Web Design Program
I love macromedia dreamweaver...at least its alot better then frontpage. But I was wondering if there were any programs that support photoshop layers like FCP does. I know it is unlikely, but I would absolutly love to be able to design a page in like PS and then just fill in text (minus content bars on the left) later in another program. Like rollovers in FCP you make seperate layers...any programs for Mac that do that...and is there anything better then DreamWeaver?
Comments
Rember pages made with lots of graphic require a fair wack of b/width and when you has small text and you use some avg Gif compression its nasty!
my .02
<strong>Macromedia Fireworks will help you out! Image Ready isnt all that great and you'll really think that if you have been using Fireworks and then swap to Image Ready!
Rember pages made with lots of graphic require a fair wack of b/width and when you has small text and you use some avg Gif compression its nasty!
my .02</strong><hr></blockquote>
i know golive will let you bring in psd files, but not sure how much control you have over them beyond slicing and dicing. fireworks does rock and will generate very nice code that can save you some extra leg work in your editor. much better over all than image ready in my opinion.
In Freeway 3.5, you can drag-and-drop virtually any type of content straight on to your page. Freeway 3.5 now includes drag-and-drop support for native Illustrator 10, Photoshop 7, GIF, JPEG, Quicktime, MPEG and SWF file formats. You can even drag-and-drop MP3s from iTunes right into your Freeway page!
All graphic files can be sliced within Freeway (even if they're still in their native format). The original files remain untouched, Freeway creates new slices.
Freeway 3.5 also supports transparency in Layered Photoshop files as well as TIFFs and 24-bit PNG files with 8-bit transparency masks. This means that you can composite images directly in Freeway with no need to switch to an external graphic editor.
<a href="http://www.softpress.com"; target="_blank">Freeway</a>
<strong>Have a look at softpress' Freeway 3.5. Easily the best WYSIWYG wbedesign program out there
In Freeway 3.5, you can drag-and-drop virtually any type of content straight on to your page. Freeway 3.5 now includes drag-and-drop support for native Illustrator 10, Photoshop 7, GIF, JPEG, Quicktime, MPEG and SWF file formats. You can even drag-and-drop MP3s from iTunes right into your Freeway page!
All graphic files can be sliced within Freeway (even if they're still in their native format). The original files remain untouched, Freeway creates new slices.
Freeway 3.5 also supports transparency in Layered Photoshop files as well as TIFFs and 24-bit PNG files with 8-bit transparency masks. This means that you can composite images directly in Freeway with no need to switch to an external graphic editor.
<a href="http://www.softpress.com"; target="_blank">Freeway</a></strong><hr></blockquote>
if your looking to do web stuff for a living to some degree or another, i'd stick with macromedia. freeway may be a good app, but is somewhat limited in what it can acomplish compared to dreamweaver and even golive. but if your just dabbling, doing sites here and there that are not that complicated, then by all means, freeway may be for you.
As for GoLive - don't even GoThere. No competition, none what so ever!!
For a feature for feature comparison, have a look here:
<a href="http://www.softpress.com/productcompariso.html"; target="_blank">Freeway vs DreamWeaver and GoLive</a>
It's very much like discussion we used to have when OS X was introduced. 'Real' Unix people said OS X was a toy version of Unix. Look what they're saying now.
The same goes for the WYSIWYG approach of Freeway. "Real' coders have a snobby attitude towards this powerhouse of a program without even knowing what they're talking about.
[ 10-03-2002: Message edited by: macanoid? ]</p>
Of course, most of you wussy designers come from print backgrounds, and just have to have a WYSIWYG HTML editor
I'm only teasing, I understand the market for WYSIWYG editors... I just think you're all a bunch of sissies for using them
<strong>Ah - but you're wrong there - very wrong. With Freeway version 1 and 2 you may have had a point, but not anymore. Freeway can match Dreamweaver feature for feature, and it still allows you to think as a designer, not a coder.
As for GoLive - don't even GoThere. No competition, none what so ever!!
For a feature for feature comparison, have a look here:
<a href="http://www.softpress.com/productcompariso.html"; target="_blank">Freeway vs DreamWeaver and GoLive</a>
It's very much like discussion we used to have when OS X was introduced. 'Real' Unix people said OS X was a toy version of Unix. Look what they're saying now.
The same goes for the WYSIWYG approach of Freeway. "Real' coders have a snobby attitude towards this powerhouse of a program without even knowing what they're talking about.
[ 10-03-2002: Message edited by: macanoid? ]</strong><hr></blockquote>
I tried it out once (when it was first released for OS X) and I was pretty impressed. I ran into some trouble when I decided that I wanted to add some dynamic content to my pages. I couldn't figure out how to integrate PHP into my code. Is it possible? If it is, I'd love to try it again, b/c DW is getting to me just a little.
<strong>Ah - but you're wrong there - very wrong. With Freeway version 1 and 2 you may have had a point, but not anymore. Freeway can match Dreamweaver feature for feature, and it still allows you to think as a designer, not a coder.
As for GoLive - don't even GoThere. No competition, none what so ever!!
For a feature for feature comparison, have a look here:
<a href="http://www.softpress.com/productcompariso.html"; target="_blank">Freeway vs DreamWeaver and GoLive</a>
It's very much like discussion we used to have when OS X was introduced. 'Real' Unix people said OS X was a toy version of Unix. Look what they're saying now.
The same goes for the WYSIWYG approach of Freeway. "Real' coders have a snobby attitude towards this powerhouse of a program without even knowing what they're talking about.
[ 10-03-2002: Message edited by: macanoid? ]</strong><hr></blockquote>
freeway is like the "canvas" of the html world. sure, it can do some cool things, but it is not the right or best tool for most serious web designers. it has relatively no developer support compared to dreamweaver or even golive for that matter. not even close. that in its self is very important. the dynamic content tools are pedestrian at best. does not give you easy access to source code, which at some point you will need to be able to modify. you may not get into this to learn how to code, i didn't, but the longer you do it the more you appreciate the ability muck about freely in source. next thing you know, you actually understand what's going on without looking at the layout. not to mention it's not going to help you land any developer jobs with a design firm.
[quote]So what you're saying is I should think in PostScript when I want to print something I just designed! <hr></blockquote>
no, but you should know how to put together a mechanical that won't come apart in the rip.
<strong>
I tried it out once (when it was first released for OS X) and I was pretty impressed. I ran into some trouble when I decided that I wanted to add some dynamic content to my pages. I couldn't figure out how to integrate PHP into my code. Is it possible? If it is, I'd love to try it again, b/c DW is getting to me just a little.</strong><hr></blockquote>
yes, you can add php content through actions. i personally don't like the way it handles it, but you can do it. to be honest, i didn't like the way dreamweaver does either until i got a better grasp of php. now it clicks. but then again i find it easier to add such elements in source.
how in fireworks do you use multiple layers from psd files?
<strong>Deneba's Canvas and Stone Design's Create can also do some of what you'd like.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Is there a demo for either?
That said, I don't have the time or energy to learn html when I can use dreamweaver and build a page without knowing diddly.
I know the code ends up sloppy (though I have proof that DW builds better code than Adobe), but it works for me. DreamweaverMX, FlashMX, and PSElements ... amazing what you can create with this stuff without knowing a bit of code.
<strong>Just a word to you "real" coders out there ... and don't take this as a flame - it's not, i wish i really new html.
That said, I don't have the time or energy to learn html when I can use dreamweaver and build a page without knowing diddly.
I know the code ends up sloppy (though I have proof that DW builds better code than Adobe), but it works for me. DreamweaverMX, FlashMX, and PSElements ... amazing what you can create with this stuff without knowing a bit of code.</strong><hr></blockquote>
actually, dreamweaver and golive both makes fairly clean html code. where golive falls down is with its javascript/css actions implementation. especially if you don't know what your doing. very verbose. it works fine, just real wordy, which adds up to larger page sizes. not that big of a deal until you have to modify it by hand. still a very solid tool though. i'd use it again if it weren't for dreamweaver being so good. but your right, it is amazing what you can do these days, without knowing a lick of code.
<strong>Just a word to you "real" coders out there ... and don't take this as a flame - it's not, i wish i really new html.
That said, I don't have the time or energy to learn html when I can use dreamweaver and build a page without knowing diddly.
I know the code ends up sloppy (though I have proof that DW builds better code than Adobe), but it works for me. DreamweaverMX, FlashMX, and PSElements ... amazing what you can create with this stuff without knowing a bit of code.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Whenever I call HTML "code" i get a 20 minute lecture from my business partner (who writes all our enterprise server apps in Objective C and Java) on how HTML is a "Markup Language" and not "real code".
Anyhow, yes, I understand the WYSIWYG editor's place in life... I just like to point out that if you're going to be pursuing any sort of design career for the web, you'll probably want to take the time to learn HTML, CSS, XHTML and keep up on the standards. When you know how something works at the mechanical level, you understand a lot more about what you can and cannot do with the medium, and that gives you a tremendous amount of power
<strong>
Whenever I call HTML "code" i get a 20 minute lecture from my business partner (who writes all our enterprise server apps in Objective C and Java) on how HTML is a "Markup Language" and not "real code".
Anyhow, yes, I understand the WYSIWYG editor's place in life... I just like to point out that if you're going to be pursuing any sort of design career for the web, you'll probably want to take the time to learn HTML, CSS, XHTML and keep up on the standards. When you know how something works at the mechanical level, you understand a lot more about what you can and cannot do with the medium, and that gives you a tremendous amount of power
I'd also add that once you know HTML, doing much cooler things with it isn't too far off. Learning PHP/mySQL from a solid background in how HTML works is not all that difficult, but if all you ever do is point and click, generating anything beyond static pages is like black magic. DW is getting good in this respect, but it's still almost unfathomable if you don't know how to get your hands dirty.
<strong>i am getting freeeway demonow and if i like it i'll probably dowload the full version from the internet, and then if i like it buy it. (is there any features not active in the demo, if not tthen i wont have to download he full version to test)</strong><hr></blockquote>
The demo is the full version. It's only limited to 30 days of use.
<strong>Anyhow, yes, I understand the WYSIWYG editor's place in life... I just like to point out that if you're going to be pursuing any sort of design career for the web, you'll probably want to take the time to learn HTML, CSS, XHTML and keep up on the standards. When you know how something works at the mechanical level, you understand a lot more about what you can and cannot do with the medium, and that gives you a tremendous amount of power
I totally agree. You'll find therefore that a lot of Freeway users are actually former coders who made the switch to the WYSIWYG world. They enjoy the freedom and flexibility Freeway gives them with regards to design and layout, and still allows them to use their coding knowledge.
Anyway, I'll leave it at this. Use what you like best, after all, they're just tools to get things done. I do wish though that some coders would be a bit more open minded toward these 'sissy' WYSIWYG programs.