Panic Inc.'s application "Coda" is, in my opinion, a terrific application for the Mac OS X platform. It's single window interface keeps things organized and eliminates the cluttered desktop that typically plagues web designers and programmers. What I like most about Coda is all of it's time saving features. Here are my top 5:
1. Built in reference guides.
Do you often find yourself pulling out your programming books for quick reference? Coda helps save you a trip to the book shelf. Included are the HTML, CSS, Javascript, and PHP “Web Programmer's Desk Reference” reference guides. Even better, they are searchable and integrated into the app's Programming Hints banner.
Visit the Books section by clicking the Books button in the Toolbar or by pressing Command+6.
2. Blockedit
This is probably my favorite feature. Hold down the Option key and select a block of text (or an empty block) and start typing. Coda mimics the text you type to all of the lines selected. This is perfect for adding a long list of links, lists, or putting navs together.
There are a couple of different ways to do this. Select a block of text and go Text > Blockedit Selection (Shift+Command+3), or just hold down Option while selecting the text (the cursor will turn into a crosshairs).
3. Clips
Clips will store your favorite text clippings into an easy to reach widget. Coda provides you with the famous Lorem Ipsum filler text and some Doctypes to start, but you can easily add your own by pressing the Plus button at the bottom. Rather than typing things over and over again, click and drag a clip to your document and you're done.
I use it to store my CSS document template and some common includes.
4. Built in Code Validation
Always visiting validator.w3.org to make sure your HTML is good to go? Coda has HTML and XHTML code validation built in (sorry, no CSS). Follow the warning triangles and read the balloons to get an idea of what's wrong. Coda will continue to re-validate your document as you edit it until it's turned off.
5. Split Editing
Split editing is great for when you need quick reference to other files without needing to switch tabs. In your file browser on the left, Control+Click on a file and choose Open in Split.
I like to have my CSS in one Split and my HTML in another. That way I always know what elements I need to edit.
You can read more about Coda on Panic's Website.
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User Comments
( ADD YOURS )godonholiday August 27th
I have found CODA so useful when trying to play around with WordPress files. I just split the screen and preview in the bottom half. I am sure there are lots of programs that can do this, but CODA seems to do everything well. I have dreamweaver but haven’t used it since downloading CODA.
( )Nice tips
Jaymie Jones August 27th
Great little post. I found CODA to be a great all-round tool with so many functions. There are a few minor things it may lack but they aren’t missed much. Great tips btw
( )Ara Abcarians August 27th
Awesome! I can’t believe I never knew about Clips.
I always use Coda when I am on my mac, it is fantastic.
( )Paul Gendek August 27th
I never use split or the other tabs, I just love how quick my workflow has gotten since I started using Coda. Clips are a must though!
Coda 1.5 is out! They added AppleScript support, Subversion, and a bunch of other stuff!
Finally! Auto-sorting of saved sites!
( )no August 27th
no sir
( )Connor August 27th
Man I wish I had a mac…
( )Philo August 27th
Using Coda for 1 year now! Its awesome, and it has some great features!
( )mattems August 27th
Coda is fantastic (one of the few apps i have purchased)…
Love the built in ssh as well!
( )ST August 27th
Coda seems nice (I’m using it in demo mode right now) but I spent alot on Dreamweaver and, while clunky, it does most (or at least has some feature somewhat similar) of what you list here.
I also have so many accounts set up in Dreamweaver for ftp that switching them would (assuming I can find all of the passwords… ugh, my albatross is old ftp passwords that I have forgotten and cannot easily find) be daunting to say the least. I’ll have to stay with Dreamweaver though if I were just starting out Coda would probably be my weapon of choice.
( )Brady August 27th
I also use Coda for the majority of my development. A big feature I love with the recent 1.5 release is built-in SVN (subversion) and the ability to automatically indent wrapped lines of code (in preferences > editor). Rarely do I have a need for Dreamweaver anymore.
( )Anthony Short August 27th
A couple of other things I love about Coda:
- It can process PHP files internally. No web server needed. Very handy when using Shaun Inman’s CSS Cacheer. Althought there’s some tricks to it. http://www.shauninman.com/archive/2008/05/30/check_out_css_cacheer
( )- If you set up your server a particular way, you can edit ExpressionEngine templates and watch it change live. http://expressionengine.com/blog/entry/live_preview_with_coda_and_other_ides/
- It now has an svn client built right in.
- It’s pretty
christian August 27th
Dreamweaver has a couple things about its interface that i like to use very very intermittently. Otherwise it’s a bloated hog.
Passwords from Dreamweaver I believe are kept in Keychain Access. They aren’t labelled with the domain, just a general number.
Coda has become my development app of choice. Some of the new features have moved me from BBEdit also. And I’ve suggested many features to Panic and they actually do get back to you. Go Panic!!
( )Joe August 27th
The things you will miss on a PC, the list gets rather long and depressing to look at sometimes. Coda looks really cool though.
( )Christina Warren August 27th
Coda is far and away one of my favorite applications — not just development tools, applications. 1.5 has made it even better. I sometimes prefer to use CSSEdit for CSS editing or TextMate for certain stuff, but for almost everything, Coda is amazing and even if I start out with other tools, I know I can integrate them into Coda perfectly.
( )curtis allen August 27th
Awesome, tutorial guys keep up the good work.
( )Joe Casabona August 27th
Great tips! I downloaded Coda a while ago and it instantly because my favorite app.
( )insic August 27th
too bad im not using mac
( )jgnet June 3rd
I love using a Mac, I only wish I’d have IE running on Leopard (to test my websites for cross-browser).
( )insic August 27th
@Joe Casabona i think you mean ‘became’ not ‘because’
( )Coachy August 27th
Hi, very cool, i love Coda. Iam wondering if somebody knows a good software like Coda for windows,so that i can use my second pc better hehe.
( )Shane August 28th
Great set of tips. I’m not a coda user, preferring at the moment to use TextEdit on my Mac, but subversion support in 1.5 is a big plus for me.
I think I’m going to take the plunge and buy a copy – it’s great value too!
Cheers.
( )Shane August 28th
Oops – I meant TextMate
( )James August 28th
Are you trying to make me abandon my loyal PC and in it’s stead buy a MAC? never!!!
( )Sylvain August 28th
Too bad i’m not using mac too !
( )I prefer use KomodoEdit, with macros and snippets and a bunch of plugins
Gafroninja August 28th
@james Of course not *mac*, Why would we *mac* want to do that? *mac*. If it does the *mac* job then why *mac* change?
I use both mac and pc work and at *mac* home. I do prefer my mac for development *mac* and general browsing. My pc is for *mac* testing ie6+7 and gaming.
I use textmate for the record, but I am intrigued with coda. The only thing that prevented me from buying it was svn support and other little things. But now it seems buyable. *mac*
cheers,
( )Gafroninja.
Ben Griffiths August 28th
I really wish this was available on windows
( )Sylvain August 28th
Ben Griffiths > a linux port should be appreciable !
( )Erik August 28th
I’ve wanted Coda for so long that I’m thinking about replacing my old Dell laptop with a Macbook Air, these tips certainly makes it an even easier decision.
( )Paul August 28th
I’m with Erik, it seems my work and life would be made much simpler by purchasing a Mac, even though I am otherwise very happy developing on windows.
( )BroOf August 28th
It looks interesting but i prefer dreamweaver CS3. Anyway nice article!
( )fractalfrog August 28th
For even more Coda Clips goodness, check: http://coda-clips.com/
( )Steve Tolley August 28th
Is there a similar version of this for windows, as at the moment i dont have enough money for a Mac
?
( )Sylvain August 28th
Steve try Komodo Edit, it’s not as pretty as Coda but you can customize it with some plugins and snippets !
( )Vince August 28th
I’ve tried Coda and although it’s a great app, It just can’t tear me away from my beloved Textmate.
( )Taylor Satula August 28th
Aaaah the sadness of having win xp. Wish I had a mac
( )Jen Germann August 28th
Wow, thanks. There’s three very useful tips here I didn’t know about!
( )Not to mention August 29th
I really believe this is a great tool. They should sell it for Win too, would be so cool!
OT: @ Taylor Satula: All in all it’s the sadness of the marketing policy of Apple. This is no flaming, it’s just that they do what Win-users always were and are frightened of: Monopolism through one-and-only-platform-policy. Only cause it’s not MS it doesn’t mean that they can’t have an aggressive strategy. That’s my view, just wanted to say that.
( )Jbcarey August 29th
nothing new here… good tips.
( )Max Monastyrev September 2nd
WTF, MAC? Vista or nothing.
( )Aaron September 2nd
Another feature in the new 1.5 is multi-file find/replace. It was sorely lacking in the 1.0 version.
I am not flaming anyone or any OS, I use/like all for their various strengths. The reason I have stayed with mac (at least running OS X) is that I can run ASP and .NET (and edit the pages in Coda through a mounted share) on my XP Pro VM. I can also run MAMP on the Unix underpinnings of Mac OS X. Or even LAMP in another VM running Ubuntu or some-such. It is the best of all developer worlds in my opinion. Before Parallels or VM Ware, I needed at least two machines (if not 3) to truly test and deploy webapps. Now I just need the one.
( )Viktor September 21st
I’ve used Coda for more than year now and I didn’t discover these features
( )Thx!
fred September 26th
I’ve tried Coda, but I just can’t seem to get to like it, at least not enough to move away from TextMate… It’s prettier, but TextMate is another notch of power and usability, even if TM doesn’t have built-in reference guides.
( )Drew Douglass September 30th
I use coda all the time and have to say it is my absolute favorite, well worth the money spent. Thanks for the great article, the clippings are really convenient.
( )JohnONolan February 3rd
Awsome tips. I’m going to be purchasing Coda this month so these should definitely come in handy!
( )Ali February 9th
I tried TextMate, Dreamweaver, CSSEdit, Espresso. But Coda is my choice so far (still have 7 days trial!)
They are all great tools but I think coda kinda got it all in a small yet powerful package. No more Cmd+Tab around editor/browser/terminal/ftp app!
( )Jay July 22nd
Coda is so much easier to use that Dreamweaver, Coda’s simple and gives you the key features you need, without adding crap and forcing you to hand code it helps in the long run, also better looking than dreamweaver
:D and much cheaper
( )Connor Gibbons October 17th
What is the nicest, slickest Windows app that is comparable to Coda? For other various reasons (mostly $$$) I prefer to stick with my PC and I would like to find something like this for my OS.
( )