Review: Macromedia Dreamweaver 4

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by Aaron West

5/5 Geeks

Dreamweaver 3 was the best; Dreamweaver 4 is better. The new Dreamweaver has a little bit for everyone. The beginner will benefit immensely from such new features as the Table Layout View. The hand coder will find that Dreamweaver is even more code friendly than before, with a built in text editor, different code views and even Javascript debugging. Content teams will find the enhanced Design Notes to be a great help with team communication and should allow the team to work more efficiently.

New Interface

Click for a larger image

The first change one will note is the new interface. Dreamweaver, like the other new products, has adopted the new Macromedia User Interface found in Flash 5. This includes the new tabbed style palettes, which allow for easy customization, as well as a clean and uncluttered work environment.

Here is an example:

Dreamweaver 4 also introduces a brand new toolbar.

The new Toolbar allows Dreamweaver Users to change the Title with ease, as well as access several other Dreamweaver features, such as the new code views.

Hand Coders Rejoice

The new Dreamweaver offers more control over the HTML coding environment with the new integrated text editor. This can be accessed by opening up the Code Window, as before. The new text editor is more robust and can function effectively as a hand coding tool. It offers color coding, line numbers, code formatting options such as indenting and outdenting and more.

The new toolbar allows Dreamweaver users to maneuver in and out of this Text Editor with just a click.

Another new code view is the Split view, which shows the code window and the design window simultaneously.

Another new feature which code guru's will love is the Javascript Debugger. The new debugger launches the page in a browser window and loads an applet, which plugs into Dreamweaver and then scans for potential errors. This is an extremely useful feature which will save coders plenty of time, not to mention headaches.

Table Layout View

Dreamweaver now offers designers the ability to construct tables in a visual fashion. This will help those who aren't well versed in coding tables the ability to construct complex table designs. This is a nice improvement from having to use the Modify or context menus to add rows or columns.

When in Table Layout View, designers can use the new tools on the Objects Toolbar to draw cells or nested tables.

Flash Elements

Dreamweaver 4 now has the ability to create Flash elements without having to launch (or own) another program. While the new capabilities are limited in nature, I have a feeling they will be improved upon in future versions.

Dreamweaver designers can insert Flash text on their designs. While there is no animation capability, this is a nice way to add smooth and crisp graphics to a page without having to use bitmap graphics. Dreamweaver creates a Flash 3 file, which is compatible with 96% of the web (more than Javascript).

Here is the finished product. This one also has a mouseover state.

In addition to text, graphical Flash buttons can be created. Dreamweaver has plenty of styles to choose from, plus more can be downloaded from the Dreamweaver Exchange.

Here is a Flash Button in action:

Manage Assets

This is probably my favorite new feature. The new Assets Palette allows designers to manage all support files from a site. If you've worked in Flash, you will notice this is very similar to the Library. You can choose an element from the list, whether it is an image, a Flash file, or even a URL. Any of these elements can be added to a new page by clicking and dragging into the window.

Site Reporting

Dreamweaver 4 has plenty of new Site Management features. One of the most useful is the Site Reports. You can choose from a list of potential errors to check, and Dreamweaver will scan the entire site (or just the document you are working on) for any occasions of those errors.

Double clicking on any of the results will jump you to the element with the error, where it can be quickly corrected.

There is no question that the new Dreamweaver is an excellent program, but is it worth upgrading? Yes, depending on the type of user you are. If you fall into any of the following categories, it is a must upgrade. If not, than it would be worthwhile if you have the extra change lying around, but its not necessary to run out to the store just yet.

I recommend upgrading Dreamweaver immediately if you: