Any Dreamweaver users?

I have always been a Frontpage fan. However, I recently had some extensive coding and optimizing done on my site. Very complicated mod-rewrite, many IPs have been banned, hotlinking enabled, etc. Since this was done, my FP stopped working. And if I enable FP, I loose all the stuff in my htaccess file.

So, I have no option but to find another way of working on my site. Since I barley know the difference between a <br> and a <b>, I need a WYSIWYG editor. Someone told me to try dreamweaver. So my quesiton would be if this program is less invasive than FP? Won't it mess up my htaccess file? I don't need to enable some weird extensions to be able to work on my site? How difficult is it to even use the program?

Any tips and comments will be apreciated.

 

I made that switch about three years ago so I am not current on what the latest version of FrontPage will do. However, at the time it seemed like Dreamweaver asked you what you wanted to do while FrontPage went ahead and did what it thought was best for you.

I have found the ability to switch between codeview and design view helpful in developing some understanding of HTML. I really like the breadcrumb trail of tags it shows you so it is always easy to tell if you are editing a cell or a row.

It took a lot longer than I expected to switch, and I am sure I still only use a small fraction of what it will do.

 

I use Dreamweaver too! It's nice that I can edit php pages without having to look at just codes as in Frontpage. Though the dynamic component part is still code-based, I get to see the layout and thing better at least. I just hope they will come up with a better way for managinf stylesheets, that's all. i heard GoLive has some really great features on css managements, but have yet to try it.

 

Fryman; you should still be able to use frontpage; even with mods to your .htaccess file. The trick is: always have a useable .htaccess file you can upload if in a pinch, and add most of your mods to the bottom of the fp htaccess file.

Also; I don't know what version of fp you use; but you don't have to use the FP extensions. You can use it as your editor; but you can't use any fp components. Just use an ftp program to upload.

Dreamweaver doesn't do it all for you. None of them do; darnit, and do require a bit of a learning curve.

Some freebies you might want to look at (search for em; don't have the urls handy)

1st Page
html kit

 

Yeah, what I liked about FP was being able to work on my site and have things done as soon as I hit the save button, no need to upload files...

Took at look at Dreamweaber and woah! looks quite complicated. Then I did a search for some tutorials but damn, they are really expensive! lynda.com and vtc have some great ones, but 99 bucks?? Don't think I would pay that much for a tutorial.

 

AlleyCode - This is my favorite FREE DreamWeaver-wannabe

Fryman - It has the WYSIWYG so you can design visually PLUS you can watch the changes as they occur in the code at the same time (with bothe windows open) and learn if you want to - a little at a time and soon you're an HTML genius

 

My friends can't believe that I make $4k on the net and don't know anything about web design... I really need to start learning...

In a couple of month's I'll finish a course on Hospitality Managment I'm taking. After that I'll take a long course of html and web design. I'm sure I could turn those $4k into $10k if I knew how to code a site.

 

There is a bit of a learning curve with DW, once handled, it's great for managing 1 or 100+ sites, coding in WYSIWYG or code view HTML and more. Being a former FP user, spending some extra time w/ DW was time well spent.

One thing I like about DW is that a lot of code, images, and stuff I re-use can be stored in it's library. It's been a while for me with FP, but I'm sure it has something similar as well.

No problems that I can report on with the built in FTP - quick upload/download.

I used it to modify .htaccess files - no problems

Good luck!

 

I cant believe people still use FP! Wow, I remember those nightmares and how stuffy the code used to get. Get some dreamweaver its a wonderful software.

 

From what I heard, even Microsoft guys use Dreamweaver instead of Frontpage. If Microsoft doesn't even use it...

If anyone used the early version of Frontpage, then use the new one, you must have found a lot of things they stolen from DW, such as behaviors, layout tables border effects, and so on. It is a shame that even with all the much stealing, the table setup in Frontpage is still a mess. They can't even steal right...?

DW is easier for backing up your website, without losing the felxibility of live-editing. Frontpage is a bit tricky and counter-intuative when you need to back your site up but still be able to edit it live.

 

I love DW very much!
Started learning html by playing with it. Everyday I'm getting better on css based designs. With lots features in DW for CSS control , you can create whatever your heart desires.

I just had a look at unmatchedstyle.com and made a similar looking site here :directorysubmission.net.

Best Regards,
Tuning

 

I use Dreamweaver for static HTML and designs,,, for PHP and other Dynamic page Im using PHP designer.


Cheers!

 

I am using Dream for everything. In my opinion it's the most powerfull tool out there.

I absolutely would not use Frontpage, even if i were payed to do so.

 

I have the lates versions of both FP & DW, and I have to say DW produces almost perfect code so I am not sure what versions others are using . The latest version of FP is also quite good at producing clean code (if you stop it doing its own thing of course).

DW is a massive learning curve, but if you have broadband there are the interactive training videos, and the macromedia helpcentre is fantastic. Plus 'for dummies' and 'in easy steps' books will show you everything you need to know.

 

I really like Dreamweaver. I can't stand front page.

FP probably has this feature also, but I taught myselft HTML by using the split design/code view in Dreaweaver and watching how the code changed as I messed with stuff in the code view. Now I mostly just use a text editor to design sites; but I think Dreamweaver is superior to Front Page.

 

I hate books and ebooks. If I want to learn something I look for videos, but the dreamweaver ones are quite pricey

 

Dreamweaver comes with some good tutorials. lynda.com also has good DW tutorials.

 

Unmatched style is a fantastic site, and should be taken as an example of how the internet should work...

Boo WYSIWYG, Yay CSS!
/offtopic

Dreamweaver is certianly the tool to use in terms of WYSIWYG editors.
The code still bloats but it's not as bad as FP...

If you're making 4k online Fryman, then $99 is a worthwhile investment to be able to continue to grow your abilities IMO.

 

he he.. the more you make, the less you want to spend...

But I guess you are right, I'll take a look at lynda.com and VTC tomorrow and pick one