Bare Bones Software on Thursday announced a significant update to their flagship text editor BBEdit. The new version of BBEdit gains support for SFTP, adds FTP and SFTP server discovery through Rendezvous and a new “Preview in BBEdit” live HTML rendering feature.
SFTP — SSH File Transfer Protocol — is used to securely transfer files over the Internet. BBEdit already supported the ability to open and save files on FTP servers, and could work with SFTP-compatible client software as well, but the new version now integrates SFTP support directly.
Rendezvous is Apple’s term for the ZeroConfig protocol, and it’s something that’s built into Mac OS X “Jaguar” and higher. It enables computers to automatically configure themselves and find each other and shared resources. BBEdit v7.1 now supports Rendezvous through a pop-up menu, that lets users who are saving to local FTP servers find them more easily.
The new Preview in BBEdit function lets you view a rendering of the HTML code you’re working on. The window automatically updates as you change the code. Bare Bones indicated that the new feature is based on Apple’s WebKit technology. As a result, it requires Mac OS X v10.2 or higher with Safari installed in order to work.
System requirements for BBEdit v7.1 call for Mac OS X v10.2 or later or Mac OS 9.1 or later. Bare Bones Software noted that the new release is fully compatible with Mac OS X v10.3 “Panther.”
BBEdit v7.1 is available for download as a free update for existing BBEdit 7.0 users. The full version costs US$179.