Mainstream users prefer to use the more modern visual editors, though the text-only products still have a following among Webmasters who want to control every detail of their files. And even with the latest graphics-based editors, users may have to enter obscure filenames and other strings to use advanced features like Java applets, ActiveX controls, and scripting. All the programs are graphical, so you never have to see raw HTML code, although several offer special editing windows for experts who want to view or modify the code underlying their documents. What You Get, because every browser interprets HTML code differently. These graphical editors automatically create valid HTML files, and some can automatically correct any syntax errors in files you import from other sources.
Different programs react in different ways to incorrect syntax in imported files.
AOLpress, at one extreme, silently corrects even egregious errors in imported files. At the other extreme, HoTMetaL Pro forces you to edit some pages by hand until they conform to the program's strict SGML-style interpretation of the rules of HTML syntax. All of these HTML editors make it easy to create pages with complex formatting and imported graphics. Some of these programs create and manage Web sites in addition to creating individual pages. Packages like AOLpress and FrontPage 97 were designed from the ground up to build interconnected pages that use the same graphics and other design elements on every page.