Dreamweaver CS6 & CC

Well, I have to admit Adobe has done a good thing with Dreamweaver (DW) Creative Cloud (CC) over Dreamweaver Creative Suite (CS) 6. I've used Dreamweaver since it was bought by Adobe and incorporated into CS replacing GoLive 9, which I still have and use with Dreamweaver.

I was ok with DW CS3 through 5. It was an evolution where they kept the best features, until one thing they changed with CS5.5 from CS5, which was that you couldn't set the default window size for working with code from the window size menu, but it did remember the window size and location when you opened it.

That was a good alternative as it always opened the same window size and location on your desktop. That, however, changed with DW CS6 where you couldn't set a default window size in code view, and it always defaults to full screen where you have to resize it.

To resolve this I always open DW CS5.5 which did remember the size and location of the code view window and then open DW CS6 to resize the full screen to the size and location of the CS5.5 window. That now is really resolved with DW CC.

Dreamweaver CC is different from CS5.5 and CS6. Not just cosmetic changes but underlying working mode. Those familar with DW CS3 through CS6 will find the user interface and work the same with some obvious changes.

The first is the window size of the application. It doesn't default to full screen but is a resizeable window you can set and it remembers. Also, the tools panel is incorporated into the working window than separate windows.

What I don't like is the panel defaults on the right than a user setting. I hate it on the right, like BBEdit version 10 instead of 9.x where it opens on the left, where I like it, or better yet, off the work window. This has to do with how you view work, your vision and where you remember things in a application.

The neat thing with DW CC is that you can hide it with a click of the menu option. At least I can get what I want, a neat, clean source (code) window with everything else on the edges or hidden. That is the beauty of GoLive, Dreamweaver CS 3 through CS 5/5.5, and now Dreamweaver CC.

I won't talk about the design feature or tools, the wysiwyg mode because I don't use it. I test in a brower open to the work page I'm working on. I've found live views in Web editors to be poor at presenting or displaying Web pages.

It's always best to test your pages in a browser because the browser has to comply with W3C standards embedded in their application. I use Safari because it's been known to be the most consistently compliant and least robust with W3C standards.

Anyway, that's the review for now. I only wish I could buy DW CC to replace CS6 instead of renting it. Adobe has it almost great, and it will likely be the only CC application I use regularly.