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Link to this post 26 Mar 08

I'm a bit bored today, so I wanted to do something interesting.

So why not do something fun?

When you look at jSpaces or popular Joomla designs, don't you ever think "how the heck did they do that?" or "where do they get their inspiration?".

Well, I aren't the only designer/developer around, so we need Raven, Daniel and any other Ninja dev to join us on this. I'll share my thoughts on this in the meantime;)

Of course, I won't tell you all my secrets (:p) but most of them;) and I do favor Mac over Windows so feel free to give a Windows perspective.

My workflow is mainly this (when you don't count my to-do list): Get inspiration -> Fiddle with FireWorks - Assemble in CSSEditor and Dreamweaver - Debug in Firefox + Firebug.

So I might as well list up my favorite sites where I fill up my creative tank (and you are welcome to share your sources too;))

SmashingMagazine - Now, this is a very good one. They write about everything related to web design and development. Their articles is pure quality!

PSDTuts - My opinion is that Fireworks is the proper app for layout and webdesign. But when CS3 came around Ps and Fw get along, and their web design stuff is pretty damn good anyways!

Web Designer Wall - Similar to SmashingMagazine thus well worth your time.
Deviantart - You find all types of art here, including great icons and web designs.
Iconfinder - Needs no explanation. This is the plave to find icons. An good example on how good it is is that RocketTheme gets most of their icons from here.

Software tips.
Dreamweaver - is the best code editor I know of so far. So good I forgot what I used before I got it. Anyone now about a good free alternative to Dw, let us know:cheer:

CSSEditor - is the best editor for that purpose around these days. The RocketTheme designers use it, the YooTheme folks use it. The catch? It's a Mac exclusive. And I don't now of either a free or a Windows alternative around. Share if you know of any.

Fireworks - is the best graphics editor/creator around. Needs no explanation other than that the real photographers use Photoshop while pro web designers use Fireworks. Simple as that:)
Firefox is the best web browser around and I could go on for ages why it is. But the main reasons are two plugins I can't live without in my workflow, Firebug and Colorzilla.


Your turn;)

Link to this post 26 Mar 08

oh i dunno, where pretty secretive around here. :P

okay so here how i work

inspiration

dunno its rather random, most of the time the real "ideas" are something original or a new take on something that been done. but these are random thoughts in a stack of crappy ideas :P

so generally i just browse the internet for stuff i like, whilst im there looking at stuff i like, i look to see if they have anything thats either "cool" or "usable" and also something no one else has done for joomla.

smashing magazine is sweet, although i still havnt got around to becoming a regular reader.

photoshop/fireworks

i started using photoshop to rebuild damaged photos, and make dvd/cd covers for a forum i was involved in, i also spent a little time making animated gifs (yaaa) and generally play around.

fireworks always seemed to fail in comparison to ps for me at first, however once i actually started working here at NJ, FW became my second best friend

Editors

so you know what my second best friend is (fireworks for those that cant remember :P )

my old first best friend was dreamweaver, before i was taught differntly.

dreamweaver is great, its pretty and it works, and it has the nice design view, what it isnt though is useful.

what i have found over the last few months, with more challenging projects is that there is far better (and often cheaper) versions of dreamweaver.

first is phpdesigner[/url]
i started using this a couple of months back. and what its best at is showing you your mistakes, if you forget to stick in a </div> then it will tell you.
however beyond that it is merely as good as dreamweaver.

and now my (first) best friend....

[url="http://www.nusphere.com/"]PHPEd[/url]
this was actually introduced to me by one of the other NJ devs (ben)
it is by far the best editor i have used, with a absolute sh*t load of options, that im still trying to figure out.

tbh its just brilliant, its downfall.... its expensive.
BUT, if you like dreamweaver and you can afford it, upgrade you know you want to :P (there is a demo)

MAC or Vista

i soo want a mactop :(

Link to this post 26 Mar 08

When speaking of those two PHP editors, do you know of any Mac equals?
I can use the one's you mentioned through parallels, but I prefer native Mac apps...

Link to this post 26 Mar 08

not sure really stian,

dan is a mac user and i know he doesnt use either of those or dreamweaver, maybe he will drop in and point you in the right direction

Link to this post 26 Mar 08

Thanks, would appreciate it since Dw is great in HTML/XHTML but not in PHP.
Btw, do I dare guess he uses RapidWeaver and CSSEdit?

Link to this post 26 Mar 08

Hmm, the apps I find myself using (that are not on the list above) most frequently are:

Topstyle for CSS. There is a "lite" version for free and a "pro" version.

FlashFXP FTP client

puTTY

Navicat

Although I admit the last two are probably a bit obscure ;)


I do a lot of photography so I do use Photoshop quite a bit but Silkypix is a far better photo package. Silky is just the dogs!! :)

Sorry, I'm straying off topic(ish) ;)

Link to this post 27 Mar 08

CSSEdit is good. Ive heard alot about Coda. I am gonna buy it sometime.

Link to this post 27 Mar 08

I use eclipse for mac. I originally installed it purely because i need a good Subversion client on Mac, but it's a kick ass code editor too.

It's major headache is that you can't just open any old file in it. It has certain folders you specify as projects and you can only open things inside those folders, so I keep DW handy for quick and dirty edits I need to do.

But I go back to it fro full projects. SO nice to have you editor and SVN in the one place. eclipse also has a bug following so lots of other plugins too. I should get around to find some more.

Colorschemer is another app I can't do without. even if only because it makes grabbing colors from a live website or image easy.

The ability to get color matches is just a bonus. :D

and of course fireworks!

I also use transmit pro and timepost to track my time.

That's the bulk of my common software.

Join us Richie. Once you go mac, you can never go back!

Link to this post 27 Mar 08

p.s. I just bought css edit.

Link to this post 27 Mar 08

I got CSSEdit as part of the MacHeist bundle. If you dont know what it is, the MacHeist bundle is a great bunch of software (usually aroung 13 mac apps) for 50$
http://www.macheist.com

Link to this post 27 Mar 08

Another tool I like is Skitch. Very handing for quick screen captures.
http://plasq.com/skitch
Other than the heart icon, I think it is quite good.

Link to this post 27 Mar 08

matt.hayashida wrote:

I got CSSEdit as part of the MacHeist bundle. If you dont know what it is, the MacHeist bundle is a great bunch of software (usually aroung 13 mac apps) for 50$
http://www.macheist.com[/quote]

but... but... it's only for Macs?
;)

Link to this post 27 Mar 08

Hey, Mac Dudes, don't pop at me, I was with the Amiga when Apple turned them away ;)

Link to this post 27 Mar 08

...sorry, "Apple didn't see it as an investment route they wanted to take" ...they got cold feet.

Shame because the Amiga (25 years ago) was true multi-tasking PC, smaller than that thing you've got in front of you just now. Light-years ahead of rest of marketplace.

Link to this post 15 Apr 08

Attn all Mac users! A new MacHeist is out.
https://www.macheist.com/buy/referral/92798

Link to this post 13 Jul 08

I saw a few DreamWeaver references in here....shameful :D

I've never used it once on my Mac, I much prefer TextMate, a much better tool IMO - http://macromates.com/

A coding tool in every sense of the word, no DW design view :)

It has a plethora of inbuilt bundles and snazzy features that just increase your workflow tenfold!

A second thumbs up for Skitch and CSSedit as mentioned earlier, really handy tools.

Link to this post 14 Jul 08

Hi all together.

One very good thing with the new site is the dashboard. I never saw this thread before and it's now over three months old. Whoops. :blink:

OK, so now I will give my part on this thread:

First off James_S, why should an editors choice be shameful? Although there's a smilie on the back, I've to say that your statement ashamed me. As you said: It's anytime a point of view and from where your creative level pushes you. But no one should look down on others. ;)

I do know, that Stian can do things with Photoshop or Fireworks, in lifetime I will never learn, because I've no hand for graphic programs. But I am a programmer and Linux administrator and am a logical brain and not a creative one. And so we need each other, and that is good! Imagine anybody in the world could do the same. Think that would be very boring. :dry:

Hence my skills derive from the text level. That's where my thinking grew. I do not need any DreamWeaver, CSSEdit or whatever editing tool. I am lucky with my simple syntax highlighting and programmable text editor Vim. OK, it is very difficult to learn, because it is totally different from all other existing editors. But once learned, I would never swap to another editor again.

Vim has its roots in the UNIX world and has three modes: Command, Ex and editing modes. I first touched this editor on 1999 and until now I do not know every feature! Why? Hmm, because it's extensible through macro scripts and it has a community where almost every day members are contributing to with new scripts. For me this is the best editor in the world, but I do admit it's a question of faith. There are coders who do pray to their god Emacs. :side:

By the way. Vim is available for allmost all architechtures:

Go n' get'em guys: http://vim.org/


Regards
Uwe

Link to this post 14 Jul 08

@James & Uwe... damn!... everywhere I turn these days I am surrounded by devs using Mac or *nix :( ... so lonely as a developer still using windows :blush:

Luvin' my trusty old PSPad

Link to this post 14 Jul 08

I use notepad++ for editing my php and css files. With using firebug on firefox to debug it.

Link to this post 14 Jul 08

nhamilton wrote:

... With using firebug on firefox to debug it.

Firefox is increasingly becoming indispensable as a development tool. Fave extensions of mine are Firebug, Web Developer Toolbar, Fireshot... and I just found this today:
http://www.evolus.vn/Pencil/Home.html

Link to this post 14 Jul 08

also in firefox I do like the html validator as well means I can make sure pages are well formed. Especially where you have pages behind logins and such

Link to this post 14 Jul 08

coda.

All you need. (unless you own a windows or *nix box in which case you need a Mac too :P )

Link to this post 14 Jul 08

Hai Oyabun. :D

But for my daily coding work I would never give my Linux box away for a (in Germany) much too expensive Macintosh. OK, I do not really know if I could have equivalent tools on a Mac OS, but I want to give a little example.

My actual project has about 60 files, where every one contains header information like file ID, version, release date, copyright, and so on. Now we moved from ninjoomla.com to ninjaforge.com and I can simply use my streaming editor sed to modify this domain name.


for i in $(find . -type f -name "*.php" -print);
do
sed -e "13 s/\(ninj\)oomla/\1aforge/" $i > $i.new
mv $i.new $i
done

I can use this command on the shell, which takes me just a few seconds typing and modifying all 60 files on the fly.


Best Regards
Uwe

BTW:
I've done some research recently and I found a PowerMac I'd really like to buy. But I do not have around 2600,--EUR. That's really heavy! The cheapest machine I found was an iMac for around 1200,--EUR. :woohoo:

Link to this post 15 Jul 08

it's a sad day, puTTY has been dethroned as my shell app of choice, confined to a dust-covered archive.

Archived in favour of a superb app called AbsoluteTelnet. What does AbsoluteTelnet have that puTTY hasn't? Well, quite a bit actually but I found it because I was looking for a shell client with a tabbed interface. Oh yes, it's a cracking piece of kit. I did look at SecureCRT but I found it poor by comparison, even though SecureCRT has the look of a more polished product. Don't be deceived ;)

Link to this post 16 Jul 08

interesting SteveO, might give it a look.

Link to this post 10 Jul 09

Old topic is old. ^_^ It came up for a search for 'ninjaboard and CB integration' for some reason I will never know.

Still, this is a way cool thread and merits a bump. Since I've never worked with a team of web devs or designers and taught myself everything, I feel like I was raised by wolves sometimes, and I always feel like my workflow could be improved.

I worked on a PC for years and years, recently my company bought me a Mac despite my preferred OS being widely known, so I've been acclimating to it. For the price point it might actually be better than what I could buy from Microsoft, but if I threw more money at Gates I'd have something even better... and if I threw Jobs the money I'd normally pay for a Windoze laptop, then I'd get an Ipod or something, not a laptop developer's machine ^_^ so that's my 'strange valley' theory of Apple.

Anyway, this is what I use for the Mac right now:

• photo editing: Photoshop CS4
(Like someone posted earlier, Fireworks always seemed gimped to me... if there is some reason I should take another look I am eager to be enlightened)

• HTML/javascript/css -
-•Quick&dirty: Smultron
-•Need Wysywig/dealing with reams of tables/advanced CSS: Dreamweaver CS4

•PHP: The eclipse PDT 3.5, which recently has become beyond awesome

•Unit Testing: all kinds of tools on Windows, but this PHPUnit app I found a while ago stands out; havent really found a replacement for my Windows setup, but then I haven't really looked yet

•Debugging: All the usual Firefox plugins; firebug, web developer, plus a few for bloggery, some for IP hackery and sql injection testing

•MySQL workbench

•FTP: Filezilla

Plus I've been using a lot of Adobe Illustrator since I end up being pinch hitter for our graphic artist.


Smultron is worth repeating - that is the first program I open to code our website and the one I use most throughout the day. It's freeware, has code highlighting for something like 30 different languages, snippets, document conversion, htmltidy, and a bunch of other features but loads like notepad does on a Windows box--which is to say,very quickly. ^_^ Though the author stopped supporting it, it's up to date for now.

Ultimately what I end up using the most is our hosting provider's web interface file editor. If I'm developing something myself as opposed to maintenance or quick-fixing some other developer's extension I go on the server on a prototype copy of the site; if I need find&replace tools or my eyes are burning from the code and I want some highlighting I'll cut&paste the whole file into Smultron, edit, cut&paste back into the file manager editing screen.

Link to this post 10 Jul 09

Hehe, today I'm so tired of Adobe's buggy software for the Mac, I'm exploring alternate options.

For stuff like joomla templates, we are still required to use fireworks in some form. I've recently reinstalled fireworks cs3 so I can use that when I'm pissed at CS4.

[ol][li]
photo/graphics: Pixelmator, this is as close as it gets to a real Mac Photoshop. It's a bit limited, but already getting strong.
[/li]
[li]Code: Espresso and Coda. I still haven't decided on which one I like the most.[/li]
[li]debugging: I'm the only ninja who prefer safari/webkit's over Firefox. [/li]
[li]MySQL: Querify, before that Sequel Pro, but Querify is the best there is right now.[/li]
[li]ftp: Transmit, Coda and Espresso, depending on what I'm working on.[/li][li]SVN: Versions, I think every ninja with a mac here, use this. Not without reason.[/li][li]Chat: Skype, we do all our text chat over skype. I hope we one day move to iChat. But as long as some of the ninjas don't have a mac yet, Skype is the better option :p[/li][li]todo: Things.[/li][li]Screenshots: LittleSnapper.[/li][li]Screencasts: ScreenFlow[/li][/ol]

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