Expression Web 4 Service Pack 2
We’re pleased to introduce a new service pack for Microsoft Expression Web. Expression Web 4 SP2 focuses on making the editing process easier and faster. It includes improvements in two major areas: 1) workspace configuration and 2) code editing. It also includes a variety of other bug fixes and improvements.
Workspace improvements
Expression Web now supports any number of custom workspaces. You can save, restore and reset workspaces—which are collections of panel configurations. You can find the Workspaces feature on the Panel menu.
With Expression Web 4 SP2, we’ve built custom toolbars into Expression Web. This feature allows you to create any number of custom toolbars using any of the built-in (internal) Expression Web commands. The Custom Toolbars feature is found under the View menu.
Expression Web now provides a preview thumbnail of the currently selected file in the folder list panel. No more hunting around for image dimensions or sizes. In addition, the convenient link text under the size display lets you quickly copy an <img> tag or the CSS dimensions to the clipboard to paste into your markup.
If a CSS file is highlighted, you get clickable links for creating @import and <link> syntax; if a JavaScript file is selected, you can make a <script> tag with a click.
Code Editing Improvements
jQuery is the world’s most popular JavaScript framework. And now, Expression Web users can enjoy one of the best jQuery IntelliSense implementations around. One of the nicest elements of this feature is the intelligence we’ve built into creating selectors. With jQuery, you target methods at HTML elements that are identified using CSS selectors—tags, ID’s and classes.
Expression Web knows the IDs and classes that are available in your document, and will present you with the appropriate list (HTML tags, IDs, or classes), based on what you’ve started typing as a selector. In addition, Expression Web’s jQuery IntelliSense also supports IntelliSense while chaining multiple methods. In jQuery, methods can be executed one after the other within the same expression. In the example below, the css() and prepend() methods are chained, with IntelliSense operating within each chained method.
Our new Snippets panel lets you store and access snippets in a folder-based hierarchy. It comes with dozens of useful snippets in a variety of languages, and will automatically convert and load any existing custom snippets you’ve already built.
Also, the new feature was designed to preserve the ergonomics of the current snippets feature. Ctrl-Enter will bring it to the foreground with focus in the Filter field. Typing will automatically filter the list. You can use the arrow keys to navigate, and hit Enter to insert. Expression Web also now supports “wrap” snippets—where you specify code that goes before and after a selection—as well as the standard “replace” snippets.
A common pain point for web developers is the effort it takes to comment and uncomment bits of code you’re testing. Our Universal Comment/Uncomment feature will comment or uncomment code with Ctrl-j, Ctrl-Shift-j, from within whatever language you’re working with—PHP, JS, CSS, HTML.
Interactive Snapshot
In Expression Web 3 we introduced the Snapshot panel which uses SuperPreview rendering technology to allow you to preview Web pages in any version of IE (and Firefox 3.x) as you’re authoring them. This is great for layout issues, but doesn’t help if you need to test page interactivity. In Web 4 SP2, we’ve added an Interactive mode to our stable of IE renderers (as well as an interactive Firefox 3.x). Interactive mode essentially puts Internet Explorer in a panel, allowing you to see and interact with web pages during the authoring process. Mouse-overs, lightboxes and animations all work. Simply saving your changes triggers a refresh of the panel. IE Interactive uses the current version of Internet Explorer installed on your machine.
We hope you enjoy this new Expression Web service pack. It is available via the download link on the Expression Community site at https://expression.microsoft.com and will also be delivered via Microsoft update.
Alex Moskwa
Program Manager
Microsoft Expression Web
Comments
Anonymous
July 13, 2011
Hello, Do I need to have SP1 installed before I install SP2? ThanksAnonymous
July 14, 2011
Service Pack 2 is cumulative, so you can install it over either Web 4, or Web 4 SP 1. You do not need to have Web 4 SP 1 installed first. Alex Moskwa Program Manager Microsoft Expression WebAnonymous
July 26, 2011
Just updated EW4 SP2 and if you are using asp.net with Master Pages and have a filtering system set up you may lose the little arrows that allow you to change filter set up. I am going to support with this, but for now this will let anyone know that they will lose this. Worked fine yesterday, this morning I have zero filter optionsAnonymous
July 26, 2011
Looks great guys thanks!Anonymous
July 27, 2011
Great work guys! I really do like the thumbnail preview, this is a very good move Regards KevinAnonymous
August 08, 2011
When is Expression Web going to be merged with Microsoft WebMatrix?Anonymous
September 16, 2011
Is anyone looking into all the issues with the asp.net end of this service pack. I tried to go to the support forum end of EW, but there is no one there that has any idea about using filters (which I lost the use of in SP2), there are plenty of complaints to go on with this update, and it is constantly crashing. Had to go back to EW3, because of a larger site just so I could open a page that is fed by xml. Had to uninstall the SP2, just to use it on a smaller site that before I installed SP2, I had no issues with.Anonymous
September 26, 2011
When embedding a PHP object->attribute an incorrect validation error occurs. Example: <img alt="Article image" src="admin/mngArticle.php?show=<?=$article->ID?>" > This will give you a missing quote error. Am I missing something or is this a real bug?Anonymous
November 05, 2011
Saving Expression Web: www.expressionextras.com/.../the_state_of_addins.htmAnonymous
November 10, 2011
Can you guys examine this: www.namepros.com/.../737078-need-some-help-fixing-paragraph.html I'm a non-coder, and have been dealing with these huge, huge issues since Expression Web 1 (and maybe Front Page before that... can't remember). It has been years now that I've been dropping into forums, looking for help for these SAME issues. There are also a number of non-text-related bugs and annoyances that really need to be fixed, but seem to have been flagged on your bug-trackers as "never, ever fix".Anonymous
January 19, 2012
I have been unable to install the Expression Web 4 Service Pack 2 update. While installing it ask for the original disk which I put in the drive but it cannot find the file it is looking for. I have tried dozens of times to install this update without success. Is there a fix.Anonymous
February 02, 2012
For some reason while I'm using any built-in templeate (e.g: Personal 2), I can not edit the master.dwt navigation links using the "hyperlink properties"! when I get the hyperlink properties dialog I can change the display Text perfectly, but when I press the OK Button nothing change! I'm still can use the code view mode to edit the links manualy. this problem didn't apear in Ex.Web ver1,2 and i'm not sure if ver3 did it too! Expression Web is the best Web editor ever, Please... dont fail to the competitors!Anonymous
March 15, 2012
Can you release a patch that stops Edit>Undo from undoing the last 20 operations? This breaks my workflow because if I need to undo the table I just built, for example, then undoing will undo EVERYTHING I've done in the last hour.Anonymous
March 21, 2012
Getting back into designing personal low-level sites (ancestry, favorite football team, search for WWII uncle). Used to use FrontPage and it had a view I liked and am hoping it's still in WebExpressions: Site Navigation layout. It showed the hierarchy of your site with visual parent/child/home depictions of the site's structure. Is that view still available in WE4? I've looked but hoping someone knows a tip. Thanks, ChesterAnonymous
April 13, 2012
However, my most favorite feature seems to be missing. What's happened to the 'Format CSS' for automatically optimizing messy CSS files? It's no longer under the 'Format' menu.Anonymous
April 28, 2012
The comment has been removedAnonymous
May 01, 2012
Len, I assume that you mean a Web 4 upgrade, right? This SP is for Expression Web 4, so you'll need to install it on that version. One thing you can do if you have a problem is try the "Full_File" install of a later update, SP2a. You can download that at support.microsoft.com/.../2635101. Jim Cheshire MicrosoftAnonymous
May 01, 2012
I agree with the undo issue, just lost 30 min of work. Don't tell me to save ever time I make a change, make it work like every other program on the planet. "Can you release a patch that stops Edit>Undo from undoing the last 20 operations? This breaks my workflow because if I need to undo the table I just built, for example, then undoing will undo EVERYTHING I've done in the last hour."Anonymous
May 18, 2012
I tried to install Expression web 4sp2 on my window 7 laptop and it would not work. Expression web would not open up after the installation is completed. It worked before I tried to install the update. Thanks. Jere.Anonymous
July 09, 2012
Forced to switch to another web editor because of the undo bug. I lose to much work because of this bug, it's unfortunate because I've really liked using this product. The undo button will not undo the last change but a random amount of changes.Anonymous
September 27, 2012
alex, any update on expression web since sp2.Anonymous
January 25, 2013
Will any service packs be made available for the free version of Expression Web 4? This SP2 does not install with the free edition.Anonymous
February 03, 2013
Nevin, the free version of Expression Web 4 includes all of the updates in SP2, along with a couple of other small fixes. Thanks, LoriAnonymous
February 05, 2013
Any mew updates available? - <a href="ne.ucsd.edu/.../225">Shimon Haber</a>Anonymous
October 25, 2013
I can't install SP1 or SP2. I keep getting an error message stating that the service pack I am trying to install can't be installed because the program is either missing or I have the wrong version. I have never had this problem before.Anonymous
October 28, 2013
Danton, You should try installing the free version of Expression Web. It includes what was in SP1 and SP2. www.microsoft.com/.../details.aspx Alex Moskwa Program Manager @ Microsoft