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Macromedia Dreamweaver 3.0

Macromedia Dreamweaver 3.0

Dreamweaver has long been considered one of the premier page development tools. It is a little pricey for the casual user, and it is considered more of a professional program than a home-based one. In this case, you get what you pay for. It is not really built for the beginner, but you hardly need to be a Web developer to use it. Dreamweaver packs a lot of punch into its package, generating some excellent sites without a lot of the problems inherent in other WYSIWYG programs.

Dreamweaver also offers a feature that allows you to create templates for your Web site with standardized background images, links, and formats. Some Web site generation programs come with templates installed but do not let you design your own. The benefit of using templates is that you do not need to recreate the basics of the site every time you generate a new page. When you alter a single part of the template on one page, you are given the option of modifying every page on the site that uses that template. This feature makes global graphics or layout changes a snap!

Dreamweaver does have a nice, basic text editor built into the software, but it also comes bundled with BBEdit (Mac platforms) or HomeSite (a comparable program for Windows) to handle any in-depth coding and editing. If you do not like either of those editors, you can specify any other external editor and Dreamweaver will launch it automatically when you need to edit your HTML code.

Dreamweaver offers excellent link checking, including checking links outside your site to be sure that you do not inadvertently link to dead sites or pages. It supports CSS extensively and its site management tools allow you to manage more than one Web site, making it great for handling both your personal and your business needs. Users also report that the instruction manual is easy to understand and even easier to use.

The interface is not necessarily easy to understand. The icons are a little on the abstract side, but once you get going and get used to it, it rapidly becomes easy. The interface is also customizable, allowing you to put the buttons you use most where they are most convenient for you.

* Source - Everything Online Business Book
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