Dreamweaver: Introduction

Introduction to Dreamweaver

Not so long ago, Web site building tools fell naturally into three different camps: text-only HTML-editors, editors that combined a graphic WYSIWIG view with a code view, and those there were purely graphic, for users who shied away from HTML. Each type of site editor had its own audience, die-hard programmers, part-time Webmasters, or graphic designers. Dreamweaver 4 may be the first fully-featured editor to cater to each of those groups.
With the introduction of its new Layout View, Dreamweaver is finally usable for those who prefer pure design, placing tables and cells anywhere on the page. But that\\'s only one of many useful additions. Version 4 also includes great tools for HTML coding, team collaboration, and multimedia enhancements.
Dreamweaver 4 is the most dynamic HTML editor available off the shelf. With the help of this HTML Editor you can create powerful web sites that have animations, graphics, and complex scripting. You can create web sites linked with databases and more. Dreamweaver gives you the power of adding components such as flash animated buttons, Mouse rollover scripts, Navigation bar with menu’s and so on.
The 4 technology is the new state of the art technology devised by Macromedia that integrates, client, tool and server technologies together in order to give your website an extra edge over others. The advantages of Dreamweaver are:
Easy to use menus: The Dreamweaver interface provides you with extensive menu driven options with the help of which, you can create powerful, yet complex websites easily and with in no time.

Supported Technologies: Dreamweaver enables you to use technologies such as PHP, ASP, CFML and more so that you save time and effort spent in creating complex codes for programming.

Extension Manager: Dreamweaver provides you with an extension manager, with the help of which you can download code snippets and various behaviors from the macromedia website http://www.macromedia.com that helps you to integrate technologies like Shopping carts, Dynamic HTML menus, Javascripts and more.

Among the most welcome tools are those that let users tinker with the HTML directly. This isn\\'t new for Dreamweaver, but it\\'s now easier than ever. Open a page and from the top left of its window you can choose from three views: code only, code and layout, or layout only. Select the mixed view and the active window splits so that the HTML code is on the top and the graphic layout on the bottom. Another new feature, Code Reference, seems especially useful to Webmasters who have taken over a corporate intranet from someone else, and who may not understand all the codes used. The Code Reference window lives at the lower right-side of the screen. You can use it two ways: either select tags from the window\\'s pull-down menu to get a description, or place your cursor on a tag in your page\\'s code, then hit the question mark button--which looks like ""--in the page\\'s toolbar. A few other minor changes make hand-coding easier. While certain tags were color coded in the previous version of Dreamweaver, users now have control over what tags are assigned what colors. Also, tags are automatically color coded while they\\'re typed out.
If you. re working on your intranet as part of a team, you. ve probably had a blood pressure-raising moment when two members of the team checked out the same file. and someone. s work was overwritten. Dreamweaver had a check-in/check-out system in its previous version, but it. s been greatly improved.
With Dreamweaver 4, e-mail addresses can be linked with a user names, so a team member who wants a checked-out file can send a quick note. Also, by using Design Notes, users can customize the check-in/check-out system to provide other information, such as the status of a page or the hours spent working on it. It. s not the easiest thing to set up, but for large or spread-out groups, it\\'s worth the time.The previously mentioned Layout View allows users to place tables and cells anywhere on the page, moving them around at will. Even those who know HTML will enjoy the freedom it gives to move and alter tables, without having to worry about the coding underneath.