The focus here is firmly on graphical presentation and editing, with the option to switch to a Source view hidden inside the View menu. That said, when you do switch to Source view you are greeted with a very bare bones editor, featuring highlighting and not much else. If the code scares you, then it's a simple matter to switch back to the graphical environment and carry on your editing work there.
By default, Writer/Web is not accessible through the Application menu, but it's a simple matter to add a launcher based on the command ooweb to get straight to the interface. However, it's not really designed for intensive use; it struck us as being one of the lesser focuses of OOo and there mainly for completeness.
On the positive side though, it does provide the opportunity to convert a wide range of formats into HTML/XHTML, but you'll need to make sure the OpenOffice.org Java package is installed to take full advantage of this conversion ability.
Verdict: A surprising but effective editor for working with relatively simple pages in a familiar environment. 6/10
4. Quanta Plus
Licence: Free under GPL v2
Website: quanta.kdewebdev.org
Open Quanta Plus and it's quickly apparent that you really need to run it under its window manager of choice – KDE. To say that it doesn't fit very well into the Gnome desktop would be an understatement. It's undeniably a Qt application and absolutely refuses to make any attempt to integrate at all.
But that grumble aside, Quanta Plus and KDE together create an excellent first impression. The interface is clean and not too overwhelming, presented with another Ribbon-style interface to access different formats for HTML.
Like Bluefish, Quanta Plus also gives you the option to create projects spanning multiple pages, and it benefits from being extensible – there are even several useful plugins pre-installed by default.
Handy touches include integration with Cervisia, the KDE graphical front-end to CVS, as well as an image map editor for creating HTML links as part of an image. There's also the option to view a webpage preview within Quanta Plus, which is useful for flicking back and forth to ensure minor changes to your page work well without the overhead of having to load an external browser every time.
Code highlighting is enabled by default, and Quanta Plus will highlight a vast array of different types of code for you. However, it's not immediately obvious where to find the option to do so, because it's buried in the Tools menu and not the View menu.
Another great feature is the CSS tag editor, which enables you to choose from a comprehensive dropdown menu and see a small preview of what effect it's having. It's simple but effective productivity tweaks such as this that increase the usability of Quanta Plus, making it a good tool for beginners and pros alike.
Verdict: Quanta Plus shouldn't be ignored if you need a KDE editing environment. 8/10
5. Screem
Licence: Free under GPL v2
Website: www.screem.org
Screem is probably the least intimidating of our motley crew of web editors.
The interface has a couple of dozen icons strewn over two toolbars and there's no sign of any Ribbon-style interface here, which is somewhat of a relief. Instead, you get a decent-sized coding area, along with a tabbed approach to documents.
In terms of features, Screem offers a number of wizards to cut down the time it takes to include objects that require just a little more coding than usual. Unlike Bluefish or Quanta Plus, there's no way of researching the different tags you need, although Screem does offer a particularly clear system for syntax highlighting.
