Dreamweaver versions and Topstyle (Full Version)

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halinagold -> Dreamweaver versions and Topstyle (5/13/2007 2:36:08)

I'm completely new to Dreamweaver. Am playing with a trial version from Adobe and plan to get one. I have a question:
The one I have for trial is called DW 8. Is that the same as DW CS3? And what is DW MX?

Being an amateur (just using DW for my own websites) I don't need the very advanced stuff (whatever that is). If there's a difference between the versions, which one would you advice me to choose?
I'm on Win XP.

And one more question: I've read someone saying that they prefer TopStyle rather than DW. Any comments on that?

Thanks!

Halina



d a v e -> RE: Dreamweaver versions and Topstyle (5/13/2007 3:19:41)

i think that dw8 (edit maybe it's 9 ;) is CS3, before that it was dw mx 2004 (i.e. version 7) then dw mx (version 6) then before that dw4 (no version 5!) then all the way back to v1.

you would probably be fine with mx 2004 if saved you some cash - i'm still on that version and it works fine for me.

i use topstyle pro for my css, though the editor in dw is fine, and the one in cs3 is supposed to be even better. there's also a free lite version of topstyle that is pretty good. whether you prefer to use DW's inbuilt one or an external one is just a matter of personla preference and budget ;)

http://www.newsgator.com/download/products/ts3lite.exe (and for pro http://www.newsgator.com/Individuals/TopStyle/ )

have you also considered MS expressions web (EW for short) ? it might suit your budget more and still meet your needs, though having used the trial i'm quite happy to stick with DW ;)



Tailslide -> RE: Dreamweaver versions and Topstyle (5/13/2007 3:29:20)

What do you use DW for? Do you just need the WYSIWYG editor? If so you might want to look at downloading a copy of Nvu which is a free WYSIWYG editor. If you upload sites via DW then you'd need to get yourself an FTP programme to do it for you (I use AceFTP but there are loads and many of them are free).

I use HTML-Kit (also free) but it isn't a WYSIWYG editor - you need to understand the markup as that's what you're using. Many people swear by Topstyle for CSS creation but I can't be bothered to fork out for it (I think it's around £40). Topstyle like other HTML editors (such as HTML-kit) require that you understand the markup - there's no WYSIWYG interface although many do have preview panes.

So it depends what you want the software for and how much you're willing to learn.

If it's just for fun and you don't want to get into the code then you want a WYSIWYG editor such as DW. Although since to get DW to behave properly may well require going into the code anyway - so personally I wouldn't spend the money. I'd get the freebie Nvu and a freebie FTP editor and use them instead.

If you're willing to spend the time on producing better code then I'd get a freebie HTML editor such as HTML-kit. I believe it has a built-in FTP programme although I've never bothered to use it myself.

I just can't see the point in spending loads of money on Dreamweaver. Some people like to spend the money on DW in the same way that others like to spend money on gadgets - just because they like to have "stuff" and if that's the case then go for it (the amount of useless gadgets I have!). Please don't feel that you HAVE to spend money on DW as there are free alternatives.



halinagold -> RE: Dreamweaver versions and Topstyle (5/13/2007 4:08:36)

Thanks for your feedback!

It's not just for fun, as the websites I do are for our small business so I want them to be OK.
I'm not a webdesign pro - I only do webdesign for ourselves and I do many other things not related to webdesign at all.

I'm coming from FP. Would have chosen EW but since I'm having some PHP modules I understand that's not a good idea so chose DW and do enjoy using it more and more.

I'm in the process of learning CSS and getting deeper into HTML
When using DW I switch a lot between Design view and source view and browser preview to see how things work. It helps me both to learn and to get things right.
And it's nice to be able to get my code validated all the time.
I especially love the ability to create a template with DW, and that all my pages get updated when I make changes to that.

I'm not sure about Nvu. I haven't tried it yet (just opened it) but my immediate impression is that there's more to DW and that this way I have everything in one place?

Any further feedback is mostly welcome - thanks!

Halina




womble -> RE: Dreamweaver versions and Topstyle (5/13/2007 4:12:41)

As Tailslide says, it depends what you want to use DW for (never used it myself). Until very recently though I used to use Topstyle for just about everything though and loved it, although I'd got HTML-Kit installed and tried it once or twice. No idea why, but recently Topstyle on my laptop started acting up, especially on the "preview in browser" (I hadn't changed any settings or anything), and getting frustrated one day I fired up HTML-Kit and decided to have a proper look round it.

I've been used to using Topstyle now for eons and it took me a couple of days to figure out how everything worked in HTML-Kit and where things were, but once I did I was hooked. For me the great thing about it (apart from it being free) is that there are hundreds of plugins available for it (again all free) so as your knowledge of coding and scripting increases it can expand with you without you needing a separate app for X scripting.

Topstyle does have some very nice features (like the auto-complete and the CSS attributes drop-drop selection which I do miss on HTML-Kit, though I'm gradually finding plugins that do most of the stuff I'm used to on Topstyle), but for me now I'm starting to use PHP more, Topstyle doesn't have all the features I need for that.

If you want to have a go with Topstyle, there's Topstyle Lite, which is a free version - a cut-down version of the Pro version, and there's also a trial of the Pro version available - all available here. Give the trial a go and see what you think. If you don't like it you can always uninstall it. DW will also integrate with Topstyle as well though.

All depends exactly what you're wanting to use it for and how much you're wanting to spend.



Tailslide -> RE: Dreamweaver versions and Topstyle (5/13/2007 4:52:15)

I'm actually in the process of switching from HTML-kit to Crimson editor which has better colour syntax for PHP. HTML-kit has a dreadful find and replace function and also the auto-complete is irritating (I only use about 10% of HTML-kit's functions).

I see that DW template system sounds like it could be useful. Because I use semantic markup and CSS I don't run into those issues very often as I can change stuff around site-wide via the stylesheet - I don't often have to go into the page once the initial template is set up (apart from adding content obviously!).

I'm just a skinflint - can't see the point in spending over £400 for a piece of software when I'd end up using it in code view anyway! If I genuinely thought it would save me a lot of time then I'd consider buying it (as I spend all day building sites) but I've yet to be convinced of it's use. If someone gave me a copy for free then I'd consider using it (only consider because like all software you spend a load of time just figuring out it's systems before you actually produce stuff from it).



womble -> RE: Dreamweaver versions and Topstyle (5/13/2007 5:28:08)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Tailslide
I'm just a skinflint

Same here. [:D]



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