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HOTMetaL Pro 6.0
SoftQuad Software www.softquad.com
Free to users who purchased HoTMetaL 5
after 8/l/99.
US$129
Instant Web Sites with
HoTMetaL Pro 6.0?
When I saw the box that HoTMetaL Pro 6 came in, I was concerned because it looked exactly like the HoTMetaL Pro 5 box. It made me wonder whether the new version would be only slightly different from the previous one, the result of a company marketing an upgrade to keep its revenues coming in. Fortunately that isn't the case with HoTMetaL Pro 6. It's clearly a very improved product compared to the previous version.
Getting Started
HoTMetaL has three installation options, with varying amounts of additional components. The standard install gives you HoTMetaL Pro as well as Site Maker, a wizard that automatically generates pages and links for your Web site.
During a software installation it's easy to be so focused on the core product that you don't install some of the additional mini application that ship with it. Don't make that mistake with HoTMetaL Pro. The mini applications and third party utilities that ship with it-including Ulead's imaging product PhotoImpact SE, a special edition of PhotoImpact 3.0-are, for the most part, fully featured. You can browse and install all of these additional applications and utilities from within HoTMetaL Pro, if the HoTMetaL Pro CD is in your CD drive. I would strongly advise that you browse these assets to see if there are any that interest you. some of them aren't listed in the HoTMetaL Pro help file, in the tutorial, or on the retail box.
When you first start a project, SiteMaker helps you design the basic layout of your site. You can choose from three flavors: Business, Intranet, and Personal. Depending on what you select, SiteMaker provides you with generic pages and links for each. For example, Business sites get to choose from product catalog links and customer service pages. Personal sites link to "my favorite this and that" pages. You can select from 18 different "decor" (appearances) and five layouts, set corporate logos and images, and then alter the default text and customize the images to fit your specific needs.
Different Views
for Different User Levels
HoTMetaL Pro provides both novices and professionals a productive, yet customizable...