CSE HTML Validator v10 - What would you like?

[Albert Wiersch]

I'm currently working on v9.02 which may go into BETA before the end of the year and be released in January 2009. This will be a free update to all v9.0 registered users.

But I'd like comments and thoughts about what people would like to see in v10. Is there something you think CSE HTML Validator should do that it doesn't? Please be specific so I can consider it for v10. Small and major changes are welcome and will be considered for the next major release which is likely in the 4th quarter of 2009 (but just guessing here as it's a long way off!).

[RSteinwand]

Hi Albert.

The collapsing style and script sections in the head are cool. Can we also add collapsing div's and tables?

I'd like to see export/import functions to export settings from one computer to another. Ideally this would be flexible to still work if going from 32bit to 64 bit, where the install folder could be C:\Program Files (x86)\HTMLValidator90. You might add check boxes to choose what to export (validator, editor, etc) if applicable.

[Albert Wiersch]

The collapsing style and script sections in the head are cool. Can we also add collapsing div's and tables?

Thanks. I'd like to see that too. That's an editor feature that I believe is planned for a future version of the editor component that I use in CSE HTML Validator.

I'd like to see export/import functions to export settings from one computer to another. Ideally this would be flexible to still work if going from 32bit to 64 bit, where the install folder could be C:\Program Files (x86)\HTMLValidator90. You might add check boxes to choose what to export (validator, editor, etc) if applicable.

There is currently an import/export feature in the Validator Engine Options dialog box, but it only imports/exports some of the validator engine options. This may be enhanced in the future.

[RSteinwand]

Hi Albert. I lost my key for Dreamweaver at home so am trying to use CSE as a main editor tonight. I'm very anal about indentation since I often use that to help watch opening and closing tags, as well as to compare similar pages (using Beyond Compare). This is what I'm noticing:

1. It's hard to highlight a line. In most programs I can quickly highlight a line by going to the left editor edge and click on the line I want to highlight and dragging the mouse down one line. In CSE I have to do this several times before it actually highlights the line. Some programs let me highlight a line by clicking to the left of the text edge. That works for me too, just not in CSE.

2. I can't indent a block by highlighting say 5 lines of code and hitting the tab key (or shift-tab) to change the indent. All the html editors I use (Textpad, Dreamweaver) do this properly. This is probably the feature I'd like to see the most.

3. Indent isn't intuitive. If I try to indent a line more by positioning my cursor at the beginning of a line and clicking tab, the cursor will move to the proper spot, but the rest of the line will be over-indented and I have to delete the extra tabs. I realize I can turn this off, but I'd rather have it smarter and indent the content to the proper spot, not just the cursor. If I have my cursor at the beginning of the content, only then does it work right. Maybe this is by design?

All in all CSE has come a long way in the past couple years and I enjoy using it. Thanks for updating it so often.

[Albert Wiersch]

Hi Albert. I lost my key for Dreamweaver at home so am trying to use CSE as a main editor tonight. I'm very anal about indentation since I often use that to help watch opening and closing tags, as well as to compare similar pages (using Beyond Compare). This is what I'm noticing:

Hi Rick,

Thanks a lot for the suggestions. I've passed them along to the editor developer. I think #2 shouldn't be difficult to do. Right now you can indent and unindent using Ctrl+Shift+I and Ctrl+Shift+U, but being able to use the Tab key makes sense.

[RSteinwand]

Thanks Albert. I was aware of the Ctrl+Shift+I and Ctrl+Shift+U. That helps.

Also, scrolling (mouse wheel) is quite a bit slower in CSE than other editors or windows. I wonder if there's an event that slows that down?

[Albert Wiersch]

Also, scrolling (mouse wheel) is quite a bit slower in CSE than other editors or windows. I wonder if there's an event that slows that down?

If you use Task Manager, does your CPU spike when scrolling? I think the editor uses a lot of CPU when scrolling and this could be slowing it down. It is something I've previously mentioned to the developer for possible future improvement.

[RSteinwand]

Yes, it spikes to 50%, but so does IE.

I wonder if he's building the window as it scrolls (with all the background coloring, etc)?

The time it takes to scroll seems proportional to the number of lines.

If I flick the wheel, it take for 6 seconds for the 1079 lines document to finish scrolling and for 4 seconds for a 440 line document.

When I made that comment about the scrolling last night, I was editing a large document.

[RSteinwand]

Ctrl+Shift+I changes my tabs to spaces, bloating the page. Guess I'll wait for an update. (My editor2 options says to use tabs for tab key, but apparently that isn't used here.)

[Albert Wiersch]

1. It's hard to highlight a line. In most programs I can quickly highlight a line by going to the left editor edge and click on the line I want to highlight and dragging the mouse down one line. In CSE I have to do this several times before it actually highlights the line. Some programs let me highlight a line by clicking to the left of the text edge. That works for me too, just not in CSE.

I'm told this will be in an upcoming update of the editor component.

2. I can't indent a block by highlighting say 5 lines of code and hitting the tab key (or shift-tab) to change the indent. All the html editors I use (Textpad, Dreamweaver) do this properly. This is probably the feature I'd like to see the most.

This should work now. I've also added a new editor option for a "smart" indent/unindent that considers the previous indent.

3. Indent isn't intuitive. If I try to indent a line more by positioning my cursor at the beginning of a line and clicking tab, the cursor will move to the proper spot, but the rest of the line will be over-indented and I have to delete the extra tabs. I realize I can turn this off, but I'd rather have it smarter and indent the content to the proper spot, not just the cursor. If I have my cursor at the beginning of the content, only then does it work right. Maybe this is by design?

Could you provide a sample document and tell me how to reproduce this? I'd like to know exactly what is happening and exactly the behavior you'd like to see. Thanks!

[roedygr]

I read a review of HTML Validator once. The author was appalled by how unfriendly all those numbered features were you turned on and off.

Numbers are meaningless. These things need names, perhaps one or two words, and a paragraph available on-line of what they do. So much of HTMLValidator is just plain mysterious and I just don't touch it, or only touch it when you give me instructions on what to do.

There are things you do by composing that giant script. Perhaps some common things could be handled by dialogs so the process would not be so daunting.

At this point, I think my number 1 request is caching results so you can rapidly retest the whole site just checking the files that have changed since the last run. I would like to be able to hit a single button before every upload for a last minute quick check all is ok.

[roedygr]

I would like it if there were a single menu item from which you could get at ALL possible configuration dialogs. The way it is now there are several places you have to check to find where to configure something.

I have trouble guessing where to find the control is for the thing I want to configure. Perhaps it needs some explanation to help explain what is in each section, or perhaps a more unified configuration dialog.

Perhaps an integrated How-To of say 20 common tasks, that takes you to the relevant section with instructions on what to fiddle. Microsoft does this fairly well in Vista.

Very few users will ever understand the full power of the configuration. You need to let the rest of us, still do something useful without that deep understanding.

[Albert Wiersch]

1. It's hard to highlight a line. In most programs I can quickly highlight a line by going to the left editor edge and click on the line I want to highlight and dragging the mouse down one line. In CSE I have to do this several times before it actually highlights the line. Some programs let me highlight a line by clicking to the left of the text edge. That works for me too, just not in CSE.

I'm told this will be in an upcoming update of the editor component.

This will be in BETA 2B. It should now be very easy to select multiple lines using the line numbers in the gutter bar. Thanks for the suggestion!

[Albert Wiersch]

Perhaps an integrated How-To of say 20 common tasks, that takes you to the relevant section with instructions on what to fiddle. Microsoft does this fairly well in Vista.

There is a "How to" section in the documentation. If you have any specific suggestions for that, then please let me know. Is there something you think many people will want to do that is not already listed there?

Very few users will ever understand the full power of the configuration. You need to let the rest of us, still do something useful without that deep understanding.

Yes, I have considered making things easier to use, like the flags. Perhaps I will be able to improve this in v10.

[RSteinwand]

This will be in BETA 2B. It should now be very easy to select multiple lines using the line numbers in the gutter bar. Thanks for the suggestion!

Thanks. I do that all the time in Beyond Compare and like the feature.