Overview

TopStyle is extremely well known as an HTML / XHTML and CSS editor. It is a favorite of web designers who like to use HTML for content and use CSS for presentation purposes. The software helps with this by displaying a CSS Palette Editor in the bottom left corner where colors, their HEX value equivalent and the number of times they have been used in the code thus far, are all displayed. Outdated HTML code can be updated using this software to turn it into better HTML or the latest XHTML standard. HTML, XHTML and CSS code can all be validated against different accepted web standards to check that it complies. The software can also work with ASP, PHP, Javascript, and SQL code too.

Installation

The application takes up 53.3 MB on the hard drive. It offers to create a Start menu item and a desktop icon during the installation. The software is not bundled with unwanted extras, toolbars, and the like.

Interface

The interface is very full. It makes good use of the space though with separate panes for colors, CSS syntax, a code clip library, CSS selectors, and a host of small top level icon buttons just below an extensive menu system. Many web browsers are supported to see how a page will look in a full page preview which the program can facilitate. The interface is familiar as many other programming editors offer something quite similar but this does mean that it is easy to get started with TopStyle.

Pros

• HTML, XHTML and CSS editor
• ASP, PHP, Javascript, and SQL code works too but isn't the main feature
• Full screen preview
• One of the oldest and most popular editors
• Validate HTML, XHTML and CSS to web standards
• Upgrade old HTML code to the latest XHTML
• Use HTML Tidy to crunch down the size of files before uploading to a web server
• Syntax highlighting with different colors used for each language supported

Cons

• Main focus is HTML, XHTML and CSS
• Other programming tools offer more features and support a greater number of languages

Alternatives

Notepad++ is an excellent programming editor that has many extra features and supports score of programming languages rather than just a small handful as is the case with TopStyle.

Conclusion

TopStyle is an old style editor for programmers who like to stick to HTML and CSS. For other programmers who have a broader palette, then this editor may not suit their needs quite as well.