Great Freeware Offline Web Page (or HTML) Viewer

[howard schwartz]

I looked for some time for a web page or html offline viewer that would load
and render a page quickly, compared to the `real' browsers like Firebird or
Netscape, and would display gui text and images, instead of just text.

I pretty much found what I was looking for in the free OFFbyOne browser at:

http://www.OffByOne.com/

It weighs in at only about 1 meg, is self contained and does not add registry
entries, or dlls, nor does it need or use any extra files or dlls. It starts up
like a flash and renders pages quite nicely. The latest version is 3.4a which
came out in 2002 and only renders HTML 3.2 standards. And I do not
think the authors are likely to update it.

Still I highly recommend it for a quick good view of simple to moderate html,
such as a resume or main page. Try it; you might like it!

Of - one tip: in your association dialogue, to make offbyone display an html
file you double click on, use the command:

OB!.exe file:///%1

Instead of just using a file argument like:

OB1.exe %1

The browser needs, as its argument, the whole html specification of a local
file, not just the filename itself.

 

[omega]

(e-mail address removed) (howard schwartz):

I looked for some time for a web page or html offline viewer that would load
and render a page quickly, compared to the `real' browsers like Firebird or
Netscape, and would display gui text and images, instead of just text.

I pretty much found what I was looking for in the free OFFbyOne browser at:

http://www.OffByOne.com/

It weighs in at only about 1 meg, is self contained and does not add registry
entries, or dlls, nor does it need or use any extra files or dlls.

[...]

OB1 has been my default htm/html handler for a couple of years. It's almost
as instantaneous as my notepad for file viewing.

My only serious qualm with it is the very ugly background color it uses when
there is not a declared color the html file. Also, one note, max file size
it handles is limited. So you need alternative viewer on standby.

Of - one tip: in your association dialogue, to make offbyone display an html
file you double click on, use the command:

OB!.exe file:///%1

This one does need the quotes (to handle spaces in filenames).

OB1.exe file:///"%1"

I think it is worthwhile to put it there, in the explorer action menu.
Even if you don't let it become the default html filetype handler. Have
it as an alternative action, available for quick view of .htms.

Still I highly recommend it for a quick good view of simple to moderate
html, such as a resume or main page. Try it; you might like it!

You know, other than the size limit, and that it ignores .css (hasn't much
bothered me, that)...the thing is I almost never get is having a problem
rendering the tons of web pages I've viewed with it. And it's very tolerant
about whatever html errors. Sure, it will ignore all page scripting, but
that's how I like my defaults there anyway.