Color-Coded Source View in Safari

Filed under: Tips & Tricks, Apple, How-To

Tagged: safari, view source

One of my only gripes with Safari 3 is the lack of color-coded HTML source in the "View Source" window that is presented in the View menu or when right-clicking on a page. While it's true that you can view color-coded source code in the Web Inspector, you have to first enable the Developer menu in the Advanced tab of the Safari preferences.

Not only that, but getting to the source of a page in the Web Inspector takes a bit longer - first you have to open it from the Develop menu or hit Command-Option-I, but you then have to click on the name of the document you're viewing. That's a pain in the rear, especially if you prefer to keep your hands hovered over the keyboard unless you absolutely need the mouse.

I just stumbled upon this neat little Safari plugin that enables you to view any page's source with color-coded HTML. The plugin, SafariSource is made by TildeSoft. Once installed, all you have to do is open up the built-in "View Source" window from the View menu or by hitting Command-Option-U. The requires one less step than the Web Inspector and doesn't require using the mouse.

You'll need SIMBL to use SafariSource, but if you're doing work where you need color-coded HTML source, chances are you already have that installed =).

Now if only I could find a way to make Safari properly format XML files...