views:

57

answers:

3

Are there any tools other than Firebug that can help me figure out why my HTML is layed out the way it is? If you list any tools, please add what they can do which Firebug can't.

+1  A: 

Both do pretty much the same things Firebug does.
I'm usually using both Firebug and Web Inspector. Though I like Firebug more, I had a few errors that I wasn't able to trace using it (they were just listed as errors), but they showed up in Web Inspector.

Alex
Can they do anything Firebug can't (other than running in other browsers?)
Casebash
Opera Dragonfly let you quite easily modify Web Storages (localStorage, sessionStorage, web database). However Firebug IMHO is the best of them all.
Crozin
+1  A: 

I only use Firebug for JS debugging, I use Web Developer for Firefox for anything CSS or HTML related.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/60/

  1. Great for CSS debugging - while Firebug will show you the CSS, Web Dev does it better giving you a nice window with line numbers so you can easily find what needs fixing, plus you can copy and paste from the window.
  2. Shows underlying form information without looking at the source
  3. Outlines various types of elements on the page
  4. Resize the browser window to the common screen resolutions, or to a specified size (love this feature)

I wouldn't say that Web Developer is better than Firebug, just different.

Brent Friar
What can it do that Firebug can't?
Casebash
Hmm. Since I don't use fiebug as extensively it may do some of these things. I'll edit my answer so I can format stuff a little better.
Brent Friar
+1  A: 

It doesn't get much mention or much love, but I find Expression Web SuperPreview helpful when trying to debug layout issues.

ShaderOp
What can it do?
Casebash
It can show you how a page wold look in different browsers (Internet Explorer 6, 7, 8 and Firefox 3.4, 3.5, 3.6). It also offers most of the layout debugging features found in Firebug, but with a more streamlined interface. Download it and take a look for yourself.
ShaderOp
Expression Web has a very nice interface, but I find it is slow. I generally prefer IE Tester for looking at IE layout issues, but the ability to layer one image on top or side by side can often be very useful. Its features don't compare with Firebug for layout debugging - for example, you can't edit properties on the fly nor get as detailed a view of what in the CSS is setting the properties. I think it has definite use cases though
Casebash