Tarfumes.com - Dreamweaver UltraDev 4.0/Fireworks 4.0 Studio

One of the best new features is the split code and design view, which lets you edit either the code or the visual design and see changes instantly echoed between them. There is also built-in security, so you can create login procedures and password-protected sites. Finally, the Live Objects wizards automatically create page elements to handle common tasks, such as a master/detail page set, or forms to insert and update records.

UltraDev supports three kinds of server-side scripting: Active Server Pages, JavaServer Pages, and Cold Fusion. Unfortunately, it does not support PHP, which is popular on Linux and Unix servers, although because UltraDev is extensible, there may be some third-party add-ins. The features for the three models are similar but not identical, although in every case there is excellent database support. Its great strength is that you can focus on designing your pages and let UltraDev handle the data access code. You can even display live data at design time, making it easier to get exactly the right appearance.

Everything in Dreamweaver is also in UltraDev, so this is the ideal package for Web authors who need to add dynamic content with a minimum of fuss.

About Fireworks 4:

Fireworks is a dedicated Web graphics application. You can create both vector and bit-map images, optimize them for Web pages, and add numerous special effects for export direct to HTML.

The starting point is a familiar range of drawing and painting tools, such as shapes, lines, brushes, pens, and selection tools. In the default vector mode they create editable, scalable objects, and in bit-map mode they paint pixels. Fireworks supports layers and masks--virtual overlaid surfaces that you can edit independently, enabling designers to achieve a wide range of effects. For example, you can vary opacity and blending to fine-tune the final appearance. Other Fireworks panels include color, stroke, fill, and effects. There is also a library panel where you can store graphic elements for reuse.

A key feature for Web designers is optimization. Fireworks offers maximum control over the critical tradeoff between quality and size. A two-up and four-up view lets you compare the quality of original and optimized versions, using techniques such as reducing color depth and removing unused colors. The software offers strong support for GIF, JPEG, and PNG image formats. Fireworks also lets you create animation that is exported as an animated GIF. It will also generate JavaScript to produce image rollovers and, in this new version, pop-up menus. There is great support for hotspots and slices, techniques for mapping or dividing an image to support HTML features. Integration with Macromedia's Dreamweaver 4 is better than ever in version 4 of Fireworks. Dreamweaver UltraDev 4/Fireworks Studio combines the two products at a lower price. You can export to Dreamweaver--or launch Fireworks directly from Dreamweaver--edit an image, and save it back with all Fireworks-specific information preserved. --Tim Anderson

They really should take the WinME out of the platforms on which it will run. You can do it, but have to tinker with your OS instead of just installing it. For best results, get Win98, 2000, or XP PRO. XP Home falls into the same class as WinME.

So far, this seems like a must have tool for creating dynamic sites. Macromedia makes awesome stuff. If you want to add more life to your website(s) this is a great tool to get started with!

If all you're doing is a quick, simple page, the HTML required can be learned in the 5 minutes it takes to get used to this program. Or, if you are designing anything more, you will run into its limitations and bloated code very quickly.

Dreamweaver allows you to: -meticulously organize your sites, make master templates for page uniformity, use Cascading Style Sheets to easily customize and format various page elements, the ability to convert the CSS atributes to HTML tags for use in older browsers, update entire sites with one click, view your page in html code view OR wysiwyg OR at the SAME TIME (you can drag open a table let's say and watch the code get written like x-ray vision, OR, conversely, edit the underlying code while watching the effect on your page in front of your eyes), covert tables to layers and back again, edit graphics in Fireworks without having to enter Fireworks and re-export your work (a VERY VERY VERY timesaving feature), insert frames, tables, Flash buttons, rollovers, swap images, and other JavaScript behaviors with a simple "drag and drop".

Dreamweaver will automatically clean up messy HTML (deleting extra font tags for instance) as well as debug JavaScript behaviors. The code that version 4 writes is MUCH cleaner than version 3, and any ...programmsers have TOTAL access to the code to customize it how they see fit. You can preview your work in as many browsers as you have on your computer, and then FTP to your server right from Dreamweaver in the best FTP interface on the market. Dreamweaver automatically keeps track of all updates to any page or graphic and asks you if you would like to update other pages. For sites that will be worked on by a team there are many features to organize the work flow such as "Check In/Check Out" that keeps track of who did what to what part of the site as well as leave comments for other parts of the team. There really are too many features to list here.

Fireworks 4 has a new "button editor" that makes it ridiculously easy to generate rollover buttons or the currently trendy "dropdown menus". I personally don't like them, but they are there to use. Included are a bunch of really useful effects such as bevel and glow. The best part about this program is that vector graphics REMAIN as editable vector graphics EVEN AFTER YOU APPLY EFFECTS. You don't have to permanently convert your graphic to a bitmap first. This alone is worth the whole program. You can also set the program to use all your Photoshop plug-ins (although using SOME of them DO require you to do the evil conversion from editable vector to bitmap). Fireworks also feature "selective" JPEG compression for optimizing certain parts of the SAME image with a different JPEG compression setting (let's say 30% for a background and 70% for a detailed foreground). What other program does that? Fireworks is also THE animated GIF software. You can make them as many frames as you want as well as set the duration of each frame. Overall I think that Fireworks 4 is not as totally developed as Dreamweaver 4 is, but it does what it is supposed to do, and works flawlessly with Dreamweaver.

I can't even tell you how easy they have made it to produce 100% professional sites. The bottom line is: this package is the ABSOLUTE best web development software in existence. There is no equal. And for all you hand-coders who swear by BB-Edit or "anti-WYSIWYG" programs, you CAN entirely hand-code in Dreamweaver too. Just use code view. There is no reason to not use this program. Once you do, you will NEVER use anything else. You'll see.