GoLive has overhauled its underpowered Web page builder (the lowercase golive), turning it into a “studio” that aims to provide not only pixel-perfect page layout but also Web site management. CyberStudio is packed with powerful features, but its idiosyncratic methods and steep learning curve can be frustrating.
The package’s many palettes easily fill even a 19-inch screen. This is a shock, but there’s a reason for it. To build a page in CyberStudio, you drag elements from a floating palette (named, simply, Palette) into the Layout tab of the document window. For example, to place an image, you drag an Image tag from the Body section of the Palette onto the Layout section of the document window. Then you click the Browse button in the Image Inspector (a floating palette, similar to the Inspector palette in Adobe’s PageMill). Also you can drag and drop the image file from the Finder or use CyberStudio’s “Point and Shoot” method to link to a placeholder in the Project window. Flexible, yes, but a bit exhausting.
Adding to the screen-side complexity is the fact that CyberStudio’s Frames window shows you the structure but not contents of frames, and the Preview window doesn’t preview a framed page. It runs Java applets and any plug-in that a browser will support (though Shockwave causes rare conflicts) but, strangely, not animated GIFs. You still need to check your work in a real browser.
The way CyberStudio handles tables is more of a problem than in many WYSIWYG editors. To make a table, you drag and drop a Table tag from the Palette (unfortunately, there’s no button or keyboard shortcut). To resize rows or cells, you need to Option-click on only the right side of the row or cell, then drag. CyberStudio does allow you to color individual cell backgrounds and text, but you must color each cell individually, which can be a pain — literally, given CyberStudio’s odd method of selecting colors. First you must check a Color checkbox in the Inspector palette and double-click the color swatch there, which opens the Color Picker. There, you must select a color (look hard for the 216-color Web-safe palette — it’s tiny), which then you must grab from the Color Picker and drag to a little box on the Inspector palette. You must repeat this process for every cell. Page background color selection requires the same process.
If you feel tables are passe, turn to CyberStudio’s Layout Grid. Dragging this element onto the Layout window gives you a resizable grid with snap-to options. Onto this grid you can lay out images, text, whatever, with a precision unavailable in tables. Our layouts repro- duced well in both Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. This precise layout came at the cost of easily readable HTML, though the code still wasn’t as bloated as that produced by NetObjects Fusion 2.0. And how could I tell? Because CyberStudio allows you to view and edit HTML code within the application. Just tab the document window to Source, and there it is, with color-coded tags. Missing only are a spell checker and soft wrap (long lines require a lot of scrolling).
Perhaps what distinguishes CyberStudio most is its site management capabihty. Once you have all the elements of your site set up (e.g., graphics in proper format, all files in a final file structure), just drag the index file into the Project window, and CyberStudio imports the entire site. Then it builds a full site view, complete with all links. In the manner of Adobe SiteMill, it also checks for broken links (internal only) and, in some cases, can repair them. Also, if you make any changes within the site — renaming a page or altering a much-used graphic — CyberStudio propagates the change sitewide, saving you buckets of time.
All in all, CyberStudio has much to offer. Sometimes it offers too much, resulting in a steep learning curve and some annoying quirks. And for all its features, it still doesn’t free you from endless browser checks. Still, in a young field of Web site tools (Microsoft FrontPage and NetObjects Fusion among them), CyberStudio is easily my tool of choice.
Turner, D. D. (October 1997). GoLive CyberStudio 1.1. MacAddict. (pg. 62).
GoLive Systems
Applications
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2014-04-14 / 
5be83768d674935eb308e64502f8459763196b0f / 
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golive_cyberstudio.sit
Emulating this? It could probably run under: 
SheepShaver
