Freeway 3.5 - Softpress

Fast and easy web design

For those of you who are interested in producing Web pages without having to deal with HTML, CSS, Java, etc., Softpress has the ideal solution: Freeway. Now released in version 3.5, it is undoubtedly the most exciting software in creating Web sites; the only requirement is that you need a Mac (Windows users this time are left with the short end of the stick.
If you are like me and are used to desktop publishing applications, the interface of Freeway will not surprise you. In fact the Softpress product follows the same guidelines found in page layout software packages such as QuarkXpress or Adobe Indesign, not just in the interface but also in how Web pages are created.
Graphics, boxes and text are placed on pages in much the same way as they can be placed in QuarkXpress, with the advantage that at the right moment Freeway will create the code for you. Other applications can produce the same result, but none compare even remotely with Freeway. In particular, the code generated by those applications is usually quite heavy and repetitive, but the Freeway HTML version is among the cleanest. Manual intervention is always possible, both through the program and an external editor.
So the user needs only to concentrate on drawing the pages, almost as if he were doing so on a paper sheet. I'm almost regretting all the time I spent learning the various , , , etc.
Freeway handles different graphic formats in addition to the customary JPG and GIF, such as TIFF and even native PhotoShop (7) and Illustrator (10) files. The software will crop and scale images when needed, exporting them to files ready for the Web without any intervention on your part.
Freeway comes complete with a series of pre-scripted Java attributes, easily modifiable, that can give a truly professional outlook to your site.
Sites and individual pages can be produced as plain HTML 3.2 code, HTML 4.0, or the useful HTML 3.2 + CSS hybrid, according to need.
Freeway can also handle master pages, and site management is easy thanks to the Site palette. Softpress has recently begun to create a series of plug-ins that can interact with database driven sites. For the moment, there is a version for php, but pretty soon one for asp should be ready. Problems can be encountered in opening pages previously created with other applications.
Despite the fact that applications such as Adobe GoLive and Macromedia DreamWeaver can be more useful for professional site developers, Freeway offers a fast and precise way to produce Web pages in seconds. Canadians can buy the software ($249 U.S.) directly from Softpress or through a American retailer, as the company is currently looking for resellers in Canada.

For more information visit: www.softpress.com

Publication Date: 2002-06-02
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=1390