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software review
[ programming ]
Adobe Dreamweaver CS3
Julie Smyth : August 2007
Quick Facts -
Publisher: AdobeJulie Smyth : August 2007
Cool: An updated and comprehensive look into ActionScript 3.0 and the fundamentals behind it. Uncool: A bit difficult for newbies to programming.
Last month we began reviewing the Adobe Creative Suite 3 with our review of Photoshop CS3. This month we're going to take a look at Macromedia's flagship product Dreamweaver and it's new label Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 ... Adobe and Dreamweaver in the same sentence ... it just doesn't seem right somehow.
And, I must say, after opening up Photoshop CS3 and finding all the new "square-ness" I was a little disappointed to find that Dreamweaver was really very much the same as it used to be in Macromedia's Version 8. What has changed, in some ways, is the integration aspect with other Adobe products.
New Features
So, what else is new? Let's take a look:
And, I must say, after opening up Photoshop CS3 and finding all the new "square-ness" I was a little disappointed to find that Dreamweaver was really very much the same as it used to be in Macromedia's Version 8. What has changed, in some ways, is the integration aspect with other Adobe products.
New Features
So, what else is new? Let's take a look:
- Dreamweaver and Photoshop are finally an old married couple with cut and paste sewn up between the two. Dreamweaver will receive an image cut straight out of Photoshop and even ask how you would like it saved. A marriage made in heaven? Well, perhaps. But once you have your image safely pasted into Dreamweaver the only quick edit button is with either Fireworks or a generic Image Editor, which was already there in Version 8.
- There is support for Ajax with the new Spry "includes" and there are Spry "widgets" as well, so developers have a win there.
- There is a nice browser compatibility checker and a validator included, which makes life a little easier.
- CSS has been improved with the ability to easily move CSS code from inline to head, from head to external sheet, from document to document, or between external sheets. Although, I found that when DW was confused by my actions it just dumped the CSS into the head and left it stranded outside of the external style sheet. Annoyingly not warning me that it was doing it. Dang, I hate untidy code.
I've been working through CS3 for a few weeks now and I've come to the conclusion that these new features don't seem to warrant the upgrade from Dreamweaver 8 to Dreamweaver CS3, for me at least. The product is virtually the same as it was, with a lot of the problems still weighing it down. It's still my tool of choice for development purposes, don't get me wrong, I'm just saying that it hasn't been enhanced that much. I guess the good news is that it hasn't been changed to reflect an Adobe product like Go-Live. It is still the good old, slightly flawed, but highly lovable Dreamweaver we have all come to admire.
On the Downside
There is, however, a definite minus for people who upgrade and have existing 3rd party extensions that they've paid a lot of money for ... I am, of course, referring to InterAkt extensions ... which are now no longer compatible and from what I've managed to find out ... won't be compatible in the future. Adobe actually bought InterAkt in September 2006 and most people are surprised by the fact that the incredibly usable InterAkt extensions are being gradually faded out by Adobe rather than embraced and upgraded.
How does it rate?
My rating? It's a great product, with a few enhanced features but I'm out to lunch on whether it is worth the upgrade price. If you didn't purchase Macromedia's Studio 8 and are using an older verison of the Suite ... then Adobe's CS3 Suite is worth purchasing ... Photoshop is pretty fabbo and this version of Dreamweaver is way better than any of the MX versions. My advice to Dreamweaver 8 users? Download the trial version of CS3 and see for yourselves whether you think it is worth it.
On the Downside
There is, however, a definite minus for people who upgrade and have existing 3rd party extensions that they've paid a lot of money for ... I am, of course, referring to InterAkt extensions ... which are now no longer compatible and from what I've managed to find out ... won't be compatible in the future. Adobe actually bought InterAkt in September 2006 and most people are surprised by the fact that the incredibly usable InterAkt extensions are being gradually faded out by Adobe rather than embraced and upgraded.
How does it rate?
My rating? It's a great product, with a few enhanced features but I'm out to lunch on whether it is worth the upgrade price. If you didn't purchase Macromedia's Studio 8 and are using an older verison of the Suite ... then Adobe's CS3 Suite is worth purchasing ... Photoshop is pretty fabbo and this version of Dreamweaver is way better than any of the MX versions. My advice to Dreamweaver 8 users? Download the trial version of CS3 and see for yourselves whether you think it is worth it.
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