Formerly I built my websites in Canvas X (on Mac, Canvas 14 on Windows). Since Canvas is a totally integrated raster, vector, DTP, Web program, I made all my components "on the page". But Canvas's HTML is old and creaky (10 years old basically) so there was a need to move on to something with more newer code and most importantly, capable of producing sites that display well on mobile media, iPhones, iPads, and the like.
I have suggested once or twice here that it would be good if PL's DTP capabilities could be extended to website output, but that is not to be.
So I have now shifted to Sandvox, a template-based app on Mac. It looks restricted at first because of the templates but in fact it is very flexible through the capability to switch features on or off and to do "code injections" -- inject fragments of CSS or HTML or whatever to achieve particular outcomes.
This has forced me to shift into a totally new workflow pattern. I have to PLAN (oh no!) and prepare components -- principally photographs -- beforehand.
So PL has come into its own here with the ease of editing photographs, cropping them, sizing them (option-S), and adding copyright information.
I am working through learning Sandvox (I've built three sites in it so far: rabaulpng.com, vavagil.com, and namatanailodge.com -- they are all up, have a look; I am now working on a fourth, kaviengniulodge.com which will include the final component I need to learn immediately, a photo album) and as soon as I complete that I will make some actions in PL so I can automate the preparation of pix for sites.
Missing from Sandvox at this time is the capability to import buttons as such from other programs. I haven’t experimented with producing buttons in PL since I could make them in Canvas, but in due course, I will do so. I will also be investigating how to incorporate them into Sandvox designs. Some variation on the code injection should do it.
Or maybe constructing a little animated gif?
I'll keep you posted.
Cheers, geoff
