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Hi,

Dumb question I know but I am new to TextPad and can't seem to find where I set the View in web browser preferences. at the moment if I click on 'View in web browser' I get the same thing in Notepad.

I know it must be there somewhere, just cant find it...

Thanks,
Ralph.

>configure>preferences>document classes

under each document class

Thanks for the reply Mike but I don't understand what I need to do...

...I am trying to move away from Dreamweaver and code some web pages myself but I am a complete beginner so please excuse me for asking really basic questions.

Ralph.

Well first, congratulations on moving to manual coding.

1. Close all open instances of TP
2. Open one instance of TP
3. Click Toolbar, top of window: "Configure"
Click: Preferences
Expand (click +) "Document Classes"
Click on "HTML" and/or "HTM"

To the right is a list of user-preferences one of which is "View in Web Browser"

Then any *.html file can be seen in the default browser by clicking on the world icon in the toolbar.

There is another step which you might want to consider which is setting up an internal web-server. Doing that you will be able to view includes.
That's another post.

One of the most useful tools you will find in TextPad is the Clip Library. What html coding you cannot find in one of the pre-defined libraries, you can copy and save to the library or start your own custom library with the tags you use most often.

This is a very satisfying way to code.

Hi Mike.

That was exactly what I needed - Thank you for taking the time to spell it out for me. The only trouble is still nothing happens when I click on the world icon.

I am wondering if I have to choose a web browser. I have not found anywhere to select a browser yet and the help menu is not that great for someone who is struggling with the terminology. I am assuming TP will default to a browser but maybe not?

I think I am going to enjoy the coding once I work out how to use this text editor...

Ralph.

Hello again,

Well I am not sure what can be going wrong here, so maybe you will need to wait for more advanced input. Basic checks:

Try the whole process again, clean: meaning close all instances, open one instance, make changes, close TP, open TP check to see the change 'took'. If not start again, but this time input some text on the blank page that opens with a new instance and save it as *.htm, then close then open again and check.

Is the file you are trying to view an '*.htm or *.html' file?

Is the file you are trying to view open in TextPad?

Is the *.html or *.htm class you are using associated with your default browser? If not, go to windows explorer, click on Tools, Folder Options, File Types. Wait for the list to load. Find "htm" or "html" and change the association to the browser. This is unlikely to be the problem. But just in case 'html' is listed, but not 'htm' or 'shtml'.

This is the help file:

How to Use with Web Browsers
TextPad can display the active HTML document in a web browser, using the View HTML command on its View or context (right click) menu. This feature is enabled by checking the "View in Web Browser" option on the properties page for the corresponding document class.

The file name is passed to the browser using the normal file extension association information, which was written to the Windows registry when the browser was installed. This means that if the browser has registered that it can use DDE messages, it will be able to use a single instance to view each file, otherwise a new instance will be started for each one.

If you edit files directly in a local web server, such as MS Personal Web Server, you should specify its root path and IP address on the Folders page of the Preferences dialog box. Then TextPad will tell the browser to access those files using HTTP, rather than as ordinary files, allowing any macro substitution to take place.

Thanks again Mike, I will try that later and let you know how I get on. I think I am missing something obvious... I am only a couple of hours in to using TP so I am going to take your advice and start again from scratch.

Your help and patience has been much appreciated.

Ralph.