Is Dreamweaver the best web design software to learn foran aspiring web designer?

Ultimately, it is true that the user is the most important element. I was just
looking for a way to allow a member of staff make their CV/resume more
marketable and bring in a few less qualified IT staff to help with some basic
website admin etc. I'm not saying that I think Dreamweaver is a doddle but it
could make collaberation between members of staff working on the same project a
bit easier. The truth is I don't really know and that is why I'm asking you,
the experts in this field.

I assume that no one has actually heard of Domino Designer (IBM) and
Enterprise Works, so that's a problem, and if we have to replace this member of
staff where will we find someone who knows this software?

Many thanks.

I've heard of Domino but not the designer. I took a quick look over the Domino
Designer page and I would compare it more to that Visual Studio program that
people use to develop .NET applications. It just really seems tailored to the
Lotus server.

And finding someone who knows DW will not be hard to find. For the most part
it is the industry standard. Although with ASP.NET there will be more
arguments for Expression Web (formerly Frontpage from MS).

Also from my college experience, the classes I did take related to web design
used Dreamweaver (and before you ask if I majored in web design or programming
I was a marketing major and they were electives). Also if the user knows HTML
picking up another tool shouldn't be too bad. I can say that because I started
with Frontpage and migrated over to GoLive and eventually to Dreamweaver.

DW is not a web design application. Web design is
completely out of the scope of DW.

Not sure what are you getting at Murray?


--
Regards

John Waller

In at the deep end wrote:

I assume that no one has actually heard of Domino Designer (IBM) and
Enterprise Works, so that's a problem, and if we have to replace this
member of staff where will we find someone who knows this software?

This is the crux of the matter.

Dreamweaver, and to a lesser extent, Frontpage/Expressions are the
standard for web design tools just as Photoshop is the standard for
photo manipulation. You will find more people with more experience on
these two products than any other web design tool.

It is true, as some of the purists/elitists say, you can
design/maintain a web site with just a text editor. But who would want
to when the productivity is so much greater with a good design tool
like Dreamweaver. You are in business to make money not cater to the
dreamers.

To answer your question, I have never heard of Domino Designer.
Unfortunately, I have never worked with any any IBM/Lotus desktop
product/application that has been superior to it's competition.

--
Cliff

"CJ" <cje20 (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

It is true, as some of the purists/elitists say, you can
design/maintain a web site with just a text editor. But who would want
to when the productivity is so much greater with a good design tool
like Dreamweaver.

That's not accurate, in my opinion. I believe that only sadomasochists use a
text editor to make web pages. "Purists" would tend to use a code editor,
such as HomeSite or Aptana (or any of the other good ones). Dreamweaver is
only a good "Design Tool" if you have a decent working knowledge of the
underlying technologies, such as (x)html and CSS. If one uses Dreamweaver as
if it were, for example, a word processor, then what Ian wrote would apply -
that is, forums like this and ours are full of people who will pitch in and
help.


--
Al Sparber - PVII
http://www.projectseven.com
Fully Automated Menu Systems | Galleries | Widgets
http://www.projectseven.com/go/Elevators

I think its the best hands down. Though I only have used DW and frontpage before.

If course your going to get an unbiased answer here.

John, Murray's point, which I do agree with is that you cannot "design" with
Dreamweaver. Designing is where someone comes up with the initial graphics for
the website. Dreamweaver cannot do the graphics manipulation and it does not
have the design tools that are available in Fireworks and Photoshop.

Dreamweaver can place the image slices into a layout and use CSS for
repeating-backgrounds and so forth, but the process really starts in one of the
mentioned applications. So what he is trying to say is that the page is
designed in Fireworks or Photoshop, but then Dreamweaver turns that design into
HTML for a working webpage.

"SnakEyez02" <webforumsuser (AT) macromedia (DOT) com> wrote

John, Murray's point, which I do agree with is that you cannot "design"
with
Dreamweaver. Designing is where someone comes up with the initial
graphics for
the website.

Ok, but you're using the English word "design" according to a limited,
secondary meaning. The word "design" has a much wider meaning than just
"making graphics". As you can see from the standard dictionary definition I
posted earlier, the primary meaning of the word "design" is "to create,
fashion, execute, or construct according to plan". Using this most common
meaning of the word, Dreamweaver most definitely is software whose purpose
is accurately described as "web design".

It is true, of course, that Dreamweaver doesn't create graphics. But it's
inaccurate to say that it doesn't design web pages. You can easily *design*
web pages in Dreamweaver without ever creating a single graphic yourself.

I'm just saying. :-)

--
Patty Ayers | www.WebDevBiz.com
Free Articles on the Business of Web Development
Web Design Contract, Estimate Request Form, Estimate Worksheet
--

Dreamweaver cannot do the graphics manipulation and it does not
have the design tools that are available in Fireworks and Photoshop.

Dreamweaver can place the image slices into a layout and use CSS for
repeating-backgrounds and so forth, but the process really starts in one
of the
mentioned applications. So what he is trying to say is that the page is
designed in Fireworks or Photoshop, but then Dreamweaver turns that design
into
HTML for a working webpage.

So what he is trying to say is that the page is

designed in Fireworks or Photoshop, but then Dreamweaver turns that design
into
HTML for a working webpage.

To me, that's semantics. The OP's original question was clear enough.


--
Regards

John Waller

Seems to me that you are using the word in a larger scope than is normally
used in the web development world. But I can live with it. And, I won't
hold it against you.... 8)

--
Murray --- ICQ 71997575
Adobe Community Expert
(If you *MUST* email me, don't LAUGH when you do so!)
==================
http://www.projectseven.com/go - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
http://www.dwfaq.com - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
==================


"P@tty Ayers ~ACE" <signup1REMOVE (AT) ayersvirtualREMOVE (DOT) com> wrote

"SnakEyez02" <webforumsuser (AT) macromedia (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:g3lm6d$q5l$1 (AT) forums (DOT) macromedia.com...
John, Murray's point, which I do agree with is that you cannot "design"
with
Dreamweaver. Designing is where someone comes up with the initial
graphics for
the website.

Ok, but you're using the English word "design" according to a limited,
secondary meaning. The word "design" has a much wider meaning than just
"making graphics". As you can see from the standard dictionary definition
I posted earlier, the primary meaning of the word "design" is "to create,
fashion, execute, or construct according to plan". Using this most common
meaning of the word, Dreamweaver most definitely is software whose purpose
is accurately described as "web design".

It is true, of course, that Dreamweaver doesn't create graphics. But it's
inaccurate to say that it doesn't design web pages. You can easily
*design* web pages in Dreamweaver without ever creating a single graphic
yourself.

I'm just saying. :-)

--
Patty Ayers | www.WebDevBiz.com
Free Articles on the Business of Web Development
Web Design Contract, Estimate Request Form, Estimate Worksheet
--





Dreamweaver cannot do the graphics manipulation and it does not
have the design tools that are available in Fireworks and Photoshop.

Dreamweaver can place the image slices into a layout and use CSS for
repeating-backgrounds and so forth, but the process really starts in one
of the
mentioned applications. So what he is trying to say is that the page is
designed in Fireworks or Photoshop, but then Dreamweaver turns that
design into
HTML for a working webpage.