Dreamweaver benefits

[agibsonsw]

Hello.
I'm using a trial version of Dreamweaver but think I must be missing something. What advantage has it over all the free editors out there - Notepad++, NetBeans, Komodo, etc.?

Most other editors also offer intelli-sense, code-completion, context help, etc. The css panel is useful but not as good as TopStyle Lite.

The only real difference I've come across so far is the Design view and (JavaScript) behaviours. I admit the Design view can be useful, even for a coder.

It's an expensive product and i can't see the justification for the cost? (I don't intend to purchase, but am curious why people/companies do). Andy.

[HansV]

Dreamweaver is more than a source code editor - you could view it as a website editor. It lets you upload files to your website and synchronize files on your website with your source files, and more.

[StuartR]

Dreamweaver also integrates well with the rest of the Adobe product set, enabling you to create content and move it between applications.

[agibsonsw]

Thanks both. I can see there would be benefits for a company and presume they could purchase a bulk license to reduce costs.

I suppose it would be a sensible choice for an individual web designer, as employees might expect experience of it. Andy.

[StuartR]

...presume they could purchase a bulk license to reduce costs.
...

My employers have a worldwide license for the Adobe Creative Suite for thousands of employees, I guess they are probably paying a lower price than if you just buy 1 license.

[Jezza]

Andrew, I used Dreamweaver for years when it was originally owned/created by Macromedia and served me well although I was lucky as it was on a company licence. Times have moved on and I now work in other areas requiring HTML coding, I have had no experience since it moved onto Adobe but I was always aware of "grumbles" from other developers both at work and other forums that Dreamweaver tended to add superfluous code which I tended to agree in certain aspects of my work. Again I cannot comment on the Adobe flavour of the product.

If you are a "one man band" and don't want to afford a licence a very good product is KompoZer which allows tabbed editing and viewing, a powerful WYSIWYG and FTP management, exactly what Dreamweaver has and all for the princely sum of

[agibsonsw]

I'll investigate that. Does it offer code completion for HTML, CSS and JavaScript?

I (kinda) wish you hadn't recommended it as I've already got about 15 different editors. I can't seem to resist them!

[Jezza]

I'll investigate that. Does it offer code completion for HTML, CSS and JavaScript?

I (kinda) wish you hadn't recommended it as I've already got about 15 different editors. I can't seem to resist them!

I know exactly what you mean

Kompozer does have full CSS support and the ability to validate W3C, as for javascript, specialised editors are few and far between so I tend to use Notepad ++ on my personal laptop but my servers have alsways had Edit Plus on them (not my choice) which serve equally well

[agibsonsw]

I'm a fan of Notepad++ too and always tend to migrate back to it. TopStyle Lite is great for css.

I like the Free JavaScript Editor by Yaldex.com. It's kinda cool and has a JavaScript syntax checker.

[jmt356]

Dreamweaver also lets you create a template and link all of the pages in your site to the template such that if you want to change something in the design of your web site you don't have to change all of the individual pages but rather just change the template. I'm not sure if the freeware can do this.

[ChrisGreaves]

I'm a fan of Notepad++

Andy, I wrote my own compiler/FTPer - WbWrd - and you might want to investigate the fun of doing your own. You are more than welcome to experiment with a copy of mine.

My HTML/CSS knowledge is very limited; I made a decision 10 years ago that I would not become one of 10,000,000,000 web designers out there. In 1997 when Word97 offered saveAs HTML format I made the first essay. Generated code was bloated, and I decided that since my web pages were little more than brochureware I should be able to effect a translation myself.

Code: Select all

For each Paragraph in ActiveDocument.Paragraphs call TranslateAParagraph(Paragraph)

The main benefit to me is that with over 1,500 web pages, I can update a single DOC file on-the-fly, as a thought strikes me, and then continue with my current project, knowing that the updated DOC will be recompiled and FTPd next time I compile that sub-tree.

I hope that makes sense.
In view of the frustration you are saving me each day with Google Search results I'd be happy to walk you through it.
I do understand that your original query was one of curiousity ("Why do people pay?")

[agibsonsw]

Hello, and thanks very much for the kind words.
My intention is that I might show someone how to use Dreamweaver, but I might need to use it myself to help someone maintain their site. So I've been digging into its depths - Spry, Behaviors, etc.. But from my own perspective I've been comparing it to other (free editors) that I use. I can see that the main benefit for a company is it's site management and the fact that most designers have had contact with it. And site templates as well.
Eventually I think I'll revert back to my preferred HTML editor(s) - DW makes too many changes to my code, and the Spry framework is just overkill.

As part of my studies I'll need to know about ftp and file maintenance as well, so I'll probably be seeking a little guidance when the time comes

I'm distracted at the moment, though, by the search page that I'm working on. I'm going to modify it so that I can dynamically add domains to omit and it will remember these domains the next time I load the page.

Sensibly, I'll use Dreamweaver to build the page - so I can revise JavaScript, CSS, HTML and study DW all at the same time! Thanks again, Andy.

[ChrisGreaves]

As part of my studies I'll need to know about ftp and file maintenance as well, so I'll probably be seeking a little guidance when the time comes

Andy you're more than welcome to my Word VBA code.
I call it "mine", but of course it was born elsewhere ...

... dynamically add domains to omit ...

This sounds like what I dreamt of a few days ago; the ability to be at a link to, or to be at a site, and click a button that said "Add this to my blacklist and inhibit search results".
If you get this working I will buy and give to you any postal district of London UK you choose⁽¹⁾.

Sensibly, I'll use Dreamweaver to build the page - so I can revise JavaScript, CSS, HTML and study DW all at the same time!

You are an idiot and you know it! hah hah!
Sure, go ahead and master four new technologies at the same time. Just don't come running to me with your bloodied knee!


⁽¹⁾ Subject of course to my revenue stream over the next 1,000 years.