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Web Design & Productivity
Review: Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium
5/29/2007
The new additions to Dreamweaver CS3 seem to fall into one of two categories: Ajax and CSS. On that first point, Adobe has deeply integrated its Spry Framework for Ajax into Dreamweaver CS3, ultimately aiming to de-mystify some of the "magic" of creating Ajax pages for designers. The Spry Framework even gets its own tab amongst the other hallowed members of the Insert toolbar. There are three categories that make up the entire framework:
- Spry Data, which allows for easy import and parsing of XML data;
- Spry Widgets, a collection of interface elements for building Web apps; and
- Spry Effects, which is a library of JavaScript eye candy (fades and scaling and the like).
In practice, the integration with the Spry Framework performs marvelously. While it's not "dead simple" to connect to and parse XML, the process should be within the grasp of those new to Web design in general, which is no small feat. Widgets and Effects are also easy to add, and everything I tested worked well across modern browsers, which for the purposes of this piece (though not normally) includes IE6. So if you're looking for a relatively painless way to start creating Ajax-based sites, the Spry Framework integration in Dreamweaver CS3 is a compelling option.
As for CSS, Dreamweaver continues its proud tradition of supporting Web standards and respecting the way you code, and the new CSS features are an extension of that. First and foremost are the inclusion of an enormous amount of CSS-based templates. If you're new to Web design, these alone might be a reason to purchase Dreamweaver CS3, as not only do the templates offer an insane number of table-free layouts, they also are meticulously commented to show you what's going on. It's a pretty amazing resource, though it's not hard to imagine that over time the commenting may get in the way once you find your sea legs.
(Click for larger image.)
Another CSS improvement is the addition of the Browser Compatibility Check, which is closely tied into Adobe's online CSS Advisor resource. It works like this: You run the compatibility check, and Dreamweaver audits your code to see if you have any areas where certain browsers may render your pages differently than you planned. Where appropriate, Dreamweaver also has a View Solution link that takes you to the corresponding page on the CSS Advisor site, where you'll find possible fixes to the problematic CSS. It's very handy, and on some pages where I knew IE6 (for example) was going to have problems with certain styles, Dreamweaver caught the problem and located the correct solution page online.
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