This is a dedicated thread for discussing the SitePoint article 'Review - Dreamweaver MX 2004 (Macromedia)'
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This is a dedicated thread for discussing the SitePoint article 'Review - Dreamweaver MX 2004 (Macromedia)'
If you want CSS design stick with TopStyle.
Good article. I downloaded the trial to see if it will be worth the upgrade and I think it will be. Doing CSS style sheets takes about half the time w/ DW2004. I'll definetly be upgrading!
I think Dreamweaver is giving TopStyle a run for the money as far as CSS design. Anyway, they are 2 different classes of programs; doing heavy PHP or .NET work isn't really possible in TopStyleOriginally Posted by Anonymous
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I'm not a web deisgner but one contro I founded is that it cannot be installed on my NT4 machine, but I saw that GoLiveCS is following the same way...
Good review. I've also written a review on MX 2004 if any of you are interested.
How does the CSS support compares with TopStyle 3.1? What are the things DW can do better than TopStyle and vice versa (always talking about CSS)
It's caught up as far as the type of properties supported. DW still doesn't have anything like a "preview window" available though, if you use that a lot in TopStyle.
Yes, I use the preview window, but according to the article the new DW design view renders CSS very good. So if you use code & Design view in DW wouldn't it be the same like having the preview window in Topstyle?
Does DW have any advantages over Topstyle (for CSS)
Well, DW's design view is very nice now. It renders pages similar to IE6 for Windows, which is a big improvement over even DWMX. Dreamweaver doesn't allow for anything other than code view when you're editing CSS files, unlike TS's preview. TopStyle still has it beat on very complex/advanced CSS2 stuff though (especially when it comes to preview), but you can still use both if need be (TopStyle integrates very well with DW
Well, you will find most programs dropping NT4 support as the OS has reached the end of its lifespan and is not being supported by Microsoft along with Windows 95 and 98.I'm not a web deisgner but one contro I founded is that it cannot be installed on my NT4 machine
I don't think DWMX2002 ran on NT4 either.
I just installed my shiny new copy of DWMX2004 and I love itA clear improvement over DWMX, just wish I could afford FWMX2003 as well
It is okay, the interface still needs major work in my opinion, like not being able to stack the property panel with the others is a major drawback and the little buttons between windows to collapse the panels is not intuitive at all. Took me forty minutes to figure out how to collapse the panels so there was actual room to edit a file. Finally, my Modify menu doesn't work. All it can do is give a javascript error which is a very big issue. One thing in using javascript in the interface, quite another when it doesn't work and disables key features.
Another Dreamweaver Demo that will be deleted and I recommend not wasting money on. Purchase Top Style Pro and a nice 19" monitor with the money you would have spent on a new copy of Dreamweaver.
Wayne,
Of the four people using MX 2004 in their daily work at our office, not one of us has seen that issue of the Modify menu not working. Definitely sounds like a system-specific issue that might be cured by a simple reinstall of the software.
The interface desginers at Macromedia certainly don't shy away from nonstandard interface elements, which can indeed hurt the initial usability of the software.
As for recommending TopStyle Pro as an alternative, I agree with you if CSS design is all you need to do.
Kevin Yank
CTO, sitepoint.com
I wrote: Simply JavaScript | BYO PHP/MySQL | Tech Times | Editize
Baby’s got back—a hard back, that is: The Ultimate CSS Reference
Actually this is a result of copying the Dreamweaver install from another computer over to your system instead of doing a full install. If you just copy over from another system it doesn't put all of the support files in place and the menus act up just like he mentioned. I found this out when I was trying to get Dreamweaver working on my system after my trial ran out, but my shipment hadn't arrived. I had to wait for my copy to finally arrive a couple days after the trial ran out and then install and all was fine.
I wasn't trying to imply anything. Realized that after I posted it. Just telling you what I had found when I was messing with the program some.
hmmm. Could it be because you have tried to use the crack that is floating around instead of a legitimate copy?
...Finally, my Modify menu doesn't work. All it can do is give a javascript error which is a very big issue. One thing in using javascript in the interface, quite another when it doesn't work and disables key features...
did i miss something? how does him getting error mean he used a crack?Could it be because you have tried to use the crack that is floating around instead of a legitimate copy?
I guess if that is the file available on the Macromedia site. Why would I want to crack their software? Only use it for a few days after a new release to see if it is the software that I might want to use. Hasn't proven to be so yet.
Doesn't matter, I have resolved the problem by deleting the software. Macromedia hasn't earned their $400 from me yet. Software is worthless to me without CSS preview. I still don't like the interface either. I much prefer a light interface such as Textpad or Editplus for heavy duty PHP programming. Maybe, I'll take my own advice and get those dual 19" monitors that I want.
I'm beginning to wonder how stable the software is myself. I've been using the trial 6 days now and it's had some fatal error atleast 10 times in the past 6 days...not cool...
I have been using the program (full version I purchased) for about a week and a half now and haven't had a single DW crash. Now the program is pretty hardware intensive and requires some serious resources, are you sure your system is without problems? Usually when people post about a problem that isn't consistant with input from other people it is due to a previously unidentified problem in their system itself, not in the software. It could be that previous programs you ran just never accessed that portion of memory, or weren't stored in that sector on the harddrive, or something similar.
Again, I am not implying anything about anyone, just voices some opinions. Every software program out there is not for everyone, Dreamweaver is not the end all/beat all software package for every single user. For some it is the best thing since sliced bread, and for some it just doesn't pass the muster.
Well I've been using Dreamweaver MX and all prior versions since their release...and i just built my computer a couple months ago...so who knows....oh well...
I have been using the trial of Dreamweaver too, and had no problams either.
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