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Freeway Pro 3.5 - Web Design in the Fast Lane
Words by Ric Getter
March 2004

Being a graphics or media professional doesn't always mean that you have the web design skills to put together a showcase for your work. With the dearth of entry-level WYSIWYG-S (what-you-see-is-what-you-get--sometimes) web design tools for the Mac®, you're left to either struggle with the high-end development applications, or to pay somebody else to struggle with them.

Softpress, of Oxford, England, has come up with an absolutely brilliant solution. Freeway 3.5 takes an entirely unique approach to web site development that will keep graphics and publishing professionals totally in their element while they are building their sites.

At first glance, Freeway looks more like a page layout program than a web tool, including a familiar workflow. The interface is based around a pasteboard analogy, similar to programs like Quark®, InDesign®, or Illustrator®. You begin by designing one or more master pages to be used as the background templates for your other pages. A familiar-looking tool palette helps you draw, position and align the elements that go on your page with enough precision to please any designer.

Have it Your Way

Normally, you need to work around the fact that web browsers can only reliably display a few, rather mundane fonts. To get around this, you need to create many of your freestanding text elements in an outside graphics program and painstakingly place them in your site. Freeway takes an entirely different, and far friendlier, approach. You have the option to use what it calls "graphic text." It's ingenious use of what it calls "graphic text" items lets you use any font you own. When Freeway publishes the page, it will convert the text to a compact GIF file that is integrated into your page.

Freeway converts body text into conventional HTML. Even in this format, Freeway still has a few interesting tricks up its sleeve. Like your favorite desktop publishing programs, you create boxes for your text and a linking tool will actually let text flow from box to box as long as it's on the same page. Like any good publishing program, you can define and reuse styles throughout your site. This works for both HTML and graphics text.

One of Freeway's most remarkably cool features is its ability to work with the Mac OS® drag-and-drop architecture. Create a text box and drag in text from a word processor or drop in a text file. Or, create a graphics box and drag in a graphics file from your desktop. You can also use a program like iPhoto^TM or Extensis^TM Portfolio to drag over a catalog image, and Freeway will find and import the original. A menu option lets you easily size or crop the graphic to the box or adjust the box to the graphic. If you have a scanner, Freeway's "Acquire" feature will let you go directly from a print to the page.

Hands-off HTML

Freeway takes a closed-box approach to the underlying HTML and JavaScript code in the site. Your entire site is stored in a single Freeway document with the imported graphics, text, and multimedia content residing in a related Resources folder. You have the option of splitting more complex sites between multiple Freeway documents, even though it makes creating navigation links within your site a little more complicated. When it comes time to publish or preview your site, Freeway generates the HTML and converts your graphics on the fly. Considering the amount of work it has to do (not to mention how well it does it), the process takes place with commendable speed.

Freeway's more advanced features greatly simplify the process of creating a variety of rollover effects, online forms, and the like. Even though you'll need the instructions (at least at first), Freeway takes one of the simplest and most intuitive approach to creating rollover effects we've seen. Using Freeway plug-ins, you can build dynamic, database-driven pages with a minimum of effort. The program's documentation is extremely well written and illustrated. It gives you just enough background to create a sharp-looking site that displays well in any browser on any platform.

The program has a couple of comparatively minor annoyances. There are no contextual menus; and, if you use a two-button mouse, right-clicking activates the zoom-in feature. And even though most users will be going back to the same site document each time they open the program, there is no way to tell Freeway to automatically open the most recently used document, nor is there an "Open Recent" option in the File menu.

Conclusion

Freeway 3.5 is one of those rare products that a reviewer considers a real discovery. Even though it is out of the mainstream of web development products (at least for now), it is as thoughtfully designed, responsive and stable as the very best products available. With all the options, Freeway Pro package is a little pricey ($299) for the home user or hobbyist. However, for a creative professional needing a web presence worth of their unique vision, it's an indispensable tool.

System Requirements > Any G3 or above capable of running OS X (including Panther^TM ) or any PowerPC capable of running OS 9; 50Mb disk space > Price: $229-$299 > From:> Softpress, www.softpress.com