GoLive CyberStudio. (GoLive Systems Web authoring tool) (Software Review)(Evaluation) Tom Negrino.
Abstract: GoLive Systems' $349 GoLive CyberStudio lets Web professionals create sophisticated pages and manage sites and is both easy to use and powerful. The program combines excellent layout control with direct access to HTML code for hand-tweaking. Its Document window resembles a desktop publishing program and has tabs for toggling among the layout, preview, frames, HTML source and outline views. CyberStudio can act as a WYSIWYG page editor or pixel-precise layout program for dragging and placing objects. Users can mix the two approaches on one page and add frame sets in the frame view by dragging templates from the tool palette. Tables, forms, image maps, Java applets and a variety of multimedia formats are supported directly within CyberStudio. The preview mode shows what a page will look like in a Web browser but does not preview frames. There are editors and syntax checkers for HTML and JavaScript; the latter does not catch all mistakes, and there are a few bugs.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 1997 Mac Publishing L.L.C.
The next generation of Web-site tools is upon us. Starting with NetObjects Fusion (see Reviews, May 1997), and now with GoLive CyberStudio 1.0, Web professionals have capabilities they could only dream about a few months ago--precise page layout, advanced site management, and easy uploading via FTP. But these high-end programs take different approaches to site building: Fusion keeps a site's elements in a proprietary format, rendering pages into HTML only when the site is complete, while CyberStudio keeps Web pages in HTML that you can edit at any stage of the process. Given that these days teams commonly build large sites--designers lay out the pages, writers add the content, and programmers add the scripts and CGIs--CyberStudio's approach makes sense because it allows team members to share HTML pages easily.
Easy Page Building
You'll spend most of your time in CyberStudio's Document window, which has tabs for toggling among the layout, preview, frames, HTML source, and outline views. In layout mode, CyberStudio can be either a typical WYSIWYG Web-page editor like Adobe PageMill, or--if you add a layout grid--a pixel-precise program like NetObjects Fusion that lets you drag and place objects anywhere on a page. You can even mix the two approaches on the same page. The preview mode shows you what your page will look like in a browser (though it doesn't preview frames--a glaring oversight), and the frame mode makes it easy to add a frame set; you simply drag frame templates from the tool palette.
All the expected features are here, including tables, forms (up to two per page), image maps (both client-side and server-side), and the ability to insert and view QuickTime, Shockwave, and Java applets without leaving the program. CyberStudio also boasts editors and syntax checkers for HTML and (a first on the Mac) for JavaScript; both color-code the operators to make editing easier.
The JavaScript editor lets you add code by dragging from a scrollable list, but its syntax checking could be better; it failed to flag some simple scripting errors. You can edit the database of HTML tags to add new tags, or simply download a new database from GoLive's Web site.
One of the many nice touches in CyberStudio is a small pop-up menu displaying the size of the window in pixels. Because it has preset values for standard monitor sizes, it's a snap to size your pages.
Another clever tool is the Color Picker, with tabs for RGB, CMYK, gray scale, indexed colors, the Apple 8-bit color table, and 2 palettes displaying the 216 Web-safe (nondithering) colors. One of those palettes lists the RGB hexadecimal value for each color; the other shows each color's name and hex value.
Discipline Your Sites
CyberStudio's site-management features are superb. You organize your site's elements in the Project window, which has tabs for Web pages, media (such as GIFs, JPEGs, and QuickTime movies), URLs, and e-mail addresses. CyberStudio gives you the option of creating a project from scratch--by building pages and adding them to the project--or importing all or part of an existing site. You can add files by selecting them from a dialog box, or by dragging them from the Finder into the Project window. When you rename an element (a file or URL) in the Project window, CyberStudio changes the element's name in the Finder and updates all references to it throughout the site.
The site view displays your site's structure in the form of a flowchart to which you can add pages or links. In the link view, lines going to or from a file show how it's linked to other files and make errant links obvious (see "Shooting a Link"). To resolve bad links, which are indicated by a bug icon, you drag a link from the offending element's Inspector window to the correct destination in the Project or Document window.
Almost Perfect
CyberStudio is unusually polished for a 1.0 release, but it has a bug or two. I experienced occasional freezes when trying to preview a media object. GoLive's technical support acknowledged the bug and said it would be resolved in a forthcoming maintenance release.
Along with lots of screen space, CyberStudio requires a Power Mac, System 7.5.5 or later, at least 8MB of application RAM, QuickTime, AppleScript, and a scripting extension. In return, it supports such Apple-specific technologies as drag and drop, Apple Guide, QuickTime 3D, and Hot Sauce MCF (for creating 3-D maps of your Web site).
Macworld's Buying Advice
Because GoLive CyberStudio maintains Web pages in HTML, a site's programmers and writers can add their contributions more easily than in NetObjects Fusion, which keeps the site in a proprietary format until it's published. CyberStudio is also a better value than Fusion, costing hundreds of dollars less. Although it lacks Fusion's ability to change the look of a site merely by changing a template, CyberStudio is destined to become the preferred site builder for Web professionals.
RATING: Four Stars/8.1
PROS: Excellent layout control without sacrificing access to HTML; great site-management tools; lots of cool touches.
CONS: JavaScript syntax checker doesn't catch all mistakes; you can't preview frames within the program; some bugs.
COMPANY: GoLive Systems (415/463-1580, http://www.golive.com).
LIST PRICE: $349.
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