So here's a fun RapidWeaver 7 bug...

If you have a meta refresh tag and take a look at the preview of the page (say you want to check if your link works, or just want to check the "Hold on! Redirecting in a few!" text), the refresh is going to happen, even if you swap back to view the page's code.

That is, I can change the refresh time to ten or fifteen seconds so I can view the page, preview what I've got, go back into html edit mode, and then the code I'm looking at will go to the new page 10-15 seconds after I previewed the page.

Hint: If I'm on an html edit page, you can kill the refresh.

I've used RapidWeaver before. Skipped 6, but used 5 a lot, especially for class syllabi (when I TA'd), conference sites (see a, ahem, common theme? har har), even my own business site, which is what I'm "redesigning" now.

I like the app a lot, but it's still so danged rough around the edges. The html editor is not where I'd want to spend my time editing. There's no autocomplete of tags, no real html-friendly actions at all. The Markdown editor isn't good at all -- mostly just a text area for typing Markdown. What's worse, the Markdown parser isn't complete. I've had it miss links when translating into html, and that's just plain inexcusable.

I've often said these what amount to RAD tools will get you 80% to done in no time flat, but the remaining 20% will take you five times as long as it should've, ultimately netting you a loss in productivity. That's not the case with RapidWeaver. It essentially lets you passively partner with website designers, and gives you complete control over your html, which some hosts that support themes ultimately don't. So I get to skip most of the design overhead in developing a good looking website, which would take me weeks to months. But I'm still fighting with this app for days on days to do that last 20% easily.

Labels: indie, rapidweaver