When I first saw HotDog Pro several years ago, I saw it as a typical HTML editor, not extremely easy to use, but not hard either. It had a lot of features, but like most HTML editors they were not compelling enough for me to drop my text editor to use it.

HotDog Pro Has Grown Up
This is a fully functional tag-based HTML editor. There are still some of the "cute" features of the original HotDog, like sounds and dog icons, but the feature set is much more robust, including things that a professional HTML developer can really use.

• Real time tag validation
  As you type the tags, HotDog pro highlights them in bright red until you have written a valid HTML tag. There is also a convenient HTML tag listing you can keep on your screen at all times for reference.



• Multi-line clipboard
  Windows defaults to only one clipboard item at a time, with the multi-line clipboard you can copy and paste several items as many times as you need them, without having to re-copy them to the clipboard. There are up to 20 spaces for clippings.



• HTML color coding
  It is easy to see the HTML tags and elements with the configurable color coding.



• Meta tag generation
  When you're creating a new HTML document, it is convenient to be reminded of all the meta tags that you should include in the header of your document. While I have not yet come across an editor that will analyze a completed Web page and suggest keywords for you, it is nice to be reminded to include the meta tags.



• Macros
  These are essentially, personalized short-cut keys. I don't like to spend a lot of time using the mouse, so setting up my own macros is a great feature.



• Customization for beginning, intermediate, and advanced users
  HotDog Pro allows you to choose what level of HTML and editing help you would like displayed on your screen. I chose beginning HTML, and got icons for creating HTML similar to how I would create a document in a word processing program.



• Extended character set on screen
  If you do any non-English Web sites, it is very handy to have the character sets where you can see them. It doesn't include many of the non-alphabet characters like em dash (—) or curly quotes (”), but as these are not displayed reliably across platforms, this is an acceptable omission.



• Easy integration with other HTML tools
  HotDog Pro has integrated right on the screen links to PaintShop, Linkbot, and Interactor, making it simple to use and include elements from these programs. Along with this is an option for SuperToolz. The SuperToolz are automatically downloaded and installed on your computer (when you request them). You can also add shortcuts to your personal favorite HTML tools, and have them readily available on your editor screen.



• Simple animation with DHTML
  It is easy to create simple animations with the DHTML animation editor. It gives you several animation options, including moving in from the left, right, top, or bottom, as well as swirling onto the page.

These are just some of the features that make HotDog Pro fun and easy to use. There are also basic features like spell checking, icons for all the basic HTML tags, and wizards for the more difficult ones (frames, tables, forms, etc.).

When you are about to do something that might impact your document or how your session looks, HotDog Pro gives you a detailed warning message or explanation.

Limitations
The biggest drawback to this program is that it tends to make my screen flicker. This is caused by all the actions that are occurring in the background (auto-save — a great feature, updating the real-time Web window, and so forth).

Also, while I was running it, it crashed twice (thank goodness for the auto save), and when I re-opened HotDog Pro, I had lost the window sizes for my internal tools.

The only other thing that is missing is a choice of where to install the Start menu option. HotDog Pro installs automatically into your Programs group, with no option to change. This means that if you change it manually, you will have orphan tags in your Windows registry.

Recommendation
If you are looking for an easy-to-use, configurable HTML editor, then HotDog Professional might be right for you. It offers lots of features and expandability for a reasonable price.

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