Fireworks, Dreamweaver Get New Look in Updates

Fireworks 4, Dreamweaver 4 put powerful Web site production behind a new Macromedia interface.

Cameron Crouch, PCWorld.com

Macromedia is putting new faces on both its Web graphics and Web authoring bundle, with improved integration and design tools behind them.

The bundled Fireworks 4/Dreamweaver 4 Studio, which Macromedia is announcing Monday, is expected to ship in December for priced at $449. Current owners of either package can upgrade for $199, and Fireworks 4 and Dreamweaver 4 will also be sold separately for $299 each.

Also unveiled Monday is Dreamweaver UltraDev 4, an update to the Dreamweaver Web application development tool. It will also be available in December in a studio bundle with Fireworks for $699, or for $399 as an upgrade from Dreamweaver.

These versions of Fireworks and Dreamweaver are more tightly integrated to help make professional Web design and management a smooth process, Macromedia representatives say. Both products feature the new Macromedia interface, which the company is deploying across its product line. Adobe recently implemented a common interface, as well. But in both cases, the new look risks putting off longtime customers.

Flexible Coding

Adobe recently updated its Dreamweaver competitor, GoLive. Besides implementing Adobe's common interface, GoLive 5 has improved site management and coding. Now, many Dreamweaver 4 features center on coding and a common Macromedia look. (See "GoLive 5.0 Catches Up to Dreamweaver.")

"Dreamweaver 4 has hand-coding capabilities that are as powerful as the visual design interface," says Julie Thompson, a Macromedia senior product manager.

Dreamweaver is known for its roundtrip HTML editing that lets you jump between the graphics environment and the site design environment while maintaining code changes. (See "Dreamweaver/Fireworks All Together Now.")

Dreamweaver 4 now adds an integrated text editor to make text changes within the design. Dreamweaver's split view, which lets you see and access the design and the code simultaneously, is improved so you can see exactly where you are within the site at all times.

"When you select something in the layout, the text editor automatically scrolls to that section of the code," Thompson says. "Conversely, when you type code, it automatically highlights those parts of the image in the layout."

A built-in O'Reilly inspector makes HTML tags easier to manage, by identifying a tag's function--in either of the popular browsers--when you select it. Also new is a JavaScript Debugger for testing how JavaScript executes in Netscape or Internet Explorer.

Dreamweaver applies HTML styles to text when several attributes are applied to the text. With version 4, you can save reuse those HTML styles. Also, a new layout view lets you draw directly on the page and drag and group cells to create nested tables, Thompson says. "You're able to think of the table within design."

For collaboration, Dreamweaver's Asset Manager lets you manage images, colors, URLs, Shockwave movies, JavaScripts, and libraries. "You can save things like a company banner as a favorite for easy repeating use," Thompson says.

New Look for Fireworks 4

Besides the Macromedia interface, Fireworks 4 includes drag-and-drop rollover creation, better Photoshop file support, easy animation techniques, and a pop-up menu creator to build complex menus and submenus.

"Borrowed from Photoshop, Fireworks' new layers panel lets you group objects and save them as a style," says David J. Morris, product manager for Fireworks.

A Shared Face

The Macromedia user interface gives Fireworks and Dreamweaver a Flash 5 look and feel. (See "Updated Flash Is Easier on Newbies.")

"Ten panels remain the same when you switch between Flash, Fireworks, and Dreamweaver," Morris says. "And they all have the same keyboard shortcuts."

In the new shared interface, a new cross-product toolbar runs along the bottom of the screen. This is most noticeable in Dreamweaver, which had no toolbar before, Thompson says. By putting a common interface onto its product line, Macromedia follows the lead of software giants like Adobe and Microsoft. But it's something the longtime users will have to get used to.