You don't have to use FF as your default browser, but the Web Developer extension is invaluable for editing sites. It has tools for all kinds of informational and editing tasks (most of which I haven't even tried yet), most notably displays for id/class info of every element on the page, image info, and an "edit CSS" button which lets you work on all the site's CSS files in a sidebar, see results of tweaks instantly and save what works.

superprg:

- PHP Editors = Notepad,TextPad

- HTML Editors = Notepad

- CSS Editors =Notepad

- Text-Search Tools = TextPad

- Screenshot Tools = Print Screen, Photoshop

- Color Pickers = What??

- Diff Tools = TextPad

- FTP Tools = CuteFTP,FileZilla

- Browser Addon's/Utilities=Firefox

- Database Manipulation Tools (keep in mind, easy to use, esp for newbies)=PHPMyAdmin

- Other things?..hmm....Shopping Cart=Zen Cart :)

I guess I follow SuperPRG since I say almost the same thing...
The Differences :
Dreamweaver MX and Extensions for coding when I am lazy
And WSFTP Pro for FTP.

And Paintshop Pro version 7, 8, or 9 for images (I've been a PSP Girl for wayyyy toooo loooonnnngggg)

I'd never heard of or knew about open source technology a year ago, and was introduced to it by a friend who works with SQL, not MySQL. So I had already taken the expensive route, and bought at South African price Dreamweaver MX2004 for US$1000 (yes - ouch) locally. So I use:

- PHP Editors : Dreamweaver (big bux)

- HTML Editors : Dreamweaver ($$$), Mozilla add ons

- CSS Editors : Mozilla add ons, Flumpcakes (Free optimisation)

- Text-Search Tools: Dreamweaver and notepad - have just added Crimson edit(free)

- Graphics Editors: Fireworks (ouch~~!), Irfanview (cheap), Freehand ($$$)

- Screenshot Tools: Fireworks (ouch!!)

- Color Pickers: Fireworks (ouch!?)

- FTP Tools : Filezilla (free)- dreamweaver is too slow

- Browser Addon's/Utilities ; Firefox et al; IE for testing

- External Resources/Tutorials - find as I need free. My brother in law gave me SAMS Teach Yourself PHP, MySQL and Apache All in One by Julie C Meloni. But this gathers dust mostly, as this forum has got me rolling.

- Database Manipulation Tools (keep in mind, easy to use, esp for newbies) - phpMyAdmin

- Other things? - Itunes for entertainment, Dell Latitude 800 with 512 ram and broadband

and Zen Cart with a lotta help from my unseen friends.

Because it's the only tool I use that no one has listed already, i gotta give a shout out for Quanta Gold. This is hands down the best code editor I've ever seen, for any language:

• Automatic color coding
• Auto line indenting
• Unix or windows format line feeds
• Automatic space stripping (from the end of a line)
• Built-in FTP editor
  It's not free ($40 for download version), but definitely one of the best 40 bucks I ever spent. :thumbsup:

I know the hardcore coders among you prefer a simple text pad editor, but I just cant give up the time-saving features in here (I hate stripping white space when I rearrange a code loop).

Some web design, free software, and other resources.
Looks like I'll be adding some more links from this thread.

Enjoy :)

bobdog:

Doesn't anybody use HomeSite anymore? It used to be made by Allaire, then Macromedia bought it, and now it is Adobe.

Homesite rocks!
I'm still using Homesite 5 standalone version for all my coding.

My wife gave me Adobe CS2 Web Bundle for my birthday in January:lol:

Using: Dreamweaver 8, Flash 8, & Fireworks 8.
Struggling to use: Adobe Photoshop CS2, Adobe ImageReady CS2 & Adobe Illustrator CS2.:lamo:

• PHP Editors = Bluefish <- Free
• HTML Editors = Bluefish <- Free
• CSS Editors = Bluefish <- Free
• Text-Search Tools = Bluefish, Nedit, and the good'ol CLI (command line interface) <- All three Free
• Screenshot Tools = scrot <- Free
• Color Pickers = my finger, I mean Gimp <- Free
• Diff Tools = xxdiff, diff <- Both Free
• FTP Tools = axyftp, cftp <- Knock, Knock, who's there? Free!
• Browser Addon's/Utilities= Mozilla-Firefox <- Yes, free too.
• Database Manipulation Tools (keep in mind, easy to use, esp for newbies) = Siag Office's spreedsheet program for those peskie .csv files <- Guess what? It's free!
• Other things? = Easy Populate Advanced 3.X <- Not free :( But highly recommended!

Oh happy free days!

For anyone that might not have heard of these [Linux/Unix] applications here some links to my previously mentioned tools. Most of these programs have been ported to most *nix variants. So make sure to check their respective sites for compatability with your operating system(s).

scrot:
http://www.linuxbrit.co.uk/scrot/

bluefish:
http://bluefish.openoffice.nl/

nedit:
http://www.nedit.org/

axyftp:
http://www.wxftp.seul.org/

cftp:
http://ftp.giga.or.at/pub/nih/cftp/

xxdiff:
http://xxdiff.sourceforge.net/

gimp:
http://gimp.org/

siag office:
http://siag.nu/

Easy Populate Advanced:
http://www.zencartbuilder.com/

**# - PHP Editors

- HTML Editors

- CSS Editors

- Text-Search Tools**

DreamweaverMX04
# - Graphics Editors
PaintShopPro / Fireworks MX04 / Freehand MX04 / FlashMX04 Pro
# - Screenshot Tools
Gadwin PrintScreen 2.6
# - Diff Tools
WniMerg
# - FTP Tools
WSFTP Pro
# - Validators
W3
# - External Resources/Tutorials
SitePoint
TechGear 007
# - Database Manipulation Tools (keep in mind, easy to use, esp for newbies)
PHPmyAdmin
# - Other things?
Soft Foam Rubber to tape on the desk to beat my head on

:huh:

i am amazed that nobody even mentioned a php debugger.
i use zend studio (not free and not cheap), but i understand eclipse (gpl) is a very respectable generic IDE with a php extension.

(personally, i tried it and failed to set it up correctly, so i fell back to zend studio. i dont use the latest zend, mainly because upgrades are costly, and also because of the old "if it aint broke don't fix it" thing)

To manage my databases I use Navicat but have just learnt there is a community version of sqlyog which is definately worth checking out.

Anyone looking for a free tool to manage there database or move categories / products between shops should check it out

SQLyog is purported to be faster than any other db-mgmt tool in its class. It also has a much smaller code-base meaning it won't use up as much resources on your PC in order to run.

Here's some of my favorites

1. BigDump - This little script is great for uploading large mysql databases. Simply upload this script to any folder on your server, and upload your mysql backup, either the sql or a gzip file, and run it. (Some easy setup required to point to the filename). It allows you to set user-defined breaks in the upload and it automatically continues from that point until the end of the file without having worry about phpmyadmin timeouts.

2. PHPShell - If your host doesn't allow shell access, or requires an arm and your first born to get SSH access, simply use this handy little script. It gives a prompt that you can enter shell commands into, and updates the screen as you submit. Great for unzipping large forums or even zen-cart updates. (Works best in IE). NOTE: I had a slight problem with the name of the main file: phpshell.php. It threw up some redflags at my webhost and was blocked from working until I renamed it to something more generic like myshl.php

3. Net2FTP - Must have tool for any site. Net2ftp is a server-side file manager, ftp client, wysiwyg editor, chmod controller, and much more. You can install your own, or just use the one on their site to point to your FTP server.

4. IProsite - Another great File manager, ftp client, wysiwyg, and more. This one has nice tabbed interface and tons of other features. There is a LITE version for those not willing the pay the $50 to get the license. The only major limit is only 3 max admins can be on the lite version. That's more than enough for me.

5. PHPInteractive - This is a real simple, yet useful tool to do some sandbox php coding to figure out logic in your php code. Good for developers working on a function and wondering what the result would be. Simply enter some php coding in the top box and submit it, it gives you the result.

My development environment. :)

The page includes links and notes on how to install eclipse + php ide + zend debugger. Easiest way is getting an all-in-one package from Zend.

I use Eclipse with addons for PHP IDE (+ debugger), subversion and Trac issue tracker. Obviosly this means that I also use SVN for version control and Trac for issue tracking. ;) All free and open source software.

I love it and would absolutely recommend it!

I didn't see it listed and feel that it deserves to be: For FTP FlashFXP (http://www.inicom.net/pages/en.ffxp-home.php)

I went through a whole slew of extremely unsatisfactory ftp's before stumbling upon FlashFXP and now I couldn't be happier. One word: CONSISTENT. It just works good all the time. First month is free then it's a one-time $24 payment.

That's my two cents! :smartass:

Tim

MeltDown:

I didn't see it listed and feel that it deserves to be: For FTP FlashFXP (http://www.inicom.net/pages/en.ffxp-home.php)

I went through a whole slew of extremely unsatisfactory ftp's before stumbling upon FlashFXP and now I couldn't be happier. One word: CONSISTENT. It just works good all the time. First month is free then it's a one-time $24 payment.

That's my two cents! :smartass:

Tim

Totally Agreed!

Text Editor

PSPad

http://www.pspad.com/

here's a nice little gem i thougth i'd through out there for mobile port forwarding:

http://www.fuji-climb.org/pf/

for mysql ssh on pc i prefer ssh secure shell (ssh.com) over putty

think i'm with the majority for most of the other utils, except where studio 8 is concerned.

What is the best open source graphics package?