Review: skEdit 3.6.1
Editor: skEdit
Version: 3.6.1
Developer: Sean Kelly
Platform/OS: Mac
WYSIWYG: No
Price: $24.95 USD
Before I begin, I have to qualify this review by saying that I develop primarily in Windows and typically only use my Mac for browser testing. The websites I develop are XHTML/CSS-based and I often find myself working with PHP and MySQL. I haven’t spent a lot of time in OS X, so I’m not familiar with all the ins and outs of the os (the keyboard short-cuts, for example, or even some of the key symbols). All this is to say that a regular Mac user may have a different take on some of what I have to say about any software created specifically for this platform. Now that that’s out of the way…
When I think of skEdit, I am reminded of the story The Little Engine That Could. skEdit seems like the underdog HTML editor for the Mac — one that’s all heart; one that does a little and does it very well. If you write CSS and HTML, there’s a lot to like about skEdit, including code hinting/auto-complete, its snippets, and its terrific $24.95 USD price tag.
What I Like
- The Document Properties Wizard for new HTML files, which allows you to specify DOCTYPE, language, encoding, title, and meta tags using a nice interface.
- By default, skEdit gives you easy access to the most common user preferences (Syntax Highlighting, Auto Complete, Word Wrap, etc.) so you don’t have to go digging through the menu system.
- Auto complete/code hinting for ColdFusion, HTML, Movable Type, and CSS.
- Two tag completion options (similar to Dreamweaver 8): an end tag can either automatically be created at the completion of the corresponding start tag, or you can set the end tag to auto complete once you type ‘</’. I wish more editors would implement this option *cough* WeBuilder *cough*.
- skEdit has a pretty good snippets system. Unlike many editors I’ve tried, skEdit lets you manipulate lines of text, not just blocks of text, which can be handy for creating lists, table cells, multiple paragraphs, divs, etc. from multiple selected lines of text.
- $24.95 USD! Give up Tim Hortons or Starbucks for a week and you’ll have enough money to buy this editor.
- Defaults to XHTML.
- Though I didn’t test this, I’m sure other developers would be interested to know that skEdit supports Subversion via a plug-in.
Gripes
- Little-to-no support (other than syntax highlighting) for languages other than ColdFusion, HTML, Movable Type, and CSS.
- By default, there are only three snippets included with skEdit (Unordered List from Selection, Ordered List from Selection, and Link from Selection).
- The snippet system doesn’t seem to allow for replacement tokens, which would prompt you for custom text before inputting the snippet text into the editor.
- Closing a start tag (with code hinting on) without choosing an attribute for that tag often results in a start tag with a space in it (<div >, for example).
Wish List
- Better language support.
- More snippets and snippet options.
- Code collapse.
Overall
With a goliath like BBEdit on one side and the up-and-coming TextMate on the other, it’s a wonder anyone even knows about skEdit. I’m sure somewhere it’s been labeled “The Best Editor You’ve Never Used.” But if you’re writing HTML/CSS and don’t spend much time with server side languages, I don’t think you could go wrong picking up a copy of skEdit to create your sites.
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I forgot to mention that skEdit’s $24.95 is for a lifetime license.
Comment by Eric — May 20, 2006 @ 10:00 am
skEdit is my editor of choice. I’m not sure if I could really put into words why I prefer it over TextMate or even Dreamweave, but I do. Since I’ve implemented skEdit into my daily work routine things have become much more enjoyable.
Dreamweaver just feels too heavy even on a fast computer. I also feel lazy in Dreamweaver.
It probably also helps that I’m skEdit’s target audience, a pure XHTML/CSS developer. No PHP here.
Comment by Brad — May 31, 2006 @ 9:09 pm
I just wanted to point out that Sean Kelly, the creator of skEdit, has posted a screencast showing the new code folding feature that will be added to skEdit in version 3.7:
http://www.skti.org/archives/2006/07/00284.php
I’m very excited about this feature!
Comment by derekpcollins — July 20, 2006 @ 8:04 am