Editing OmniWeb (section)

==History==
OmniWeb was originally developed by Omni Group for the [[NeXTSTEP]] platform and was released by [[Lighthouse Design]] on March 17, 1995,<ref>{{cite web |last=Sendall |first=Mike |title=World Wide Web Clients |url=https://www.w3.org/Clients.html |publisher=[[World Wide Web Consortium]] |access-date=December 8, 2018 |date=March 29, 1995}}</ref> after only one month's development.<ref>{{cite web |last=Berners-Lee |first=Tim |title=A Brief History of the Web |url=https://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/TimBook-old/History.html |publisher=[[World Wide Web Consortium]] |access-date=December 8, 2018 |author-link=Tim Berners-Lee |year=1993}}</ref> As NeXTSTEP evolved into [[OPENSTEP]] and then Mac OS X, OmniWeb was updated to run on these platforms. These early versions of OmniWeb also run on [[Microsoft Windows]] through the [[Cocoa (API)|Yellow Box]] or the OpenStep frameworks. After [[Sun Microsystems]] bought Lighthouse Design, the Omni Group released the product from version 2.5 onwards. From version 4.0 onwards, OmniWeb was developed solely for the OS X platform.

OmniWeb was developed using the [[Cocoa (software)|Cocoa API]], which allows it to take full advantage of OS X features. It uses [[Quartz (graphics layer)|Quartz]] to render images and smooth text. It uses multiple processors, if available, and features an interface that uses [[Aqua (user interface)|Aqua UI]] features such as drawers, sheets, and customizable toolbars.

The Omni Group originally employed its proprietary [[HTML]] [[Browser engine|layout engine]] that uses standard API [[Cocoa text system|NSText]] components.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/browsers.evolt.org/browsers/omniweb/MacOSX_Server/3.0/releasenotes.html |title=OmniWeb Release Notes |quote=Text is now displayed in our own custom view instead of a modified NSTextView. |access-date=December 8, 2018}}</ref> However, this engine was very slow, particularly when scrolling, and was not fully compatible with the most recent [[web standards]], such as [[Cascading Style Sheets]]. In OmniWeb version 4.5, the Omni Group adopted [[Apple Inc.|Apple's]] [[KHTML]]-based [[WebKit|WebCore]] rendering engine,<ref>{{cite web |last1=De Chant |first1=Tim |title=Safari 16 finally adds a feature I've been missing since OmniWeb went defunct |url=https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/13/ive-missed-this-feature-since-omniweb-was-shuttered-safari-16-just-brought-it-back/ |website=[[TechCrunch]] |access-date=11 January 2024 |date=13 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://old.macedition.com/cb/resources/ow_notes.shtml |title=MacEdition Guide to CSS2 Support in Mac-only Browsers: Notes on Pre-WebCore OmniWeb |access-date=December 8, 2018 |date=May 17, 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=July 7, 2003 |access-date=December 8, 2018 |url=https://www.mactech.com/2003/07/07/omniweb-4-5-beta-2-released/ |title=OmniWeb 4.5 Beta 2 Released}}</ref> which was created by Apple for its [[Safari (web browser)|Safari]] browser.

On August 11, 2004, the Omni Group released version 5.0 of OmniWeb, which added several new features. The most notable addition was an unusual implementation of [[Tab (GUI)|tabbed browsing]], in which the tabs are displayed vertically in a drawer on the side of the window (including optional thumbnail pictures of the pages.) Despite controversy over the merits of a tab drawer over a tab toolbar, the feature persists through the final version.

On September 7, 2006, version 5.5 was released. Major new features include the use of a custom version of [[WebKit]] instead of WebCore,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hicksdesign.co.uk/journal/a-quick-guide-to-omniweb-55-sp6 | title=A quick guide to Omniweb 5.5 sp6 |first=Jon |last=Hicks |date=April 27, 2006 |work=Hicksdesign |access-date=December 8, 2018}}</ref> [[universal binary]] support, saving to the [[Web archiving|web archive]], support for user-defined [[style sheet (web development)|style sheets]], a "Select Next Link" feature, [[File Transfer Protocol|FTP]] folder display, ad-blocking improvements, updated [[language localisation|localizations]], and many other small changes and bug fixes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.omnigroup.com/blog/OmniWeb_5.5_released |title=OmniWeb 5.5 released |first=Linda |last=Sharps |date=September 7, 2006 |access-date=December 8, 2018}}</ref>

OmniWeb was Omni Group's flagship app, but as OS X web browsers improved&mdash;Apple eventually bundled Safari into OS X&mdash; and Omni successfully introduced other products such as [[OmniGraffle]] and [[OmniOutliner]], OmniWeb's importance diminished.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.inelegantsolutions.com/2009/03/why-omniweb-failed/ |title=Why OmniWeb Failed |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625133617/http://www.inelegantsolutions.com/2009/03/why-omniweb-failed/ |archive-date=June 25, 2016 |access-date=December 8, 2018 |first=Jonathan |last=Bailey}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=10707 |title=Will there ever be an Omniweb 6? |date=November 25, 2008 |author=NickM |access-date=December 8, 2018}}</ref> OmniWeb's price was successively lowered, first to $39.95, then on February 24, 2009, Omni Group announced that OmniWeb would be made available for free, a change from its previous price of $14.95.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.omnigroup.com/blog/OmniWeb_OmniDazzle_OmniDiskSweeper_and_OmniObjectMeter_now_freeware |title=OmniWeb, OmniDazzle, OmniDiskSweeper, and OmniObjectMeter now freeware |date=February 24, 2009 |first=Linda |last=Sharps |access-date=December 8, 2018}}</ref>