Favorite Tools of the Trade

Parafanaylya:

What is the best open source graphics package?

There's a few out there.

GIMP is probably the most popular.
Blender is an open source 3d modeling program if u need hi quality looking graphics.
Xara Xtreme looks cool but never tried it out. (Linux Only)
Inkscape - Vector graphics looks cool but site is down atm.

Parafanaylya:

What is the best open source graphics package?

Best is probably a relative term (depending on what you intend to with it). Yes, I know, edit graphics. but how sophisticated do you need the package to be.

There are three listed here in the wiki. http://www.zen-cart.com/wiki/index.php/Useful_Tools#Graphics_Editors

I use all three depending on what features I need for a project.

What I should have asked is what is a good graphics editor with creative tools, rather tham editing tools only.

Parafanaylya:

What I should have asked is what is a good graphics editor with creative tools, rather tham editing tools only.

The Gimp program

- PHP Editors - Crimson Editor (free and easy to use)

• HTML Editors - Sea Monkey composer (I love this suite and cling to it ferociously. It's free too.)
• CSS Editors - Dreamweaver (expensive but the company paid for it)
• Graphics Editors - Photoshop 7, Image Ready 7 (paid for by the company so of course it's out of date. LOL)
• Diff Tools - Exam Diff (Great freeware!)
• FTP Tools - FileZilla (free and easy to use)
• Browser Addon's/Utilities - Mozilla (free)
  

Here's a little known, EASY to use graphic editor - love it alongside Photoshop...

Real Draw Pro

$60 (says for a limited time it's $55)...WELL worth it!

Probably the most necessary tool of the trade for any php development is Nusphere's PhpED

A windows based IDE that runs real-time debugging. I've used the trial version and just bought the full because its on sale for $84 (from $119). This is the most amazing tool

They do explain ways to use their .dll or .so file with your webhost to integrate the debugger on the server, but I found it just easier to use their built-in server to run PHP and webservice while pointing to my mysql db on my webhost provider (or by running a simple mysql server on the same machine)

Its actually quite easy to setup for how amazingly useful it is. I'm using it for my current customization overhaul of the monthly product boxes, and product listing pages. I also might have some different ideas on how to do templating easier as well, although the zen folks may already be working on another way. But if you have the interest in php coding.. or heavy customizations.. this is definitely the tool to get. All Zen-Cart Devs should have this program.

On an iMac Intel Core 2 Duo, OS X...

* - PHP Editor: BBEdit
* - HTML Editor: BBEdit
* - CSS Editor: BBEdit
* - Text-Search Tool: BBEdit
* - Graphics Editor: GraphicConverter, Photoshop
* - Screenshot Tools: built-in to OS
* - Color Picker: DigitalColor Meter (came with OS)
* - Diff Tool: BBEdit
* - FTP Tool: Transmit (or BBEdit)
* - Browser Addon's/Utilities: Firebug, Total Validator, Aardvark
* - Validators: W3C's as well as BBEdit's built-in HTML validator
* - Other things?

• MAMP for local development
• Parallels Desktop to install virtual machines to run other OSs and their browsers; currently have Win XP and 4 versions of IE running
• Zen Cart!
• e-Start Your Web Store with Zen Cart

As you can see from the above, BBEdit from the good folks at Barebones Software is my main tool. It's just great. I've been using it for more than a decade and there's still much more to it than I've ever used.

Rob

Gotta agree with you on BBEdit... couldn't work without it!

This is an excellent thread. Thanks to everyone who replied.

The backend logistics and fulfillment functions of eBusiness always seem to take a backseat to the technical ones on these forums, but are just as important in eCommerce.

I am really interested to include what are people's favourite tools for:

• Inventory Management
• Accounting, Finance & Forecasting
• Delivery management systems (eg: eParcel in Aus)
• Reporting and statistics

Currently we're trying to implement QuickBooks Premier to solve inventory and finances, and looking at eParcel for delivery, but neither products are perfect solutions for us.

regards,
Reuben

Hi folk,

Does anyone know of a tool for picking up colors and storing them in a kind of swatch book? I often see colors on other web sites that I like but my method for noting them down is so tediously manual that I just as often don't bother, and then wish I had.

I have the DigitalColor Meter (a Mac OS X tool) that lets me see other colours in several different forms (RGB Hex 8-bit, and so on) and I can copy the color I see in that form (the Hex code) and paste it into a document, but that's still the long way round.

I'd like something that will let me click on a color and it will save it as a visible color sample in a palette with no further effort on my part. Then later I can drag these samples into another app for saving in a more organized manner, or perhaps this magical app I'm trying to find will also have the capability of outputting what I've saved as an html file or in some other form I select.

Any suggestions?

Rob

Hi Rob,

Apple's built in colour picker (the pallette not the digital picker app) will do all that and more. Do a little searcing on either macosxhints.com or macworld.com. I don't remember which one, but one of them had a really good article about a year ago on all the neat tricks you can do with it... including an applescript that you can use to launch it like a stand-alone app.

This is a commercial but I have used it for several years and has the scheme export feature. http://www.tigercolor.com/

Thanks for the tip Kim. I am looking to build up alternative color schemes, so that's the sort of thing I'm looking for. But it appears, at a quick glance anyway, to be a Windows app. I don't do Windows. :P (At least I don't work in Windows; I do use it to check my site in IE.)

And verdon, the color picker can be standalone and do what I want? Who knew? I'll track down those articles.

Thanks,

Rob

I found the article about turning color picker into a stand alone. But in the comments someone mentioned a couple of other tools, and that lead me to Versiontracker, and...

The net result is that I found ColorPoki X from classicteck.com. It appears to be everything I was looking for, and then some.

Rob

VMware Workstation - Must for running test server and clients of diff OS's
Editor - CoffeeCup HTML Editor
This covers HTML/CSS/PHP/Color Scheme picker
Graphic Gimp and Paintshop Pro XI
Firefox addons - CSS Validator
CSSViewer
Firebug
HTML Validator
PHPdebugger
Web Developer

I hate to belabor the issue, but can any one think of a good reason not to use the ftp client built in to the Windows XP networking?

If I understood correctly, you define a new network place, and that's pretty much it. You can then move files up and down the same way you would any other files on your PC.

I'm against installing new software and dealing with a learning curve if it's not really necessary.

However, I am willing to listen to you guys & gals.

Thanks!
~Zin

Zinfandel:

I hate to belabor the issue, but can any one think of a good reason not to use the ftp client built in to the Windows XP networking?

If I understood correctly, you define a new network place, and that's pretty much it. You can then move files up and down the same way you would any other files on your PC.

I'm against installing new software and dealing with a learning curve if it's not really necessary.

However, I am willing to listen to you guys & gals.

Thanks!
~Zin

FTP for the most part comes down to user preference. They all follow the FTP protocol. Some just have other GUI features that people have grown accustomed to. I like FlashFXP personally, but others like cuteftp or coreftp. Its all a matter of personal preference.

Zinfandel:

I hate to belabor the issue, but can any one think of a good reason not to use the ftp client built in to the Windows XP networking?

If I understood correctly, you define a new network place, and that's pretty much it. You can then move files up and down the same way you would any other files on your PC.

I'm against installing new software and dealing with a learning curve if it's not really necessary.

However, I am willing to listen to you guys & gals.

Thanks!
~Zin

I would tend to agree with ghome, except for the fact that the the ftp client built into windows does not support a secure FTP as SFTP/SCP or FTP over SSH. I use either CoffeeCup Direct FTP or SecureFX. All but one of my hosting providers has a secure FTP setup. I look at it this way. If I am going to the trouble and expense of buying a SSL cert, and protecting my users data, I don't want to leave a huge back door by not accessing the site itself via a non secure connection.... I'm not paranoid.. I KNOW they are out to get me!!! :frusty: And since all the UI's that support the secure loggins also support standard FTP, I can also use them for my other site...

See-ya

Hello GhostRider2110,

I didn't understand what you meant by this.

leave a huge back door by not accessing the site itself via a non secure connection....

How does the ftp client that I prefer to use to update the website have anything to do with the security of the user data or the site files?

My host still requires a user id and password to establish a connection before I can do any transfers. Are you suggesting that my logon via this ftp client is not encrypted?

~Zin

BTW nice place www.getcoffeecup.com