Espresso 2.0

   
    Espresso 2.0  is an HTML editor created by MacRabbit for the Mac Platform. It is available for just $79 at www.macrabbit.com. Previously, Espresso and MacRabbit's other popular application, CSSEdit, existed as separate stand alone programs. With the introduction of the latest version of Espresso, the applications are merged into one application that is a useful and streamlined tool for editing HTML or CSS. The Espresso portion of the application features robust code editing and code collapse, language support for HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, PHP, Ruby, Python, Apache and Markdown. You may also extend Espresso functionality with add-ons that are referred to as "sugars." On the CSSEdit side of the application, the latest version takes advantage of advanced new visual tools for CSS3 gradients, shadows and more.  MacRabbit definitely did right by their audience by integrating CSSEdit into the application rather than keeping both as stand-alone applications. Previous users would have been required to hand-code all CSS styles which wasn't too problematic but added time to the coding process. Now with the integration, users have a GUI interface to make it easier to assign CSS style properties. 
    My personal web design experience began with the HotDog editor which was just a small step up from Notepad in the early 90s. I later progressed to Adobe Dreamweaver which has been my coding platform of choice for the past few years. However, I had heard good things from friends about Espresso and thought it was worth a try. I was unfortunately unable to locate proper documentation in understanding how the software works on the MacRabbit site, however I did locate some user provided tutorials on YouTube which proved beneficial in gaining enough understanding to begin using the program.
    Some of the benefits of Espresso are similar to other editors in that code is color coded to make it easier to assure you are writing complete and correct statements as you type.  Auto-completing is also in effect which helps save time in coding. One suggestion for future versions of the applications is to allow for automated code indentation or in the least to offer the basic shell for an HTML page to save additional time. However, once you become familiar with Snippets, this becomes less of an issue.
    Snippet handling within the application was a pleasant surprise. At first I thought the program was lacking the snippet feature because it did not load up immediately to my default desktop settings. But a quick search within help, brought it to the forefront. While I was disappointed to find that I was unable to highlight a segment of code and right click to create a quick snippet without copying and pasting (as I can do in Dreamweaver), I did find a feature within Espresso which was even more of a time saver than Dreamweaver's snippet offering. In Espresso, you are able to create a trigger to call the snippet by easily entering a word and then pressing the tab key. For example, I created a snippet for a basic HTML page and saved it as a snippet. I added a tab trigger called "basicpage" and then anytime I needed to create a basic page, I could then enter the phrase followed by a tab to instantly insert the previously cooked code. 
    Another code handling benefit and feature is the code collapsing feature which they refer to as "code folding." With this feature, you can hide areas of code in order to hide code for easy editing.  While other major editors also offer this, it is nice to see that a cost effective piece of software offers similar benefits.
    Another very efficient feature is the ability to apply or remove comments by simply pressing the Command Key along with the forward slash key. The application is also intuitive enough to know the proper type of comment to insert based upon the type of page being coded/edited.
     One of the nicest features that I found within the application is its very intuitive code navigator which appears on the right hand side of the application. Similar to Dreamweaver, a user can select any element from the navigator in order to highlight that section within the code. But Espresso takes it one step further by easily allowing you to expand or collapse the tags to view the structure of the code. This is a nice feature when you are trying to assure that  you have added the correct number of table cells within a table or if you have properly closed your tags.
 

    One of the downsides to the application is that it is available only on the Mac platform. Other than that, I was a bit confused about how to preview my page once I had modified the CSS. Some other editors also offer the ability to quickly view code within a true browser and this could be a useful addition to future versions of the application.
    All in all, I rate this application with 4 stars. While the application lacks some features found in larger applications such as Dreamweaver,  the price tag and simplicity of the interface make it a worthy contender. The simplicity of the application allows you to place greater emphasis on writing code than on locating a certain feature and the navigator and key shortcuts/triggers provide additional efficiency to streamline workflow and editing. Finally, the ability to edit CSS visually is a useful enhancement that is destined to excite all current and new Espresso users.  The only other area of improvement that I might suggest however is that MacRabbit would benefit from creating a few more resources to new users of the application. There is a lot of great functionality that is sometimes lost in the simplicity of the interface and not recognized without a general understanding of the application.