When picking Web design tools, beginners and small-business owners often flock to Microsoft FrontPage, but serious Web shops invariably reach for Dreamweaver. When it was first launched, Macromedia's visual HTML editor captured the professional world's attention with breathtaking improvements over previous authoring tools, such as allowing site designers to switch between either code or WYSIWYG view and not altering the code of handwritten pages. Strong improvements in each of its later releases have ensured that Dreamweaver stays not only on top, but cutting-edge.
The release of Dreamweaver MX 2004 ($399 or $199 upgrade) will not disappoint. This version takes the powerful but underused concept of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and makes them central -- creating rich CSS sites with Dreamweaver is now as simple as creating less elegant, more bandwidth-hungry HTML. Other improvements include better integration with Microsoft Word and Excel, a built-in graphics editor, and a streamlined interface.
CSS can be intimidating for those not well versed in it, but Dreamweaver's new tools remove the fear, letting you spend more of your time creating clean-coded pages and less time worrying about that code. Dynamic cross-browser CSS validation insures that your pages will look exactly as you want them to in all the major browsers. You can use a CSS Rule Inspector to see which rules apply to whatever CSS operation you're working on, and CSS Code Hints to select the right options when hand-coding.
In short, Macromedia's programmers have gotten behind CSS in a major way, hoping to make the technology as widely used as it should be and allowing many Webmasters to tap its power for the first time. It's reminiscent of how the first Dreamweaver opened up rollovers and other DHTML behaviors for nonprogrammers.
At Last, Bold Stays Bold
We love the improved integration with Word and Excel; like many other Dreamweaver improvements, it feels so needed and worthwhile that you wonder why it didn't exist sooner. Simply use the Edit/Paste Formatted command and your page content will look just like its source, down to fonts, colors, and on-the-fly creation of CSS styles. If pasted data is coming from Excel, Dreamweaver will build and format an HTML table with the appropriate styles.
Dreamweaver MX 2004 also works better with Flash, allowing users to import a Flash element into a page, then customize it like any other tag -- you don't need to know how to create a Flash object to customize and edit one. The program supports Secure FTP for fully encrypted file transfers and ASP.NET objects for better customizing ASP.NET forms. The Windows version also comes with the latest version of HomeSite (5.5), for power users who like to switch to a hardcore coding environment now and then.
Another timesaver that seems obvious in hindsight is Dreamweaver's new built-in image editor; when you find an image isn't working well and you need to make a small change, such as resizing it to better fit a layout, it's just the thing. The editor won't replace Macromedia's Fireworks, but it will save you the bother of having to launch another program for quick fixes.
Screen real estate has always been a problem for Dreamweaver, since the various windows and palettes that make the application so useful also crowd each other for space, but the new version offers a more compact Insert bar and more logical tool layout. Other interface improvements include a start screen that lets you select your file or project quickly and the ability to right-click on code to call up frequently used tasks.
The new Dreamweaver is being released alongside a spate of related products in the MX line, with the $899 Studio MX 2004 suite bundling the latest versions of Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash, FreeHand, and the developer edition of ColdFusion MX 6.1. (A $999 version of the suite contains Flash MX Professional.) Of the other new programs, we're most impressed with Fireworks MX 2004 ($299), which shows significant speed gains as well as new tools and effects and the best, most natural-looking red-eye remover we've seen.
Innovative and essential, the new Dreamweaver will be welcomed into the Web shops of America. Try it out and see what the new tools inspire you to create.
