I really love this program, but IMO it needs to be more customizable in the UI and features.
UI
I wish the HTML and CSS sections were on the right side of the app
instead of the bottom. It feels so cramped there, but that's my
opinion.
I would also like for each section of the UI (Overview, HTML/CSS,
Options, etc.) to have it's own tab that can be moved and docked
anywhere on the app similar to most modern applications with a tab
interface.
Features
I would like more freedom using Bootstrap elements. Right now many
Boostrap elements seem to be 'locked' from modification and the only
way to edit them is to convert them to custom code (which is a bad
feature that I will explain later). I wish I could duplicate them as
my own and modify them without converting them to custom code.
The custom code feature is just frustrating when I have to resort to
it. After converting my HTML structure to custom code - or importing
one - I lose the HTML hierarchy in the Overview and I am no longer
able to select anything within it on the viewport and I can no longer
easily add classes and IDs to elements. IMO instead of the custom
code feature, BS should just use imported HTML just like anything
else in the program and still be able to use the features of the
program to edit it.
Remove the restrictions of placing certain elements within others.
Several times I needed to place an element within another, but the
program did not allow it which then forces me to find dumb work
arounds or convert to custom code and lose everything that the
program was supposed to make editing the code faster. This IMO makes
things more frustrating when I want to do something that I could do
by hand, but not with this program. Please do something about it.
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Aside from these flaws that I hope eventually are fixed in newer versions, this program is really amazing and I love it so much! It allows me to make things that would've taken about a week by hand, just in a day. This program has really improved my productivity! I really hope that these great developers consider my criticisms and hopefully fix them in the future. This program was one of the best $25 I've spent!
The biggest issue I see at this time with Bootstrap Studio is the use of a single, binary file for storing the work product. There are so many issues in this design that it should be very explicit on the features page so people understand what they are getting into.
My aversion to a single, binary file comes from years of experience both with PowerBuilder (aka the pebble file) and RapidWeaver V5. Ever try to recover work from a corrupted binary file? Try using version control against it. It doesn't happen. The entire file has to be versioned and seeing what changed between commits is impossible in most cases. At least with PowerBuilder someone developed a tool to help with pebble file corruption (which turned out to be pretty common at the time).
@austin30 thatnks for the great suggestions, i hope the developer will implement most of those. I also think the UI must be more customizable. In my office i have 2 large monitors, so i'd love to move some panes on my second monitor, and i have an old laptop with a 15.6" scree where i'd love to rearrange panes too.
Well Sunday found me starting detailed use of Bootstrap Studio and running into the walls of the application. BSS reminds me very much of RapidWeaver where everything has to be done in the application. RapidWeaver though allowed nearly unlimited customization where BSS prevents me from doing some things completely, such as saying where to set the <link /> statements for CSS or JavaScript files. This prevented me from moving an attached JS file from the bottom of the page where BSS put it to the top of the page where it needed to be. As a result, the page did not load correctly when viewing.
While some will see BSS as a bargain at the $25 price point, I cannot concur. In the end, I used a few other tools, got the wife's website coded for bootstrap and all within a few hours.
Without a demo that can be loaded on the my system, it was near impossible to determine just how hindered I would feel within the confines of BSS. The online, web demo is not sufficient for a complete evaluation, at least to me.