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BookmarkHere’s a little no-nonsense advice for those of you who are considering Dreamweaver 4 as your future Web editor : don’t skimp; buy this bundle. The seamless integration of Dreamweaver 4 with the nicely upgraded graphics application Fireworks 4 justifies the investment in this complete suite.
Macromedia’s Dreamweaver 4 packs layer upon layer of powerful features, for just about any Web developer’s needs and preferences. Perfect for individuals and professional Web-development teams alike, this latest version offers a fresh set of upgrades and improvements. Programmers who build sites by using only a basic text editor are rewarded with features for source-code inspection. Code View’s text-editing environment offers such customizable features as live syntax coloring, tag balancing, and auto indenting. Noncoding types can click and drag sites together by using one of the finer visual editors available. Within those layers of features, there are resources for creating forms, Flash files, frames, cascading style sheets, Java and ActiveX files, and more. In Split View, the Code and Design views display simultaneously–providing the best of both worlds for ambidextrous types.
The quickest and easiest way to design graphics in the Dreamweaver world is via Fireworks 4. Fireworks’ strengths lie in its focus on the creation and optimization of bitmapped and vector Web graphics. The files are integrated into Macromedia Flash and Dreamweaver easily, and importing/exporting Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator files is a breeze; especially with the program’s improved layer mask handling, and a new Color Fill Live effect. Version 4 rolls out a new interface that Flash, Dreamweaver, and FreeHand users will recognize. This standardized format also offers tabbed menus for easy customization, and helps keep the screen tidy. New tools for adding interactive elements–rollovers, navigation bars, and pop-up menus–are a welcome sight. And a Live Animation feature creates frame-based GIF animations, using symbols, instances, and tweening features that are familiar to Flash users. With built-in HTML and JavaScript capabilities, version 4 delivers the goods to the Web graphics design community.
Convinced? If not, you can always buy Dreamweaver 4 at full retail, and then follow-up with a Fireworks 4 purchase, weeks or months later. Just don’t blame us for the lingering red mark from your forehead slap. –Eric Twelker
I ordered the dreamweaver fireworks studio and instead received an upgrade version which I can not use.
Being a web developer just got a whole lot easier thanks to Macromedia. Dreamweaver and Fireworks are both excellent programs in-and-of themselves, but together they make a lethal combination.
Packed with features for anyone ranging from the most inexperienced beginner to the mightiest webmaster, Studio 4 is very versatile. This package is fun to use because it takes the headache out of web design–all you have to do is actually design, and Studio takes care of all the technicalities.
Fireworks is easy to use and, while not quite Photoshop, a very capable program. The graphics, animated gifs, and buttons you create are fully compatible with Dreamweaver, making it easy to use them on your site.
Dreamweaver is very user-friendly. All you have to do is organize the components of your site and Dreamweaver will build it for you. The result is a very attractive website.
This is the only web design software an amateur will ever need, and provides a good groundwork for professional designers too.
The DreamWeaver / Fireworks combo is an Amazing & Wonderful way to design webpages, graphics, Retouch Photos, etc. I love my Adobe Photoshop, but nothing compares to Fireworks, for the Detailed work, converting Images to High Res/low K images that do not Bore surfers, waiting for the page to load (average give-up time = 30 seconds). With Fireworks, you can tweak your graphics, until they are Perfect, but keep the SIZE of the graphic down to a minimum, thus increasing your webpage hits, astronomically.
My wife is a Web Designer / Artist / Graphic Artist, who has trained at Lynda Weinman.com ( ISBN # 1562059491 ) in beautiful “Ojai, CA.” My wife swears-by Fireworks & Dreamweaver.
Luckily, I learned a lot of the tricks of the trade & I was astounded at how-often I needed Fireworks & Dreamweaver in the profession I held (until I turned to IT), as a “Document Specialist.”
In today’s world of High-Tech, Online Docs, etc., even Administrative Assistants need Dreamweaver & Frieworks. As a Document Specialist, I used Dreamweaver daily, for a long time.
Fireworks, comes in-handy, as well, when the A.A.’s need to scan a Signature for their Boss, for documents.
Be the only person on your floor, who knows how to use Fireworks, and you will make yourself a much-needed employee. Your Signature scans will look better than everyone-else’s and you may have a bit more job security.
Fireworks & Dreamweaver are not Just for Web Geeks & Gurus. Anyone who works in an Office environment should know these programs, and use them regulalry. Fireworks is the Greatest Graphics program I have ever used.
DreamWeaver Rocks. Fireworks Rocks. Together they make for a spectacular web design/development combination.
Dreamweaver is packed with features for the beginner through advanced web developer; it’s easy and intuitive to use. It may take you a while to learn all the capabilities, but with each successive feature you discover and master, the development process becomes easier and faster.
Fireworks is the best in class web graphics software. It integrates very well with DreamWeaver. Creating animated GIFs is a snap, as is image optimization (file compression), image map creation, and exploring full tables (HTML and all!) for use in DreamWeaver.
You simply cannot go wrong with this package. Photoshop still has its place, but if you focus exclusively on the web and don’t need to do exquisite image editing this bundle is all you need.
The best web site design tool on the market. After using frontpage for 2 years, I can say, without a doubt, Dreamweaver is number one and will be my only site design tool in the future. Cant beat the price for both applications.