Web Design Tool Packs Simplicity and Power
If you are looking for a quick and easy route to building a robust Web site,
Macromedia Inc.’s Dreamweaver 4 is a top choice, delivering a powerful
set of tools for both emerging and expert Web developers.
I have taught technology classes to faculty, colleagues, and students at the
University of Wisconsin, Madison. We found that Dreamweaver’s intuitive
WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) interface allows newcomers to quickly
get started with Web design while challenging intermediate and advanced users
with new tricks and a functionality that scales to meet a developer’s growing
needs. Dreamweaver 4 also offers features that specifically benefit educators,
such as extensive support for accessibility, a wealth of online learning templates,
and support for learning management systems.
It seems that all departments at U.W. Madison have sent staff to my classes
to learn elementary Web design. Dreamweaver allows users unfamiliar with Web
design to create a Web page without knowing HTML. Anyone who is familiar with
word processing tools will find that the Dreamweaver interface offers a familiar,
intuitive environment. As users enter text on the page, it appears in the document
window as it would in a Web browser, and Dreamweaver automatically generates
the HTML code in the background.
Novices can develop Web content easily because Dreamweaver places the most useful
formatting features on a single palette called the property inspector. As users
select different elements of a page to work on, the property inspector changes
to reflect the available options. With this single palette, users are able to
format text, create links to other pages, insert images, and quickly edit the
underlying HTML code.
One of the features that sets Dreamweaver apart from competitors is the site
files window. This window helps users understand where to save files and how
to publish them to their campus Web server by dragging and dropping them from
one side of the window to another.
Dreamweaver provides incomparable help and reference tools, such as well-written
tutorials, directly in the application. In addition, Macromedia’s free
TrainingCafe.com Web site offers novices a step-by-step template to build a
course Web site in Dreamweaver. In a couple of hours, faculty can have a fully
functioning course Web site including syllabus, materials, and chat room.
A unique feature of Dreamweaver is a full electronic version of the reference
section of O’Reilly and Associates Inc.’s Dynamic HTML: The Definitive
Reference on HTML, JavaScript and Cascading Style Sheets. These popular reference
manuals can be accessed within Dreamweaver for explanations, examples, and specifications.
These tools help novice designers quickly understand and employ the more powerful
features Dreamweaver has to offer.
The majority of professional Web designers choose Dreamweaver 4. It offers
unparalleled support for editing HTML, cascading style sheets (CSS), and JavaScript.
Changes to HTML may be done by hand from either the document window or the property
inspector. When working with CSS, users can quickly attach external style sheets
or add individual styles. Users can then preview the results in a Web browser
by pressing a single button, making editing CSS much more reliable.
Dreamweaver also provides stable tools for sites created and maintained by
more than one person. These tools are especially useful in groups that include
users with a variety of skill levels and experience. Templates and library objects
allow advanced users to create a common look and feel for a site and limit the
areas to which other users may make changes. Templates and library objects also
allow advanced users to revise a single template and make changes to every page
on a site that uses that template. This can dramatically simplify maintenance
of a Web site.
Dreamweaver 4 brings the benefits of vector graphics and text to the HTML editing
environment by adding modified Macromedia Flash tools. These additions let you
create Flash Text and Flash Buttons directly within Dreamweaver.
Dreamweaver 4 also offers a range of specialized features and tools, including
support for accessibility. Policies ensuring access to Web content for people
with disabilities have become increasingly common for Web sites in educational
settings. Dreamweaver significantly simplifies the process of creating accessible
sites. The software not only writes clean, simple, and standard HTML code, but
also makes it easy to add markups commonly used by assistive technologies. These
include alternative text for images and image maps, headers for data tables,
and CSS information.
Dreamweaver also offers designers a number of solutions for accessibility through
its extensions. These are free, downloadable add-ons to Dreamweaver that are
available from the Macromedia Web site (www.macromedia.com/ exchange/dreamweaver).
Perhaps the most notable of those tools is the 508 Accessibility Suite from
UsableNet Inc. This extension automatically checks pages or entire sites for
accessibility problems, making it much easier for novices and experienced designers
alike to understand accessibility issues with their sites.
Faculty who develop distance learning courses find that Dreamweaver is an excellent
tool for creating online learning content. With its integration with other Macromedia
products such as Macromedia Flash and Fireworks, Dreamweaver makes it easy for
educators to create engaging and effective multimedia lessons. Dreamweaver also
offers a powerful extension for creating online learning objects. CourseBuilder
is one of the many free extensions for Dreamweaver. It allows designers to create
assessment forms and integrate them into a learning management system.
Whether you are new to Web design or a professional designer, Macromedia Dreamweaver
4 is a good choice. Dreamweaver offers a simple, easy-to-use interface with
a powerful set of tools and features to help faculty and students create engaging
Web sites. Dreamweaver 4 delivers productivity enhancements for high-end developers
and lowers the barrier to entry for novices.
