Buy Dreamweaver cs4 or get dreamweaver cs3

[chipandegg]

I start a part time college course in a couple of days, and they are teaching Dreamweaver CS3, I think they will start teaching CS4 next year.

I was just wondering, as I haven't purchased it yet, should I go for the newer version?

Are they very different from each other?

Are they quite smilier cs4 is not much of different from cs3?

I just wouldnt want to be in the lesson and regret getting CS4 though I doubt they are very different??

Thanks

 

[Maximillian]

First, I must say that I do not endorse the use of Dreamweaver. Ever.

That being said, DW CS4 includes some core improvements, but the basic functionality should be the same. I'm guessing that some menus have been re-arranged, but otherwise, a DW CS3 class would be fine for a CS4 user. A CS4 class would be less useful for a CS3 user due to improvements.


(If you're looking to learn about web development, I would recommend learning how to craft HTML without the aide of a WYSIWYG editor like Dreamweaver by reading a good book or finding online reading. That's just my 2 cents.)

 

[firstapple]

(If you're looking to learn about web development, I would recommend learning how to craft HTML without the aide of a WYSIWYG editor like Dreamweaver by reading a good book or finding online reading. That's just my 2 cents.)

I see what you did there

 

[chipandegg]

I know how to code xhtml and css no probs. I've been told many times to learn by hand first before using any kind of dreamweaver-esque editor

 

[deriko100]

Coda

 

[tersono]

I've just switched from Adobe CS3 to CS4. I'll admit I don't use DW very much (I hand-code 95% of the time), but whilst a few things have been moved around, there isn't a whole lot of difference. Certainly transitioning from one to the other is something of a no-brainer.

The only thing I'd say is that if you're doing a course, it might be easier for you to use the same software as everyone else - there's also a possibility that you might be able to pick up DW CS3 at a discount now it has been superceded.

If you were going to buy the rest of the suite too, I'd certainly recommend going for the latest, but for DreamWeaver alone, I'd say try to pick up the older version if you can find it cheaper.

 

[eclipse]

First, I must say that I do not endorse the use of Dreamweaver. Ever.

But it's so shiny and integrated with everything else us graphic designers use. We're visual types, not mechanical types. If DW can code for us and we gradually absorb bits of what's going on with the code by the dodgy process called osmosis, I guess my reaction is....

"Why so serious?"

 

[lucidmedia]

But it's so shiny and integrated with everything else us graphic designers use. We're visual types, not mechanical types. If DW can code for us and we gradually absorb bits of what's going on with the code by the dodgy process called osmosis

except that what you learn by osmosis in dreamweaver is just plain wrong

the short answer is that learning to code to web standards is not just "learning code"... it is a fundamentally different way to think about how content is structured. This is not something that can be automated, as it is an editorial / design process... something that us "visual types" are supposed to be good at and not leave to the machines...

and why so serious about standards? ask someone who is vision impaired and uses a screen reader or other assistive technology to take you on a tour of the internet one day...

 

[eclipse]

So Lucid, are you a coda person?

 

[lucidmedia]

I have Coda and have used it in the past, but found it had issues saving files to certain web hosts... I usually use textmate or BBEdit... as long as one turns off the WYSIWYG features dreamweaver can work as a decent text editor as well.

When I teach CSS I usually have to use Dreamweaver (most colleges have an arrangement with Adobe) but we use it as a text editor and FTP program only. It does not take very long for the students to break the preview anyways.

 

[angelneo]

I always think that software are here just to make things easier especially in an open field such as web design. A good web developer should still be able to craft good toys without his favourite toolbox.

 

[eclipse]

break the preview anyways.

What do you mean?

 

[ryantheredder]

I would just go for CS4. The UI look and feel has changed and there's some new features of course, but there isn't anything major that was removed from CS3 so you should be able to follow the instruction easily.

The argument that DW is "bad" because it has a Design View is outdated. CS4 especially is very nice to use for hand coding web pages.

 

[eclipse]

Ryan,
is DW's code that bad? Can't it produce pages that are blind-friendly?

I sometimes get the suspicion that some web designers sense iWebbers and others encroaching on their territory and get louder and louder about "hand coding" being essential, making web-design a mysterious process behind the smoke and mirrors of years of coding experience. Mainly because I think I'd be tempted to do that if I was in their situation.

Can't ANY WYSIWYG coder do good code?