[Starry Night]

G'day,

Has anyone used Freeway Express 3.5? Does it work well, stable, etc? Are they any browser or web host compatiblity issues using this Apple only product? Do I need to quiz every host about whether or not they are compatible with Freeway?

I'm in the process of building a simple website and will have a Miva Merchant store linked into it. I don't know much html and don't have the time to learn. I've tried web hosts that offer free WYSIWYG browser based website creation tools, like Site Studio, but I'm just not satisfied with the templates. In particular, with Site Studio, you don't have much control over how the navigation bar/buttons look.

I've investigated the $400 Dreamweaver MX 2004. There are an awful lot of complaints on the net about the mac version of this product. Plus, I really don't nearly need the all the stuff that Dreamweaver offers, hence no reason to pay $400.

My searching for a low cost WYSIWYG alternative has led me to Freeway Express 3.5 ($99).

Please provide your feedback!
Thanks.

[brachiator]

I don't know much about FW Express, but I passed on it due to the fact that it does not save in HTML format, but, rather, uses a proprietary format. I presume that Freeway pages read fine once loaded up to the server, but I did not want to have my pages stuck in the Freeway format.

[fat mac moron]

Originally posted by Starry Night:
My searching for a low cost WYSIWYG alternative has led me to Freeway Express 3.5 ($99).

Please provide your feedback!
Thanks.

You might want to check out Rapidweaver for a simple, SIMPLE WYSIWYG editor. It's very basic, but it exports html which you can tweak with something like SubEthaEdit to add tables and such.

Check it out here.

** Note that Freeway is way more advanced, but RW might be easy enough for your needs.

[Starry Night]

Originally posted by fat mac moron:
You might want to check out Rapidweaver for a simple, SIMPLE WYSIWYG editor. It's very basic, but it exports html which you can tweak with something like SubEthaEdit to add tables and such.

Check it out here.

** Note that Freeway is way more advanced, but RW might be easy enough for your needs.

Thanks for the Rapidweaver 2 idea. I've done some reading on it, seems to be very basic, perhaps to basic according to these macdailynews reviews.

If Freeway Express 3.5 does what it says it does, is stable etc, then it might be just what I need. Somewhere between Rapidweaver and Dreamweaver, easy to use WYSIWYG editor combined with good management tools.

Do I need to be concerned about Freeway generating websites that are not compatible with web hosts and windows users?

Also, how big a deal is that Freeway saves in its own format? I don't plan to access the code thus will the proprietary format matter to me? If itdoesn't save in html, how do web browsers read the Freeway created websites?

As you can see, I'm new to all of this

Thanks!

[Angus_D]

Originally posted by Starry Night:
Do I need to be concerned about Freeway generating websites that are not compatible with web hosts and windows users?

No. The big difference between Freeway and other web page creators is that it's an HTML generator not an HTML editor. This gives it some flexibility, as it's not constrained by the limits of HTML until you actually "publish" it, which takes your Freeway document and all the associated resources (can be high resolution images layered on top of each other) and outputs a web site. It will downsample all of your images and recompress them as needed, without you needing to use another tool.

Anyway, there's a free demo at the web site.

I don't think that you're in danger of vendor lock-in, as you could always take the published HTML files and edit those. Of course, the changes won't be recognized by the Freeway document itself and will be lost the next time you go and publish your site.

[bwahahax]

I've used Freeway for about a year to maintain a very small site for a local activist community. I found that it suited my needs well, although there were a couple of occasions where I was frusterated I couldn't tweak the html code until it had been generated (which meant that I had to re-tweak it every time I made a change to the site).

[MPMoriarty]

Freeway is actually a desktop publishing application for creating websites. Like others have said, it allows for a lot of creativity.

In other words, you focus on the visual design of yoru website rather than with the underlying html.

Freeway allows you to customize how your html is exported. You can export using eariler versions of HTML that will allow better compatibility with browsers. OR you can export using more current versions of HTML with cascading style sheet support (CSS).

CSS allows for cleaner code, better positioning of objects on your website, and faster loading. It is just not supported by all browsers.

I would suggest downloading the demo version and trying it out. Also, download and read the manual for the software. It is well written and gives you a great overview of what you can do with the software.

Also, I wouldn't be concerned about the exported HTML files not being supported by your website's host. Most website software generates HTML that is readable by all web hosts except Microsoft FrontPage. That sometimes requires extra extensions be installed on the web host's end.

Hope this was helpful,

Mike

[Starry Night]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I would download the demo but it's the full version and at 50MB with my slow dial up connection, could take 6 hours to download.

Does Freeway Express 3.5 allow you do decide what kind of buttons you use the navigation bar? The free browser based website creation software like Site Studio doesn't allow it, which drives me bonkers!

Thanks

[Mastrap]

Edit: Not using Freeway anymore. I"ve moved on to CSS and hand coding. I am editing this post because I was still getting hits from this thread,

[Starry Night]

Originally posted by Mastrap:
Freeway is an excellent program for people, like me, who don't know how to code properly but do want a professional looking site in no time at all. I did my personal portfolio in Freeway in a couple of hours, something I could never have done without. link

You have total control over all graphics, buttons, etc. One of the biggest advantages of Freeway is that it creates rollovers and things like pop up windows without me having to know anything at all about scripting and coding. If you're a professional coder there are better products out there, if not Freeway is excellent.

Set it to download over night, its well worth it.

Your site has nice, clear buttons, that's what I'm after!

I've thought about downloading it overnight. How do you tell Internet Connect to not ask every 30 minutes, "do you want to remain connected"? There must be a way, I just haven't figured it out yet......

[Mastrap]

The buttons on my site haven't been created in Freeway though. I used images I created in Button Builder Extreme.

There are several graphic programs out there like PhotoShop where you can create your own buttons in any design you like. If you want to go for the easy option (I frequently do) then just do a search on macupdate.com for 'button design'. There are a plethora of freeware or shareware button creation programs out there, just go for the one that does the job for you.

IIRC there is a button in the 'Network' System Preference panel called 'PPP options' where you can unclick the 30 minute disconnect option.

[Angus_D]

Don't you have any friends with broadband?

[Toyin]

I've used both Freeway and Dreamweaver to build websites. I know basic HTML and javascripts but haven't hand coded an entire site in years. I find that Freeway sites load faster than sites I've built using Dreamweaver and Fireworks. I use Dreamweaver more for sites that need to be updated by someone else. I use Freeway for my own sites. What I really like about Dreamweaver is that I can see the HTML code and change it by hand if I need to. That's the major benefit, but it doesn't seem like you'll need that. Both seem to make sites that work well in Windows browsers as well as Mac browsers.

BTW my 2 sites in my signature are Freeway designed sites.

[Starry Night]

G'day,

Thanks again for the info. People that I know w/broadband are windows users But I don't mind buying the CD, I actually prefer having a genuine CD even though it's only a psychological benefit.

To gather more info I signed up for the Freeway email discussion list. I saw one thing that gave me pause. They say on the list that with Freeway Express 3.5 that images somehow suffer if you use the jpg format unless you do all your image editing (I assume re-size, sharpen, etc) in Freeway's own image editor.

Does that mean I can't use Photoshop Elements 2.0, or even iPhoto, to tweak my images (jpg format taken with digital camera), re-size/sharpen, etc, before turning them over to Freeway Express?

Most of my images (product photos) will be placed in Miva Merchant, but I'd like to use some on the Freeway created site. Is the jpg issue going to be a hassle?

Thanks!

[MPMoriarty]

What I think happens with jpeg images is that Freeway tries to compress the files in order to reduce file size and make them load faster.

The problem is that JPEG images are already compressed. And trying to compress an already compressed file doesn't always turn out right.

But here are two solutions:

1) You can tell Freeway what images you want it to compress or to leave alone.

2) Use an alternate photo editor to create your images and export them as TIF images files. These will compress a lot better with Freeway.

I hope this helps,

Mike

[Mastrap]

What Mike said. Personally I would optimise my images in PhotoShop first and then tell FreeWay not to touch them.

Also, get one of your Windows using friends to download the Mac installer and burn it to a CD for you. As your Mac will be able to read it that should not cause you any trouble at all.

[Starry Night]

Originally posted by MPMoriarty:
What I think happens with jpeg images is that Freeway tries to compress the files in order to reduce file size and make them load faster.

The problem is that JPEG images are already compressed. And trying to compress an already compressed file doesn't always turn out right.

But here are two solutions:

1) You can tell Freeway what images you want it to compress or to leave alone.

2) Use an alternate photo editor to create your images and export them as TIF images files. These will compress a lot better with Freeway.

I hope this helps,

Mike

I see, thanks for the explanation. Will PNG work, is it a universally web accepted format? I think I read that the Freeway "Express" version doesn't handle TIFF.

Here's a general Mac web dev. question. I downloaded the Freeway Express manual and have begun to read it. Early on it says that normal fonts on a Mac are 1/3 smaller than fonts on windows. Is there a general rule of thumb about what size fonts to use on the Mac so they look right on Windows browsers, and hence, most of the world's browsers?

Thanks again!

[MPMoriarty]

I was readind through the user manual and on page 135 it says they recommend importing TIF for your graphics.

So they do support it.

But when working with animations it is wiser to import them into Freeway as GIF and mark them as "Passthrough graphics". Which is Freeway's "ignore image and leave as-is when exporting" feature.

[democrajudy]

Freeway Express seems to be the only affordable option for me, but I don't know if it's right. I've never designed a site before and I have no understanding of html or any other language. The site I want to create will be for a business and I'll need to update photos and descriptions every other day. Many people have said that it's hard to go in and edit. Based on my needs would anyone recommend that I use F.E? Other recommendations under $100?

Thanks!

[Starry Night]

Originally Posted by democrajudy

Freeway Express seems to be the only affordable option for me, but I don't know if it's right. I've never designed a site before and I have no understanding of html or any other language. The site I want to create will be for a business and I'll need to update photos and descriptions every other day. Many people have said that it's hard to go in and edit. Based on my needs would anyone recommend that I use F.E? Other recommendations under $100?

Thanks!

Aloha,

As far as I know, Freeway Express is about your only option for decent WYSIWYG (no coding needed) website creation software for the Mac in the sub $100 range.

I bought Freeway Pro last summer. Prior to that I had never built a website in my entire life. I read the manual and studied website design from books like "Don't Make Me Think" by Steve Krug and created this site: www.kaulana-of-maui.com

Freeway works in a very visual manner, very similiar to desktop publishing software. It also allows you to easily add your own code via the "Mark Up" feature. Honestly, I don't see why you'd ever need to edit the underlying code generated by Freeway unless you are very technologically inclined.

Another great thing about Freeway is the support provided by Softpress, they answer emails promptly and charge nothing for their support. Freeway has a very active and helpful email based discussion list called Freeway Talk that you can sign up for in the Support section of Softpress.com. Great group, they provide great aid and advice.

I've not used Freeway Express, but I believe it would meet your needs. I've used Freeway Pro for 9 months and it has been great, easy to use once you learn the ropes. I'm able to quickly update my website as often as I wish, no problem. To update you do not need to "edit the code" in Freeway. You simply open your page in Freeway, make whatever changes you want, and then upload to your web host. The editing process is no different than making changes to a document in a word processor, easy breezy. Drag in photos, drag them out. Edit type, whatever. No code is ever needed though you have the option to add it if you wish.

Anyone who says updating and editing a site in Freeway is difficult has never used Freeway.

Hope that helps!

[mavlast]

Hi!

I'm just starting to create my own webpage and have so far used trial versions of RapidWeaver and Freeway Express 3.5. I found RapidWeaver extremely easy to use and was able to upload a simple website in minutes. It is rather limited though, in that it appears not to be fully WYSIWYG, and unless you know html coding you are restricted by the templates that come with the software.

Freeway Express seemed an ideal option in that the user has complete freedom as to how the webpages look, but as yet I haven't had much success in being able to create a working site.

My main problem is that when I preview the pages I have built so far things don't seem to display properly. For example, I created a glass button and some text, but when I previewed the page in both Safari and Mac IE 5.2 the button was strangely warped and half of the text wasn't there (instead there was a pale box).

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I'm doing wrong?

[Starry Night]

Originally Posted by mavlast

Hi!

I'm just starting to create my own webpage and have so far used trial versions of RapidWeaver and Freeway Express 3.5. I found RapidWeaver extremely easy to use and was able to upload a simple website in minutes. It is rather limited though, in that it appears not to be fully WYSIWYG, and unless you know html coding you are restricted by the templates that come with the software.

Freeway Express seemed an ideal option in that the user has complete freedom as to how the webpages look, but as yet I haven't had much success in being able to create a working site.

My main problem is that when I preview the pages I have built so far things don't seem to display properly. For example, I created a glass button and some text, but when I previewed the page in both Safari and Mac IE 5.2 the button was strangely warped and half of the text wasn't there (instead there was a pale box).

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I'm doing wrong?

The best thing to do is to go to softpress.com and go to the support section. Once there, either send an email to softpress with your problem, or perhaps better, sign up for the FreewayTalk mailing list and post your question there. FreewayTalk is a very friendly forum and people will go out of their way to help you!

[Briareus]

mavlast: (nice name - now The Moldau is going through my head) - I've seen this. When switching back and forth between Freeway and previewing in your browser, you have to remember to clear your browser's cache or things on your pages will tend to get really funky. I'm sure it's just getting confused and rendering a mix of new and cached content.

Re: Freeway Express & Pro - I built my first site with Freeway Express last year. I have no html experience and precious little time to learn, but am a limited dabbler in design and put this together very quickly.

[mavlast]

Thanks for the quick reponse! :-)

Yeah, I love that piece of Smetena. I first heard it on a river cruise on the The Moldau itself! Very fitting!

I've managed to solve the problem by changing the location in which Freeway was saving the files for the preview. It now previews perfectly

I like your website Briareus. How did you get the page content to automatically centre in the browser? I haven't come across this option in Freeway yet...

[Mastrap]

I've actually moved on from Freeway and am now hand coding my sites. What a difference a year makes
But in answer to your question, the center content command is found in the inspector palette. It gives you the opportunity to range your content left, right or centre it.

[Simon X]

----

[Mac Hammer Fan]

I made a website with Freeway Express Trial.
No problems when I check it with Mac browsers.
But Freeway doesn't support XHTML. Is that a compatibility problem in PC environment?
How do websites built with Freeway appear on PC browsers?

TIA

[Starry Night]

Originally Posted by Mac Hammer Fan

I made a website with Freeway Express Trial.
No problems when I check it with Mac browsers.
But Freeway doesn't support XHTML. Is that a compatibility problem in PC environment?
How do websites built with Freeway appear on PC browsers?

TIA

It works just fine with PC browsers, after all, Softpress would be out of business in a week if Freeway sites couldn't be viewed on a PC............... Freeway Pro has an active following amongst professional designers, it's their meal ticket.......

[gunner13]

how do you download a copy of this mammoth user's manual for freeway express 3.5? its getting really frustrating clicking back and forth between the help menu's tiny window and the application. should i just invest another $25 and get the printed manual? why doesn't it just come with it?
perhaps i am one of the few people left that still reads the directions....

[Mac Hammer Fan]

Originally Posted by gunner13

how do you download a copy of this mammoth user's manual for freeway express 3.5? its getting really frustrating clicking back and forth between the help menu's tiny window and the application. should i just invest another $25 and get the printed manual? why doesn't it just come with it?
perhaps i am one of the few people left that still reads the directions....

Here is the link

http://www.softpress.com/en/downloads/manuals

[Starry Night]

Originally Posted by gunner13

how do you download a copy of this mammoth user's manual for freeway express 3.5? its getting really frustrating clicking back and forth between the help menu's tiny window and the application. should i just invest another $25 and get the printed manual? why doesn't it just come with it?
perhaps i am one of the few people left that still reads the directions....

I shopped around and found the Freeway Pro boxed set for a good price that came with the printed manual. Having tried both the pdf and the printed version, I much prefer the printed version because of the nice binding (at least my version bought last summer) that allows the manual to rest flat while open, very handy, and imho, worth the $25 if you had to buy it........

[Mac Hammer Fan]

Freeway en Freeway Pro seem very attractive packages to me.
Does anyone know when the next release FW 4 comes out?
It has been a couple of years now since FW 3.5 came out.

[Angus_D]

Patience is a virtue.

[Starry Night]

Subject of great debate, no one knows except Softpress....

[Macanoid]

Originally Posted by Angus_D

Patience is a virtue.

and has been for quite a while now I'd wish they'd hurry up

[york28]

I would have to discourage anyone from using Freeway anymore, unfortunately. I used to use it myself, but that was years ago (4?), and the code that it creates is just way too out of date to be acceptable.

There was a time when desktop layout programs that generated HTML were an ok choice but today if you aren't willing to learn HTML and CSS then at least use DreamWeaver or something that attempts to support more current standards.

There are also some free composers out there that do ok but I don;t have a lot of experience with them.

[Toyin]

Originally Posted by york28

I would have to discourage anyone from using Freeway anymore, unfortunately. I used to use it myself, but that was years ago (4?), and the code that it creates is just way too out of date to be acceptable.

There was a time when desktop layout programs that generated HTML were an ok choice but today if you aren't willing to learn HTML and CSS then at least use DreamWeaver or something that attempts to support more current standards.

There are also some free composers out there that do ok but I don;t have a lot of experience with them.

You haven't used it in 4 years and you're commenting on the code it generates? I use both Dreamweaver and Freeway and the sites created on Freeway load much faster from both Macs and PCs. Lately I've been using Dreamweaver more, but I still like Freeway.

Honestly I'd be happy with a 3.6 update and scroll wheel functionality

[Angus_D]

Originally Posted by Starry Night

Subject of great debate, no one knows except Softpress....

Have you seen this? http://www.bi9ary.com/

[Toyin]

Originally Posted by Angus_D

Have you seen this? http://www.bi9ary.com/

Sweet! I hope it's released soon. I would much rather use Freeway than Dreamweaver.

[Macanoid]

holy moly - that's one teasing website. I so hope it's true. I wish I could fast-forward time to its release *sigh*

[Mac Hammer Fan]

FREEWAY 4
total new interface
new CSS layout
integrated image and text effects
XHTML
scrollwheel support
external CSS-files support
smore features with tabels
unicorn support
release date not official but can be next month or within 2 months.

again, this is not an official statement...

[Macanoid]

They might as well implement core image - that would be so cool, not to mention handy!

[Briareus]

Excellent! Softpress is easily as silent at Mark of the Unicorn regarding updates, so I'm psyched to read some rumor goodness. Looking forward to the new release & Thanks for the link, Angus_D!

[Macanoid]

Ha! Just found this - it's getting even better

substantial freeway rumour