Freeway Express for Mac

User Reviews

• Good software. Subpar documentation. GREAT support.

  clinto--2008October 24, 2009

  Pros

  Very easy to use - after an initial learning curve. Full featured. Reasonable price. Great tech support.

  Cons

  User manual and video tutorials need improvement.

  Summary

  I don't know one thing about HTML code, and I'm not a professional web site designer or developer - just a guy who wanted to completely overhaul his web site. I downloaded the trial version of Freeway Express 5.4.2, watched the video tutorials, then started working on my web site. Initially, I was overwhelmed. The manual is more than 400 pages long and tough to read. The video tutorials are moderately helpful, but they omit a lot of details. My first 3 or 4 days of working with this product went pretty slowly. But - here's the bright point - the tech support is excellent. Honestly, it's probably the best I've ever encountered. They take time to read and understand your questions, and they provide detailed answers with good explanations. And they add more information (beyond your question) - anticipating other things that might confuse you, or explaining why to use a particular image format in a particular situation. After a few emails with the Softpress tech support, I felt much more comfortable using Freeway, and work on the web site went much more smoothly. I didn't try the Pro version - but the Express version has everything (and probably more) that an amateur web site developer would need. And once I got the hang of using the program, I found it very easy to use. The tech support people could probably reduce their workload a lot by either improving the manual or by posting more (and better) video tutorials on their web site. If the manuals or video tutorials were better, I would probably give 5 stars. On the other hand, if tech support had not come to my rescue so well (and if I had to rely on the manual and the existing tutorials) I would probably give 3 stars. As is, this product earns a solid 4 star rating. BTW, a few other people have complained about lack of multiple Undos. I haven't found a need for multiple undos. Occasionally I use a single undo. If a really screw something up, I just delete the screwed up item and recreate it. The software is so easy to use, that it's pretty painless to have to do that. Note: I almost never write software reviews, but the tech support was so stellar that I felt compelled to post this.

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• Does exactly what I needed

  SenorRamosOctober 17, 2009

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  Summary

  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I had been producing graphic intensive web sites for years, but was always been frustrated by the numerous steps to get graphics, text and multimedia in the appropriate format from source data to the web page. Initially I coded my sites with html, but with changes in browsers, I kept running into compliance issues. So I gave it up for a long time until I needed to produce a web site for myself. With the advances in WYSIWYG web development software, I was sure I would find a strategy that would help me. After trying Dreamweaver and a couple of others, I was discouraged. But just before going back to generating my own code I ran across a podcast about Freeway Express on iTunes. I watched and thought it was to good to be true. So after downloading the demo and trying it (following the podcast tutorial) for a couple of hours, I forked over the $79 bucks and have been happy as a clam ever since. I built an entire website in one night (8 hours give or take) from scratch! Basically it take the tragedy of coding, formatting and media conversion out of the creative process. I think its fantastic and would encourage any one else to at least try it.

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• Freeway Express is awesome

  rockinphotogJune 30, 2008

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  Summary

  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I cannot express my level of happiness to find Freeway Express. I am a past Dreamweaver user, and while I can't write HTML, I learned How to use it in order to build my site years ago. I needed to do an update recently, and realized that the version of Dreamweaver I had was 5 years old, and the new version was prohibitively expensive at $399. I searched for WYSIWYG apps and settled with the Freeway Pro demo. Even that was cheaper, at $249. Keep in Mind that every WYSIWYG editor acts differently, and as the developer points out many times, the site files from one, dreamweaver for example, are not compatible with another (freeway). So After completing the 3 tutorials, I realized that this program did exactly what I wanted to, and in a smart, intuitive way. I recreated my site in 2 days from scratch, and it is now so easily editable with the Master pages that Freeway taught me to create. Not only that, but I realized that the "Express" version did everything I needed, at only $79!! Freeway Express is highly recommended. As with any new program of this sophistication, don't expect to be able to use it without reading the manual or completing the tutorials. As with a previous review, the only con for me is the lack of multiple undos. But now that I know that it does make me more careful.

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• Looks good, but with some odd omissions

  chris540June 19, 2008

  Pros

  Cons

  Summary

  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I'm a total newbie to Freeway, having downloaded the demo of this version when it first appeared. I am an iWeb user, but I'm looking for something that gives me more control over the site and also, and more importantly, generates cleaner, more accessible, more standards-compliant code. Having had a bash with Freeway for about 24 hours, it looks ideal. Except for some very strange weaknesses. 1. No multiple undos. How strange is this? Every modern Mac program I can think of supports multiple undos; most of the non-modern ones do too. If you are like me, you will, in the design stage tend to move elements around at speed, just seeing how things work. You might style things up, adding a tint here, changing a font, adding a drop shadow. And when you realise the result is rubbish, you want to roll back. Except you can't. I'm not going to save the project before making each change, it really slows down work-flow. 2. No graduated tints. OK, this may seem trivial, but it is an example of the kind of simple thing that iWeb does well that Freeway can't cope with: A text box with a graduated tint. I'm not even talking radial graduations. Once I'd discovered those two little problems, my initial extreme enthusiasm started to wane. I'm going to carry on looking through the documention and putting together a site for testing, but I'm not sure if I'll end up using it.

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• One of a kind software - fantastic product.

  steve r.November 29, 2007

  Pros

  Cons

  Summary

  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />This piece of software bridges the gap between "click-and-drag" entry level applications (iWeb, RapidWeaver) and complex high-end applications such as Dreamweaver and GoLive. The bottom line for me turned out to be: if you need software to create a custom website, rock solid compatibility with different browsers and operating systems, this is the one. It's not the same as using a layout program, but once you get your head around it, it's almost a thrill to see what you can do. The developers seem to be very confident anout their product to offer a 30-day fully functional (!) trial. Actually I programmed a full website just during that period and purchased the license *afterwards*! Imagine that. Also, the support really is as good as previously described by others - regardless of if you're in the trial period, or own the "Express" of "Pro" version.

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• Great support

  j.russellJuly 4, 2006

  Pros

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  Summary

  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I am not a programmer and really do not want to become one. I do however want to control my website. Freeway was my choice. While I continue to struggle with some aspects I have found it to provide the features I need for a business website. Certainly ahead of iWeb. Recently I upgraded to 4.2.2 and the program crashed all the time. I contacted support and within a couple of hours they were communicating with me real time online. This is what I need form a software company. They excelled at this and for that reason the cost is more than made up for in support. By the way, the crashes are caused by Unsanity. If you use this then you need to list Freeway as an exclusion. Then Freeway is stable. I believe that the company should be recognised for its service and responsiveness. Yes I do whish that I did not have to keep entering my serial number but QuicKeys now does this for me ;-0.

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• Amendment to previous review...

  coach_wadeMay 22, 2006

  Pros

  Cons

  Summary

  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I'm a VT novice and unable to modify my previous review, so I'll have to type a new one. While my experiences with Freeway 4 Express were less than pleasant, as detailed in the previous review, there is one thing that cannot be faulted, and that is the Softpress Systems technical support and customer service. The frustration of some of the software problems I encountered left me less than pleasant, and yet the highly trained and professional Softpress staff maintained a consistent focus and worked hard to deal with my issues (involving the software, at least). There were some bugs that seemed to be flustering them as well, such as the flat ignoring of text codes by the software when I was trying to alter text from bold to plain, or italics to underline, etc. Softpress technical support was as surprised as I was when the software didn't function quite right. (Not their fault. I need only touch a computer to cause a software crash of some form.) Rather than bail on me and tell me, "Sorry. Sucks to be you." Softpress went above and beyond. Since the Express version of the software doesn't feature text formatting removal, they upgraded my software to the pro version for me, allowing me to one-click "remove text formatting" and then reapply the specific bold, italic, underline, font, etc that I wanted. Immediately my frustration level went down considerably. Follow up was also well done. I received an email several days ago from Richard Logan, wondering if things were working better for me. Very considerate, considering my snarling at the beginning of our email conversations. Overall, I'm still not impressed with the express version of the software which did not function in any way as I expected and hoped. However, I strongly recommend Softpress as a company, and the PRO version of Freeway, which truly is the most easily-used Website design software I've found for the Mac.

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• Almost false advertising... half star or less!

  coach_wadeMarch 27, 2006

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  Summary

  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />Freeway 4 Express is probably not the software you're looking for if you already have a website that you are looking to maintain. It uses a proprietary format and DOES NOT ALLOW THE IMPORTING OR EDITING OF PREXISTING HTML. This is highly significant if, for example, you already have a web site that you are looking to make minor changes to. Since you cannot import the pre-existing web pages into the software for editing, you are forced to RE-CREATE every page in the site. For smaller sites this might not be a problem, but my site contains about eighty HTML documents. Redrawing each individual page is not an option for me. Additionally, documentation is absolutely worthless, since the software is bundled with a manual for Freeway PRO (the $279 version). This manual will take you step-by-step through functions and activities that ARE NOT PRESENT in the Express version of the software. You'll spend, as I did, hours of wasted time trying to do a simple task (like import pre-existing HTML for editing) only to discover on the technical support website that the feature you're trying to use is not available in the version of the software you purchased. This is asinine. It's like trying to navigate New York with a road map of DC. Who wants a manual for a piece of software they didn't buy? Personally, I am extremely aggravated that none of this is listed on the box. The fact that Freeway 4 Express does not edit web sites that already exist should be clearly evident on the EXTERIOR of the package. You should not be forced to purchase the software, open it (making it non-returnable), before discovering that it does not perform the tasks you specifically bought it to accomplish. I recommend NVU. This is a completely free software that allows editing of all forms of HTML in a WYSIWYG manner. Unfortunately it is somewhat buggy, but it's also $99 less than Freeway 4 Express-- and lets you do the most basic web editing task: adjust pre-existing HTML. Furthermore, Freeway 4 Express is supposed to be WYSIWYG. If you select a font and style (bold, italics, justified, etc) you should be reasonably certain that the output format will contain that font and that selected style. Not if you're using Freeway 4 Express. No matter what you select, imported text generally shifts to the default "proportional" font, which is Trebuchet. Setting the default font does absolutely nothing. Checking the HTML codes for the outputted pages shows that incorrect style codes are being outputted, REGARDLESS OF THE STYLE YOU SELECT. The software has an annoying habit of crashing unexpectedly as you work on these issues, and very little is more frustrating for a web author with limited experience that is behind a time crunch than beating your head against software that ignores you. If you enjoy frustration, and fighting software that doesn't do what the authors claim it does, then Freeway 4 Express is for you. If you're normal, however, you definitely want to avoid this product.

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• Pilot Papillons

  DGBFebruary 18, 2006

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  Cons

  Summary

  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I needed a quick, simple app to design a site for my Papillon show dogs. The site (pilotpapillons.com) is updated and changed frequently and I don't want the bother and expense of doing this with a paid designer. So, I found Freeway and I've been barking with glee. It's a great . . . no, it's better than that, program and does what I need and more. It took me a little time to get the gist of how it worked because they seem to have been a little slow in getting the documentation up to date and there are many changes. However, when I bogged down, the e-mail help was quite responsive. Also, in many places, the documentation discusses features that are only in Pro but they don't always specifiy that, so it's possible to spend time seaching for something that's not there in Express. Still, it's worth every cent and I'm extremely happy with it.

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• Great

  Jason!September 20, 2004

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  Summary

  This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />One star for shoddy HTML import? I think not. I would give it 4 stars myself, but need to add an extra star to balance out angry posters. This is excellent software, even if it doesn't import some older sites correctly and even if it has built in FTP. Give it a try. You might just be pleasantly surprised!

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