Dreamweaver MX 2004 Overview

A single chapter can't possibly cover all areas of a program as feature-rich as Macromedia Dream weaver MX 2004. After all, there are entire books devoted to the subject. Therefore, I'll give you a brief tour of the programwhat you need to know to develop ColdFusion applications using Dreamweaver. More specifically, I'll discuss the features you're most likely to use.

Dreamweaver is a tool for designers and developers alike with a feature-rich set of tools that enable you to develop a Web site visuallythrough an approximation of the designwhile allowing you to jump into the code and get your feet wet. If you're strictly a hand coder, you can turn off Design view and work in Code view. If you prefer, you can even work in both the Code and Design views simultaneously. Dreamweaver makes mundane, common tasks quick and easy, so you can focus on more important things.

NOTE

Dreamweaver is not a WYSIWYG HTML generator. Sure, you'll see an estimation in Design view of what you can expect to see in a browser, but by no means should you expect exactitude. In fact there is no such thing as a WYSIWYG HTML generator; there are far too many possible renditions of a page in the various available browsers for Dreamweaver to match any of them precisely.

Dreamweaver offers the following features and more:

• A customizable workspace with floating panels that can be docked with other panels in panel groups.

• Various viewing optionsCode view to get under the hood of the page, Design view to simplify the creation of many HTML elements (such as tables, layers, and forms), Split view for those who want both Code and Design views simultaneously, as well as Live Data view and Server Debug view.

• Menus, toolbars, and the Insert bar, all of which provide shortcuts to common elements and commands.

• Code Coloring and Code Hints for HTML, CFML, and other languages that can be customized in Preferences.

• Templates, library items, and snippets.

• Drag-and-drop editing and context-sensitive right-click (Control-click) options.

• The Tag Editor dialog box for common HTML and CFML tags, which contains context-sensitive reference material.

• Context-sensitive Reference panel containing reference guides for HTML, CFML, CSS, JavaScript, and other languages.

• Built-in HTML and XHTML validation.

• The Behaviors panel and Server Behaviors panel for fast generation of robust client and server-side scripts.

• The ability to upload and download files over an Internet connection (using FTP, RDS, SourceSafe Database, or WebDAV).

• The Check in/Check out version-control system.

• Integration with other Macromedia Web development products, such as HomeSite, Fireworks, and Flash.

• The option to develop in ASP, ASP.Net, JSP, and PHP, as well as ColdFusion.

If you're looking for a versatile tool that will improve your productivity, Dreamweaver is exactly what you need. Its tight integration with other Macromedia products, such as Fireworks and Flash, means you are sure to see improved speed in your workflow.

NOTE

When I give a keyboard shortcut, the Macintosh equivalent is given in parenthesis. If a shortcut doesn't appear in parenthesis, you can assume it is the same for both Windows and Macintosh users.