HotDog vs Dreamweaver - should I switch

[denali941]

I have been using HotDog html editor for some time and was wondering if I should switch to the more "industry standard" Dreamweaver?

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks

denali941

[Justin S]

I've never used HotDog before, but I'm guessing they're pretty different programs. My suggestion would be to download the free trial from Macromedia to see if you like how the program works before switching.

[ady]

it would depend on what you want your software to do. Certainly before you spend that kind of money get the demo and have a play around. If you are looking for a true wysiwyg program then I would recommend NetObjects Fusion 5. It's a lot cheaper and easier to use than Dreamweaver.

[Elledan]

Switching would be wrong, although DreamWeaver 4 is an excellent product, it still misses some functions and the simplicity of a simple editor like Edit+, which I'm using to code PHP with.

I'd like to second what the others said: download the trial and see if you like it

[malleron]

Like the other posters, I'd agree that whether to switch or not depends on what your ultimate goal is for your design process.

While learning new software is a worthy goal (increasing your skill set, etc.), it can be counterproductive if it hampers your ability to get a site doing what you need it to do.

You might want to play around with the Dreamweaver demo, but be aware that there is somewhat of a learning curve. I took up Dreamweaver after using HotDog and Frontpage, and it took me quite a bit of time to get the hang of it. I personally like Dreamweaver best because of its extensibility, which helps automate quite a bit of my design process and helps me get an idea on the screen in very little time. It's also easier for me to learn new & advanced design concepts with Dreamweaver than it was with HotDog or Frontpage.

Still, if you're comfortable using HotDog and it gets the job done, then I say stick with it. I'd only consider switching if you know for certain you can do more with another program than you can with HotDog.

[Nicky]

I have always valued HotDog because I believe that when starting out, because of the split view, it showed new HTML coders what the code looked like!

As said, downlaod the trial, but I can speak for myself and say that I prefer HotDog.

[Laura Brandt]

Originally posted by Nicky
I have always valued HotDog because I believe that when starting out, because of the split view, it showed new HTML coders what the code looked like!

As said, downlaod the trial, but I can speak for myself and say that I prefer HotDog.

Actually, Dreamweaver 4 comes with split view as well (although I seldom use it). I use Dreamweaver because of its clean code (compared to other software such as FrontPage which inserts funny tags), Template ability, source formating feature and table-friendly (I find that Dreamweaver has an ability to do colspan and rowspan without messing up the other parts of the table. I have used some software which mess up the table when I do rowspan and colspan). If you are doing layout with complex/nested HTML tables, Dreamweaver is definitely good.

As for PHP coding or other scripting coding, I use BBEdit.

[Goof]

I would very highly recommend Dreamweaver. Because of some of the discussion here, though, I may check out HotDog. Currently I use either Arachnophilia or Notepad, neither of which is WYSIWYG (which might be easier for smaller projects).

Goof