Excellent Dreamweaver (Macromedia Dreamweaver 4)

Member Name:

Product:	Macromedia Dreamweaver 4
Date:	17/01/01 (2 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use make it look pro

Disadvantages: sloppy code

I remember the days of actually writing html using Notepad. All those tags, all those embedded tables...yuck! Now I'm spoiled! I just use DreamWeaver and it writes the html for me. Everything from simple html to tables to layers, to javascript.

Yup! I said javascript. DreamWeaver will also create rollover buttons (you know, those cool buttons that light up when you put your mouse pointer over them), pop up windows, messages in the status bar, and on and on and on. Put all these components together and you have the makings of a great looking website.

Another great feature of Dreamweaver comes in the ability to create templates. With templates, you set up static portions of your pages (those items that will remain on every page in the same place like logos) and then you build the rest of your pages based upon those templates. If you need to make a change across all your pages, you simply update the template pages and Dreamweaver does the rest. I needed to update a link on every one of my 55 pages. This would have taken me forever if I had to go through and change every page. With Dreamweaver templates, however, it only took me about 30 seconds.

But wait...there's more! One of the things I like best about all Macromedia products is their OUTSTANDING help. The DreamWeaver help is no exception. Tutorials, walkthroughs, and plain old understandable help is available at your whim. You can even get additional help from their great website.

Toss in the complete compatibility with Macromedia's Fireworks and Flash and you have the potential of easily creating websites that rival the best and include features such as rotating graphics, animated movies, and embedded executables.

Also, be aware that Macromedia has also recently released their Ultradev version of Dreamweaver which provides database access and e-commerce capabilities for your websites.

The only downside I have seen with regards to Dreamweaver is som
e sloppy code on rare occassion that needs to be cleaned up using native html. However, all you have to do is open up the html window and you can edit just like you were doing so in Notepad.

If you are looking into web design and want to make your pages look great without a lot of time learning html, get DreamWeaver. If you already know html, Dreamweaver will save you lots of time and provide you with the flexibility to edit your own code.

Summary: