Dreamweaver is a web authoring tool developed by Macromedia that allows web developers to generate HTML and JavaScript source code while viewing the site as they work. Instead of spending hours writing HTML tags to code a complex table, the developer can build the table, resize it, and view it exactly as it will appear on a Web page. There is no chance that a person will omit a tag or create table cells that are the wrong size because the developer works visually. Dreamweaver generates the correct code for the table. Similarly, Dreamweaver will generate code for rollovers, image maps, and animated layers. With a tool like Dreamweaver, coding these elements was a time consuming detailed task. Dreamweaver’s development environment integrates other development tools such as Fireworks, Flash, and Aria. It is a “What you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) interface.”It is one of the best programs for creating JavaScript and DHTML animations.
It lets you do all your code work by hand or automate coding tasks with Dreamweaver code tools. Few of these includes Dreamweaver’s Preferences; Coding toolbar; Code Hints, which lets you insert code from a suggested list of options; Code Collapse, which lets you collapse sections of code so that you can more easily focus on the sections you’re actively editing; and Code Snippets, which are blocks of code that you can store and reuse. You can also work with tags, the building blocks of any code language, in the Tag Selector, the Quick Tag Editor, the Tag Inspector, and tag libraries. In addition, Dreamweaver includes options for cleaning up and troubleshooting your code, as well as for validating your pages.
Dreamweaver is a favorite choice of multimedia designers, because it easily integrates with other Macromedia applications, like Flash and Shockwave. It is probably a less popular choice for small staffs or corporate sites, since it doesn’t come with a library of Web-ready graphics, like FrontPage and NetObjects.
What are Design Notes Used for in Dreamweaver?
This design notes can be used for almost anything, but here are some suggestions:
a) Set the status – Dreamweaver comes with 8 built-in status levels: draft, revision1, revision2, revision3, alpha, beta, final, and needs attention.
b) Write an explanatory note about the status.
c) Date stamp your files with “last edited” or “created” dates.
d) Leave notes explaining what needs to be done on a file, or what has been done already.
e) Include details about images or objects such as the source files, who created them, or where you can get additional files.
f) Note details that you cannot leave in the file, like configuration information or how a design decision was reached.
h) When you open a file in Fireworks or Flash, they automatically store the name of the source file (when it’s exported) into a design note.
How to Add Design Notes to a File?
Design notes are very easy to add to your files.
a) For an open file: Click on the Files menu and choose “Design Notes…”
For a file in the File window, right-click (Windows) or control-click (Macintosh) on the file and choose “Design Notes…”
b) Fill in the notes field.
c) Click OK.
