Eric Meyer’s CSS Sculptor (Expression)

I was looking for some resources online to help me get up to speed with Expression and stumbled across Eric Meyer’s CSS Layout Generator software that works as an add-on for Microsoft Expression.  This is a no-brainer, wonderful idea.  I am a huge fan of code generators and anything else that will help me save time while styling layouts.  The cost of the software is very nice also, it retails for $100 I think but they are running a promotion right now where you can get it for half price.   I didn’t see a demo download but did find a feature tour and a solution recipe section with some pretty interesting things. 

One of the cool things about this software is that it allows you to easily use one of the predefined layouts that comes with the package and then “tweak it as needed”.  It looks pretty intuitive from what I have seen also.  I am not 100$ sure what kind of code it throws in but w/ it being from Eric Meyer it has to be pretty clean and validatable code.  One of the other cool features about this software that I have found is that it allows you to generate not only your main stylesheet but it also generates a print stylesheet also.

Here are some of the features I pulled from the website:

Totally simplifies CSS-based layouts

Modern Web design requires Web standards compliant CSS-based layouts. CSS Sculptor meets that requirement with flexibility, expertise and ease-of-use. Select a core layout, personalize it however you’d like and then output it, ready for your content and cross-browser compatible.

Integrates background images into your layouts

Background images are one of the true artist tools available to the CSS designer. With CSS Sculptor, you can easily incorporate background images into any part of your page, including the body tag or any individual layout div. Add faux columns, watermarks or repeating gradients with no hassle.

Saves and restores layout designs

Build your own collection of preset layouts with CSS Sculptor. Save any modified layout as a new design, which you can easily re-use or further modify. Export your presets to use in another system or share with others—and just as easily import preset designs.

Puts CSS expert Eric Meyer to work for you

Eric Meyer is recognized world-wide as a leading authority on Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Eric is the author of numerous definitive books, articles and posts on CSS. Eric worked side-by-side with WebAssist to ensure that CSS Sculptor met the demanding needs of today’s Web professional.

Combines screen and print style sheet design

Make your Web pages hard copy compatible with CSS Sculptor’s easy to use Print features. CSS Sculptor converts your screen layout to a format more compatible with the printed page with just a few mouse clicks. Easily convert your page to black and white and hide any selected layout element.

Controls your CSS output from top to bottom

Store your CSS Sculptor-generated styles wherever you’d like—embedded in the of your Web page or in a new or existing style sheet. Specify the amount of placeholder content: full, minimal or none. Turn CSS comments on or off. Create your page your way with Eric Meyer’s CSS Sculptor.

Source: WebAssist Professional – Eric Meyer’s CSS Layout Generator for Microsoft Expression Web