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CHAPTER 6 ■ CREATING YOUR OWN TEMPLATES
Creating Templates with Web Editors You can use various applications to create a new template. If you only have Windows Notepad, you can still author a suitable template with the bare-bones features available in that application. If you prefer the Emacs text editor, it can provide some powerful features, and the HTML-mode can help you to generate a conforming template. However, most Joomla designers and developers prefer an application that is a little more user-friendly. There are two primary types of editors: WYSIWYG editors and program editors. Generally, Joomla designers tend to gravitate to WYSIWYG editors for their visual development needs. Joomla developers find the power of direct coding is more accessible in program editors. WYSIWYG editors—such as Adobe Dreamweaver, Microsoft Expression Web, and Nvu—present an HTML page almost as it would appear in a web browser. These programs cater to designers who need to make visual modifications to page elements (such as tables) by clicking and dragging. While these programs generally have modes where direct source editing is possible, the coding interfaces have limited capabilities. Program editors—such as Eclipse, jEdit, UltraEdit, and Leo—display the text just like Notepad or Emacs. However, these program editors have many additional features, including color syntax highlighting (especially useful for Joomla PHP coding), style sheet tag editing, advanced search and replace through general expressions, and automatic code formatting. While program editors sometimes offer some page preview capabilities, they are generally best used when performing nonvisual tasks such as PHP code design.
WYSIWYG Editors Web editors that display a good facsimile of how a page will appear in the browser are excellent tools for creating and editing presentation. Although some sites can be popular despite a plain appearance—for example, the Drudge Report (see www.drudgereport.com)—such sites are definitely in the minority. Most sites will need a combination of looks and substance to meet the expectations of their visitors. A web editor that can ease the visual design process can be an excellent investment. Joomla designers may choose from Adobe Dreamweaver, Microsoft Expression Web, and the open source Nvu with the Joomla plug-in. The selection you make in this area will have a great deal to do with your personal preferences, so you should evaluate all of the options.
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