Dreamweaver vs Notepad?
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Dreamweaver is great. As everyone said, it's great for time saving.
I endorse it 100%. I use it on every project. I don't use the design view as much though, more in the code view.
Also, if a notepad purist nags on DW, challenge them to a race across multiple files.
Find and Replace is a godsend!
I endorse it 100%. I use it on every project. I don't use the design view as much though, more in the code view.
Also, if a notepad purist nags on DW, challenge them to a race across multiple files.
Find and Replace is a godsend!
vol7ron
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Hope you haven't made your decision yet.
I have Dreamweaver at work and at home. I'm going to put myself in what I think is your perspective: little funds, but are willing to do the stuff yourself and actually own the software, if it's worth it.
For this matter, skip Dreamweaver and learn to code yourself. I do almost all of my coding in Notepad, but occasionally use Dreamweaver to check on certain colors. "Why?," you ask. Because Dreamweaver is not perfect. Things might look one way in Dreamweaver and then turn out completely different in browsers. Or even, they might look wrong in Dreamweaver, but look correct in the browser.
If you have the time, Notepad is not only free, but it will help remove the useless code and markup that IDEs put in that slow things down.
Before making a decision, you should try Dreamweaver free, https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=dreamweaver&loc=en
I would also like to address a nicer IDE than Dreamweaver, which is Microsoft's Visual Web Developer. You can also try that software free: http://www.microsoft.com/express/vwd/ I use this more often at home than Adobe's Dreamweaver.
Both of these tools allow users to design with code or in a WYSIWYG and they both have commonly used functions, such as AJAX connection scripts, or date printing, so you don't have to program it yourself, but the programs are only as good as those that know how to use it. So in all, knowing the code is more beneficial than using a program that will generate it for you.
vol7ron
I have Dreamweaver at work and at home. I'm going to put myself in what I think is your perspective: little funds, but are willing to do the stuff yourself and actually own the software, if it's worth it.
For this matter, skip Dreamweaver and learn to code yourself. I do almost all of my coding in Notepad, but occasionally use Dreamweaver to check on certain colors. "Why?," you ask. Because Dreamweaver is not perfect. Things might look one way in Dreamweaver and then turn out completely different in browsers. Or even, they might look wrong in Dreamweaver, but look correct in the browser.
If you have the time, Notepad is not only free, but it will help remove the useless code and markup that IDEs put in that slow things down.
Before making a decision, you should try Dreamweaver free, https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=dreamweaver&loc=en
I would also like to address a nicer IDE than Dreamweaver, which is Microsoft's Visual Web Developer. You can also try that software free: http://www.microsoft.com/express/vwd/ I use this more often at home than Adobe's Dreamweaver.
Both of these tools allow users to design with code or in a WYSIWYG and they both have commonly used functions, such as AJAX connection scripts, or date printing, so you don't have to program it yourself, but the programs are only as good as those that know how to use it. So in all, knowing the code is more beneficial than using a program that will generate it for you.
vol7ron
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vol7ron
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DW may be good for templating, but if you're a good coder, it's not going to save you that much time at all. --- If you know what you're doing, you already have preconstructed scripts. Not to mention, 70-90% of code is reused anyhow. Just look at how people are adding email clients and blogs to their sites w/ the click of a button.Dreamweaver is great. As everyone said, it's great for time saving.
I endorse it 100%. I use it on every project. I don't use the design view as much though, more in the code view.
Also, if a notepad purist nags on DW, challenge them to a race across multiple files.
Yes, in VS2008, DW, and Notepad it's Ctrl+H, however these are Windows-based. What you want to do is use something like Nedit in Linux, where you have Find and Replace Regular Expressions. That's something a little more powerful that will save you more time.
Notepads Ctrl-H nice, for someone to do each individual file, but the F&R option DW can replace in an individual file, all open files in DW, and also all files in a folder. Which makes it a fair advantage for editing.
Never used Nedit in Linux, so I dont have any opinions on that. But, I must check it out.
Why wouldn't DW save time?
Just say you have to add a new <div> tag to the website, and they need it done instantly. Pretty much, the bulk of my sites are dynamic, so all the pages are pretty much structured similar, and segregated in to parts that are easily distinguishable.(As you said,"If you know what you're doing, you already have preconstructed scripts. Not to mention, 70-90% of code is reused anyhow") So, when I need to add that extra div tag to every page in my, just say, CMS site, I will use the F&R in DW to Find where it needs to go, Replace it with the code I need, and then select apply to a folder, and watch it eat 80 files in seconds, while meeting my deadline, while the Notepad purist next to me struggles scrolling down the files, looking for code, and pasting it there. But, he's so edgy because he uses Notepad. To bad he just got fired for keeping true to his pretentious "My Brain Is Bigger Then Yours" ways and not meeting a deadline all week. It happens!
I will never sacrifice productivity for self fulfillment. When it comes down to it, the customer doesn't care how it's done, but when it's done. DW offers more productivity then Notepad.
Being a good coder is irrelevant, because we're all human, and we all make mistakes. Sorry, but I'll use DW and lose my "Web Design" street cred, because I value the work being done because I value my job.
Also, why would you use the design editor because with all the floating div's used these days, they never show up correctly in DW Design Tab anyways.
Work Smarter, Not Harder.
That being said, EVERYONE should start off on Notepad. That should be a must. I mean, you can't ride a bike without learning.
Starting on Notepad gives you a solid base in coding/scripting, and gets you used to manually changing and editing. Also, if everyone just dived right into the WYSIWYG editors, then we would have everyone making those ****ty Geocities pages
Notepad, although quite plain, is quite powerful, and is probably the most used thing to make websites with, these days.
Never used Nedit in Linux, so I dont have any opinions on that. But, I must check it out.
Why wouldn't DW save time?
Just say you have to add a new <div> tag to the website, and they need it done instantly. Pretty much, the bulk of my sites are dynamic, so all the pages are pretty much structured similar, and segregated in to parts that are easily distinguishable.(As you said,"If you know what you're doing, you already have preconstructed scripts. Not to mention, 70-90% of code is reused anyhow") So, when I need to add that extra div tag to every page in my, just say, CMS site, I will use the F&R in DW to Find where it needs to go, Replace it with the code I need, and then select apply to a folder, and watch it eat 80 files in seconds, while meeting my deadline, while the Notepad purist next to me struggles scrolling down the files, looking for code, and pasting it there. But, he's so edgy because he uses Notepad. To bad he just got fired for keeping true to his pretentious "My Brain Is Bigger Then Yours" ways and not meeting a deadline all week. It happens!
I will never sacrifice productivity for self fulfillment. When it comes down to it, the customer doesn't care how it's done, but when it's done. DW offers more productivity then Notepad.
Being a good coder is irrelevant, because we're all human, and we all make mistakes. Sorry, but I'll use DW and lose my "Web Design" street cred, because I value the work being done because I value my job.
Also, why would you use the design editor because with all the floating div's used these days, they never show up correctly in DW Design Tab anyways.
Work Smarter, Not Harder.
That being said, EVERYONE should start off on Notepad. That should be a must. I mean, you can't ride a bike without learning.
Starting on Notepad gives you a solid base in coding/scripting, and gets you used to manually changing and editing. Also, if everyone just dived right into the WYSIWYG editors, then we would have everyone making those ****ty Geocities pages
Notepad, although quite plain, is quite powerful, and is probably the most used thing to make websites with, these days.
mrxp_anupam
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definitely dreamweaver dear.
Firstly you can reduce your coding time drastically and moreover you can see what you are designing right in front of your eyes.
Firstly you can reduce your coding time drastically and moreover you can see what you are designing right in front of your eyes.
frankfriend
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They are niot really directly comparable as they do wholly different things. With Notepad you code everything in HTML, by hand, and have no help of guidelines , or any automation.
It is excellent for people who want to code by hand, and know what to do.
Dreamweaver, and other packages, offer time saving wizards, help, format checks, up and down load faciltiies for updating your site, and a host of other features. Of course Dreamweaver takes longer to learn.
The real comparison is between DW and other similar high end packages.
How much web work would you do? What sort of sites do you develop etc.
It is excellent for people who want to code by hand, and know what to do.
Dreamweaver, and other packages, offer time saving wizards, help, format checks, up and down load faciltiies for updating your site, and a host of other features. Of course Dreamweaver takes longer to learn.
The real comparison is between DW and other similar high end packages.
How much web work would you do? What sort of sites do you develop etc.
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Generally I tend to work mainly with a slightly more advanced text editor that has a few specialist HTML tools. However, I do use site generation programs to quickly whip together pages that don't really justify the time needed to code by hand.
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I've learned very well all the languages that I use, so I don't feel the use of using a program creating code for me. I do all my testing and debugging, and I find it's a challenge to find bugs.
I've recently found scite, and I can tell you it has overpowered most of all the editors I've used (both text and wysiwyg): it's fast, small and handles most of the programming languages. It can also be configured to the color of a certain letter in a certain language on a certain user account! try to beat that!
Edit:
I've learned very well all the languages that I use, so I don't feel the use of using a program creating code for me. I do all my testing and debugging, and I find it's a challenge to find bugs.
I've recently found scite, and I can tell you it has overpowered most of all the editors I've used (both text and wysiwyg): it's fast, small and handles most of the programming languages. It can also be configured to the color of a certain letter in a certain language on a certain user account! try to beat that!
I've recently found scite, and I can tell you it has overpowered most of all the editors I've used (both text and wysiwyg): it's fast, small and handles most of the programming languages. It can also be configured to the color of a certain letter in a certain language on a certain user account! try to beat that!
Edit:
I've learned very well all the languages that I use, so I don't feel the use of using a program creating code for me. I do all my testing and debugging, and I find it's a challenge to find bugs.
I've recently found scite, and I can tell you it has overpowered most of all the editors I've used (both text and wysiwyg): it's fast, small and handles most of the programming languages. It can also be configured to the color of a certain letter in a certain language on a certain user account! try to beat that!
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You just can't compare these two. I'm using DW since I started doing web design and now I just can't live without it. The only thing that's stopping me use my suse distro more often is that I can't run my DW CS4 on it (yes I know that Wine can install DW 8 but I'm now used to CS4). I started to appreciate DW after I, one time, didn't have access to it. That was some time ago and I pray every day that it won't happened again
No really, DW is THE BEST site editor you can buy and believe me It's worth every penny.
No really, DW is THE BEST site editor you can buy and believe me It's worth every penny.
MarioMaster
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I've always been a WYSIWYG fan. Yes, I know XHTML. Yes, I know CSS. But just like you guys said, hand-coding is time consuming. There are some jobs that just require you to do some coding.
I have used older versions of Dreamweaver, including the version right before Adobe bought Macromedia (back when it was a competitor with Adobe GoLive), and MX 2004. but I've never used it as my main editor. I like using open-source community-driven software, because you can find so many add-ons, modifications, and bug-fixes for them. So I use KompoZer (an unofficial bug-fix of Nvu).
I have used older versions of Dreamweaver, including the version right before Adobe bought Macromedia (back when it was a competitor with Adobe GoLive), and MX 2004. but I've never used it as my main editor. I like using open-source community-driven software, because you can find so many add-ons, modifications, and bug-fixes for them. So I use KompoZer (an unofficial bug-fix of Nvu).
akkudreamz
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you can always try the open-source alternatives
Quanta Plus is the best
but there's nothing like Dreamweaver
Quanta Plus is the best
but there's nothing like Dreamweaver
There's a free software download of DW CS3.. Just surf the net..
Maybe I use DW instead of notepad. It has a features of built design that NP don't have. Using notepad are for beginners. DW is a software with a combination of programming and designing.
Bonbon
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Maybe I use DW instead of notepad. It has a features of built design that NP don't have. Using notepad are for beginners. DW is a software with a combination of programming and designing.
Bonbon
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There's only a free 30-days trial (except if you meant pirated version). If there's really some kind of a free offer do share it with community :biggrin:
theoryjean
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ive started just by using notepad, and even for the most basic stuff, it is VERY time consuming, especially if you are starting to learn while writting the code. i have a friend whos a master at this stuff and he knows the codes in his head so it barely takes him any time. whats nice about notepad though is that you can just copy paste a code that you see somewhere else... im thinking of getting dreamweaver just to save time because im not very interested in learning the code... its complex and extremely time consuming. gives me a headache. as well, one little error, and your whole page could go wrong!