I'm hoping to get some feedback from web designers/developers who have used Dreamweaver in the past, but who have moved on to other code editors, IDEs, etc. I'm finding as I move more into development that I'm basically using DW as a glorified (and bloated) code editor-- I never use the WYSIWYG features-- and I'm starting to experiment with alternative development environments. I must say that I really do like the site management tools and integrated FTP functionality in DW, which are probably the main reasons I've stuck with the software for so long. Thus, I'd be curious to hear from users who migrated from DW to other tools (1) what tools are you using, and (2) why did you decided to stop using DW and (3) what do you prefer about the features/functionality of whichever new software you're using for development? Thanks for any feedback!
I have never used Dreamweaver continiously, but I had it installed one, and honestly, 98% of the functionalities is just a pile of crap. As for the 2% I had used, and which generally serve, unlike the rest, to a valid purpose, you can find alternatives that not equivalent or close, but better. Sublime Text is one of them. Although it is not officially freeware, you can use it indefinitely, sort of like Sandboxie or WinRar. As for the FTP part, just grab FileZilla or SmartFTP, it will do the job.
I agree. Unless your main purpose is to slow your computer down, uninstall DW and install something else. I use Edit Plus to write code and Filezilla to upload/download. DW has too much in one package and too much compromise to do anything well - except add to Adobe's bank account.
I used to use DW but then switched to notepad once I learned a little. I just took a small class on Adobe Edge. I think I like it. Good for quickly building responsive sites.
I use Dreamweaver (and half done for the past 10 years). Believe me, I have tried to step away from the bloatware but the alternatives just aren't up to it IMO. I NEVER use the WYSIWYG editor either, but one feature I cannot live without is 'Find & Replace'. That can be a major time saver when working with a lot of code. Edit: I just realised the last three websites I've made were written using the File Manager software you get on most cPanel hosting setups. I guess I may finally be leaving DW behind after all!
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I use Dreamweaver CS4, have been using Dreamweaver since before there was a CS. I have to be honest though, Dreamweaver like it has been said really comes down to being an over glorified text editor for most and one of the main reasons I still use it is simply because I am comfortable with the environment. I do use others when I am working on one of my systems that does not have it installed. It does have some really nice features though they tend not to get utilized. The site manager can be time saving the integration for multiple people working on the same project can also save people from making the same changes without others knowing. To be honest though for just the web development aspect of it there is not enough of a plus to using instead of just using a couple of extra mouse or keystrokes and using Filezilla etc. There are a great number of alternatives out there and what it really all comes down to as which one is best is simply a personal preference. Just to suggest a few Notepad ++ CodeLobster NetBeans Eclipse Aptana There are really to many to mention, you will notice I included NetBeans and Eclipse which most think of as being just for coding java or php but they can also serve and even have special plugins for free just for html and css. I use Netbeans often for both.
That sounds like pretty much every premium theme out there today (the majority allow for this level of customisation in theme options).
As if even regular notepad doesn't have that?!? Admittedly, it won't do regex, but most every notepad replacement does! Control-H As to DW, I have the unique advantage of never having used it for a serious project, though I HAVE and continue to be able to test each release in a VM (since I'd NEVER allow it to hijack the host OS as every version since they added the letters "CS" to their products do). I have this policy, I don't badmouth something until I've used it and have enough of a grasp of what it does to make a rational choice as to whether or not to use it. Gives me the unique ability to know exactly where to stick the knife and twist when something sucks -- because no matter how much of a masterful gunfighter you are, a dagger between the ribs from behind can really cramp your style. Which is why I say to anyone using Dreamweaver, or most fancier IDE's, do yourself a huge favor, make microwave art out of the disks, burn the manuals to keep warm in winter, put the registration card next to the toilet paper for when the roll runs low, and in general forget that bloated steaming pile of broken asshattery even EXISTS. People are dumber for the mere existence of DW. There is NOTHING you can learn from it, NONE of it's tools do anything remotely approaching a proper manner, none of it's templates are worth a flying purple fish, everything it does 'for you' pretty much involves shoving one's cranium up the 1990's backside, and even it's "site management" tools do more damage than good. ... and I really feel the same way about things like netbeans or eclipse (admittedly you couldn't pay me to use a java crapplet as my editor)... hell even notepad++ has a number of things it doesn't let you turn off that just get in my damned way. God forbid you want to just sit down and write code without any of the extra stupid bullshit that just makes things harder. (like tabbed editing, color syntax highlighting, autocomplete, and all that other idiotic BS)
While I agree that the CS model of Adobe software took it to new extremes, I have to say your post is assuming people are just sat there without a clue, letting the software do everything. This is not the case at all, at least for me. Admittedly, I still use DW simply because it's habit. It's in every studio I have ever worked so it makes (rather, made) sense to use it away from work too. But it is counter productive, I end up having to delete quite a bit of generated garbage (the automatic syntax 'feature' is awful).
I've been using DW for several years now. I don't understand HTML or any other for the purpose, but DW offers a good service for my needs. If anybody has something with the same "complexity level" and like to hear about it. Notepad is not an option...
That is exactly why people like you tend to like what it has to offer and think their service is good. Grasping the point of it would make you change that opinion. Anyhow, for all those who have read, read, or intend to read this thread, HTML is not rocket science, and the time it takes to learn it PROPERLY is by all means less important that the time you would lose doing it bad way.
Tell us what you really think LoL... I have to say, I am one that strongly believes before using an IDE a person learning how to do html and CSS need to learn to do so by hand. Its like it used to be in school...you had to learn how to do it by hand before you were allowed to use a calculator...of course it isn't that way anymore....a shame really. Though there is a positive to everything when used properly. DW used as just a text editor while like you say is overkill is just as effective as any other. The added features that are rarely if ever used by home developers from the old days are something that one going out looking for employment in the field at least need to be familiar with. The wysiwyg aspect of it has its advantage as well in the right context...don't use it to put your information in, but you can see if a recent css or html change is going to look as expected etc....
I'm personally a big fan of Notepadd++ and Sublime Text, both are good text editors and provide all the useful features that Dreamweaver has.
Funny part is, that's the watered down version. Anyone who's ever mucked out a stall will say BS to that. Even if you pour a can of shellac on it, a turd is still a turd - so call it a turd (now covered in bug excrement). There are things that are wrong, bad, and shouldn't be used. Claiming they could is just apologist nonsense. Which doesn't even render in most cases like the browser they were based on (Opera on old versions, Webkit on new ones) in which case what the **** good is it? You want to see what your change does you should be doing it PROPERLY by hitting alt-tab and F5 through the half dozen or so ACTUAL browsers you should have open while writing your pages. (admittedly IE9 and 10 cut down on this a lot with their built-in 'pretend to be old copies' bit in the developer tools). Relying on some goof-assed preview pane is just another bit of the absolute idiocy that leads to, well -- we see it all the time on forums like this one. "But it works in the preview pane" -- and that has what exactly to do with a real world browser? Oh yeah, that's right, JACK {string of expletives that would make a trucker go "hey watch your mouth there are mechanics in here"}
Just to warn you, if you are on windows, and are daring to use something other than the default OS text size, it's "skins" are some of the ugliest non-native bits of crap out there, to the point it actually isn't usable/functional thanks to everything being broken and/or looking like a JAVA SWING crapplet. (which is funny since apparently it's python based?) It also seems to want to take a year and a half to start up compared to most other alternatives -- and it doesn't seem to let you turn off half the crap that just gets in the way either, and is missing a number of things I generally rely on (like word-wrap indicators, settable rule guides, etc, etc). It is however one of the better options on OSuX or Linsux... just not on Winblows where it's damned near crippleware if you vary from the 'out of the box' OS settings. Have you tried Flo's NotePad 2? That's my current weapon of choice -- after several years using Crimson Editor, and win32pad before that.
At just 371kb for the 64bit version, this is right up my street (960kb when extracted, just lovely). I've got that and Sublime, pretty sure I can remove DW for good now. Thanks for the recommendations everyone.
Well... it has better word-wrap indicators, has a rule guide for width you can set, it lets you use regex in your search fields (if desired) which is very handy on search/replace, but what really made me switch away from Crimson or even start looking for alternatives is that I kept having problems with UTF-8 files in Crimson -- it never really did all that great a job handling them. Notepad2 doesn't have any such issues -- also notepad2 is built on Scintilla, a relatively robust and well thought out editor library used in all sorts of products. From that it adds a bunch of really useful things like url encode/decode, char2hex and hex2char, keyboard shortcuts to find matching braces, you can even have it escape/unescape C sequences like /t/n/r etc, etc... (though it won't escape /n/r, it will decode them). I don't use it, but it even has a whitespace compressor. I also like that unlike a LOT of editors I could mention (sublime) the status bar actually provides USEFUL information. It also has most of the block and convert functions one expects from the like of EditPlus, which is an area Crimson can be a bit lacking. It's also actively maintained, where Crimson editor went off to the good night sometime around 2008. ... unless you count the dozen or so 'beta' releases that REALLY should be labeled "alpha" given how stable and polished they are. ... and it does all the things I LIKED about Crimson like letting me turn off all the pointless garbage like toolbars, tabs, color syntax highlighting, etc, etc... It's also BSD license, which I like if for no other reason than to brick in the FSF's face and teach them what the word 'freedom' really means. (since a document full of restrictions twice that of the founding of most world governments is the definition of 'freedom' -- NOT) Still Crimson Editor is good if you need built in FTP or Compiler Integration, which Notepad2 does lack. Not an issue for me as I'd rather use a real FTP client and control my compilers from the command line.