HyperEngine-AV is a free video editing software for Mac used to capture, edit, organize process, and export video, audio, and text to create DVD quality movies and slide shows. It comes with twelve studio-quality effects from Arboretum's Hyperprism suite of audio processors. Though some text editors might include a rich-text editor or WYSIWYG features to make it easier to design a website, text editors are generally low on features. A dedicated HTML editor might be included to make it even easier to create a website from the ground up, but typically a text editor is simply a plain text box in which to write code. Since web designers are typically creating frameworks for websites, there is usually little need for the more complex tools in an IDE. The following are the 10 best WYSIWYG web editors for Macintosh, in order from best to worst. Check Out the 10 Best Free HTML Editors for the Mac.
A good word processor is one of the few pieces of software you simply can't live without. You might be able to manage without a spreadsheet tool or something for making slideshows, but text documents are unavoidable. Thankfully, you don't need to splash out on a full Microsoft Office subscription; there are some superb word processors available to download and use completely free.
Here we’re looking at the very best word processors that can be used offline (particularly useful for distraction-free writing), but there are also several excellent browser-based tools to consider if you'd rather do your writing online.
Google Docs is the most obvious choice, and has the advantage of saving your work automatically so you don’t have to worry if your connection fails. It’s also a good choice for collaborative working, and means you don’t have to upload work to a separate cloud storage service. However, it has a limited selection of templates, there’s no way to import content from other Google applications, and any online tool is going to be surrounded by distractions like social media.
If you'd prefer an offline word processor, read on – the perfect one is only a click away.
1. WPS Office Free
A word processor with cloud storage and support for all text files
Interface almost identical to Word
Free cloud storage
If you’ve used a modern version of Microsoft Word, there’ll be no learning curve when you switch to Writer – the word processing component of WPS Office Free.
This free word processor looks and behaves almost exactly like its premium counterpart, and even has its own equivalent of OneDrive, offering 1GB free cloud storage.
Its selection of pre-installed templates gives you everything you need for common document types, and you can easily create your own for bespoke tasks. It’s compatible with every text file format you can think of, including current and legacy versions of Microsoft Word dating back to Office 97.
WPS Office Writer is supported by discrete ads, which can be removed by upgrading to the premium version, but they’re barely noticeable and no features are locked behind a paywall. Overall, WPS Writer is very impressive, and in our opinion it’s the best free word processor available to download today.
WPS recently launched a free PDF to Word converter as well, which is a great companion to its word processor.
2. LibreOffice or Apache OpenOffice
All-singing, all-dancing word processors for any text-based work
Document template galleries
LibreOffice is a fork of Apache OpenOffice, and although there are some differences between the two suites (LibreOffice receives more frequent updates, for example, and has a more lively userbase), their word processing components are so similar, we’re listing them together.
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Both versions of Writer are feature-packed analogs of Microsoft Word, packed with all the features you could possibly need for any text-based work.
The two versions of Writer include wizards and templates for common document types, such as invoices and letters, and it’s easy to create your own templates for future use as well. The word processors also work together with the other office software in their respective suites – so you can use Base to create a bibliography, for example.
Both word processors support all the most popular file formats, and can export documents to PDF without the need for additional software. If you’re looking for a word processor that can stand in for Microsoft Word, either of these two will be a perfect candidate.
3. FocusWriter
The ideal word processor for first drafts, with no fussy formatting
Blocks out distractions
Auto-save function
If you simply want to hammer out some words without worrying about formatting, you could just use Windows’ built-in Notepad app, but FocusWriter is full of clever tools that will help you maximize productivity without ever getting in the way.
As the name implies, FocusWriter blocks out all distractions so you can give that all-important first draft your full attention. In normal use, all you see is a blank page – toolbars are only visible if you move your mouse pointer to the edge of the screen – but there’s a killer feature in Focused Text, which fades everything into the background except the current paragraph or sentence.
FocusWriter also features alerts that are triggered at certain times, or when you’ve reached a predefined word count, so you don’t need to worry about watching a counter (as you would in Microsoft Word). This also makes FocusWriter a good tool to use in tandem with the Pomodoro Technique, which involves working hard for a period of time that’s long enough for you to work productively, but not so long that you become fatigued.
It’s not suitable for editing, but for productivity, FocusWriter is hard to beat.
4. SoftMaker FreeOffice
Another great looking word processor, but watch your file formats
Can export to EPUB format
Opens password-protected files
TextMaker – the word processing element of SoftMaker FreeOffice – is good looking, and comes with several handy templates for creating letters and other everyday documents. The selection isn’t as extensive as some of its rivals’, but you can also make new designs for future use and save them in TMV format.
All the features you’d expect from a modern word processor are present and correct, including advanced formatting options, the ability to create databases for managing bibliographies and footnotes, and a function for tracking changes to collaborative projects.
The only real drawback of TextMaker is its inability to save your work in DOCX format (though you can open and edit these files with no difficulty). This feature is limited to the premium version of SoftMaker Office, which retails for £48.20 (about US$60, AU$75).
5. Writemonkey
Productivity-focused word processing with quick shortcuts
Distraction-free interface
Handy keyboard shortcuts
WriteMonkey is another no-frills word processor designed to help you maximize your output without fussing with editing and formatting. It’s not intended for documents like letters or CVs, but is great for committing early ideas to paper (or screen) so you have the raw material to develop later.
Unlike FocusWriter, which is compatible with all the most common text formats (including Microsoft’s DOC and DOCX), WriteMonkey only works with TXT files, so you’ll have to convert any works in progress before opening them. WriteMonkey’s hidden controls are tricker to navigate, too – everything is accessed via a large right-click menu, or a vast collection of keyboard shortcuts.
That said, if you’re happy to commit those shortcuts to memory, you’ll find WriteMonkey faster to use than toolbar-based alternatives.
We also like the ability to look words up in Wikipedia, Google Images, Poetry.com, Answers.com, and many others without opening a browser winder manually and leaving yourself open to the temptations of Twitter and Facebook.
WriteMonkey is a portable app, so there’s no need to install it – just extract all the downloaded files to a removable drive or cloud storage service and fire it up by running the file WriteMonkey.exe.
WYSIWYG editors are HTML editors that attempt to display the web page as it will display in the browser. They are visual editors, and you don’t manipulate the code directly. I’ve reviewed over 60 different web editors for Macintosh against criteria relevant to professional web designers and developers. The following are the 10 best WYSIWYG web editors for Macintosh, in order from best to worst.
Adobe Dreamweaver
Dreamweaver is one of the most popular professional web development software packages available. It offers power and flexibility to create pages that meet your needs. You can use it for everything from JSP, XHTML, PHP, and XML development.
It is a good choice for professional web designers and developers, but if you're working as a solitary freelancer, you might want to look at one of the Creative Suite suites like Web Premium or Design Premium to get graphics editing capability and other features like Flash editing as well.
There are a few features that Dreamweaver lacks, some have been missing for a long time, and others (like HTML validation and photo galleries) were removed in CS5.
Adobe Creative Suite
If you are a graphic artist and then a web designer you should consider Creative Suite Design Premium. Unlike Design Standard which doesn't include Dreamweaver, Design Premium gives you InDesign, Photoshop Extended, Illustrator, Flash, Dreamweaver, SoundBooth, and Acrobat.
Because it includes Dreamweaver it includes all the power you need to build web pages. But web designers who focus more on graphics and less on the purely HTML aspects of the job will appreciate this suite for the extra graphic features included in it.
SeaMonkey
SeaMonkey is the Mozilla project all-in-one Internet application suite. It includes a web browser, email and newsgroup client, IRC chat client, and composer – the web page editor.
One of the nice things about using SeaMonkey is that you have the browser built-in already so testing is a breeze. Plus it's a free WYSIWYG editor with an embedded FTP to publish your web pages.
Amaya
Amaya is the W3C web editor. It also acts as a web browser. It validates the HTML as you build your page, and since you can see the tree structure of your web documents, it can be very useful for learning to understand the DOM and how your documents look in the document tree.
It has a lot of features that most web designers won’t ever use, but if you’re worried about standards and you want to be 100% sure that your pages work with the WC3 standards, this is a great editor to use.
Best Website Editor For Mac
Rapidweaver
At first glance, RapidWeaver appears to be a WYSIWYG editor, but there is a lot to surprise you. You can create a site with a large photo gallery, a blog, and two stand-alone web pages in about 15 minutes. These included images and fancy formatting.
This is a great program for newcomers to web design. You get started quickly and advance to more complicated pages including PHP. It doesn't validate HTML that you hand code and I couldn't figure out how to add an external link in one of the WYSIWYG pages.
There is also a large user-base with lots of plugins to get more support for advanced features including HTML 5, e-commerce, Google sitemaps, and more.
KompoZer
KompoZer is a good WYSIWYG editor. It is based on the popular Nvu editor – only it is called an “unofficial bug-fix release.”
KompoZer was conceived by some people who really liked Nvu, but were fed up with the slow release schedules and poor support. So they took it over and released a less buggy version of the software. Ironically, there hasn't been a new release of KompoZer since 2010.
SandVox
Sandvox Pro offers great features. One really interesting feature is the integration with Google Webmaster Tools. This can help you keep your site on track with SEO and give you options like a sitemap and other features.
Nvu
Nvu is a good WYSIWYG editor. I prefer text editors to WYSIWYG editors, but if you don’t, then Nvu is a good choice, especially considering that it’s free. You'll love that it has a site manager to allow you to review the sites that you’re building. It's surprising that this software is free.
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Feature highlights: XML support, advanced CSS support, full site management, built-in validator, and international support as well as WYSIWYG and color-coded XHTML editing.
Good Page
Good Page offers a lot of the features of a great text editor while also providing some WYSIWYG support.
You'll like the structured views of the document – this makes it easier to see the DOM for JavaScript development. Another cool thing is the CSS editor, which includes the specificity right on the property. If you’ve ever fought with a very complex style sheet you’ll recognize the value of that.
What is your favorite HTML editor? Write a review!
Do you have a Web editor that you absolutely love or positively hate? Write a review of your HTML editor and let others know which editor you think is the best.