Softpress Systems Freeway 4 Express (Mac)

by SOFTPRESS

Product Features

• Easy Web-site creation software for students, hobbyists, or beginners
• User-friendly interface; effortlessly add multimedia, Quick- Time, and Flash
• Easy graphic-edge effects; graphic text effects; object transparency
• Mix characters from many languages with unicode; built-in preview
• Publish site in clean, reliable HTML 4; integrated .Mac upload

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000BJL7R0
• Item model number: SPXBJE40001R
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,902 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #17 in Software > Web Development > Web Site Hosting
  • #83 in Software > Web Development > Web Page Editors

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Freeway 4 Express brings the same simple approach to Web design as Freeway 4, at a price that fits the needs of students, hobbyists, or beginners. Start out with an idea and produce a complete Web site, with drag-and-drop ease. You'll see great-looking results immediately!

Design.

• Enjoy the friendly interface. Quickly assemble exactly the site you want to see--without any need for hand coding.
• Use original art in most formats and let Freeway automatically render it to the correct Web format. Effortlessly add multimedia, Quick- Time, and Flash to your pages.
• Use any active font to create graphic headlines and text elements, right in your design.

Build.

• Enjoy seeing your design develop while you work. Make changes and don’t worry--when you publish, Freeway completely rewrites the code to accurately express your ideas.
• Use Master Pages to create consistent elements across your site, and update the entire site in one simple step!
• View your pages in the internal preview, or in any browser on your Mac, with one click.

Publish.

• Enjoy the process--you never have to worry about missing or out-of-date elements in your site.
• Publish your site in clean, reliable HTML 4. Upload using Freeway’s smart incremental FTP or automatic .Mac upload.
• Freeway’s resilient output ensures compatibility with the widest range of browsers and platforms. All without writing any code by hand!

Features:

Easy Graphic-Edge Effects
Use the new example-driven interface to select and refine shadows, glows, edge shapes, and more--quickly!

Graphic Text Effects
Create exciting edge effects, shadows, and glows--even rough edges--on graphic text. You won’t need to leave Freeway, and you won’t need to modify your original artwork or create multiple versions.

Transparency
Freeway 3 introduced a fully transparent graphic compositing engine, but Freeway 4 takes that idea to the next level. Any object on the page, even characters of type, can have transparency or variable opacity.

When you overlap two transparent objects, Freeway will either composite them together, or maintain them as separate layered objects in the final layout. Anti-aliasing to blend overlapping colors is automatically calculated.

Unicode--Because It's Not Such a Small, Small World
Unicode text allows you to mix characters from many languages within a single line of text. Visitors to your site don’t need to have special fonts for each language, or to select the page language from a list--it just works. Each Unicode font can contain tens of thousands of characters or glyphs.

Editable Graphic Text
Use any font installed on your Mac to create graphic headlines or other decorative elements. All of the effects above can be applied to the text--even on a character-by-character basis. Use advanced kerning, tracking, baseline shift, and more to refine your typographical message. Use any color or combination of colors you like. When you publish, a graphic will be created out of the text. The text remains editable within Freeway.

New Interface
Carefully designed to make it easier to focus on your design, while keeping everything you need close at hand:

• The redesigned Inspector dynamically resizes itself to present just the tools you need for the current selection
• The new Site panel makes it easy to create pages or folders, and to organize your site quickly
• The new configurable toolbar allows you to personalize Freeway to your own working style
• Contextual pop-up menus come to life with a Control-click (or right-click on a multi-button mouse) and present the most-used options for the current selection
• Scroll wheel support allows you to blaze through large documents
• Dynamic Site Panel allows site arrangement, drag-and-drop, object selection, and more
• Page Preview using the same rendering engine as Apple Safari--check a page in a genuine browser view without publishing your entire site

From the Managing Director: Freeway 4 Express is here...and it’s a humdinger! It looks great and it’s full of powerful new features that will help you make better sites than ever before. While we know how much you’ve loved Express 3.5, Freeway 4 Express is a real step upwards... but it is also different. Here at Softpress Towers we had a look at the feature mix between Pro and Express and have decided to re-align them a bit.

So you get a whole slew of new features, but you lose a few as well:

• No Styles--no ability to specify and maintain Styles (this doesn’t preclude you from styling text in any way)
• No named colors (all the colors are available, and you can employ any color on any text or item)
• Grids are gone (guides remain)
• You’re no longer able to specify custom documents (though you can still adjust dimensions once you’ve started a site)
• The Transform dialog is gone along with the Skew and Mirror tools (scaling transformations are still available for graphic content)

All of these features are still to be found in Pro--now have a look at the What’s New! I think it’s a small price to pay, and one worth paying, for the simplification of the interface. I think you’ll find, as will new users, that Freeway 4 Express is punching well above its weight, and is astounding value for money.

Some of Freeway’s powerful and unique features include:

Multiple Master Pages
Designing a Web site using master pages is one of the keys to the amazing level of productivity that can be achieved with Freeway. Master pages are used for repeating features such as layout, navigation bars, page backgrounds, and graphic elements. Use as many different master pages as required.

Layout Tools
Including zoom and ruler features, all with both graphical and numeric controls for accurate positioning. Content can be placed in overlapping boxes, text on graphic, text on text, graphic on graphic, even text on animated GIFs! Drag and drop directly into Freeway from most applications (for example iPhoto, iTunes, Extensis Portfolio, iView Media Pro, and so on).

Other Notable Freeway 4 Features:

• Built-in preview within Freeway (Safari/Webkit)
• Integrated .Mac upload
• Navigation Pack supplied separately as free open source software
• Spotlight compatibility in Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger)

Improved Graphics Handling

• Graphic box effects, Text effects--shadow, glow, emboss, blur, scatter
• Vector effects (wobble and crack), Border types (dashing, dotted)
• Graphics and Graphics Extra FAST packs are built into Freeway 4: Sharpen, Blur, Watermark, ChromaKey, Duotone, Fade, FillMaster, PhotoFrame, PhotoMagic, Posterize, Scan Lines, Solarize, Sharpen, Saturate, Linear Blur, Impress, Hue Rotate, ChromaKey, Advanced Fade

Product Description

Freeway 4 Express brings the same simple approach to Web design as Freeway 4, at a price that fits the needs of students, hobbyists or beginners. Start out with an idea and produce a complete Website, with drag-and-drop ease. You'll see great-looking results immediately!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flexible, easy-to-use software and a good value for the money!, December 31, 2005

By 

Paul Rego (Asheville, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Softpress Systems Freeway 4 Express (Mac) (CD-ROM)

I have written an in-depth review of "Freeway 4 Express" for the local Macintosh Asheville Computer Society (M.A.C.S.) -- complete with screenshots (one is interactive) and example graphics. Here is the text version of that review...

Freeway 4 Express

Ratings: (5 possible)

Features: 4.5-Clicks

Ease of Use: 4.5-Clicks

Documentation: 3.5-Clicks

Value for the Money: 5-Clicks

Overall Rating: 4.5-Clicks

Requirements: Mac OS 10.2.8 or higher.

Version Reviewed: 4.0.3

Pros:

* "Graphics", "Graphics Extra" and "Navigation" FAST Packs are built in!

* More flexibility in text and photo effects -- in addition to the included FAST Packs!

* Handy new "back / forward" tool.

* New "Preview" feature.

* New, versatile "Site Panel" lists how many bytes a page consists of, how many files make up that page and can change into a "Page" Panel -- without any workspace clutter!

* The "Compare/Upload" now works as it's supposed to.

* Handy Contextual menus.

* "Group" feature allows Groups within Groups.

* Handy blue triangles on top-left and bottom-right corner of objects, indicate which part of that object will be seen on a Web page.

Cons:

* Can't enter a color code, in order to create an exact color used in another program.

* Cannot name customized colors (Was in previous version).

* Cannot rotate Grouped objects.

* No Mirror and Skew tools (Was in previous version).

* No Text Styles (Was in previous version).

* Thorough documentation requires downloading the 3.5 manual.

Company: Softpress Systems Ltd.

What Is It?

Freeway is the most flexible, good value for the money, web page design program I have ever used -- and you get to work in WYSIWYG (pronounced WIZ-ee-wig, which stands for "What You See Is What You Get"). This means, items on your web pages, such as a title or picture, will be seen by visitors to your site, in the same location, size, etc., as you created them.

Yes, there are other programs out there but they all seem to come with some sort of "baggage"... The text-based (non WYSIWYG) programs are much more powerful than Freeway but, even though I know how to write programs, I don't want to have to tackle HTML, with all its variations and quirks, just to create a good looking web page. The other WYSIWYG programs are too expensive, too difficult to use and are over-bloated with features which I will never use.

I've been using Freeway Express since Fall of 2003 and even with this new version, I still find it easy, flexible and nearly effortless to use. Currently, the M.A.C.S. website consists of 45 pages, 179 graphic items, 237 URLs (web addresses), countless text boxes and consumes 10MB of web space! Keeping track of all this manually would be a headache! I trust Freeway and it carries out every task just as it should. Remember, when a program, such as Freeway is well written, it makes our job easy, but behind the scenes it must do a lot of work to make us look good. If I change the name of a web page, Freeway will automatically change that name in every link which references that page within my document. Because of HTML's limitations, when Freeway uses my page name as the file name, it will remove the spaces in file names and truncate them to the correct number of characters.

If I add a graphic or title to a Master Page, Freeway will automatically display those elements in any web page I assigned to that Master Page. It manages all of my components so well that Freeway will even present me with a list of all the graphics, URLs and fonts used. With the click of a button, Freeway will show me where I used a specific graphic. I can instantly verify any URL, including my site, to see if that web page is still valid. I can even have Freeway automatically change my used font -- change Times to Verdana, for example--throughout all my web pages!

Keep in mind that all of this is in the Freeway 4 "Express" I'm using now. There is a bigger brother, Freeway 4 "Pro", which is even MORE helpful.

The Interface

If you've been using a previous version of Freeway, the most obvious change is the Interface. The layout of palettes and tools has been redesigned and rearranged, making the entire work area more efficient and friendlier.

I like the way the Inspector palette automatically expands and contracts, according to which type of object you select -- text, graphic, edit mode for text or graphic, etc.

In version 3.5, I used to keep my "Site" palette on the right side of the screen and its size to a minimum. (The "Site" palette shows all your web pages and their associated text and graphic objects.) In version 4, this is called the "Site Panel" and is permanently attached to the left side of the screen. At first, I didn't like the idea of dedicating an entire column of workspace to a list of my pages and their associated text and graphics pieces.

I also didn't like the idea of not having a Tools palette --as in Freeway Express 3.5. Instead, there is a "Toolbar" across the top of the window which contains your "Select" and "Zoom" tools as well as some other quick-access features. Two of these items, which I often use, are labeled "HTML" and "Graphic". I found it a bit confusing at first whenever I reached for these "tools", because they look like menu icons. In fact, each is a pop-out menu. However, simply clicking on either one, as you would normally do with any other "tool" icon, WILL select that tool.

After working with this cleaner, simpler interface for awhile, I find it friendlier and easier to work with than in the previous version. As for the new "Site Panel", if the top of that column is clicked, the contents of the column will change from listing all your Master and regular pages (and their associated objects) to listing all contents of the "page" you are currently working on (and the pieces which pertain to it). This column can also be resized horizontally or closed completely, providing you with even more valuable workspace. A quick double-click on the column's right edge will instantly snap it back to its previous width.

The Toolbar also has a Forward and Back button -- just like a Browser. How many times, while I was working in Freeway Express 3.5, I had wished for this type of feature. Sometimes, you end up jumping through your pages checking things or trying to locate something. Then, once you find it, you can't remember which page you wanted to go back to. With this feature, a few clicks will take you right there! Thank you Softpress!

More Graphics Features!

Probably the most flexible and fun feature of version 4 is the expanded graphic elements you can apply to photos AND text. In previous versions, text was limited to fonts and colors. If you wanted to edit a photo, you had to buy the "Graphics FAST Pack" add-on (more on this below). However, in this new version you simply highlight your text (maybe it's the title of a page) and there, in the Inspector palette, are a handful of new treatments with nearly an infinite number of combinations! Outline, Emboss, Shadow, Lighting and Scatter are the main options for text effects. Within those main options are controls for Opacity, Offset, Color, Specular, Diffuse, Angle, Thickness, and whether the border is straight, wavy or spiked, etc. With imported images you have additional features such as Glow and Blur.

Keep in mind that all these effects are "non-destructive"! This means you can apply one or several effects to an object and later change any aspect without removing all the effects and starting over.

* No more "FAST Packs"! (yay!) The Softpress "Graphics", "Graphics Extra" and "Navigation" FAST Packs are now built into Freeway 4 Express and Freeway 4 Pro! (The "Navigation Pack" allows you to create pop-out menus for your Web pages.) This means you get even more text- and graphic-manipulation features for less money. Here is a list of the graphics features. Maybe they should be called "modules", because each has a number of specialized controls and all of these are IN ADDITION to the graphics effects I mentioned above:

Duo Tone

Fade

Fill Master

Photo Frame

Photo Magic

Posterize

Scan Lines

New Features

Advanced Fade

Blur

Chroma Key

Hue Rotate

Impress (Emboss)

Linear Blur

Saturate

Sharpen

Solarize

Watermark

Why do all these graphics features matter?... By having these options within the Freeway program, you won't have to launch and switch back-and-forth between Freeway and Photoshop (or some other graphics program) whenever you want to adjust a photo or add some flare to a title. If you don't own Photoshop, Freeway has just saved you even more money. You'll find that most of the text designs and photo re-touching you want to perform can be done just as well within this one program.

More New Features

* Handy Contextual menus.

* Softpress added a handy "Group" feature. Groups within Groups are possible and each object and group can be moved within the larger grouped area. Very flexible.

* Handy blue triangles on the top-left and bottom-right corner of each object, which indicate which part of that object will be published (seen by a visitor to your website). If an object sticks out past the edge of a page, while you're working in Freeway, these blue triangles reposition themselves automatically and let you know which part of that item will be cut off and not... Read more ›

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Program for the Money, January 31, 2006

By 

Kgirl (Providence, RI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Softpress Systems Freeway 4 Express (Mac) (CD-ROM)

I had been using Adobe Pagemill but didn't want to spend $400 (GoLive) for a new Web design program for OSX. I only need to update and re-design my Web site every now and then, and I am not fluent in html. Freeway 4 Express is great. I tried the free trial of GoLive and was just overwhelmed...Then I tried the free trial of Freeway 4 Express. It didn't take any time at all to get a page designed, and I added a few fun effects that I didn't have with Pagemill. A great buy for the money if you just want to drag and drop and maybe use a little html.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for the novice web site builder, December 18, 2005

By 

Tom Poore (South Euclid, OH) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Softpress Systems Freeway 4 Express (Mac) (CD-ROM)

I intend this review for those with no programing or web site building experience. When I needed a web site, I found price quotes for building one to be out of my range. Further, many of the "build your own" internet web sites are incomprehensible, and it's often hard to find out what the final cost will be. For less than $100, Softpress Freeway 4 Express allows you to build your own site on your own computer at your own leisure, without having to learn computerese. I've had this software for about a year and a half, using it to make and maintain two web sites. It was surprisingly easy to learn--I was able to rough out a web site within an hour. If you've learned how to use any reasonably complex software (Photoshop, Finale, etc.), then chances are that Freeway Express won't stump you.

Like most software today, the main manual must be accessed by computer. But Freeway Express comes with a "Getting Started" handbook. This is one of the clearest, best written software manuals I've ever encountered. Having done some instructional writing myself, I appreciate how hard it is to do. Kudos to the technical writing team. Softpress has an online help service that's quick and responsive. I actually got a question answered within an hour on New Year's Day. Unlike many online help services, the Softpress staff seems able to quickly grasp what I'm asking and provide the appropriate answer. There's also an online knowledge base where you can find many articles about some of Freeway's more arcane features.

Although Freeway Express generally works well, it has its quirks. If you're building a very large site, it sometimes crashes unexpectedly. So save frequently. Also, Freeway's "what you see is what you get" capability is sometimes a bit flakey. I've run into situations where the browser version of a certain item in a web page didn't match what I'd built. Usually I could find a way to resolve this, but it's annoying nonetheless. I've run into these problems only when working on a large site (my web site has over 80 pages), so if your site is smaller, you may never encounter these glitches.

Freeway Express is a stripped down version of Freeway Pro. So you won't get all the bells and whistles of a more expensive web site builder. One omission is that there's no provision for drawing lines, and drawing lines, at least for me, is an important part of designing a web page. But if you bring a little cleverness to the task, you can often find a workaround. (I draw lines by creating a graphic box, filling it with whatever color I want, then collapsing it in one dimension.) That being said, Freeway Express does everything I need. I can post photos, audio mp3 samples (I'm a musician), and even a video (someday I'll get around to that). For business owners, you can include a PayPal purchase button, or you can link to any other internet site. (I have a Christmas CD advertised on my site, with a direct link to its Amazon listing.)

A warning: Freeway Express won't save aesthetically impaired people from themselves. If you have a good eye and some design acumen, then you should be able to make a spiffy looking site. But if you've no eye at all, then Freeway will empower you to build a dreadfully ugly site. If you're not good at design, consider using one of Freeway's templates, or you can steal (sorry, borrow) ideas from other web sites.

Since I'm writing this review for those with no experience in building a web site, here are a few things I wish I'd known when I got started:

1) If you have a large screen monitor, don't use the entire screen width when building a web page. On smaller monitor screens, your web site will force people to scroll from side to side to see the full page. (When I build a web page, I don't go any wider than 700 pixels.)

2) Graphic items load slower than html text items. So when building a page, bear in mind that going nuts with graphic items means your page might load very slowly for those using dialup. Also remember that search engines can't read text in graphic items.

3) Take to heart some good advice that was given to me: "Web sites are content driven." This means that people visit web sites because they're looking for information, not a show. So rather than trying to produce a visual extravaganza, build a lean and clean site that's easy to navigate and has excellent content.

By the way, when I first tried to upload my site, two well regarded web host companies gave me incorrect information for uploading. Fortunately, an e-mail to Softpress online support solved this problem. After that, uploading was a snap.

For me, Freeway Express has been the way to go. I like being able to maintain my own site, and if my web host suddenly goes belly up, I've got my site on my computer and also backed up on an external hard drive. (Considering the amount of work that goes into a large web site, you might also want to further back up your site by saving it on another external source.) I also like that I don't have to go through a web master every time I want to tinker with my site. To be sure, there's a learning curve. But I found it relatively painless, and my profanity quotient while learning this software was much lower than with other software I've wrestled with. In fact, I rather enjoy tinkering with my site. So if you've hesitated to do it yourself because you think you lack the necessary skills, you may want to reconsider. Freeway Express can get you going.

Softpress allows you to download a trial version of Freeway Express. So you can try before you buy. If you want to see what can be done by someone with no particular programing or design experience, do an online search for "pooretom."