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ArticleBot · Oct 2, 2003, 23:38

This is a dedicated thread for discussing the SitePoint article 'Review - Dreamweaver MX 2004 (Macromedia)'

Shpigford · Oct 3, 2003, 02:26

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!

pippo · Oct 3, 2003, 05:36

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...

Hierophant · Oct 5, 2003, 10:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by pippo

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...

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.

S7even · Oct 5, 2003, 08:11

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)

vgarcia · Oct 5, 2003, 08:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by S7even

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.

S7even · Oct 5, 2003, 08:40

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)

vgarcia · Oct 5, 2003, 09:55

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

).

vgarcia · Oct 5, 2003, 11:14

I don't think DWMX2002 ran on NT4 either.

Cam · Oct 6, 2003, 02:13

I just installed my shiny new copy of DWMX2004 and I love it

A clear improvement over DWMX, just wish I could afford FWMX2003 as well

Hierophant · Oct 6, 2003, 09:45

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.

brandenb · Oct 7, 2003, 21:00

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...

Hierophant · Oct 7, 2003, 21:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by brandenb

hmmm. 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.

Kevin Yank · Oct 6, 2003, 17:03

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.

GHicks · Oct 6, 2003, 21:48

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.

Hierophant · Oct 6, 2003, 21:51

Hmmm.. I downloaded it from Macromedia's site onto the computer and installed it by double-clicking the downloaded file on the same computer.

GHicks · Oct 6, 2003, 22:05

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.

Shpigford · Oct 7, 2003, 21:24

Quote:

Could it be because you have tried to use the crack that is floating around instead of a legitimate copy?

did i miss something? how does him getting error mean he used a crack?

Shpigford · Oct 7, 2003, 21:34

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...

GHicks · Oct 8, 2003, 12:31

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.

Shpigford · Oct 8, 2003, 14:35

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...

GHicks · Oct 11, 2003, 10:48

It is possible that the overclocking is where the problem lies. If I were you and wanted to see the program results for sure I would turn off the overclock and see how the software runs then. Just because other programs don't cause a crash doesn't mean a thing. They may not use the resources of the processor like DW does. They might not access the same segments of memory as DW does. I would suggest you turn off the overclocking and check it for sure. You can pick up a boxed AMD 2400+ chip with a 333mhz FSB for about $100 (less if you really look). So I couldn't see the benefit of overclocking a chip that is so easily replaced.

Just my 2 cents worth, not trying to start any arguments/debates. Just voicing opinion.

VodkaFish · Oct 12, 2003, 23:23

The only time I've had errors with it is when I'm exiting the program, and exiting other programs as well (during a work day I'll have many programs open and then shut them all down at once when I go home for my nightly nap).

GHicks · Oct 13, 2003, 14:53

I haven't really noticed much of a slowdown, I am running DW-MX2004 on a P4 2Ghz with 512meg RAM and it seems responsive. The only delays I see are doing the startup and shutdown of DW. I get the same delay opening and closing Photoshop Elements 2.0. But once either program is up and running (quite often together) they respond quickly for the most part. (Do a major change on a picture file and there is quite a delay at times, but that has always been the case.)

Correction: I said DW-MX2003 earlier, but mis-spoke, I am running DW-MX2004 actually. Though I never ran 2003 so I don't know about a comparible slowdown.

u4ea · Oct 24, 2003, 08:26

All in all I like Macromedia Studio MX 2004 -

Dreamweaver seems a lot slower then the 2003 edition... which is a bit of a bummer. Still getting used to some of the additions and changes.

Im running a 2.8Ghz
With 1 GIG Rambus

Oct 2, 2003, 23:38	#1
ArticleBot SitePoint Articles Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 0	Discussion thread for Review - Dreamweaver MX 2004 (Macromedia) This is a dedicated thread for discussing the SitePoint article 'Review - Dreamweaver MX 2004 (Macromedia)'

Oct 13, 2003, 14:53	#24
GHicks SitePoint Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Prescott Valley, AZ Posts: 15	I haven't really noticed much of a slowdown, I am running DW-MX2004 on a P4 2Ghz with 512meg RAM and it seems responsive. The only delays I see are doing the startup and shutdown of DW. I get the same delay opening and closing Photoshop Elements 2.0. But once either program is up and running (quite often together) they respond quickly for the most part. (Do a major change on a picture file and there is quite a delay at times, but that has always been the case.) Correction: I said DW-MX2003 earlier, but mis-spoke, I am running DW-MX2004 actually. Though I never ran 2003 so I don't know about a comparible slowdown. Last edited by GHicks; Nov 19, 2003 at 14:28.

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Oct 3, 2003, 02:26	#2
Shpigford Formerly known as RockNRollPig Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 3,424	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!

Oct 3, 2003, 05:36	#3
pippo FreeBSD The Power to Serve Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Italy Posts: 4,574	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...

Oct 5, 2003, 08:11	#5
S7even SitePoint Evangelist Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 481	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)

Oct 5, 2003, 08:40	#7
S7even SitePoint Evangelist Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 481	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)

Oct 5, 2003, 09:55	#8
vgarcia ☆★☆★ Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: in transition Posts: 21,477	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 ).

Oct 5, 2003, 11:14	#9
vgarcia ☆★☆★ Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: in transition Posts: 21,477	I don't think DWMX2002 ran on NT4 either.

Oct 6, 2003, 02:13	#10
Cam ********* Wizard Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Burpengary, Australia Posts: 4,601	I just installed my shiny new copy of DWMX2004 and I love it A clear improvement over DWMX, just wish I could afford FWMX2003 as well

Oct 6, 2003, 09:45	#11
Hierophant Your Lord and Master, Foamy Join Date: Aug 1999 Location: Lancaster, Ca. USA Posts: 12,732	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.

Oct 7, 2003, 21:00	#12
brandenb SitePoint Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Indiana Posts: 1	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...

Oct 6, 2003, 17:03	#14
Kevin Yank SitePoint resident know-it-all Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 2,877	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.

Oct 6, 2003, 21:48	#15
GHicks SitePoint Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Prescott Valley, AZ Posts: 15	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.

Oct 6, 2003, 21:51	#16
Hierophant Your Lord and Master, Foamy Join Date: Aug 1999 Location: Lancaster, Ca. USA Posts: 12,732	Hmmm.. I downloaded it from Macromedia's site onto the computer and installed it by double-clicking the downloaded file on the same computer.

Oct 6, 2003, 22:05	#17
GHicks SitePoint Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Prescott Valley, AZ Posts: 15	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.

Oct 7, 2003, 21:34	#19
Shpigford Formerly known as RockNRollPig Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 3,424	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...

Oct 8, 2003, 12:31	#20
GHicks SitePoint Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Prescott Valley, AZ Posts: 15	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.

Oct 8, 2003, 14:35	#21
Shpigford Formerly known as RockNRollPig Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 3,424	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...

Oct 11, 2003, 10:48	#22
GHicks SitePoint Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Prescott Valley, AZ Posts: 15	It is possible that the overclocking is where the problem lies. If I were you and wanted to see the program results for sure I would turn off the overclock and see how the software runs then. Just because other programs don't cause a crash doesn't mean a thing. They may not use the resources of the processor like DW does. They might not access the same segments of memory as DW does. I would suggest you turn off the overclocking and check it for sure. You can pick up a boxed AMD 2400+ chip with a 333mhz FSB for about $100 (less if you really look). So I couldn't see the benefit of overclocking a chip that is so easily replaced. Just my 2 cents worth, not trying to start any arguments/debates. Just voicing opinion.

Oct 12, 2003, 23:23	#23
VodkaFish Drop em if you got em Join Date: May 2003 Location: NY Posts: 728	The only time I've had errors with it is when I'm exiting the program, and exiting other programs as well (during a work day I'll have many programs open and then shut them all down at once when I go home for my nightly nap).

Oct 24, 2003, 08:26	#25
u4ea SitePoint Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: South Florida Posts: 18	All in all I like Macromedia Studio MX 2004 - Dreamweaver seems a lot slower then the 2003 edition... which is a bit of a bummer. Still getting used to some of the additions and changes. Im running a 2.8Ghz With 1 GIG Rambus