Handpicked Software

I wish I could say I always write code that’s valid, but the truth is I’m a hack. I get things to work with spit and chewing gum, and my code is a sloppy mess. Tidy Service to the rescue!

Tidy Service is an OS X Service that can clean up your code with a click of your mouse. Just highlight your markup in your preferred editor (SubEthaEdit, Tumult HyperEdit, or TextWrangler are all good choices) and select Tidy from the Services menu. There are two options to choose from: Tidy Markup and Tidy to XHTML, which generates valid XHTML. Warnings and errors are reported in OS X’s Console.

Installing Tidy is easy. Just drag the TidyService.service file into the Services directory inside your User or System Library (you may need to create the Services directory if it doesn’t already exist). Then log out and log in again, or restart your computer. Note that the Service won’t be available until you log in again. If it still doesn’t show up in an application’s Services menu, the application doesn’t support services.

You can customize Tidy’s processing options by creating a Tidy configuration file in your home directory. A Quick Reference of HTML Tidy Configuration Options is available here.

For more information, visit The HTML Tidy Project Page at SourceForge.net.

Bottom Line: Tidy Service is like having a free maid service for your HTML (tipping allowed).
From: Scott Ahten
Price: Free
Platform: Macintosh (Windows version available at The HTML Tidy Project Page at SourceForge.net).