I just started using Coffee Cup (under Vista), after years of using HomeSite (which doesn't run under Vista). One of my favorite features is the color highlighting of PHP code. Unfortunately, it doesn't work correctly with Coffee Cup.

It appears as follows:

Note that correct highlighting ends at <count, and after that, nothing works properly, including the comment highlights which worked above.

Is this a "feature" of the free and demo versions which will go away when I purchase the software, or must I live with this forever?


-garison

The full version sort of does that same thing. The program will color the php code, but attempt to retain regular formatting of html code. Since the < is an html start tag, the editor thinks it begins a tag and stops seeing it as php code, then sees the ($phplist); as php code, so it applies the color again. Well, that's what I think is happening. Maybe CoffeeCup has a different answer, or a way to fix this?

Have you tried going into the options under tools/preferences/hightlighting tab and adjust those properties? Maybe there is something there can can be changes to help with php highlighting.

Oh, poo.


Several times. I tried playing around with different settings to figure out what overrides what. I think you're right: CC sees the angle bracket and assumes HTML. According to theory, setting the HTML background color to Default should default to whatever the current background color is, but it doesn't.

Seems like something CC should fix. If they can't, won't, or don't want to, they should send me the source code, and I'll fix it for them.


-garison

Have you started a support ticket at www.coffeecup.com/help . login to your account and ask them if there is a way to make it work?
For most of my php stuff, I mix a lot of html and have always liked the fact that I can find my html code iside of the php code, even if it wasn't perfect. I never saw this as a bug in the code.

You need to pay for the software before you can get support, and I blew all my Christmas money on the new computer.


This is a good idea for a feature, but it's better accomplished by underlining quoted HTML than by stopping the highlight altogether. Plus, as you'll see in my example above, there's no quoted HTML, just regular PHP code.


Is it even possible to get the source code?


-garison

Hello Garison,

You don't have to purchase the HTML Editor to get email support. In fact, we offer the trial version specifically so you can ask us any questions or solve any problems you have before you purchase the software. However, you do have to be a registered user to receive phone support.

Our developers are aware of some issues when dealing with PHP code and highlighting it, so they're working on this for the next version. Unfortunately we don't have any solutions or workarounds at this point. Keep an eye open for new releases through our newsletter, http://www.coffeecup.com/email/

Then you need to hire me immediately.

This is simple. The root of the problem is that "default" is defined as the system or page default. You need to define a default color scheme for each text type (you already have one for PHP, but none for HTML, JavaScript, or Styles). No matter what text type is found while searching, if the foreground or background color is set to default, it should use the default for the context, not the page default.

Next, stop looking for HTML (or JavaScript, or Styles) in a PHP context. If you must search for it, only look in within quotes -- HTML code won't appear anywhere else in a PHP context. If you want to highlight that separately, then add a "quoted HTML" text type.

This is easy: it's the kind of stuff I do in my sleep.

Of course, now that I told you how to do it, you don't have to hire me. Oh, poo.


-garison

Well, I finally figured out how to solve the color-highlighting issue. I switched to TotalEdit. I lose some of the nicer features of CoffeeCup, but the loss of those features is not as annoying as a feature which doesn't work.

-garison

This defect is really annoying, particularly when it is so simple to fix. Any word on when it will be fixed ?

Probably annoying, which is why I switched. I recently moved to RapidPHP which has more features than CoffeeCup, and gets the highlighting correct.

My feeling is that this is such an easy problem to fix that CoffeeCup's unwillingness to do so is an indication they don't really care about their customers.

The test of a company's devotion to customers is in how fast they fix the little stuff, not the major issues. If a feature blows up while you're using it, you can get around that bug by not using that feature. Something that's in your face every time you use the software needs to be fixed, no matter how minor the company thinks it is. It's the little stuff that drives away customers.