I used the WYSIWIG in older versions of the HTML editor and enjoyed it a lot. I used it until updates in browsers made my site look like a game of Janga after an earthquake. I then started relying heavily on VSD with a little support from the HTML editor. As I used the editor more and more to do more advanced features in my VSD sites I taught myself enough html css to start building sites with it. Early versions were simple but efficient. Then when they put the split screen preview in and dumped the visual support my skills started to sharpen. I'm now converting many of my sites to be adaptive. The reason for any company to make changes to an application is always financially driven. That's why their a company making apps so they can make money. All I can say is VSD and the HTML editor rock!

I always found the Editor's visual designer more of a hindrance than a help, it wasn't nearly as easy to use for WYSIWYG site building as VSD.
Then there was the code view/visual view issue. Since WYSIWYG code tends to be quite different from plain old HTML/CSS, the two didn't always work well together and it was advised to use them as 2 separate programs rather than going back and forth between them.
I started out with VSD, but now use it (if at all) as Halfnium recommends:

I much prefer the Editor as it is now, for me the split-screen view is more useful than the visual design option.
Anyway, there are many, many choices when it comes to site building tools. Google for HTML-WYSIWYG Editor and see what comes up.

Well I thought I had explained that part, but apparently I didn't do it very good lol. Anyways, it truly was a good thing, it was something that needed to be done in order for them to add the new features that we have now. The way the program was coded before it was not possible to give us a lot of the features we needed and in order to do that the visual side had to be taken out as it was getting in the way of trying to add new things. There's no cover up here, no spin, no lying or coniving. It truly was needed to be done for us to get the extra features we wanted much more than the visual design side.

It is called "HTML" Editor after all And the visual part was a total nightmare at the end after all due to the browser problems that were created as time went by. Wasn't worth fixing, was much better to be removed.

Yes there have been other complaints, but to be honest I've seen a whole lot more posts about people loving the new changes and features than I have complaints. Give it a chance and you'll see it's worth the effort, not to mention the small price, to use it. It really is one of the most feature filled editors out there that is easy to use and not overly expensive (watch for sales, they run a lot of those and you can usually get 20% or more off). If you really want something that does what you need, you're going to pay much more than HTML Editor costs for it. I believe you can't get Expression Web for under $200 and DreamWeaver CS6 for less than $400 so it's pretty well an expensive ride for other programs. I've tried a few others and none of them have the features that HTML Editor has, or not all of them as well as the ease of use with quite a few others were like rocket science trying to figure out how to use them lol.

Anyways, I'm babbling, but suffice it to say the removal was indeed necessary in order to upgrade the code needed for the new features. One of the things many of us already knew was that because of the visual editor tab, we couldn't have the features we had been asking for for a long time. It was a very welcome removal for a very lot of HTML Editor users by far.

Jo Ann - i can't really compare what was lost or gained so i can't comment on that and I'll just take your word on it.

For the needs that I had, I actually found a free html editor that does what i need. I wont post a link or mention a name since I'm not trying to spam or detract from your product, not to mention your product does way more. But for my very specific needs at the time, the free editor does what I want.

For my more general needs, I usually just use visual studio. I will say though I've been impressed by the responses here and if my needs change I will come back and take a 2nd look at your products.

Glad you found what you needed Misc. and good luck with your site no matter what software you end up using