Datasheet

ooking over the new feature set of Dreamweaver CS4, you get the

feeling that when the engineering team first starting working, its

motto was “Everything is on the table.” The latest version of the

world’s best-selling Web authoring tool has undergone major revisions,

from a complete facelift to implementing a whole new way of working.

The enhancements in Dreamweaver CS4 largely reflect the state of the Web:

today’s Web designer works hard to integrate multiple technologies—like

CSS and advanced JavaScript—into a seemingly effortless design. The new

version of Dreamweaver brings complex, compound Web pages into focus

with browser-true rendering and pinpoint coding. It seems clear to me that

the Dreamweaver team is consciously going after higher-end coders with a

number of the new features, like extended support for JavaScript, including

external popular frameworks. These enhancements, however, do not leave

visually oriented designers behind. Rather, they lay the foundation for more

drag-and-drop goodness, such as the new Web widget possibilities.

And speaking of changes to entice the design-minded, Dreamweaver CS4 is

much more integrated into the Adobe Creative Suite than ever before. Now

it’s much easier for Web designers, whether they are one-person shops who

must (and want to!) master all the tools in the Adobe tool chest or members

of a site-building team who have to contend with ever-changing comps

and graphic elements. Dreamweaver keeps its place on the cutting-edge by

extending a branch to new technologies like Adobe AIR and services such

as InContext Editing.

The other strong trend in Dreamweaver CS4 is the continuation of the march

toward Web standards. Not only has CSS been integrated even more tightly

into the workflow, notably in the Property inspector, but the call to separate

interactivity (that is, JavaScript) from content has begun to be heeded.

What’s New in

Dreamweaver CS4

IN THIS CHAPTER

Mastering modern

Web workflows

Enhanced Creative

Suite 4 integration

Web standards implementations

made easier

Connecting with Adobe services

82523c01.indd 3

2/18/09 1:21:56 PM