by Macromedia
Platform:
Windows NT / 98 / 2000 / 95
(4)(Visit the Bestsellers in Programming & Web Development list for authoritative information on this product's current rank.)
Review & Description
Dreamweaver 4.0: Dreamweaver is one of the few visual web design tools to find favour with actual web professionals. Designers want fast tools generating code for multiple platforms, along with the ability to hand-tweak the underlying HTML--this is exactly why Dreamweaver is popular. It is a well-behaved package that combines rich template features with the ability to enter your own custom code. Version 4.0 is a further improvement in this respect, with an enhanced syntax-highlighting code editor and an optional split view for seamless switching between graphic editing and HTML coding.
The heart of Dreamweaver is the page designer with its floating tool palettes and drag-and-drop insertions. The Assets panel makes it easy to reuse images, links, animations and other elements, with the added benefit that editing a library item changes it automatically wherever it is used. Though a very capable editor, two features really make it shine. The first is its integration with external editors such as Macromedia's own Fireworks 4 for web graphics and Flash 5 for vector-based animations. The other killer feature is expandability, with thousands of free add-ons available from Macromedia's site.
Existing users will find Dreamweaver 4.0 a great upgrade. Along with the improved code editor, it boasts an excellent Java-based script debugger, integrated access to O'Reilly reference material on CSS, HTML and JavaScript, built-in Flash buttons and text effects, a table-based layout view and a team development tool in Visual SourceSafe. If that wasn't enough, there's also the option to incorporate Ultradev 4 for dynamic database access. --Tim Anderson
Fireworks 4.0: Fireworks is a dedicated web graphics application. You can create both vector and bitmap images, optimise them for web pages, and add numerous special effects for export to HTML.
The starting point is a familiar range of drawing and painting tools--shapes, lines, brushes, pens and selection tools. In the default vector mode these create editable, scaleable objects, and in bitmap mode they paint pixels. Fireworks supports layers and masks, overlaid virtual surfaces you can edit independently, enabling a wide range of stunning effects. There is also a library panel where you can store graphic elements for reuse.
A key feature for web designers is optimisation. Fireworks 4.0 offers optimal control over the trade-off between quality and size with "2-up" and "4-up" views permitting original and altered versions to be compared. There is also strong support for GIF, JPEG and PNG image formats, and for hotspots and slices--techniques for mapping or dividing an image to accommodate HTML features. Integration with Macromedia's Dreamweaver 4 is better than ever: Designers can export to Dreamweaver, or alternatively launch Fireworks from Dreamweaver, edit the image then save it back with all Fireworks-specific details preserved. --Tim Anderson Read more
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