summary web dev/mgmt software discussions

A few weeks back I posted the following question to several listservs. The
following are responses I received. I decided to purchase Dreamweaver. Hope
this helps you.

Hello,

I am looking for feedback from users of GoLive and/or Dreamweaver regarding
why you prefer one program over the other. I am looking at purchasing, and
need to know strengths and weaknesses of each. Will be using to manage a
large site with more than one contributor on staff. Thanks.

---Monica

  *******Dreamweaver********

I use it when I don't have the time I would like to update/create/alter
pages
on the sites I work on. It makes fairly clean code(not perfect, however) and
it is very easy

the feature I like best is that I can have the whole site outlined in a
"windows explorer-like"
window. That helps me with site management. It's similar to Homesite's
projects.

I have really enjoyed using Dreamweaver as a "rapid-development"
tool.  To build prototypes quickly and easily with JavaScript enhancements.
The site admin tools are also very nice to have.  I consider myself somewhat
of a novice on the programming side, and Dreamweaver helped to support my
weaknesses in this area.  For example, If you decide to change or reorg a
directory structure on your site, DW asks if you'd like to scan/update links
for you.  Nice feature!!

Also, when FTP'ing your HTML docs to your server, you can opt to include all
supporting files with your upload. This function creates all relevant
media/image directories in their respective places relative to your HTML
docs.  Another nice feature!

I noticed that using Server-side Includes in Dreamweaver can be tricky.  You
can have Dreamweaver translate your SSI's automatically, so when editing
your page, you see the SSI in place, but sometimes Dreamweaver will leave
the both the SSI and the contents of the SSI in the code, so you get the
contents of the SSI twice.  Then Dreamweaver throws in this <MM:Endlock> tag
for some reason.  Anyone who has info on this, I'd appreciate it.

Been using Dreamweaver3 for some months and I find it superb! Never been
able to build sites so quickly. Table handling is fantastic, the help for
frames is a trifle ambiguous, but a cinch once you understand the concept.
Had some crashes with forms handling, particularly when trying to move the
"submit" button. Haven't worked out why yet. Overall, a great program. Very
easy to tweak or insert HTML

The one feature I couldn't live without is Dreamweaver templates.  You can
make minor adjustments to multiple pages very easily, or even change the
entire layout of a site by using templates.  This feature has saved me
countless hours of modifying code.

Dreamweaver also has some site management features that might be very useful
to you.  You can "check out" files -- if you check out a file, no one else
can check it out until you check it in.  That way the file is only
accessible to one person at a time.  Two people can't make changes to the
same file at the same time
.
I use both and must voice my vote for Dreamweaver.

Dreamweaver, (especially 3)
on the other hand, has everything AND the kitchen sink in it, and you can
play
around with creation of your own Behavioirs,  and personalize your toolbars
easily.

it also integrates well with the other Macromedia tools
(Fireworks, Freehand, Flash, Director), and has (as above) cross-browser
compatibility that GoLive seems not to have.


********Go Live**********

Go Live eats RAM

Tried GoLive, but disappointed, basically. Dreamweaver for me!

Not only is Go Live pretty "canned" in that its look and feel is much harder
to control, but the wysiwyg
feel of it is more akin to, say, Net Objects Fusion.

Go Live also dumps an inordinate number of times on my box.. and also
has the added frustrating undocumented "feature" (gryn) of looking great in
IE,
but not dealing with the Netscape Fix-Layers problem (which DW 3 does)

HWG hwg-techniques mailing list archives, maintained by Webmasters @ IWA