite freeware solutions that won’t cost you a dime.
JRuler
My coworkers showed me this. JRuler is a great, lightweight program that doesn’t even require an install. While similar in name, it should not be confused with the notorious gangster rapper Ja Rule, though I’m sure he’d like it if he tried it. It has a simple purpose and does it well. Basically, it’s a ruler that overlays everything else on the screen, and can measure in centimeters, inches, picas or pixels. This is great for when you want to measure something, but don’t feel like taking a screenshot or firing up a graphics program.
Notepad++
When it comes to hand coding, I’m very picky. I can’t stand code-hinting and don’t really trust the CSS rendering of WYSIWYG programs. So, the benefits of Dreamweaver are completely lost on me. I like programs that are light, fast and don’t try to do everything for me. It’s for this reason that I was a long-time fan of Araneae. However, it lacks a powerful searching tool.
Lately though, thanks to Ryan of Particletree, I’ve found my affections swayed towards Notepad++. Don’t let the name fool you, because this dawg ain’t nothing like the puppy program that comes with Windows. As its name suggests it handles C++, along with just about every other programming language. It boasts all of the features I love about Dreamweaver, without the chaff. In short, what Firefox is to the browsing, Notepad++ is to code.
Some of the things that stand out to me: Macros, Multi-document sync’d scrolling, Vector-style zoom in/out, and Code highlighting that is on-par with Dreamweaver. It also has comparable site-wide find and replace. Another nice feature are tabs that behave like Firefox. They are draggable, and a middle-click closes them. Anything I could say won’t do it justice. Try it.
FileZilla
I first started using FileZilla a few years ago, when a client project required an FTP program that supported secure uploads. Previously, I had been using the free version of WS_FTP, but found that due to licensing and feature restrictions, that just wasn’t going to cut it anymore. Once I started using it, I wondered why I ever used anything else. Its feature list is the same as most other retail FTP programs, so I won’t embellish much more other than say: If you’re looking for a good file-transfer program, look no further. You might also want to get a slick new icon for it, made by Shawn Grimes.
OpenOffice
I won’t say a whole lot about OpenOffice here, because I’ve already written a pretty lengthy review. I just wanted to bring it up again, because a friend got me thinking about a way to create easy, and completely free slideshow presentations for maxiumum compatibility. Normally when doing public speaking, you put everything together in PowerPoint and then hope for the best, especially if you’ll be presenting with a computer that is not your own.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people fumble to get their lecture in order because of incompatibility issues. By using Impress, which functions similarly to PowerPoint, you can lay out your slides as you normally would. The only catch is, you can then export them as a PDF, which can be read (correctly) on just about any computer. Mac OSX has native PDF handling built-in, and just about every Windows computer has Adobe Reader installed. The reader is available for a wide variety of platforms, as is OpenOffice.
WAMP Server
WAMP Server is a nifty little package. It combines Apache, MySQL and PHP into one installation for Windows. I use this to test various CMS‘s locally on my own computer. This is beneficial because it doesn’t require creating a new database on your server. This is especially important if you are using a host which limites you to a finite number of databases. I use Dreamhost, which allows for unlimited MySQL instances, but I still test locally because the site is not “live,” so you don’t have to worry about any security issues.
This allows me to stay current on changes in content management systems. I have used WAMP to locally test the following: Drupal, Expression Engine, Mambo / Joomla, Textpattern, Typo3 and WordPress. This of course doesn’t mean I a purport expertise with any of them, but it’s has helped me in answering emails, recommending possible solutions for use by churches. MovableType is also good, but requires Perl, which is included with XAMPP.
Note: I don’t yet own a Mac, so I can’t really recommend anything. However, if you want to suggest some good software I’m all ears. Also, feel free to share your own favorites regardless of what operating system you use.
Discussion + Dissension
Comments closed after 2 weeks.
#1 Michael
Nifty little one, that JRuler – that one stays! :-)
#2 Jonathan
For the Mac I’m told BBEdit is the best text editor, though it’s not freeware. TextWrangler IS free though, and it’s pretty much exactly the same.
I use EditPlus as my text editor for Windows, but it’s not free either. Maybe I’ll give Notepad++ a try.
#3 Elliot Swan
For most of my CSS editing I just use the FireFox Web Developer extention…I like being able to see things change as I change them.
I also hear that CSSVista is great, though I haven’t personally tried it yet.
#4 Nathan Smith
Michael: Yeah, JRuler is handy to have around. I wish I’d known about it before, because it would’ve saved having to cut and paste many screenshots.
Jonathan: I think you’ll be very happy with how robust Notepad Plus is.
Elliot: Be careful with CSS Vista. Jonathan Snook had some problems with it.
#5 mightyjoe
If you want to look at some additional freeware packages please check out my site. It’s all freeware and there is no advertising. I’ve spent so much time weeding through all the freeware that is out there I thought it would be a good idea to share what I have learned… Mighty Joe’s Freeware represents my personal configuration that I use all the time. I run on a Windows NT laptop. Unfortunatly I don’t have a lot of RAM so I also look for freeware that performs well. What I wanted to do was create a suite of software, a “best of breed” configuration for people… Anyway, check it out if you want to look at some additional freeware packages. I created a site for Firefox extensions as well (because I kept crashing and needing to reinstall…) You’ll find a link to my Firefox page there as well.
http://mightyjoesfree.blogspot.com/
PS – I’ve created a google page too. I was surprised at how many things there were out there that I thought people should be aware of.
#6 Nathan Smith
Mightyjoe: Thanks for the link. That’s quite a collection of reviews you’ve amassed. If ever I’m thinking of buying a software package, I’ll make sure to check your blog first, just to make sure there’s not a better free solution.
#7 Aaron Alexander
For the Mac users: A really helpful tool like JRuler is Free Ruler. There is also another ruler served up as a Dashboard Widget called G-Ruler. I’ve never used this one, but it’s there if you want to give it a shot.
#8 Elliot Swan
Elliot: Be careful with CSS Vista. Jonathan Snook had some problems with it.
Interesting…I wonder if they’ve fixed that bug yet? I didn’t find any sort of bug list on their site, so I suppose the only way to find out is to try…
#9 Jon-Michael
These are the same programs I use! :) I do use XAMPP instead of WAMP, just because the site was easier to navigate…
I have run into a quandry, I suppose, with such great programs. I’ve always liked finding and playing with new software, but I think this is the cream of the crop for
freewaresoftware. I was looking for a notepad++ competitor today, but I couldn’t find an editor with the same amount of features and “tidyness. I searched for a new FTP client also, but once again, Filezilla beats out the competition. I guess I’m getting bored with my tools. GIMP and GIMPshop are fun to play with occasionally, but I’m too used to Photoshop (which I have to reinstall every 30 days…shhh!).Thanks for the link MightyJoe—I’ll check it out!
#10 Andrew Ingram
wordpad is all I need
#11 Richard
Been using Notepad++ and Filezilla for a long time. Nothing but good things to say about them.
JRuler is a new one on me. Looks like a useful piece of kit. As far as lightweight image editing goes (taking a quick screenshot, cropping, resizing) I’d recommend IrfanView.
#12 AJP
If you’re on a Mac, there’s some very similar applications I’d also recommend.
JRuler becomes xScope.
Notepad++ becomes Textmate or skEdit.
OpenOffice is NeoOffice (same thing only mac friendly).
And then for OAMP, you just need to install mysql, since Apache, PHP, Perl, Ruby, etc are already onboard. Woohoo!
#13 Nathan Smith
Andrew: If you’re just using WordPad, you’re missing out. Sure, you’re showing that you know how to hand-code, but it’s not like some badge of honor. Notepad++ does the same thing, but you save your eyesight.
Richard / AJP: Thanks for those program suggestions. I might be in the market for a Mini sometime soon, so I’ll keep the Mac software in mind.
#14 Ryan Campbell
Notepad++ was recently updated – make sure you go upgrade! Once they have a lightweight file browser I’ll be in heaven.
As for FTP, I used to use Filezilla, but have since replaced it with SmartFTP. It allows for multiple connections open in tabs, and drag and drop from tabs or to desktop. I’m liking it.
#15 Nathan Smith
Ryan: Thanks, I’ve been keeping on top of the current Notepad versions. It will be great when they have an explorer / hierarchy style directory browser. I like SmartFTP quite a bit too, but since I usually am only uploading to one directory at a time, Filezilla is good enough for me, especially for the price.
#16 Andrew Ingram
I don’t use wordpad as a “badge of honor”, i’ve tried a bunch of alternatives but they just didn’t do enough more to justify being installed. I’ve never found syntax highlighting particularly useful anyway.
#17 Nathan Smith
Andrew: No worries, to each his own. I like that Notepad++ can handle a variety of file formats / encoding. When I drag and drop files in WordPad, I always end up seeing the icon itself in the text area, not the desired effect.
#18 Khaled
Big fan of notepad++ although there is a new badboy on the block. Check out Programmer’s Notepad. It’s very cool as well.
#19 David W.
I looked at WAMP, but then found Apache2Triad (http://www.apache2triad.net). It’s a single installer for Windows that gives you Apache, PHP, MySQL, Python, Perl, PostgreSQL, phpMyAdmin, pgAdmin, WinMySQLAdmin, SlimFTPd server, XMail server, Uebimiau, OpenSSL, AwStats, plus a handy-dandy control panel to adminster the whole thing. Highly recommended.
I use most of the rest of the software on your list—I think JRuler is the only one I’ve never heard of. (big fan of Notepad++, especially) In lieu of JRuler I mostly use the MeasureIt Firefox extension.
#20 Nathan Smith
Khaled: Thanks for the suggestion. I’ve not heard of Programmer’s Notepad. If anyone else is interested, here’s the download url: www.pnotepad.org.
David: Thanks, I’ll have to check that out if i ever have need for Python / Perl. What I like about JRuler as opposed to Firefox extensions (web-dev has one now too), is works over anything, and isn’t confined to the browser.
#21 Steve
Some additional useful Mac OS X freeware not yet mentioned:
PixelStick (Measures distances, angles, subdivides)
Tex-Edit (has some useful features not found in TextWrangler/BBedit but I prefer BBEdit in general.)
MAMP (MySQL, PHP, phpMyAdmin, Apache, SQLlite, etc.) YourSQL is also a nice tool to use in conjunction with this for editing tables and data.
#22 Nathan Smith
Steve: Thanks for those suggestions. Man, I’ll have a lot of stuff to try out when / if I get a Mac. I think it will be later than sooner though, with student loans to pay off. I suppose I should give blood regularly, for extra cash. ;)
#23 Steve
For the sake of completeness it may also be worthwhile to note that ColdFusion MX 7 is freely available in the developer version for Mac, Windows, and Linux at the Macromedia site. It could be worthwhile to add to a resume if one is so inclined. Since I need to learn ColdFusion for work I’m using this with MAMP rather than PHP and am looking at web hosting services that offer ColdFusion. (There aren’t as many as those that offer PHP but there are now some with comparable prices.)
For Mac OS X I’ve found the best installation instructions are at Community MX: ColdFusion MX 7 on Macintosh OS X: Part 2. Java 1.4.2 or better is needed.
http://www.communitymx.com/content/article.cfm?cid=C5ACC
When using with MYSQL 4.1 or above the JDBC connector is needed:
http://www.macromedia.com/cfusion/knowledgebase/index.cfm?id=6ef0253
#24 Nathan Smith
Steve: Yeah, ColdFusion is pretty cool. I like how it uses very simple syntax for common things, such as current date and time, with a simple code snippet of
#Now(). I read up on it awhile back when I thought I might need it for a job, but the price is what’s stopped me from doing anything with it. It’s a pretty high barrier of entry when PHP can do the same type of thing for free.#25 Steve
Nathan: The barrier is high for the enterprise version but the developer version is free. If one sticks to ColdFusion hosting services that are comparable to those available for PHP for personal or customer sites it seems to me that cost-wise, the difference between using ColdFusion or PHP is negligible.
Since I don’t see a cost advantage to using PHP at this point, I’ll probably stick with ColdFusion for my own sites since its the skill that I need to develop for my day job. (I’m quite new at this so there are undoubtedly other factors that I’m not aware of.)
#26 Nathan Smith
Steve: That’s a good point, that the cost of ColdFusion is often incurred by the hosting provider. I hadn’t really looked at it that way. I was thinking more in terms of how things like Web Empowered Church have opted to go with PHP because it is cheapest for them as a non-profit organization. I guess on a smaller-scale, CF makes just as much sense as PHP, but for enterprise solutions, CF is an ongoing investment (upgrades, etc). A friend once said:
“We choose our horse and ride.”
What he meant by this is that one platform / language will probably accomplish the end goal just as well as the next, depending on your familiarity with it. Likewise, once we’ve gotten to know our horse, so to speak, it’s tough to be convinced to choose a new one, especially while going full gallop! The bottom line is, if a solution is working, that’s really all that matters. It’s like the old saying goes: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” :)
#27 Sam
Steve: I agree.
Here’s a pretty inexpensive CF host that I use for my personal projects: http://www.lfchosting.com/ Host 5 separate websites for about $18/month.
I’ve used php and asp but I’m pro ColdFusion. It’s nice to get the word out that the devel edition is free! I think many new developers shy away from CF when they compare it to the “free” PHP solution. Obviously, it’d be hard to pull an experienced coder off his “horse” while in full gallop but for new guys (and not so new guys) there IS another horse and it’s a beauty!
I see Nathan’s point about the costs of purchasing and maintaining CF in house but I feel we’ve paid for our license many times over in time saved in training and development. Also, it’s built in reporting feature (PDF/FlashPaper) is amazing!
Having said all that… Nathan is right. You’ll be able to accomplish the same thing with pretty much any solution. Sorry if I got carried away ;)
By the way, Nathan, I just discovered you journal and really enjoy reading it. Your efforts are appreciated.
-Sam
#28 Nathan Smith
Sam: That’s cool, I didn’t realize it could output a Flashpaper of errors, very slick! I’m glad you enjoy reading my journal, as sometimes it gets tiresome writing regularly. It’s encouraging feedback like this which keeps me going.
#29 Herb Gaidus
Nathan,
I found your site trying to confirm that I could use WAMP as a test platform for Drupal, and wound up with a lot more.
The JR Screen Ruler looks really cool, and I’ll try FileZilla too.
Big thanks,
Herb
#30 Nathan Smith
Herb: You’re welcome, though I really didn’t do anything other than point out some of my favorite software / web-dev tools. Feel free to share yours too.
#31 Pierre Barberis
Notepad++ is really awesome!
An open source free editor is even better than some expesive “pseudo” IDE with the uncomfortable and unstable development environment!