Netscape "Visual DHTML" is a sample Dynamic HTML (DHTML) visual development tool that's written in DHTML, runs in Navigator, and lets you create your own Dynamic HTML-based content without writing any code yourself.

Note: This version of Visual DHTML requires JavaScript1.2. We provide this tool for informational and testing purposes only; it is not an official Netscape product, and we make no guarantees about its reliability on any computing platform. Proceed at your own risk, but we think you'll enjoy the tool and find it very useful.

Visual DHTML is a free Web-based authoring tool that lets you create interactive web content using the following DHTML technologies:

• Cascading Style Sheets - Level 1 (or CSS-1)
• Cascading Style Sheets - Positioning (or CSS-P)
• JavaScript, the most popular scripting language on the Web.

What's special about Visual DHTML is that the tool itself is written completely in DHTML; you can develop DHTML with DHTML, including dynamic widgets, components, kiosk-style pages, webtops, channels, and other dynamic wizardry. The tool lets you build DHTML without writing any HTML or JavaScript yourself; all you need to do is select the elements you'd like to use from a series of menus, fill in the text (or graphics), and publish the resulting web pages.

Visual DHTML runs from a Navigator client window and can be hosted from standard HTTP Web servers or your computer's local hard disk.

Start by launching a "New Page" from the Visual DHTML tool. This will give you a "Preview Page" window to develop with. Then select from the Menubar or Widgets palette to add items to your page.

Don't hesitate to experiment. You can use the "Undo" and "Redo" options to go to your previous setting and re-set things at any time like traditional authoring tools.

During the development of your page you can also drag your items around and re-position them.

The Visual DHTML tool has a built-in demo/tutorial in order to demonstrate how the tool works. Select the "Demo" option from the Help menu via the menubar.
 

The following are some useful features of the Visual DHTML tool:

• Drag and Drop
• Web-Based
• Components-based Architecture
• Properties Window
• LiveConnect
• Pre-built Widgets
• Sample Code
• Customization
• Menu options such as "Undo" and "Redo"
• Demo

Advanced users can dig into the JavaScript code and component-based architecture, such as the MenuBar, ToolBar, StatusBar, Dialog widget, and customize things.

Visual DHTML was originally created as a simple web-based prototype to show what you can do with DHTML, and to illustrate the new and improved features and capabilities of JavaScript1.2 and LiveConnect, as well as to demonstrate that you can built and deploy real JavaScript/DHTML applications and/or re-usable components. At the time of writing of this document, Visual DHTML was in a prototype/beta state. Currently Netscape Navigator 4 and Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 support different object models. This is not addressed, yet, in this beta version of Visual DHTML.

On-line: Visual DHTML runs from a Navigator client window and can be hosted on-line from standard HTTP Web servers. Therefore, virtually no disk space, no installation, and no update processes are required for users, unlike traditional software applications.

Off-line: You can also run Visual DHTML off-line from your computer's local hard disk. Download and unzip the following archive containing all of the files for Visual DHTML so you can run it locally.

visualdhtml.zip

To view your DHTML page off-line, save the visual.js file to your hard drive and point to it locally from within your code.

Visual DHTML is free to the public, and you can submit your URL for possible posting here, if you use Visual DHTML for your page, such as the following sites have done:

• DHTML Midi Player using Crescendo by SOFTVision Concepts.
• Sample Page that was developed with Visual DHTML.

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Visual DHTML.
• Dynamic HTML Resources
  • JavaScript Menu
  • Dialog Widget
  • Webtop Widget
  • Cascading Style Sheets, Level 1
  • Positioning HTML Elements with Cascading Style Sheets
• JavaScript Resources
  • JavaScript Guide
  • JavaScript Reference
  • What's New in JavaScript 1.2
• Netscape support area

If you need technical support or other assistance, please visit the support area. Email your comments and suggestions. about Visual DHTML to