Realmac Software has just released version 4.2.2 of TUAW favorite RapidWeaver. Although it may appear to be a minor point release, there are actually quite a few bug fixes and backend additions in this update.

Highlights from the release notes:

• Completely re-written contact form with support for multiple attachments, better security and spam protection and better support for Windows servers.
• JS-Kit commenting for blogs. If you were using the previously built-in Haloscan comments, everything works just fine, whether you migrate your account to JS-Kit or not.
• Improved Safari 4 support
• Better RSS handling

As a user who was using the 4.2.2 betas just for Safari 4 support, this update means the end of lots of headaches. Use the auto-update function within RapidWeaver or head to Realmac's site to download the latest version.

RapidWeaver 4 requires Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and is $79 US.

Video link

Last month, our friends at Realmac Software teased us with some screenshots of their newest application, LittleSnapper. LittleSnapper is a program that will let you take screenshots of full web pages, with adjustment and sharing features similar to Skitch.

The Realmac team has now produced a video (above) showing off how you can capture a web page, select a specific element from that page and quickly upload the image to Flickr. The video also shows off how LittleSnapper can be used to organize web screenshots into collections -- kind of like iPhoto -- complete with metadata.

For me, the DOM selector (it looks similar to what CSSEdit uses) is the most intriguing aspect of LittleSnapper. It isn't uncommon for me to want to grab a specific section from a web page, only to find that the image is embedded within the stylesheet. I can manually select that section with Snapz Pro or Skitch, but that can lack precision and will ultimately require me to spend more time prepping screenshots.

LittleSnapper is expected to be released at the end of the year.

RapidWeaver is our "favourite" WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) web design tool that gives you more flexibility than what iWeb. Realmac Software, the developer of RapidWeaver, has updated the software to version 4.1, and included some new features that are worth a look, including:

• QuickLook support is now standard
  
• .Mac references have been changed to show "MobileMe"
• Images pasted into a Styled Text area keep their names as specified in Finder
• Page inspector updates when/if a page changes
• PPC support for iMedia Browser
  

Owners of RapidWeaver 4.0 and 3.6 are eligible for a free update to version 4.1. You can see all of the updates on the RapidWeaver Version History page. RapidWeaver 4 is available from the Realmac website for $79 (US). There is a free demo available as well.

[via Ars Technica]

Realmac Software has recently released the fourth major version of their RapidWeaver website creation software. RapidWeaver definitely gives a whole new meaning to "drag and drop," as you can create whole websites by dragging and dropping files onto RapidWeaver. As soon as the Realmac website was updated I downloaded the software so I could get a hands on review of version 4. We took a look at three different categories: features, user interface and usability.



More after the break.

Realmac Software today has released the much-anticipated new version of RapidWeaver, their powerful WYSIWYG software that does a great job of filling the gap between iWeb and Dreamweaver. This new v3.6 ushers in a significant list of new features, such as:

• Themes Styles - no more digging in HTML and CSS to customize your theme (unless you really want to)
• 6 completely new themes
• Snippets - manage chunks of frequently used code instead of copy/pasting or constantly re-typing
• New Flash Slideshow - completely rewritten and can now pull images from a Flickr feed
• Improved blog, including tags and inline comment support
• Easy creation of Lists
• Detailed Publishing
• And much, much more

Also, due to RapidWeaver's "skyrocketing" popularity, RealMac Software introduced a redesigned website today that includes a full-featured add-ons section where users can browse themes, plug-ins and code snippets, which of course also means 3rd parties nowhave one central RapidWeaver community where the can highlight their products.

With everything involved, I can completely understand Realmac Software's decision to make v3.6 a paid upgrade - current users (including MacHeist owners) can purchase a v3.6 license for $25, while a full license costs $49. A demo is of course available, so head over to the shiny new Realmac Software site to see everything RapidWeaver has to offer.

One of the appeals of MacHeist that a few participating developers cited for their participation is residual sales. Things like upgrade licenses, extra plugins and add-ons can all be big boosts to a 3rd party developer's revenue, and some of MacHeist's participating devs have certainly hit the ground running. Yesterday I received my confirmation emails and licenses from RealMac Software (RapidWeaver) and Dave Watanabe (NewsFire), both with exclusive offers for MacHeist customers. First, RealMac Software is offering a 10% discount on theme packs, and Dave is offering a 'lifetime upgrade' add-on for NewsFire for a mere $11. We've also known from early on that John Casasanta has had a version 4.0 upgrade just around the corner for iClip, and MacroMates had an offer on the table since day 1 of at least 60% off an upgrade license to an upcoming version 2 release of TextMate.

It will be interesting to see how all this plays out for these 3rd party developers in the coming months. I know I'm already falling in love with TextMate, and even though I use WordPress, ecto and Dreamweaver for most of my website needs, RapidWeaver is tempting me with its sexy ease of use and purty themes. The 3rd party devs, it seems, have already made a revenue statistic out of me.

Woo, it's about time! It sure seemed like I've been using the public beta of version 3.5 for quite a long time. For the unfamiliar, Rapidweaver is the WYSIWYG web editor by Realmac Software that does, in fact, make things super easy. Create and maintain a blog (complete with podcast), photo and/or movie galleries, contact page and more with ease. No coding is necessary, but you're welcome to it if that's your thing. Changes in version 3.5 include:

• Universal
• A slew of new templates (I've complained bout Rapidweaver's base templates before. Some of the new ones are pretty nice).
• New UI
• Permalinks in the blog (Finally!)
• SFTP supports
  

There's more, of course, and you can get the full run-down here. This is a free update for registered users. Rapidweaver requires Mac OS 10.3.9 or later and costs $39.95US for a single license.

RapidWeaver 3.5, the theme based website creator, has just been released by Realmac Software. This release is a Universal Binary, and includes new themes, CSS based photo galleries, 'feature rich blogging,' and SFTP support. This release also includes the ability to directly edit the HTML code, which will be a real boon to people who know HTML but also like nice GUI touches.

The price has gone up slightly from $34.95 to $39.95

Thanks to all who sent this in.

Correction: I incorrectly said that you can edit HTML in RapidWeaver's new code view. Sadly, you can only view the code (and check for validation errors). Thanks to Tom for pointing this out.