Five Tools/Services You Can't Live Without

Do you want specific tools (like 'Notepad') or general tools (like 'an ASCII editor')?

Specific tools, exact software. Can't post mine right now, will later.

I'm going to take a broader approach to this, simply because there are some tools I could live without, but only if I had a reasonable substitute (ie. I could live without Photoshop but only if I had PSP).

1. Hosting and viewing essentials - a good host, FTP, browser, e-mail, etc.
2. Homesite or reasonable substitute - must have colour coded tags, customizable keyboard shortcuts for common tags, image insertion capability (that adds height & width attributes automatically), powerful search/replace function...
2. Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro plus image optimization software if not already included
3. Various extra browsers for testing purposes
4. Site stat service/software (I use Webtrends and Hitbox... will post another thread about this)
5. One of Flash, Fireworks, or Illustrator - can't decide which one would be more important - definitely need some sort of vector tool though.

Feel like I'm forgetting something important but oh well...

1) Internet Explorer and Netscape. Can’t get business without the net.
2) Microsoft Outlook. Have to keep in contact with clients.
3) Telnet, SSH, and FTP software.
4) PhotoShop
5) DreamWeaver

1) IE & Netscape
2) Visual Studio 6.0 (Interdev,VB, & C++)
3) Photoshop
4) SQL Server
5) Flash

1) IE (I'd be quite content without Netscrape)
2) Outlook
3) Visual Studio 6.0
4) An artist (I can't draw crooked stick figures, so I get my bro or cousin do that work for me)
5) Telnet, SSH, FTP (for servers that dont work with M$ InterDev)

6) ICQ (I'm a social creature)
7) Half-Life, Counter-Strike (for those stressful moments when you just need to kill something)

Interesting responses. It's no fair either that Mark got to post 7.

1.)IE (Netscrape, Opera)
2.)Photoshop 6.0
3.)Homesite 4.5
4.)Excel - used to build csv files to import into mysql.
5.)grep - can do most anything with this tool that is built into Linux.

I just noticed that I posted 6 by mistake - oops. Could live without no. 4 I guess.

Quote: Originally posted by mairving
Interesting responses. It's no fair either that Mark got to post 7.

I'm special! My mommy says so

1. WS_FTP - My favorite FTP program. No ads, gets the job done.

2. Textpad - Use it very often - from spell checking to formatting my newsletter.

3. AOLPress - No longer updated, but use it religously to format pages on my web site. Keeps the HTML neat and tidy to my needs.

4. Internet Explorer / Outlook - The obvious.

5. SiteMeter - Gotta love those stats!

The basic which I use for webpage designing and the rest from experience to come up with a good design.

1)HTML Editor - Used it since iearning to code.
2)PSP - Easy to use. Still can't master Photoshop.
3)Zara - 3d graphics/animation
4)Gifcon32 - Free animation
5)NS & IE - For testing

Okay folks, This is what I did using the above tools for a customer
http://www.lasertecsales.com. in just under 2 hours.

Besides I keep a collection of common CGI/Perl scripts that I use for my clients in case they need it.

1. Editpad
2. Coffee maker
3. PSP
4. Cute_ftp
5. IE and Netscape

sounds like the question of the greatest invention in mankind. i think no one of us webbies can live without a browser? like no one can live without a wheel nowadays...

anyway, here are my favourites:
1. homesite 4.0 (do i have to update to 4.5?)
2. ftp_explorer
3. microsoft outlook
4. notepad
5. photoshop 6.0

1. IE / NS / Opera
2. Dreamweaver / HTMLKit
3. Photoshop
4. Paint Shop Pro
5. CuteFTP
Joint 5. CodeLifter !! (I hate hidden code)

+ TIME!

Can I skip the obvious - ISP, Web Hosting, Browsers?

Design & Maintenance:

1/ HomeSite
2/ Adobe Photoshop/Imagestyler (I'm cheating here )
3/ Ulead SmartSaver Pro
4/ WS_FTP Pro (gotta love that explorer integration)
5/ WebTrends Log Analyzer

If not limited to 5 I'd add:

6/ Dreamweaver (use it on rare occasions)
7/ Linkbot Pro (nice for link validation on those large sites)
8/ WebSpeed Optimizer - a nifty little tool for simulating various modem speeds
9/ ClipMate - a copy/cut/paste buffer utility that I have become so reliant on, I don't know how I'd live without it (ok, a little melodramatic but the tool rocks!)

Running the business:

1/ Office 2K Pro (how's that for 5 or 6 in one!)
2/ Outlook (I know it's part of Office but is so integral to my day-to-day operations that it deserves its own slot)
3/ Accounting Software
4/ Project 2K (yah, I wish! I'd love to be using this if it wasn't sooo expensive! I miss my time-limited demo)
5/ Tax Software

1) SciTE - you need a decent editor
2) WML - somehow all your templates have to get together
3) the Gimp - pictures make things look better
4) rsync - how else could you update all your sites without much hassle
5) hmmmm ....

Who needs a browser. If you've done this long enough you know what it will look like

I think things like a shell (bash), an email-client (mutt), an IRC client (bitchx) and a window manager (enlightenment) are essentials that are on any system anyway.

weblint can't hurt either.
imagemagick helps sometimes.
maybe curl, if you stupid provider kills the rsyncd.
ispell, if you can't tzpe

I think that's all I need.

anti

1. Notepad/Hyperedit
2. Dreamweaver/HomeSite
3. PaintShop Pro
4. IE
5. WS_FTP Pro

1. Microsoft Image Composer
2. FrontPage 2000 (Although sometimes I'm ready to kill the people who programmed it.)
3. Browsers
4. Paint (Yes, I actually use paint to do web pages)
5. CuteFTP
All of my web sites have been made usuing only these programs.

RedwallFans.Org,

Welcome to TWF...

1. Dreamweaver 4
2. Photoshop 5 & Image ready 3
3. Eudora
4. EditPlus II
5. IE & NS

Know that I am on a Mac

1) Photoshop
2) BB Edit
3) Dreamweaver
4) any email
5) All browsers. (People use what we dont like.)

mine would be:

[=1]

[*]IE 5.5 developer add-ons (images list, partial source, document tree etc )
[/=1]

[/]

1.) Dreamweaver UltraDev 4
2.) Fireworks (the best image utility around)
3.) Counterstrike (A must for any web designer)
4.) Diablo 2 (All descent webmasters have this)
5.) Beer holder (old 4x cd-rom drive)

Personally i cant live without 3,4 or 5. Neo

Quote: Originally posted by elitegamers
1.) Dreamweaver UltraDev 4
2.) Fireworks (the best image utility around)
3.) Counterstrike (A must for any web designer)
4.) Diablo 2 (All descent webmasters have this)
5.) Beer holder (old 4x cd-rom drive)

Personally i cant live without 3,4 or 5. Neo

What do #2, #3, and #4 have to do with webmasters?

1. Dreamweaver
2. IE and Netscape
3. Photoshop and ImageReady
4. Hotdog Pro
5. Wacom Graphics Tablet

It's good to see that this forum has attracted a decent calibre of participants. I have noticed a distinct lack of people using FrontPage, and THAT'S encouraging!

This thread (Tools you can't live without) has proven that, if you're serious, you DON'T use FrontPage.

I have checked out some of the tools people have suggested and certainly expanded my toolbox.

Thanks guys and gals.

1. IE - the soon netscape dies the better!
2. Photoshop 6/ImageReady 3
3. Flash 5
4. Dreamweaver 4
5. SSH

well i'll tell you why we dont use frontpage, cos its a piece of crap. Dreamweaver ultra dev 4 is much much better and long live the 4x cd-rom drive beer holder. ahhhhh nothin like an ice cold coopers.
By the way MESS WITH THE BEST, DIE LIKE THE REST

"5. SSH" - Good to see that at least some windos users decide to drop telnet. The sooner telnet dies the better.

"1. IE - the soon netscape dies the better!" - Oh yes, I see. If we only have one browser left it's quality will increase ... aehm.
I'm stuck with one box at work that has IE installed and I don't have Adminstrator rights, so I can't install a browser. What do I do ? I ssh into my AIX box and use lynx. IE is simply unusable.
(For the pros: How do I make IE open new windows ("open link in new window ...") at full-size ?)

1. Notepad
2. Ftp/telnet/Mysqlfront
3. Frontpage/Ultradev Dreamweaver is horrible for most things tho
4. Photoshop, Psp, Fireworks,
5. Flash5
6. Cold Fusion auth.

Windows
IE
Adobe Photoshop
Dreamweaver
Frontpage
Cute FTP

My top 6

1. Linux (I can live with windows, well...sort of)
2. Apache (Keep site running)
3. Perl (Keep the Bizz running)
4. .htacces (Protect the bizz)
5. HomeSite
6. libwww (a other browser)

1. My Palm Pilot
2. Homesite 4.5
3. My "slam me" Mr. Bill Doll for when i get frustrated or pissed.
4. Adobe Photoshop 5.5
5. IE 5.5

1) http://www.flexwindow.com (update a website by e-mail) - service, very cool and simple
2) http://www.hitbox.com (web statistics) -service
3) http://www.dyndns.org (dynamic ip) - service
4) http://www.gfi-mbh.com (isdn call monitor over ip) - tool
5) http://www.ultraedit.com (simple the best editor) - tool

Well I would like to find free comprehendible online tutorials for:

1) C/c++
2) CGI
3) VRML
4) Java
5) Php

different thing are important to different people just as differet things work for different people. Here are my most important resources:
1. My website----without it I am just a watcher
<
2. Adwizard------could never manage posting at all the site I post at without it
3. CoolPage------makes it super easy to create webpages(for free)
4. Free classified sites-------this is where al my traffic comes from
5. People like you that are willing to offer adviceand constructive critisism

Quote: Originally posted by Busy
1. Editpad

Ahh another EditPad fan!
I don't know what i'd do without editpad.

1) IE
2) Webhost
3) Flash 5
4) Swift 3d
5) Sparknotes.com

EditPlus
Perl
MySQL
CPAN
CLPM

1) Windows XP (Notepad!)
2) ADSL
3) Dedicated & Putty
4) Cute FTP
5) Outlook

Before Windows XP, I would have put Linux on the 1st place... :apengy::apengy::apengy:

1. Adobe Photoshop
2. Notepad
3. Brinkster
4. TWF
5. All those good, free tutorials out there

1. Java <= Cup Of....

2. Smokes (bad habit, quiting, down to 6 or 7 a night....)

3. Night Light (used for a back drop, love working in darknezz!)

4. text2*ml Pro (short-cuts, boy!, I love short-cuts!)

5. my favorite slippers... (my son gave me)

all I need to code my life away.......

hehehe........

F!

1. IE/Mozilla/Opera/NS
2. ColdFusion Studio 4.5
3. PhotoShop 6+
4. Macromedia Flash
5. WinAmp (I need music!)

Someone has to weigh in with tools for the Mac

1. BBEdit (great text/HTML editor; Mac only
2. GoLive
3. Style Master (CSS editor)
4. Photoshop 6/ImageReady
5. Mizer (squishes code)

ok here goes...
1) Internet Explorer
2) Dreamweaver
3) Fireworks
4) Site Stats
5) DynamicDrive.com

1) Homesite
2) Paint Shop Pro
3) Adobe Photoshop
4) WSFTP
5) Internet Explorer

probably
1. Paint Shop Pro 7.01
2. Dreamweaver
3. Notepad
4. Flash 5
5. Internet Explorer 4

Hmmm... only five? well, I'll just have to cheat...

1. Browsers (if limited to one I would pick Netscape. If it works in Netscape it generally works in IE. The vicey-versa of that statement sure aint true).

2. Homesite & Ultradeit to do me editing. If stuck with one I would take ultraedit for the scripting power and integration with UNIX.

3. Corel Graphics Suite (Draw & Photopaint plus their handy dandy trace and screen capture utilities).

4. Apache with perl, php, and mySQL, and whatever other mods I feel like loading. In fact, open source software in general.

5. puTTY for secure telnet and a secure FTP client (still looking for a good one)

(1) THE INTERNET!!!
(2) IE 5.0+!
(3) Adobe Photoshop 6
(4) Macromedia Homesite 5
(5)Good Ftp Program

#1 Photoshop - Can't make a site if it don't look good

#2 Frontpage / Dreamwaver / Homesite - A simple way to put everything together

#3 Webhost - a GOOD host is important

#4 FlashFXP - good FTP program that can do FXP

#5 IE - I need to see my sites (screw Netscape =)

i think the subject describes it all. but really
mysqlfrontend
DWUltraDev w/Impakt
ssh telnet client
wsftp
PHPedit

1. IE / NS / Opera
2. UltraEdit
3. Photoshop
4. MySQL
5. Visual Studio

Can't live without eh...

1. Browsers (IE, Netscape, and Opra) - Gotta test it.
2. HTML editor (HTML Kit) - Gotta code it.
3. Image app. (Ulead PhotoImpact 6) - Gotta make it look nice.
4. FTP access (WS_FTP95 LE) - Gotta have host access.
5. Full high level test bed (Apache, PHP, MySQL, Perl) - Gotta code high dollar complicated sites with dynamic capabilities.

I can't live without Flash now for lots of reasons, but since I have before, and I'm only alowed 5, I won't include it.

Ok, my turn!

First, this just says it all to me:

Quote: Originally posted by Dorn

5) All browsers. (People use what we dont like.)

1. IE 6/NS 6/Opera 6
2. Dreamweaver UD 4
3. PSP 7/Adobe PS 5
4. Word Pad
5. WS_FTP (I'm getting ready to try this out)

Sara

1. AceFTP, IE, Outlook Express
2. 1stPage (http://www.evrsoft.com/1stpage) Editor
3. Hitbox Counter

1. web stats,
2. ads rotating script,
2. no graphics

Hey gang, don't make false assumptions - he didn't say only 5

[=1]

[*]TaskPlus [PIM]
[/=1]

In addition, my partner Linda also uses:

[=a]

[*]Flash
[/=a]

Found your 5? Anyway, all those are important to our job as web builders. Only starting to use the CSS & menu tools, assume they will be staple tools.[/]

[/]

1. Flash MX
2. Illustrator 10
3. Photoshop 7
4. Dreamweaver 4/MX Preview
5. tie between BBedit, Suitcase 10, and a good ol' fashioned paper sketchbook and a Pilot Razor Point pen.

Of course, I run all the above exclusively in Mac OS X. even the sketchbook and the pen. =)

1. Ulead PhotoImpact (love this programm)
2. AceHTML and WC_FTP
3. Browsers - Opera for surfing, others (IE, Nestcape) for testing.
4. TreePad and The Font Thing
5. Terragen.

1) IE6,NS6,NS4.7
2) Dreamweaver/Homesite/Cute FTP
3) SecureCRT (SSH)
4) Photo Shop 5.5
5) phpMyAdmin

I love freeware, and the ability to do business on the web without spending more than we have to. So with that in mind, here are my freeware top picks...

[1] 1stPage2000 - a really superior html editor

[2] IrFanView - to crop and resize images

[3] WS_FTP - we all know how good that is

[4] EmC5.0 - the best way I've found to control all the spam email we get

[5] NoteTab Light - very versatile text editor (never need Notepad again)

And here's one that has a very low price tag...

[6] Xara 3d - make buttons, banners, and headlines the *really* easy way!

1. Dreamweaver
2. Fireworks
3. Noted(free txt editor)
4. FTP Voyager
5. PuttY telnet

1) Unix shell access.
2) The services of Spamcop ( http://spamcop.net )
3) Photoshop (I have v6, with v7 upgrade on order)
4) A good HTML editor system. I use Dreamweaver MX these days, but I still have and use Arachnophila, which has a zillion extras to make managing a site easier.
5) Some sort of good backup system (tape drive, CD burner, etc.) for making backups of irreplacable files.

I also might include Norton Utilities in that list, actually, but I think having backups is probably a bit more important than having Norton. You can't exactly "Restore from Norton" although you can sometimes use Norton to restore some things.

bonni

1) Dreamweaver - perfectly content with 4, but would prefer MX
2) Photoshop 7 - Too Used to it
3) AIM/MSN - I would prefer both but I suppose it depeneds what situation I was in, alot of VERY good and helpful friends are on there.
4)IE
5) SmartFTP - BEST FTP prog in the world

1: DreamWeaver MX Xl Edition and Dreamwaever 4 UltraDev

2: Swish 2.1

3: Adobe PhotoShop 6 Pro Edition With EyeCandy 2000 plug in

4: Bryce 3d and Poser 4 professional.

5: Cute FTP Pro (enhanced version 2)

thats aint them all, i use all sorts of stuff like notepad and Frontpage XP, but the ones listed are the main ones i use

hmm...
1. first page 2000, the best editor out there.
2. a good ftp
3. anyone you can trick into doing half the work
4. a mild case of insomnia or lacking that, a 12 pack of anything with caffeine.
5. a small stash of money to buy new equipment after you break your old stuff discovering the problem you have spent weeks trying to fix is actually just a misplaced parenthesis.

LOL, good one (Welcome to the forums jammin, have you introduced yourself yet?)

1, editpad
2, photoshop
3, xitami
4, ws_ftp
5, flash but i don't have that now

1. Windows Commander (now renamed to Total Commander)
2. VMware
3. VirtualPC
4. TopStyle/Homesite
5. The validators at W3

1. AceHTML 5 Pro
2. Note Tab Light (Best Free editor around!)
3. CuteFTP Pro
4. Color Detctor
5. Adobe Photoshop

There are more goodies that I would like to mention but the ones above are the most used in my arsenal.

1. Browser
2. Dreamweaver
3. WS_FTP
4. My Programmer (he fixes all my mistakes HA!HA!)
5. My Webdesigner (see My Programmer)

Quote: 4. My Programmer (he fixes all my mistakes HA!HA!)
5. My Webdesigner (see My Programmer)

Smart!

I'm new at this, but so far:

1.notepad
2.IE6
3.NS6
4.google
5.FTP Explorer

1. EditPad
2. Opera
3. PHPDev
4. Photoshop
5. Dare I say, IE6

(1) Textpad - It just dominates, clean interface, fast loading, and it can grow in complexity as you learn how to use it better.
(2) Photoshop - Nuff Said
(3) Benthic - To absolutely dominate Oracle Queries & Databases
(4) Advanced Query Tool - To absolutely manage and be on top of the SQL Server.
(5) SQL Server Enterprise Manager - The more I learn about this kludgy but mega-powerful tool, the more I love it.
(6) Phoenix - An off-breed of mozilla that has a preferences toolbar that allows easy turning off of javascript, colors, fonts, images. A must for browser testing.
(7) EyeDropper - a quick n easy system tray tool to grab rgb/cmyk/hex color codes from anything.
( Screen Ruler - To help measure horizontally or vertically any screen's height and width.
(9) IRFanView - The absolute best image viewer and manipulator, for quick and easy multimedia viewing as well.
(10) Trillian - for Universal Chatting.
(11) POW from Analogx.com - The absolute best and easiest Popup Killer.
(12) FTP Commander - an extremely easy to use, clean interface, that let's me do the ftping in and out, very fast.
(13) CSE HTML Validator - What can I say?
(14) NameWiz - For easy Batch Renaming of Files. Especially good for renaming digital photos.
(15) Paraben's Flow Charter - A very easy to use flow-charting system, to help us coders/developers logically develop our applications.

That's about it for me.

Homesite
Photoshop
WS_FTP
PHPMyAdmin

Hmm, actually, excluding obvious stuff like Windows and Unix, that bout covers it for my needs.

TOOLS
Linux
HomeSite
PenguiNet - the best telnet/ssh
CuteFTP
PhotoShop

WEBSITES
http://www.w3.org/
http://www.php.net/manual/en/
http://php.resourceindex.com/Complete_Scripts/
http://www.mysql.com/doc/en/index.html
http://www.delorie.com/gnu/docs/

1. HomeStead.cocm
.....Just kidding!

1. Photoshop - Gots to have a great looking page!
2. Frontpage - I'm a FP newb, but It's good enough for my HTML needs, hardcode the rest.
3. ftpACE! or WS_FTP
4. IE
5. Invision Board - best free forum software.

Software:

1. Dreamweaver
2. fireworks
3. Textpad - I agree! it rocks!
4. Smart FTP
5. Internet Explorer

Websites:

1. http://www.delorie.com/web/
2. http://www.solardreamstudios.com/
3. http://www.webmaster-forums.net
4. http://www.devshed.com/
5. http://cgi.resourceindex.com / http://php.resourceindex.com/

Hi, I'm a newbie to the board. My five tools have to be:

1)Frontpage 2000- No need to ftp, simplified web creation

Sorry, I hit enter by accident. Typical rookie mistake. Anyways, here we go again.

1)Frontpage 2000- No need to ftp, simplified web creation

2)1automationwiz.com-Simplifies shopping cart setup and delivery of my digital goods. (I sell e-books)

3)SmartFTP- Great window ftp client just in case you can't publish your web for some odd reason.

4) Webmaster forums, including this one. Great for ideas, tips, or anything in general.

5)Sitepronews.com- good place to get started on website promotion.

Uh I use FrontPage. I'm proud of it. Nothing wrong with Frontpage, it's just a tool like anything else with. Why do I use FrontPage, because it's comfortable for ME enough said.....

namo editor
photoshop
notepad
ws ftp
internet explorer

Long thread - but I can see why. I'll leave out OS and browser stuff since you must have that to be "here". I'll skip the text editor stuff too, everyone has their fav.

1. HTML editor: Dreamweaver
2. FTP: WS_FTP
3. Graphics: PSP (I have Photoshop, and use it when I have too, but PSP is quick and dirty for me.)
4. Flash: Swish, I have macromedia, but still on a learning curve for that.
5. SoThink DHTML
and I really do need to add the sixth:
Topstyle for CSS

Leaving out all the browsers since its obvious that I use all the major ones for testing. Could live without all of them but Mozilla!
Anyways:
* Notepad
* Photoshop
* LeechFTP
* Php.net
* Devshed.com

That's all. What more could one ask from life?
-dk

Html Editor : NotePad
Grapx : PS (Photoshop)
Necessary html changes : DreamW.
Css : Notepad
Ftp : LeapFtp

I don't know why I never answered this thread before but...

1. EditPad (thanks to a WMF suggestion. It kicks notepad's a$$.)
2. Photoshop
3. Webmaster-Forums.net (followed by a few php specific forums)
4. WS_FTP (CuteFTP is okay too)
5. IE

(I've got Dreamweaver and I can't stand it! Straight coding all the way, baby.)

1) psp (so much cheaper than photo shop)
2) EditPlus (layout's for the languages I use not just html)
3) cuteFtp
4) IE,NN,Oprea (gotta test)
5) Swish and Anfy (don't know flash and not enough time for the applets)

I think it's time for an update since the look of my toolbox has changed vastly...

1. Kate
2. Moz Firebird, Thunderbird, ChatZilla
3. gFTP
4. The GIMP
5. KMess

As well as a host of other KDE software (including KDE itself) - Kdict, KOrganizer, etc. And of course OpenOffice. And other recreational apps/games - XMMS, Tux Racer, Chromium.

And there's still so much more.

Wow, what a great thread...Here're my most useful:

1. PhotoShop
2. Dreamweaver
3. MySQLCC - Great tool for admin of MySQL databases
4. Notepad - Always handy!
5. IE - Opera - Nutscrape - Need the lot for testing, my preference as a browser is Opera

When I look at Abhishek Reddy's list it brings back that almost overwelming desire to move over to Linux...How I wish that were possible!