Espresso 5.4.1

23 May 2018

Version: 5.1.1

The new owner of this app has a LOT of work to do if he wants to win back trust with MacRobbit's customer base. Hope he's up to the challenge. I'd like to see it back to a usable app like CSSEdit.

(6)

Expensive for the very very rare and tiny updates it gets and it does nothing better than any texteditor + codekit etc. does. It went downhill from cssedit quite a bit.

(4)

Albertkinng

30 September 2017

Version: 5.0.3

guys I've been an espresso user for a long time. I like it. I need to know if it worst the upgrade? my old version is working on High Sierra so...

(0)

Mikael-B

31 July 2017

Version: 5.0.1

Kudos to the development team for listening to reason and going back to normal versioning that you can understand. Espresso is a serious contender for any web developer. I'll review it fully later when I've had the time to get into it.

(2)

It's a lost cause at $79. Buyers, be aware; MacRabbit has a past track record on abandoning their apps for several years at a time, and it looks like they are already slowing down like they always have. I would not trust this developer at all. It would be a matter of time before they completely disappear again like they always have.

As for the product itself, I do not see anything compelling enough to throw $79 at them. Atom, Brackets and Visual Studio Code are all FREE, they are open source, and the community has maintained all of them consistently. Using one of these editors with Chrome Dev Tools, there is nothing in Espresso that makes me think it is worth $79.

MacRabbit would be better off creating a lightweight visual code editing tool for CSS animation, CSS transition, and Flexbox that is similar to Webflow's implementation of these CSS features. There is no desktop app equivalent of Webflow's CSS editor that's worth considering. Pinegrow comes somewhat close, but its convoluted UI is counter-productive. I find it quicker and better to just code by hand. Espresso could change that if it offered those features.

(5)

21 July 2017

Version: 5

Any updates coming soon? It's been a while now.

(0)

RJC.NJNYC

25 May 2017

Version: 5

Replying to MacUpdate's reply on my 5-11-17 comment, My information was based on an email I received on 5-10-17 promoting Espresso v3 via Paddle.

(0)

General mixed feelings: + I like because is similar to my workflow (one man army) + Xray and preview + Dynamo - general strange developer long time without any update, without info about new version for clients (I'm Espresso 2 user long time), support without responding, now "this" versioning - This dont give trusting, I like this app, but I don't know what will be soon... - no options for updating from v2 (promo price)

(3)

RJC.NJNYC

11 May 2017

Version: 5

I believe its v3, not 5. And developer is giving a 25% discount from $99 (via Paddle), which should be $74.25?

(0)

seba-szwarc

02 May 2017

Version: 5

I don't like situation when changing version of the app with small usefull features requiers me MacOS Sierra. I am on El Cap and my laptop won't get upgrde to Sierra, so rly? I stick with version 2 :)

(1)

Show comments (3)

X-Ray is really it's only useful feature! The rest are badly documented, very limited and do not fit into a modern workflow. The Developers should simply bring back a modernized CSSEdit and concentrate on that.

(4)

This just keeps getting worse. CSSEdit was a class act that could have used a decent text editor. Nothing on the Mac did CSS better. Then along came Espresso, a weak text editor that did CSS rather poorly, and not as good as CSS Edit, which, though dead, still works on my Mac. Espresso was lame from the beginning, despite a few upgrades, one of which I paid for to get the CSS options, which then died on the vine and went into disrepair for a couple of years. Now it's back, with even fewer CSS options than earlier versions of Espresso, and a crazy subscription. The versioning scheme is nuts. So is the price. The interface ranks among the most confusing I've found in a commercial text editor; clumsy and unintuitive. Note To Developer: Fix CSSEdit to run well on macOS Sierra, add a decent text editor, and I'm willing to pay a modest annual fee for what was the best CSS editor, Mac or Windows. Espresso just doesn't cut it. Not worth the money. Text editors I can find anywhere. A good CSS editor is worth gold.

(18)

anonymous-swordtail-5389

26 April 2017

Version: 5

Coming (really) soon…

Version 99:
- Fixed a typo in a help file.

This is just stupid. Call me whatever you want, but I don't feel like developer tools need this sort of versioning scheme. I mean we, as developers, do understand what full release, point release and bug fix release means. This approach brings the software to level of general-public oriented stuff like Chrome and Firefox (which I still don't get, but guess they consider the bigger version the better, or whatever…).

I don't like to be played in this way, so the software went from "could probably buy" to "go to hell with your versioning even if your software is decent enough". Espresso has its limited use to me (I loved CSSEdit, and it still is unmatched in its own field), but again, not a fan of being part of this stupid, unprofessional versioning game. I'll just use WebStorm, PHPStorm, textmate, sublime, atom, CodeKit, gulp, webpack and whatnot, so thank-you-very-much…

(6)

ylluminate

26 April 2017

Version: 5

This has to be a mistake... I don't know about you, but this Chrome'esque numbering is INSANE and very much counterintuitive given such a well established history of how we can expect small incremental fixes in the .xxx pattern vs full incrementation. :(

(6)

Tekl

25 April 2017

Version: 5

It's really stupid to increase the major version number for a single bug fix.

(9)

Show comments (4)

Nice interface, but unfortunately lacking in features (and stability) for modern web development. If you're looking for an 'all-in-one' solution, specialised IDEs like Visual Studio or WebStorm offer more advanced solutions. If you're looking for feature-full, robust development with customised build tools, then Sublime Text and CodeKit are a combination that is hard to beat...

(0)

Shane-Smith

11 April 2017

Version: 4

Version 3 just came out and now there is a version 4?

(0)

The app is pretty polished overall and I like the x-ray feature. I am pretty disappointed in the lack of CSS options. For example, the Display section still lacks options when you select List or especially for Flex. That really needs to be fleshed out. CSSEdit used to have options for List items, but this was never added to Espresso. Not sure why? And as another person said, animation options, blending modes, etc. would be nice. I'm also not a fan of the new app icon. The icon in version 2 was great and said everything it needed to say. No need to change that. I am fine with the payment model as long as this does not cause issues in the future. By this I mean if the app has a bug that does not get fixed when your year end is up and it is causing issues with your workflow. Hoping Macrabbit takes that into account and would give you and extra month free or something if that should happe. I know Adobe does not do that and their software is still riddled with bugs, which is why people are baling on them for apps like Affinity.

(1)

After years of happy using my favourite development tool Espresso. I was close to be forced to switch to another editor. So I'm very excited to see, Espresso still alive and kicking.

The new release has a lot of new and unique features. For me the most important thing is support for contemporary techniques (LESS, SASS, SCSS, Markdown etc.). With «Dynamo» a new and very interesting workflow tool is introduced. It is fascinating to see, how SASS code almost immediately reflects in the preview. My favourite Espresso feature always was the superb CSS section with the Xray tool, which is an invaluable help for styling elements. Now the Xray inspector not only works for with internal previews but also within your favourite browser: You're free to preview and live-edit in a browser with the newest technology! But espresso is not only a great and well designed editor. It is also a clever FTP tool with comfortable syncing and browsing capabilities as well as a convenient account manager.

A few words to the new licence model:
The last time I paid for espresso was in 2011. It was about € 25.– for the 2.0 Upgrade. Since then this app helped me so many times not only to work with pleasure but also to earn money with. I'm not a fan of subscription models. But in this case you don't lose the app when you decide not to extend the licence. You just lose the ability to update. This seems pretty fair to me. This model ensures a more foreseeable income for the developer and thereby for me there is more confidence in a constantly enhanced pro-tool. The best things in life may be free - but the best tools are still worth to pay for. :)

The new release ist great but not perfect. There are still some features missing and some bugs crawling. The CSS section is not complete. I'm missing a flex box section and some graphical editors for new CSS 3 features like animation, transform, blending modes etc. But I'm confident to see these features soon in upcoming updates. And as we know MacRabbit - it will be implemented in a very beautiful, new and clever manner.

(1)

Rochade

31 March 2017

Version: 3.0

Due to an almost "dead" project, I migrated to other tools (Sublime, CodeKit, …). I can see Espresso 3 adds a lot of useful features but actually I have them all (or all I need). So should I upgrade? I think I won't. $59 for long time existing users for one year is too much for me. The developer also seems to not even care about loyal customers. The price is NOT an upgrade price, it is the price for everyone. I do have a problem with time-based licenses, especially in case an app is new or hasn't seen regular useful updates in the past. I would have instantly upgraded Espresso for a full upgrade license (no time-limit) and for about 50% of the standard rate (~ $40). Even I love the new features, I will have pass on this one and let you go your own way.

(2)

Kris-nx

30 March 2017

Version: 3.0

I'm a long time fan of Espresso and the great, but discontinued, CSSEdit. I downloaded the Espresso 3 trial, used it for about 30 mins, and was pulling out my credit card to purchase the upgrade when I read the bottom of the Buy page where it say's "One Year of Free Updates" and goes on to claim its not a Subscription but instead a "time-based replacement". Yeah, right! Espresso has fallen in line with other good apps - Sketch (soon the be a subscription), TextExpander...etc. The one feature of Espresso I use the most is X-Ray, but the developer tools built into most browsers does an adequate job. Then I think of the really good free editors these days -Atom, Brackets, Visual Code Studio with really good addons/extensions which definitely do the job. I'll continuing using Espresso 3 until the trial ends and decide whether its worth paying for a "time-based replacement"! Probably not!

(2)

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Albertkinng

14 August 2016

Version: 2.2.3

So, today is 2016 and I still use this app as it's new inside my El Capitan OS in my beloved Mac. So, if you're asking yourself if it's good idea to buy this app the answer is yes. I have Coda too but this little gem for the price alone it will save you time and headaches in the long run! go for it!

(1)

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Strider72

09 July 2015

Version: 2.2.3

To me this will always be "The App That Killed CSSEdit". It's just staggering to me that a company could have such a beloved, useful product, and replace it with a LESS useful, bloated app. This is the biggest such stumble since Netscape Navigator -- the most popular web browser of its day -- decided they really needed to roll in an email client and some other crud and became Netscape Communicator. Less useful, more expensive, and harder to use than what came before. Please, Please Please, bring back CSSEdit as a stand-alone product.

(4)

27 June 2015

Version: 2.2.3

It's great to see updates to this, but I would really love to see a new version with modern features and, as others have requested, more like CSSEdit.

(3)

I got back to this one often, to see if it has gotten as useful a learning tool, as CSSEdit was, for us non-experts, and it's just not! I still keep the latest - old - version of CSSEdit on my Dropbox, and install it as the first app, before Coda or any other editor, because I simply can't get my web-workflow to work unless I have it. Espresso is useless for the majority, who want to learn CSS - we NEED CSSEdit back in an updated form, soon!

(5)

I own this as well as CSSEdit. I still use CSSEdit. I wish these guys had just developed CSSEdit a bit more instead of going after Coda and ruining it. For one thing, on the laptop it powers up the GPU. Otherwise, a general drop in usability, still.

(5)

Mikael-B

24 April 2014

Version: 2.1.5

No rgba? Seriously? This is 2014, not 2001. I will simply not pay for this. I'm really getting tired ot the available mediocre, at best, web development software for Mac that always seem to miss the mark. Web development software should aid and make day to day operations faster and not get in the way or limit modern web development. I use the Web Developer Tools in Firefox for all CSS work, which should be telling. Once you know what you're doing, instant graphical response Espresso hands down.

(2)

I have downloaded and tried to use espresso as a replacement for CSSEdit every couple months since it first started shipping. I tried again tonight. The idea that this includes CSSEdit 3 is just not realistic. The CSS editor interface is worse, the selection of (for lack of a better description) GUI tools certainly isn't expanded to any degree. Where are the CSS3 properties? Clicking on styles in the inspector only occasionally takes you to the corresponding code in the CSS file now. I really want this software to work. I used CSSEdit religiously as part of my workflow for a long time, but it's getting very long in the tooth. It seems to me that the CSS editor is the one part of espresso that should really be polished. CSSEdit was brilliant, people loved using it, and as a tool it worked exceptionally well. I am crestfallen by the thought that the CSS editor in espresso may never be an adequate replacement. I've liked macrabbit's style and the previous software they have produced. As much as it pains me, at this point I'm willing to move on. Here's hoping they pull a rabbit out of a hat, or someone else makes a usable CSSEditor soon.

(10)

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Espresso is certainly not bad and you can do some serious html/css/javascript stuff in it. I do lack a better overview of ftp connections though. While Espresso did upload properly it won't make a listing for me to verify I can see everything nor do I see a log anywhere. Also, there doesn't seem to be an obvious way to add language constructs, like HTML5 data attributes or template languages. SASS? Compass? I suppose I can get Codekit for that, but I'm not certain Espresso will fit well into my workflows. If you need something that works for pure HTML/CSS-oriented sites Espresso is probably very nice. I'm saving the money for Macaws, however, even if it's something else it's the results that counts.

(0)

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Msl

04 December 2013

Version: 2.1.5

I have no idea how to properly use this software as there is no manual, and the online help is virtually nonexistent. I've got better things to do with my time than to try and guess how this editor is supposed to work.

(3)

Marcossi

24 November 2013

Version: 2.1.4

I second everybody prefers CSSEdit here. The first one that can make a new clean CSS editor that fully supports CSS 3, and all browsers will have my money on the spot!

(9)

16 August 2013

Version: 2.1.2

Another .X update. Macrabbit, what we could use is the next version. 2.x has been out for a long time now. We need the functionality of CSSEdit. Many of your customers have asked for it, but you still have not provided it.

(18)

Long time Espresso user. I really like the workflow area for open files. It stays at the top no matter how long the file list below is unlike another editor. I also really like the Sync feature where you can tell it to ignore or always ignore (which it of course remembers). Of course it has live sync as well. The Search project files works great as well. I also like being able to sync to many servers as needed (ie. testing, dev, QA, production in our workflow). Editing works as expected. The only thing I don't like is the slow search over my large projects. Once my projects get more then a few hundred files the search starts to really drag. The new FTP/sFTP is smokin fast! -- I wish they would speed up the search! -- oh and I like being able to write plugin for it in any shell language (I use PHP for example)

(0)

Phaleron

15 July 2013

Version: 2.1

Here's my little rant: I hate it when System support is dropped mid-version. I only recently bought Espresso 2.0.5, but now I cannot benefit from any bugfixes because my system version is no longer supported. Dear developer, don't be unethical. Please, maintain support for the system you begin a version with, or else tell us upfront you'll be dropping support so we don't invest in a dud.

(10)

MrEko

15 July 2013

Version: 2.1

I'm another CSSEdit user who believes it's still far superior to Espresso's CSS editor. As such I started a petition to persuade MacRabbit to either restart development of CSSEdit (which they say they have no intention of doing) or to release the source code as open-source. While it may not change anything it can't hurt to voice your opinion so please consider signing the petition http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/cssedit.

(11)

Phaleron

09 February 2013

Version: 2.0.5

The developer's website states: "Edit any website's CSS and see it update in real-time. No need to save, publish or reload." Does anyone know where and how this feature can be invoked?

(1)

Show comments (4)

04 December 2012

Version: 2.0.5

MacRabbit, you have just released 2.0.5. It would do your customers a great service to update your blog and let us at least know you are working on Espresso 3 and some of the features (new or requested) it may introduce. I like this app, but like others have said, it is nowhere near as good as CSSEdit was and is starting to lag behind other editors in functionality. While Slicy is cool, I don't want to see Espresso abandoned in favor of little apps like that.

(7)

Tekl

04 December 2012

Version: 2.0.5

The development progress of Espresso is very disappointing. We always get only small bug fixes but no feature improvements. • What about handling CSS files with a cachebuster string in the link tag (style.css?xyz)? • What about resizing the preview to smaller sizes for developing responsive and mobile websites? • What about a find command inside the preview? • What about previewing print style rendering? • What about enhancing Web inspector to jump to the source inside Espresso and not into the inspectors code view? • What about Magic Mouse navigation gestures in the preview? • What about remembering the window position and visibility of the Inspector? • What about auto completion of words inside the file (or project) like in other editors? (Even Textedit can do this) 3 years ago I asked for cashbuster support and improved auto complete. They said they’re looking to improve Espresso. Nothing happened. Espresso seemed so promising.

(8)

I really like this program. It's clean and does what I need. I really like the "workspace" idea. Most other editors use tabs which become worthless after you get 8 or more open. It's nice being able to write plugins as well.

(0)

Well.. it's been a year since my previous review. Unfortunately nothing at all changed. A few 0.0.1 updates not fixing any real usability issues and not making Espresso any step closer to being the self-proclaimed CSSEdit replacement. But that's about it. Luckily, CSSEdit still works and does the job for me. But I paid for Espresso as well - not because it was better, but because I wanted to support developers, believing they would update the functionality and usability to be up to par with CSSEdit. Well what do you think? A year have passed, no real updates, and developers won't give out any information AT ALL regarding their roadmap. WELL.. it's been one bloody year, and CSS-related functionality of the software haven't improved one bit. Regret trusting these guys and giving them my money. Should've waited until Espresso has all features I need (and that ALL present in CSSEdit). Won't happen again.

(11)

A good product, but has some deal breaking flaws. The primary one is that it can't upload files larger than 16kb to some web hosts. Its FTP system truncates them. Developer is aware of this, and has been for some time. No fix and no timeline to get it fixed. Checking out Coda and others, not because I want to but because I have to. This software just no longer works in our environment.

(12)

Jason818

24 March 2012

Version: 2.0.1

I just purchased this product and have found it quite enjoyable. With a few more features this could be a really great editor.

(0)

Yes, as he said, for CSSEdit alone this is good. For HTML coding it's a good start, but without a way to deal with images (the app can't determine an image's size or path!) it's not useful for serious work.

(4)

This gets its 4 rating on the fact that CSSEdit within it is worth 6 stars. But CSSEdit alone was so much faster and more responsive and half the price. This seems to slow down as you use it and has a habit of crashing. If they can iron out this issues (in 2.0.2 perhaps) it'll be a great program. Although to be honest they should really still release CSSEdit as a standalone. I don't really need the rest. In short, CSSEdit was one of the best apps ever released for the Mac. The live updating is something I cannot imagine working without. Now you have to get the whole of Espresso to get CSSEdit (which to me is still worth it) but I'd prefer a lighter app.

(3)

Really, it's quite good! The more I use it, the more I like it. It's prettier than Textmate, all in all, and feels solid, polished, and well integrated. I am still bummed out that it becomes an expensive way to update to CSSEdit3, when a stand-alone forward path for CSSEdit would have made me happy enough.

(3)

Johnleh

20 February 2012

Version: 2.0.1

Damn, I'm another CSSEdit loyalist quite bummed to see CSSEdit rolled into this sad attempt to do it all. This would be a workflow downgrade for me, now using CSSEDit, TextMate, Fetch, Finder, etc. I don't want a weak all-in-one bloated monster. I would use Dreamweaver, which I own, if I wanted something like that. I'd happily pay for a CSSEDit upgrade, but not this. I was thinking of moving to Lion, but CSS going funky and missing will keep me at Snow Leopard for a while more.

(2)

Unfortunately, like many others here sorely miss CSS Edit. This merging of applications doesn't really feel like a good union. Like others, most of the features I loved are gone, such as duplicating statements and statement filters. In addition, the new app takes up tons of memory. Copying large chunks of JS? Espresso has a tendency to crash when you do. Managing large projects or large clipboards leads to a lot of performance issues. CSSEdit was my all-time, favorite program. Espresso was always fine - it certainly looked better than its more powerful competitors, but it was simple. However, Espresso 2 seems to be less than the sum of its parts.

(5)

Great app. +1 on missing one-click-validation and not being able to resize the CSS toolbar. Other than that, the live-preview is a must have.

(0)

As a longtime user of CSSEdit, I am disappointed with the feature strip, CSSEdit seems m ore user friendly. Maybe I'm just not used to the new layout but for now I'll stick with BBEdit/CssEdit and Transmit for my workflow.

(5)

I'm not a fan of the CSSEdit integration as its nowhere near as complete as the stand alone CSSEdit was/is. Not saying that it couldn't use improvements -- I wish they would add CSS3 support! That said I recently purchased the upgrade for one reason - I really like the versioning and sync built into it. Its the only feature of Espresso that I used in version 1.x and unless there are major improvements it will be the same for version 2.x. I mainly use Textmate and CSSEdit and will continue to use the latter until it no longer works. I still have hope the developers can and will improve this program.

(2)

anonymous-swordtail-5389

08 November 2011

Version: 2.0.1

Pretty much unusable as a replacement for CSSEdit, as it claims to be. - no search/filter by CSS rules (come on! how am I supposed to navigate anything but less than a few lines of CSS code?) - CSS tool panel's usability is much worse than CSSEdit 2 (tools layout/selection and the way it resizes itself I paid for the software, and it just sits there gathering dust. No idea what devs' priorities are, but so far, as a CSSEdit replacement, it is just a money well wasted.

(6)

I'm coming to Espresso from the TextWrangler + CSSEdit user perspective. Plusses: The live HTML editor feels smooth and responsive, the code completion works relatively well, code collapsing is nice, and the editor overall feels quite a bit like TextWrangler (which is a huge complement). On the CSS front, almost all the wonderful, intuitive smoothness of CSSEdit is there and working smoothly--live preview, code completion, and the property editor frame is beefed up and even easier to use than before. Lots of CSS3 goodness in there as well. And, the app so far has been entirely stable for me. Minuses: The HTML editor has no one-click validator. Seriously? How is that not a #1 priority feature? Having to copy and paste (or direct upload) my HTML to the W3C validator manually from an all-in-one web development app is kind of ridiculous. The CSS editor also has no validator, which is even more ridiculous since CSSEdit had one before. Removing an incredible time saver (and frankly workflow necessity) from the replacement app is just unforgivable, and it's almost enough to drive me back to CSSEdit, and has kept me from paying for Espresso, as much as I want to. Also, the CSS editor has ditched CSSEdit's full color picker for a silly, under featured pop-over dialogue. I can see how the color picker could get confusing switching from one color thing to another, but the lack of a color wheel is a total deal breaker--if you're using the editor to test-drive color schemes, the inability to eyeball complementary colors from a wheel is an absolute deal-breaker, and makes the color selection system borderline useless--I just end up going to another app to pick my color and paste it in, which is ridiculous. I guess you could keep an image of a color wheel in another app open and use the magnifying glass to grab colors from it, but that's silly. My only other complaint is that as a full-site workflow, the project system doesn't "feel" right to me--it works well for a hierarchy, but doesn't really seem to do anything for managing a large project or keeping track of complex site structure if you're using Espresso for anything other than template creation or a very simple site of a dozen pages or so. Basically, it doesn't scale well. Bottom line: So close to being a great app, but removing the color picker and one-click validator that were already in CSSEdit is a total deal breaker, and the lack of a validator in the HTML editor in version 2.0 is ridiculous. Fix that, and I'm buying an upgrade immediately.

(7)

As CSS editor, Espresso doesn’t help too much the developer. I can’t find commands I was used to with CSS Edit: to duplicate a property, a file dialog to select a background-image, a color picker). Writing CSS is more boring than ever! For now, the only good part is the editor: I like the font and the style.

(3)

A really nice editor--very elegant. Fatal flaw (at least for me) is the continued lack of syntax checking. IMHO, you can't have a professional level tool without this.

(2)

Still like its simplicity and ease of use. Even though I am sure I'll receive negative points just because of what I said. Regardless of what fans of other apps do here, I still like Espresso. It's one of the lightest apps for simple web design and coding. Great app.

(1)

Gbuecker

04 October 2011

Version: 2.0

I really wanted to like this...even more that Coda. However, I was never able to connect using ftp, even though I could in several other programs. I assume it has to do with passive ftp ( I experienced the same problem with the previous version of Espresso). Since they have folded CSSEdit into the Espresso, I guess I'll be abandoning CSSEdit for something else. It's a shame.

(0)

David-Empson

30 September 2011

Version: 2.0

For anyone who got Espresso via the March 2009 MacHeist bundle, or otherwise bought it before 10 April 2009, there is a US$29 upgrade charge for Espresso 2. It appears to run without telling you about the upgrade price but I expect it will expire after a time limit.

(3)

iPoopStore

29 September 2011

Version: 2.0

System requirements listed on MacUpdate are incorrect. Espresso was 10.5.8 but version 2 requires Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later. I purchased this software back at version 1.1.2 and have lost interest just as the developer has continuously lost interest in paying customers. Version 1.1.2 was Universal Binary and now this jump from 10.5.8 to 10.6.8 yet again leaves customers left out in the cold. There are better alternatives with software developers that care about their customers. Very poor support and business model.

(4)

Very elegant editor. I have used Coda as well, but on balance prefer the user experience in Espresso. It would be useful if Espresso had the HTML error checker built in to Coda, however.

(2)

I really wanted to like Espresso, I did, but I came from Coda, a more fleshed out editor/ftp/csseditor/etc. And while I think Espresso shows promise, I cannot recommend it over Coda because it lacks a few features that Coda has and is also a bit less intuitive to use. Sure it's pretty, and looks sleek and modern, but without the usability and utility of other apps out there. I can't give more than 3 stars. Now it does have a features that Coda lacks, but they are outweighed by the lack of features compared to others. To qualify my statements: I used it exclusively for about 3 weeks while updating and developing new features for an established site. I did not buy the license, but that didn't seem to really matter. The bottom line is that I saved far more time using Coda and actually lost time using Espresso. Even after I was familiar with it I found myself working around some of its conveniences I didn't have the option to change. Thus it wasn't saving me the time. I might try it again when it hits 2.1 or 2.0.1, but for now I'll have to pass.

(3)

Dunno if it is right to do this yet.. but I've been using the Beta that is available on the developer's site for a few weeks (I had let Espresso untouched for quite some time until I saw the Beta).. and apart from the non-dual window (preview window can be moved to a separate window however).. I find Espresso to be again a little better than Coda. I almost wish they'd merge and become the killer software that they almost are each..

(0)

I don't feel Espresso makes it easier to do CSS-oriented design and offers little value over free editors like Smultron. I develop most of my content in a CMS based on Spring Framework code and use their Springsource Tools Suite for all server side code. What I need is a tool that helps me do markup templates, which I re-implement as fragments in Tiles and similar, with crossbrowser CSS-designs done as fast as possible. Espresso seems overpriced as it is now, but I hope it is further developed to live up to the price. I don't mind paying up to few hundred dollars for good solutions.

(4)

Gregr

29 June 2011

Version: 2.0a1

Wow, really a huge leap from version 1. As a Coda and CSSEdit user, I'm seriously impressed. (Hopefully this will light a fire under Coda's rump as well.) Competition is good!

(2)

Trashie

21 April 2011

Version: 1.1.2

I like it but for the money I ask the questions: is it better than textmate? it is better than coda? is it better than macvim? is it better than eclipse? is it better than bbedit? is it better than xyz? I think there is many good editors out there now, including this one it holds it's own, that you just gotta go with what suits "you" the best as none are the best. They all have a different angle to suit certain needs so I am not gonna do the compare thing just say try it. I own/use a lot of these editors if your interested I spend the most of my development time in simply textmate, snippets and vim. That can change though depends on what your doing. I always buy the fancy ones and hardly use them. I think I more buy them to be amazed but like going to find dinning restaurant it is fancy but you don't want to eat it every day. :) YMMV editor wars are some of the best lunch time arguments you get since the browser war is over (or is it) anyway have fun. :)

(3)

This has been at version 1 for a long time now without much in the way of updates. Like others, I love CSSEdit (which has also not had many updates lately and could use some for CSS3) but Espresso is almost to simple for what it needs to be. It seems like just a text editor rather than a web development tool like Coda or Dreamweaver, or even Flux. Come on guys, this could be great software. Wrap CSSEdit into this program and give these other companies a run for their money.

(5)

I'm eagerly waiting for Texmate to become a little more "OSX-modern".. I was all excited by Espresso a few months ago.. but must admit I went back to Textmate.. I tried Coda.. but did not find it to be the Holy Grail some see it as.. For me Textmate and Transmit is my combo of choice and I still do a few things in "Big Factory Dreamweaver".

(4)

Jeremyan

01 April 2010

Version: 1.1.2

if it is $19.99, it may give Coda a run. Coda has better CSS design tool, better publish capability, color picker (!!!) and more. Of course for a casual designer Coda is still way too expensive to own.

(6)

I recently had to choose between Coda and Espresso and found that Coda's inclusion of Subversion was the decider for me. Basically they seem fairly equal in ability (aside from the Subversion issue) but since that is the case, why would I switch? Coda works great (and I already have it) and Espresso, which lacks Subversion itegration, doesn't seem to bring anything new to the table. As an aside... when I can debug PHP in one of these Mac oriented editors I may even switch from my "real" IDE... Netbeans. For now, for basic website management and editing it's Coda for me.

(1)

still problems with folding in php. if you have a class with a function called __toString, folding messed up and on time with playing with the function name espresso crashed too... still not usable for me.

(3)

And 1.1.1 appears, and still no access to the color picker. Really?

(8)

Not the cheapest ever.. but it's the one I use all of the time now.. (I gave up SubEthaEdit) for my AS, PHP, HTML, XML... I'm not even sure why... it's the one I like best basically... it's sort of like cars I guess.. all cars pretty much take you where you wanna go.. yet you decide you like one more and you buy it ;-)

(4)

Well, Espresso is finally on the front page of MacRabbit so I assume the developers are happy with it. And they have got enough reason for this: Espresso always was a nice and fast text editor (at least since version 1.0.5 which was the first version I have used) and it is one of the best looking apps I own. A lot of the bad comments on this app are based on the idea Espresso is the same type of application as Coda. But while Coda beats Espresso in workflow possibilities like uploads, working on local and remote servers, previews and such its text editor is counterproductive. Of course: Espresso has 'codefolding' (and Coda will have this in a future version since it is based on SubEthaEdit), it's autocompletion and codewrap is superior and just gets the daily code writing done faster. Other bad comments were made because people expected Espresso would have the same features as CSSEdit for it's CSS. But CSSEdit was nice when I started to explore css, but I hardly use it anymore since I know what to type. Now, with this new version, startup-windows and projects work like expected, there is finaly (a very basic) picture preview with a 'open with' commando and probably much more. …it still is note a very stable app: I had a very nasty crash when I tried to move some blocks of code within the code navigator: the feedback report was so large I could not reach the 'send' button to submit it to Macrabbit.

(8)

With the first release folding in PHP files is always a mess. The navigator shows everything but not what i would expect. Nice try, but i will stay with TextMate. http://www.clubfeeling.de/media/espresso.png

(0)

1.1 is a welcome update, but come on - it still doesn't have a color picker? Are you serious? How am I supposed to pick my colors? Provide access to the standard Apple Color Picker, include the free and distributable Hex Color Picker, and you're done. Probably no more than 10 lines of code. I'd love to use this app more than I do, but having to tab over to another app just to get a hex color code is ridiculous when I have Coda and Textmate at the ready.

(1)

I've just tried espresso out. It's sad to see it's got so many negative reviews here. I will not rate it, because i haven't really done anything "heavy" with it. It looks *stunning* though! These guys know how to design a beautiful application... I love the "code explorer" pane, and also the document sensitive snippet collection. The toolbar have a limited, but useful collection of tools for quick access. It does tabbed editing just like one expects it to do (rare among mac editors). Now, people say it's buggy. If so, that's unfortunate. I hope they can sort that situation out. One thing i will say is that it's a little bit "thin" on features. It's rather bare bones. Some people find that attractive, so i'm not sure that's a bad thing really. Maybe these guys should drop the "web only" mode of this editor. I would love to find support for other language, such as bash, python and ruby. That would make the price more "worth it". I hate using different editors for every language i program in. I'm not prepared to pay 80 bucks for it though. Either pack some more punch, or drop the price down.

(3)

So, even at version 1.06, Espresso has no way to select a color. The color picker is no where to be found. If guess they want you to use CSSEdit. This app has a lot of promise, but stuff like the issue above, and the inability to setup an address for previewing of live server side files like PHP & RoR, make this app hard to live with for server side web development.

(4)

The main plus with Espresso is the Live Preview feature. It took a while to figure out how to use it (hint: Drag files from Workspace to their own window), but now that I have I can truly get to work. I almost spent a few hundred on Adobe DW (even though I can't stand it) just for this feature. Coding is very easy if you are experienced in a particular language, but I wish they had the optional properties section like in Css Edit for my lazier days and plus to make codes I'm not that familiar with easier to code. The smart codesense and snippets are great though. You can manage a whole site in a slim and trim application. Just what I bought it for!!

(2)

The Bad points. • This program has had very little updates and is a regular crasher, even on the latest update as I write this (1.0.5) and inconveniently has a pop-up window saying it has an error and asks you if you want to report or ignore it (this happens a lot, not nice when you're working) and there should be at least a "Don't display this again for this version" check box as it is supposedly out of Alpha and Beta and Release Candidate (seems to me like its still in the alpha stage really). • The snippets Panel, although it looks nice, has a nice quick access and has potential, it is somewhat disorganised and can look quite messy when (if you're like me) write a lot of mini scripts and put them in the snippets panel for regular use. • Live preview is not always live and has issues multiple when you're editing the CSS (it DOESNT always DISPLAY IT) until you close the CSS from your workspace. Also, as other reviewers have mentioned it needs relative paths to work, quite a pain really. • The programs features don't live up to the standard they claim to be on the developers site. The Good Points • Fast - this program is quite powerful and lightweight, it doesn't eat away at your system resources like most standard IDE's but has a lot of the power to compete. • The Interface is Clean, Simple (yet stylish) and Effective. Things aren't all over the place, in your face or in the way of your workspace, They're there when you need them and hidden when they're just not needed and therefore providing you with more space for to develop and code. • The Code navigator is wonderful, In my opinion its one of the best code navigators out there. Each tag, element, variable has its own simple icon so you can at a glance browse though it without having to read everything, also it shows you in a nice way how things are nested and highlighting things are easy just by clicking on them in the Navigator. • Quick Publish. It is exactly what it says, just by turning it on, whenever you save your file locally it'll upload / update your file remotely via FTP, Extra handy when working with files locally and remotely. • Espresso's FTP is surprisingly fast and when working on a large project (or even a small one), its merge / update features are especially handy. Basic Missing Features • Matching Brace Highlighting - One thing in Espresso that really shocked and horrified me when I first opened it was the missing Matching Brace Highlighting feature. Although its not a necessary feature, its a highly sought after (and handy) one and is very common even among the freeware coding applications, eg Smultron, TextWrangler and Komodo Edit. • Although Espresso has the handy feature of Syntax Checking for PHP (letting you know what line / error it is), you have to manually check though the contextual menu. Just something simple as a little red icon in the toolbar or a red underline on the line that has the error would definitely make this app quite special. (p.s. this Awesome feature is available in NetBeans [which is an amazingly powerful Free IDE] if anyone wants to know of an app that did that). Although this app is somewhat in the early stages of its life and its functionality / stability is somewhat funky and the pricetag is somewhat high for what it currently provides, it has some great potential to be a competitor in the Web IDE market.

(2)

I got this with MacHeist, but I can't recommend it over Coda, which I paid full price for. As others have commented, the 1.0.x versions are just the bare minimum for site development. Deal breaker for me: links have to be relative for the previews to work; absolute paths from the root directory are not understood even in Project view. If Espresso knows the root directory of my Project, why can't it figure out that links beginning with "/" refer to this root? This needs to be fixed before I can consider trying out whatever other great features are touted by the developer. Without being able to properly preview my pages, there's no point going further. And there's no way I'm changing all the links to relative paths just to use in Espresso. [I've been developing with Dreamweaver for 7 years. I don't expect Coda or Espresso to be as robust as DW, but this is a bare minimum feature as fas as I'm concerned.]

(2)

I am also a huge fan of CSSEdit, but am a little bewildered by Espresso's lack of integration with it. This should be the number one priority IMHO. It does have some nice features, but having use a separate CSS app, when the frameworks already exists by the same author, is a little strange... :/

(12)

I want to love this app, I am a huge fan of CSSEdit but Espresso has left me wanting at the moment, feels incomplete and doesn't actually help my work flow. I have SKEdit as well and it seems to keep me working faster than Espresso. I got it with the latest MH bundle but I think I will be saving my money for Coda.

(9)

Espresso is a decent IDE, but definitely needs to be further polished. As already mentioned here, it's as if MacRabbit (Espresso devs) are so worried not to clash with their other main app, CSSEdit, that they "forget" to add some usefull option on Espresso. Probably the major absence is a visual CSS editor, as so I can not call this "one focused app". I truly hope that they add some sort of CSS editor still on 1.x version otherwise my license will end up being a waste of money. (I barely started using it and already find myself constantly jumping to other apps to complement what I can't do here. If I keep doing this for to long I might as well go straight to those other apps)

(12)

Espresso has a ton of potential but it's not there just yet. Sure it's fast, lightweight and extensible but it's also unfinished. Marquee features such as Live Preview simply don't work as advertised. The MacRabbit website claims, "Espresso offers real-time styling of absolutely any web page. Even when your site or application is powered by a complex database..." However in practice Live Preview only works on static HMTL and Espresso doesn't support local servers at all. Add in things like the lack of visual CSS editing, the missing X-Ray functionality and little things like code snippets not wrapping around selections, the unusual tab workflow and windows not remembering their settings and the entire experience feels rough around the edges. Clearly 1.0 was rushed to market. The good news is virtually all of these issues can easily be resolved in time and for the most part you can work around them until a fix comes along. The bad news is no one knows when the fixes will come. Virtually all of these same exact problems existed during the betas and in many cases MacRabbit did nothing about it. In most cases they didn't even respond to feedback. Nevertheless, I'm hopeful. CSSEdit is fantastic so I'm confident these guys can put together a killer app. I just think they need a lot more time to do it.

(14)

Navigator + autocompletion are great... But hey, 81,99 $ just for this ? Don't you know the escellent Smultron ? Please mr developper of the beautifull and best css editor CSSEDIT... Just add a pro version of your espresso for having Cssedit functionnalities integrated (just like coda)... And what about giving more "wysiwyg" functions for the espresso part like "color picker", "add table", (just like the SEEdit Maxi editor toolbox) ?

(6)

Espresso has surprised me. I was initially largely unimpressed with it, as it seems to not have a lot of actual features. Coming from developing with Coda, it felt nearly useless. However, I recently built a website exclusively with Espresso (as a good test of the software) and it was a pleasure. It doesn't have a ton of features, but it also does a good job of staying out of your way. Also, the merging features are really fantastic. It's almost like having a very unintrusive and clean SCM for development and publishing. It leaves a little to be desired, but considering that it hasn't yet had a major update yet, I'd say it's pretty damn useful as it is. I look forward to using it for future web development.

(2)

Yeah.. figures. Guess they never expected to be able to sell it for the ridiculous 80 bucks anyway, let alone make the software polished to be able to actually sell it without any promotions. Sad. That sort of confirms that there's nothing to expect from Espresso in observable future (till the next full upgrade) Oh well anyways, that's how business goes. No usable software - no money. Having said that, I really doubt I would even buy Espresso in its current stage for 4 bucks (that's around how much each software in the package sells for, if you equally divide the total price). Don't know why I spend my time writing it. Just probably because I really looked forward for the polished release.

(2)

I'm really surprised to see this out of beta. The app just feels unfinished to me. I had very high hopes for Espresso (still do, actually), but this 1.0 release feels more like a 0.90. MacRabbit gets some fundamentals right, like the Code Folding and the Intellisense auto-complete, which seem much better than Coda's. But the way the app handles "tabs", which aren't really tabs, but items in a list in the "workspace", and "previews" seems unfinished, UI wise. I'm hoping they work the kinks out quickly and provide some good competition in this space. But I'm afraid that the high rate of the Euro to the dollar means that I'll be sticking with Coda for a good long while.

(8)

Very good editor, but I still like skEdit better. Also, skEdit is cheaper... I love MacRabbit's products, especially CSSEdit. As for Espresso, just lower the price and add more features!

(3)

I would have thought cssedit would have been built into it and maybe discontinuing cssedit.

(7)