I-View

I-View -- I-View is an offline HTML browser designed primarily for royalty-free distribution of HTML files. The premise is simple -- in order for your clients without web access to view HTML documents, they are going to need a browser. I-View efficiently satisfies this need by allowing you to pay a one-time price for I-View, rather than having to pay every time you send out a copy of the browser. As an offline browser, I-View can only view local documents (Talent Communications has also released an impressive online web browser, I-Comm, for viewing documents on the web), but it does offer an extensive selection of features for the purpose. Included are support for tables, background images, interlaced gifs, image maps (server side only), center and other advanced HTML tags, printing capabilities, and a built-in WAV player. Missing features include client side image mapping, support for font size tags, and additional Netscape tags (frames, sub/superscript, and div tags, for example). For its purpose, I-View will impress many users, especially those with continual distribution needs, but there is a relatively stiff price to be paid for I-View. While the cost for one copy of I-View is just $19.95, royalty-free licenses will set you back quite a bit more -- the standard license is $395 and the professional license is $1,295 (adds Win-CGI interface and free upgrades). Pros: An offline HTML browser with many advanced web features Cons: Lacks some of Netscape's best features, expensive for many users New: 3-D Buttons, transparent gif, improved tables, and null border support, more Version Reviewed: 1.22 Date of Review: 7/2/96 Reviewer: Forrest Stroud