Hey All,
I'm trying to find the applications that have generated particular pages on the net. Often a <meta name="generator" content="..."> tag is given.
Anyone got a reference of the content strings that shows the apps used?
Often these are Microsoft engine generated "MSHTML 5.00....", etc., but I expect that most of these pages are generated by third party authoring software (or is it MS Word).
Thanks in advance.
pbhj
PS: Yes I googled extensively, but there's a collision with "meta tag generators". MSDN confirmed that MSHTML is used in third party apps but nothing about versions -> apps.
This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.
Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.
If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.
Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.
Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.
Access the answers to your technology questions today.
30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.
Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.
Try it out and discover for yourself.
30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.
Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.
>> Except that lots of the pages I've looked at do have generator strings. And that's what I'm after.<<
So, what is your question?
Usually, software uses the GENERATOR meta NAME to credit the tool, script or application that generates the page or part of the page.
"Typically the name and version number of a publishing tool used to create the page. Could be used by tool vendors to assess market penetration."
http://vancouver-webpages.
However, the specification does not list legal values for the name attribute, hence, the GENERATOR meta NAME is neither necessary or "standard".
http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-h
The common use is:
<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 4.0">
http://www.html-reference.
If you share with us what you are trying to accomplish, we may be able to help you more.
Best regards,
Esopo.
Basically I'm trying to determine the applications that are used to generate pages on the internet. Consider it a statistical analysis - Lots of pages use the MSHTML engine (via third party software??) ... and I'm curious about other generator tags too.
So, as with one of your links:
<META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="Mozilla/3.0b7Gold
I now can add this to my list as referring to "Netscape Navigator Gold".
I am particularly interested in the MSHTML generated pages at present, but any info is good.
Examples are:
<meta content="MSHTML 5.50.4134.600" name="GENERATOR">
<META content='"MSHTML 4.72.3110.7"' name=GENERATOR>
<META content="MSHTML 5.50.4522.1800" name=GENERATOR>
<META content="MSHTML 5.00.2614.3500" name=GENERATOR>
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2600.0" name=GENERATOR>
Thanks
p
PS: My reasons, though I don't see how they are relevant to the question, are loosely commercial. I'm considering it as a method of targetted site optimisation services.
>>My reasons, though I don't see how they are relevant to the question, are loosely commercial. I'm considering it as a method of targetted site optimisation services.<<
I can see why you think that may not be revelant.
In my years here at EE, I've found that many askers (including myself) ask the wrong questions. Usually we get stuck following an idea of our own and ask the Q based on where we are. But once you explain what you are trying to do, you can benefit from other experts' ideas.
About half the time, askers end up taking a different approach once they hear what other experts have to say about the reasons for the Q.
*******
About different GENERATOR values,
That's a tough one. I couldn't find any reference to common GENERATOR values.
Here is a list that I gathered myself:
Allaire Homesite 3.0
Claris Home Page 3.0
Microsoft FrontPage 2.0
Microsoft FrontPage 3.0
Microsoft FrontPage 4.0
Microsoft FrontPage 5.0
CodeCharge Studio 2.3.2.24
HTMLedit
Adobe PageMill 3.0 Mac
Manually (probably not an application ;)
http://www.web3d.org/x3d/c
Mozilla/3.01Gold (Win95; I) [Netscape]
Mozilla/4.5 [en] (Win95; I) [Netscape]
Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 7.1
Microsoft Visual Studio 7.0
Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.40
WordPress 1.5.1.3
Internet Assistant for Word 1.0Z
Internet Assistant for Microsoft Word 2.0z
flash
BBEdit 5.1.1
PostNuke 0.7.6.0 - http://postnuke.com
notepad
TagPromoter
SubmitCorner Generator - www.submitcorner.com
XOOPS
EditPlus
RoboHELP by eHelp Corporation - www.ehelp.com
FreeWebSubmission.com Meta Tag Generator
Dreamweaver MX 2004
Site Technologies QuickSite Version 2.5.3
Pico
MSHTML 5.00.2314.1000
I used a google search to find these:
http://www.google.com/sear
OK, thanks for your help.
However, I was trying to identify content generators from the generator tag. Specifically generators that were listed as using MSHTML (which I gather is a Microsoft DLL). I appreciate your effort, but the only MSHTML generators listed have not got the applications listed against them. Which is the whole point of the question.
Usually on EE if someone has given response then a response will not be received from anyone else. So I'll probably have to re-issue the question.
I'm not trying to be cruel - I really do appreciate your generous spirit - but if you read the question you'd have realised that you haven't answered it. I can already use google, thanks.
No problem.
Although,
>>I'm trying to find the applications that have generated particular pages on the net. Often a <meta name="generator" content="..."> tag is given.<<
>>Often these are Microsoft engine generated...<<<
I understand that my posts have not been helpful to you, but I think you need to rephrase your question if you want to get more accurate help. From my point of view, it looks as thought you are trying to fint the applications that have generated particular pages on the net, where often a <meta name=generator content"..."> tag is given.
Business Accounts
Answer for Membership
by: EsopoPosted on 2005-08-21 at 11:35:22ID: 14719839
>>Often a <meta name="generator" content="..."> tag is given.<<
Yes, some generators will give themselves credit, but most of the good ones don't.
A good page generator leaves no traces. DreamWeaver for example (the leading webdev application) does not leave traces behind, except for some comments if the designer used certain tools like templates. Usually, code editors (not WYSIWYG) don't use the meta "generator" tag either.
Most serious coders/designers will create their sites from scratch, leaving no "generator" tags.
Unless you are reviewing bad code, usually there is no way to tell how it was generated; most commonly because it was not "generated" but hand-made.