Ok, no DW. But why not??

Hi guys. I am starting to code and graphic design. I've been reading lots of threads and people keep mentioning over and over; "Don't use DW, use notepad!!!." Is it because DW gives us the tags and stuff, and by using Notepad we learn more? I just like the way the code is organized in DW and is colored.

Can someone clear this up for me.?

im not sure why, but if you want organized color coded classes and tags, use EDITPAD, its great

I've always coded in Dreamweaver.
Although never ever use Dreamweaver's 'design view' for coding - Which is what people are telling you to stay away from.

yea i just read some more. I think its the WYSWYG part of DW that people want newbs to stay away from.

i use notepad++, its great.

Originally Posted by enraged i use notepad++, its great.

Agreed.

Yeah don't use the design view, it's not cross browser compliant, it looks different in design view than in the actual browser and it will take longer to format things to your liking.

I use split design in DW. It lets me see the changes I've made in the HTML right away. DW is just like any other piece of software, you have to know how to use it. There are a lot of graphic designers who are getting into web design that let DW do all of the work, and that's a big no-no. Learn HTML, once you know it, you can use DW to it's full potential. Personally, I prefer it over notepad, because of its' workflow with Photoshop and the ease of uploading.

Originally Posted by chaka42 I use split design in DW. It lets me see the changes I've made in the HTML right away. DW is just like any other piece of software, you have to know how to use it. There are a lot of graphic designers who are getting into web design that let DW do all of the work, and that's a big no-no. Learn HTML, once you know it, you can use DW to it's full potential. Personally, I prefer it over notepad, because of its' workflow with Photoshop and the ease of uploading.

Can you please elaborate?

Sure, on my setup (like many) I have my file window to the right that has all of my files for a certain site. I can switch from site to site with a drop-down menu, and can double-click image files, which will automatically open in Photoshop for editing. In terms of uploading, when I'm done editing HTML, or making changes, I simply click the upload button and I'm ready to test in the browser. DW also has a Preview in Browser option, but I prefer to use the browser window I already have open. I'm also like you, I like my code organized and color coded. And, I like the fact that DW uses code shortcuts. I don't have to type <a href="#"></a>, it does it for me, which saves valuable time. It does the same thing with CSS.

While some prefer other editors, I still prefer DW for the reasons stated above. Some folks just don't want to spend the extra cash for the software, but I already have to buy the other Adobe programs for my work and DW comes in the package. So does GoLive, but I ain't touching that.

Using the upload feature in Dreamweaver creates unnecessary bloat in the account you're uploading to. That was one problem I had when I was working for an agency downtown.

Every file uploaded through DW attaced a 2nd file, that just had the username in the file, and nothing more. That crap is a pain to delete when you've got a webite with 1,000+ files. So now you've got 2,000+ files. I'm not sure if that was an option to disable either.

I don't use Dreamweaver because I've never used it. So to me, it's not efficient. I type pretty fast, so the time saved for someone who lets a shortcut auto-fill in, is the same time it takes me to type it by hand.

If you're used to Dreamweaver, then I guess stick with it. I just think the majority of "easy" features it offers is why some people look down upon it. They see it as a "you'll never learn it yourself since it's doing it for you" kind of program.

I just use intype to get all coding down. Heck, I don't even need color coding majority of the time. I've edited through my FTP's built-in editor, which is not color coded... Never slows me down either. Just years of working with it that I'm just able to do it in any program. Just not DW :P