HTML SuperText

• Version: 2.1beta4
• Author: Robert C. Best III
• Requirements: Systems 7, 800K of RAM
• Cost:
• Pros: extensive customizability and online help
• Cons: all formatting tags in one long menu
• Remote location: <URL:http://www.potsdam.edu/HTML_SuperText/About_HTML_S.html>
• Tricks location: <URL:>

As the standard for HTML is enhanced, HTML SuperText users will be able to keep up with many of the changes because of HTML SuperText's extensive customizability. For example, end-user's can modify SuperText's Tags menu to include new HTML tags. This is done by simply filling in a dialog box. Unfortunately, these tags must have a specific form like <citation></citation> where there is a beginning and ending tag. Other tags, like the ones used to create radio buttons, are not available in SuperText. Similarly, you can create special characters the same way, characters like the copyright symbol (©) or extended characters like a tilde "a" (ã).

All HTML markup options are available in one menu of SuperText. At first glance, could be seen as a poor way to organize the options. But with SuperText's ability to create "Custom Tag Floaters", end-users can create their own floating palettes of tags to meet their own working habits.

SuperText supports a "Revert to last saved" version of your file, feature not found in other editors reviewed here. SuperText edit also displays HTML tags in end-user defined fonts, colors, and styles thus helping to distinguish between text and tags.

SuperText also gives you the option of including Macintosh-based formatting in your text (underlining, bold, shadow) as well as font choices and colors. This feature enables you to get a hint of what your rendered HTML might look like, but at the same time, combined with a preview feature, these features seem extraneous.

SuperText supports the creation forms by leading you through a dialog box. The dialog box is a bit confusing, but the creating forms is confusing itself. SuperText uses a similar format for creating links to other documents. By selecting items and completing fields in dialog boxes, SuperText creates for you valid URLs.

SuperText supports a vast array of online help options from Balloon Help to precreated HTML files. In fact, SuperText has more online help than any other editor reviewed here.

Eric last edited this page on September 26, 1995. Please feel free to send comments.