RE: professionalism and wysiwyg

by "Demitrius" <iam(at)demitrius.com>

 Date:  Mon, 12 Oct 1998 07:53:11 -0700
 To:  "Kynn Bartlett" <kynn-hwg(at)idyllmtn.com>
 Cc:  <hwg-theory(at)hwg.org>
 In-Reply-To:  idyllmtn
  todo: View Thread, Original
> Actually, I agree, WYSIWYG editors aren't bad tools.  The problem
> arises when they're used as a crutch; they're only something to
> worry about if you don't know the basics behind the code it's
> generating.
>
> If you do know HTML, there's not reason not to automate it.  You
> just have to be careful, if you're new, that by using such a
> tool that you don't pick up bad habits.

Actually I agree with you on this. Case in point; FP98 will generate
extraneous code if you revise certain elements. For example if you change a
font color from default to red, then change your mind and want to change it
back to default, some users make the mistake of changing the color to black.
This not only adds an unnecessary font tag but also changes the color of the
revised text from the users default to black.

There are numerous other such examples, but my point is, if you do not know
the *basics* of HTML AND the basics of your WYSIWYG editor, you can
unwittingly create HTML with a lot of "lint" or "junk code" that so many
anti-WYSIWYG people complain about.

WYSIWYG's give the illusion of being a no-brainer to use. That's what the
marketing people *want* you to believe. But I have found that there's a
learning curve no matter how simple it may appear. I own 3 books about FP98
totaling over 2000 pages in all and I've read them each several times. I
*still* learn something new every time I go through them - and I'm always
rereading them.

So why use a WYSIWYG? I find they save enormous amounts of time. In the
amount of time it would take me to develop just one new look for a website
by hand coding, I can crank out 3 to 5 with FP98. This gives me the
opportunity to serve my client better by offering them more choices and
allows me to remain productive by spending my saved time prospecting and
running my business.

For me, the bottom line is that regardless of what editor you use, you gotta
know it well or you'll unwittingly misuse it. So IMO, what matters most is
AUTHOR behind the editor, NOT the editor program itself.

Best,
Demitrius >I<
--------------------- A. Demitrius Lopez
W E B S I T E       D E V E L O P E R
           www.demitrius.com
   ----------------->I<---------------

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