Mozilla Firefox

One of the main reasons why Firefox is our personal browser of choice isbecause it’s an open source software project with a development communitythat releases very helpful add-ons and tools to extend its capabilities beyonda Web browser, turning it into a Web development tool, in many cases.You can find Firefox add-ons at https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox.You can find add-ons for just about everything from the appearance of yourFirefox browser to browser-based games. At the time of writing, Mozillareports that 2,139,478,273 add-ons have been downloaded...

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Mozilla Firefox

Firefox,  is the second most popular browser on the Web and has emerged over the years to be a solid competitor for IE. Designers and developers tend to prefer Firefox to Internet Explorer because Mozilla (the makers of Firefox) use a solid layout engine that adheres closely toopen Web standards and supports and renders CSS better.Firefox is available for download and usage on Windows, Mac, and Linuxoperating systems in 76 languages. You can download it from the officialMozilla Web site at http://mozilla.c...

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IE Tester

IETester allows you to test Web site designs across several versions ofInternet Explorer, going all the way back to version 5 (IE5). We highly rec-ommend checking this out and using it to help test your Web site designsacross different versions of Internet Explorer. Download IETester fromwww.my-debugbar.com/wiki/IETest...

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Internet Explorer

Currently, the major versions of Internet Explorer that are supported by the majority of designers are versions 7 and 8, with most designers gradually dropping support for version 6 (commonly referred to as IE6). At the time of this writing, Microsoft has released a version 9 beta, with the finalversion of IE9 expected in late 2011 or early 2012.Trying to test your Web site on different versions of Internet Explorer is dif-ficult because attempting to install different versions on your computer cancause some big problems, if you don’t know exactly...

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Internet Explorer

One of the challenges that designers come across is the different versionsof Internet Explorer that are widely used across the Web. With each newversion, Microsoft’s flagship browser comes closer and closer to compli-ance with open Web standards; however, because Internet Explorer is thebrowser present across millions of operating systems across the world,not every individual user or company is quick to adopt the new versionsas they’re released. This results in several versions of IE in use acrossthe world, and designers generally make an effort...

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Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer (IE), owing to the fact that it’s part of all Windows operatingsystems, is by far one of the most popular browsers. Over the years, IE has struggled with its reputation of not keeping up and being noncompliant with Web standards and CSS rendering that the development and design commu-nity has come to love and expect from other browser systems. This is largely due to the layout engine (the method used to display Web sites by translating CSS and HTML markup) in use at the foundation of the IE brows...

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Editing Files and Testing Performance with WordPress Tools

As far as the design and development community is concerned, the choiceover which Web browser to use typically falls on how compliant the browseris with open Web standards developed by the World Wide Web Consortium(W3C), an international community that develops Web standards to ensurelong-term Web growth (www.w3.org). As a designer, you need to at leasthave a working knowledge of what the W3C is and the standards it supportsand promotes. You can read about the W3C vision and mission statement atwww.w3.org/Consortium/mission.html.&nb...

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Discovering different browsers and tools

Multitudes of different browser systems are available on the Web. Thissection takes you through five browsers that are the most popular amongInternet users. Additionally, you find some helpful tools and add-ons toassist you with your Web design efforts in the different browser systems,including some of the must-have tools we use on a regular bas...

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Understanding and choosing a Web browser

Knowing which Web browser to use as your primary browser can be confus-ing because there are so many browser systems available. Everyone has afavorite browser, and if you don’t already, you’ll find one that emerges asyour favorite for one reason or another. Each browser system has a differentlook and feel, as well as different features and tools that make one of themyour preferred browser of choice.One thing you need to keep in mind, however, is that it doesn’t matter whichbrowser you use as your preferred browser for Internet surfing. However,having...

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TextMate (Mac)

TextMate is an Apple product and, as such, can be used only on a Mac; it’sthe most popular text editor for Mac users and is referred to as “the missingeditor” for Macs. Like Notepad++, TextMate is a syntax editor that color-codes the markup and code that you write. Additionally, TextMate can✦ Easily search and replace✦ Auto-indent mark up and code✦ Open several documents, each in their own tab✦ Work as an external editor for FTP programsTextMate is not free, however. You can download a free 30-day trial from itsWebsite: http://macromates.com. After...

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Notepad++ (Windows)

Notepad++ is a text editor for Windows users and is often referred to as“Notepad on steroids.” The interface of Notepad++ looks a lot like the regu-lar Notepad but that’s where the similarities end. Notepad++ is a text editorwith advanced features, such as color-coded syntax (see the nearby sidebar,“Code syntax highlighting,” for information on syntax highlighting), codeindentation, and line numbering, which make it an extremely useful andhelpful application for writing and editing code. Figure 5-5 demonstratesthe color-coded syntax where the functions...

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Notepad (Windows)

Notepad, by default, saves files with a .txt extension. With WordPress tem-plates and theme files, you typically save files with a .php or .css exten-sion, so you want to take care and make sure that you save files correctly.To save as a .php or .css extension with Notepad, follow these quick steps:1. Open Notepad by clicking the Start button and then choosingPrograms➪Accessories➪Notepad.2. Create your CSS or PHP document.Check out  the  minibook for a simple PHP document you can create.3. Choose File➪Save As and then select the...

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Notepad (Windows)

Notepad is a basic plain-text editor that you can use to write code without the fuss and worry of text formatting; it doesn’t support any special document formatting or characters at all, which is what makes it great for writing code and Web documents.Notepad is the go-to text editor for most Windows users because it’s aMicrosoft product packaged in every Windows operating system. Notepadis typically used for viewing and editing text files with the .txt extension,but many people, including myself, use it to create basic CSS and HTMLfiles as we...

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Choosing the text editor that’s right for you

In this post, you dig into WordPress themes, work with CSS and HTML, andtype template tags and a bit of PHP; this chapter arms you with the tools you need to gather to prepare for a smooth and efficient experience later.Next to good ol’ pen and paper, nothing beats a good, solid text editor. Weadmit, we’re a little old school, so for things like grocery lists and jottingdown ideas, we stick with a pad of paper and a pen. Unfortunately, writ-ing code is difficult with a pen and paper, and it doesn’t translate very wellwhen we need to publish it...

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Editing Files and Testing Performance with WordPress Tools

Over the course of Lisa’s journey with WordPress, which began in 2003,she’s learned a lot of lessons from editing WordPress files, building themes,and using different browsers and browser tools to help her view, test, and diagnose certain problems (such as speed, error messages, and CSS rendering) on her Web site.One important thing she’s learned is that when she sits at the computer to begin to work on any WordPress project, large or small, it’s vital that she have the right tools readily available. Having the right tools makes a world of difference...

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