5 Time Saving Coda Features

Evening Tip: 5 Time Saving Coda Features

on Aug 27th 2008 with 57 comments

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.

Tags: mac
 
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Sean Nelson is a college freshman majoring in Visual Communication Technology. He spends his time working in his high school's tech department, doing freelance work, playing frisbee, and drinking Jones Soda.  

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  • godonholiday

    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

  • http://www.triversedesigns.com/ Jaymie Jones

    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

  • http://www.ara-abcarians.com/blog Ara Abcarians

    Awesome! I can’t believe I never knew about Clips.

    I always use Coda when I am on my mac, it is fantastic.

  • http://paulgendek.com Paul Gendek

    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!

  • http://no no

    no sir

  • http://cyberantix.org Connor

    Man I wish I had a mac…

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  • http://www.solutiondesigns.net Philo

    Using Coda for 1 year now! Its awesome, and it has some great features!

  • http://www.subooa.com mattems

    Coda is fantastic (one of the few apps i have purchased)…

    Love the built in ssh as well!

  • ST

    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.

  • http://bradysewall.com Brady

    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.

  • http://anthonyshort.com.au Anthony Short

    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 :)

  • http://frater8.blogspot.com christian

    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!!

  • http://www.jsbwebdesign.com Joe

    The things you will miss on a PC, the list gets rather long and depressing to look at sometimes. Coda looks really cool though.

  • http://www.christinawarren.com Christina Warren

    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.

  • http://curtisallenblog.com curtis allen

    Awesome, tutorial guys keep up the good work.

  • http://thejoey.net Joe Casabona

    Great tips! I downloaded Coda a while ago and it instantly because my favorite app.

  • http://www.insicdesigns.info insic

    too bad im not using mac

    • jgnet

      I love using a Mac, I only wish I’d have IE running on Leopard (to test my websites for cross-browser).

  • http://www.insicdesigns.info insic

    @Joe Casabona i think you mean ‘became’ not ‘because’

  • Coachy

    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.

  • http://www.freshclickmedia.com Shane

    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.

  • http://www.freshclickmedia.com Shane

    Oops – I meant TextMate :)

  • http://enhance.qd-creative.co.uk James

    Are you trying to make me abandon my loyal PC and in it’s stead buy a MAC? never!!!

  • http://www.larondedesfromages.com Sylvain

    Too bad i’m not using mac too !
    I prefer use KomodoEdit, with macros and snippets and a bunch of plugins ;)

  • http://www.darrenmcpherson.co.uk Gafroninja

    @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.

  • http://www.ben-griffiths.com Ben Griffiths

    I really wish this was available on windows :(

  • http://www.larondedesfromages.com Sylvain

    Ben Griffiths > a linux port should be appreciable !

  • Erik

    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.

  • http://www.codethirteen.com/ Paul

    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.

  • http://www.broof.de BroOf

    It looks interesting but i prefer dreamweaver CS3. Anyway nice article!

  • http://www.fractal-frog.com fractalfrog

    For even more Coda Clips goodness, check: http://coda-clips.com/

  • http://www.online-photoshoptutorials.com Steve Tolley

    Is there a similar version of this for windows, as at the moment i dont have enough money for a Mac :( ?

  • http://www.larondedesfromages.com Sylvain

    Steve try Komodo Edit, it’s not as pretty as Coda but you can customize it with some plugins and snippets !

  • http://www.freshivore.net Vince

    I’ve tried Coda and although it’s a great app, It just can’t tear me away from my beloved Textmate.

  • http://talkingtofu2.iblogger.org/blog/ Taylor Satula

    Aaaah the sadness of having win xp. Wish I had a mac

  • http://jengermann.com Jen Germann

    Wow, thanks. There’s three very useful tips here I didn’t know about!

  • http://profiterror.de Not to mention

    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.

  • http://www.Oskard.be Jbcarey

    nothing new here… good tips.

  • http://divindes.com Max Monastyrev

    WTF, MAC? Vista or nothing.

  • Aaron

    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.

  • http://www.studio-nineteen.de Viktor

    I’ve used Coda for more than year now and I didn’t discover these features :D
    Thx!

  • fred

    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.

  • http://creatingdrew.com Drew Douglass

    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.

  • http://john.onolan.org JohnONolan

    Awsome tips. I’m going to be purchasing Coda this month so these should definitely come in handy!

  • http://alishabdar.com Ali

    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

    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:D and much cheaper

  • Connor Gibbons

    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.

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  • http://www.alexanderdickson.com alex

    Great.. thanks for sharing. :)

    I am going to try and suggest some other features to Panic soon too!

  • http://MileHighTechGuy.com MileHighTechGuy

    I love Coda, but one thing I feel Coda is missing is folder/file synchronization. Occassionaly I have to go back to Dreamweaver to sync my files.

    Can’t live without the clips feature :)

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