Distributed Web Content Authoring Tools

This page captures information on several early distributed Web content authoring tools. These tools had some influence on the first several years of deliberations of the WebDAV working group. The list also demonstrated knowledge of existing authoring tools by leaders and members of the working group.

This list is no longer actively maintained, and many links are unlikely to work. You may wish to try the Web Wayback Machine for broken links.

Microsoft FrontPage
FrontPage Product Information

Microsoft FrontPage, formerly Vermeer FrontPage, is an HTML editor which can save work to an HTTP server which has been augmented with the FrontPage server extensions.

America Online PrimeHost AOLpress and AOLserver
Documentation for AOLpress and AOLserver

The America Online PrimeHost hosting service, formerly known as the GNN Hosting Service, which in turn was formerly known as NaviSoft, provides a service for using their AOLpress software to publish web pages on their server for a monthly fee. Since you can currently download fully-functional, but non-supported versions of their AOLpress and AOLserver tools, it is also possible to experiment with these tools.

AOLpress employs the PUT method to write content to the AOLserver, which implements access control features which control, among other methods, who can PUT to particular namespaces within the server. The documentation for the AOLserver describes how it distinguishes BROWSE, PUT, MKDIR and DELETE as different administrative rights on operations.

Netscape Communicator
Communicator Data Sheet

Netscape Communicator provides authoring of HTML documents, along with publishing capability. Communicator can use the FTP and HTTP protocols to remotely write content into the namespace of the HTTP server.

VerticalSky Content Manager
VerticalSky Data Sheet

VerticalSky Content Manager (formerly MKS Web Integrity) provides remote authoring and versioning capability. Versioning features include check-in/check-out, change history, and visual differencing.

NetObjects Authoring Server Suite
White Paper (PDF)

A multiuser client/server authoring system which supports checkin/checkout version control and a content contribution applet which allows remote uploading of web site content by end-users.

W3C Amaya Browser/Editor

Amaya is a graphical web browser that also provides web authoring capabilities. Its main features are WYSIWYG editing of web pages, cascading style sheets, a full implementation of HTML 3.2, and publishing on remote HTTP servers using the PUT method.

W3C Line Mode Browser
Command Reference Manual

This character-based web browser was developed for use on terminals, but can be run in interactive mode, non-interactive mode, and as a proxy client. Among its many features, the Line Mode Browser has a PUT command which writes a document to a remote HTTP server from either the local filesystem or a remote HTTP server.

The BSCW System
Papers and Information on BSCW

This system provides a shared workspace for interacting with web content. The system supports Netscape 2/3 Gold style POST writing of content to a BSCW web server, checkout/checkin of content, and support for notification of other user's actions within the workspace.

Last modified: July 3, 2003