Do you use Adobe Dreamweaver in your Drupal workflow?

I've found the jQuery and Drupal Dreamweaver extensions to be pretty helpful. http://xtnd.us/

Has saved me several trips to the ol' api docs.

"Plaguing the world with Drupal; One Plone, Moodle, Wordpress, Joomla user at a time since 2005." ~ btopro

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I use to. I have since moved to Aptana Studio.

nano, all the way. gedit if I'm feeling lazy.

...OK, usually KomodoEdit, and if I really need a visual HTML editor, it's Kompozer. But I'm not a designer. I wake up in the morning thinking about code. It's disgusting really.

but if I'm SSH'd into a server... I've done a lot of tweaks in nano.

Now, some one has to start defending emacs...

Dreamweaver used to be a big part of my toolkit. As I moved more into PHP programming and standards compliant design, I found the DW too limiting. I imagine some of that has changed since I moved away, but I wouldn't consider anything other that some sort of auto-completing text editor and firebug.

Eclipse all the way for me =)
from coding, module, themeing to css, with Firefox + Firebug help of course.

CK Ng | myFineJob.com

Eclipse, notepad++

http://uadrom.com/

I have it, but it's just too much of a memory hog and too slow to use for code editing (event though it's not that bad as a code editor). Might use it more when I get around to upgrading my hardware :)

I have to admit, when I first started getting involved with web design and development, I did use Dreamweaver on Windows briefly (although only for the syntax highlighting in code view). I never once added anything using the Dreamweaver interface and certainly never used design view. I did like that I could login to a remote site using the built-in FTP facility to edit stuff directly on the server but I have since learnt that using a proper development > staging > production workflow is essential and much safer!

Looking back, it was pretty short-sighted to use Dreamweaver for only it's syntax highlighting when other tools (such as jEdit) would have much better suited my needs.

I think a tool like Dreamweaver can not only produce bloated code but also limit the skill-set of the user and in using the DW interface the user isn't getting the proper hands-on experience necessary to become true masters of their craft. I've seen so many web designers that rely on DW and when given a simple text editor they become lost and can't even type out the simplest of things. That's not to say that DW actually forces the user down this path but for all but the most determined users this seems like the path of least resistance.

I currently use TextMate which is Mac only but E-TextEditor exists for Windows and uses the same bundle system. I couldn't be happier with TextMate. It's just a simple text editor that fits my needs perfectly. There are bundles for HTML, CSS, PHP, Drupal, jQuery, SQL, Markdown, Diff, and anything you can think of. If you need something that's not already available you can use your scripting language of choice to write your own bundle.

For anyone who prefers to use code view and not touch the DW interface I suggest you give either TextMate or E-TextEditor a go. Watch some of the videos on the TextMate site (especially the HTML one) and you will see some of the power.

I don't work for Adobe, but I've been using Dreamweaver since version 2 (v10.0 is coming) and I have this to say for those who have commented or plan to comment -

Dreamweaver does not produce bloated code. If someone chooses to only use Design View, then they are not less of a web designer. Dreamweaver produces, and helps produce web standards compliant markup, CSS, XML/XSL/XSLT, and while it doesn't have a PHP debugger by default, Dreamweaver is extremely extensible and I think 99.8% of the people who use Dreamweaver never venture past the default interface.

Also, Dreamweaver does not rewrite your code. If it still is doing that then its time to upgrade your old version, or you need to seriously look over your software preferences. I read someone couldn't get their people to use 2-spaces per tab, well, that's a breakdown in either communication, heart, or people were just "too busy," not the fault of the software.

While DW does feel memory intensive at times, it is capable of amazing features and productivity. DW had CVS support for years, and the new labs version mentioned SVN support, and it always had FTP support too. I program awesome Dreamweaver extensions, for jQuery and Drupal, so someone can make a debugger integrated with DW, but not enough people have gone there with it.

For those who have an interest in Dreamweaver, I do tons of Dreamweaver (and Eclipse) work, so please feel free to ping me if your DW is not the powerhouse you want it to be.

Maybe things have changed but I have seen so much shocking code produced in/by DW, redundant CSS rules like positon: relative; on almost everything. This is what I call bloat. I prefer to only use the minimal rules that are necessary.

Dreamweaver used to be the devil. Now it is a very handy tool for theming on the fly. BBEdit and VIM are my front line weapons of choice,with Dw doing support.

I paired up and worked recently with a developer who works mostly in windows, and dreamweaver was great for most apsects of Drupal dev

I have been using emacs, a web browser with firebug and that's about it.

recently, I've started working with eclipse, but have not had time to incorporate it into my workflow.

I'd rather use open source software and give feedback to those communities, than just buy and use a commercial application

Sam Rose
Social Synergy
Open Source Ecology
P2P Foundation

As a front-end developer looking to get my game up a level I find it useful to read these comments; they provide details leading to possible steps to take. I do use Dreamweaver/Firebug to theme. I also realize there are many ways to good work flow and most of it harkens back to an individual's past steps which are further formed by the focus/discipline of that individual. Thanks for the discussion.

I just spent most of today working with http://bluefish.openoffice.nl/ using the same workflow we used with dreamweaver. at least for php templates, css it is just as good. I think some folks love dreamweaver because of it's integration with fireworks etc, and some people just get a really fast workflow going with DW. DW users think I am crazy for using emacs, for instance, but I can work just as fast as them on files, css and text stuff (actually faster) . It all boils down to preference.

I happen to like Dreamweaver. I learned HTML and CSS using it. I never once used it as a WYSIWYG editor, even in the beginning because I wanted to learn. For some things, like image mapping (God forbid I ever have to do that again) and design-time CSS stuff, nothing beats it IMO. I'll never understand the prejudice that people who don't use it have toward it. My favorite thing is job descriptions that wont consider you if you use it. LOL.

However, I don't use it anymore. When I really got into professional development I was totally bullied into using anything but. I turned to TextMate, after trying TextWrangler, Coda & Komodo. After watching this video demonstrating the power of it: http://macromates.com/screencast/insert_html_tags.mov and installing the Drupal & CSS bundles, there was really no turning back.

There's nothing better that typing in theme_links + tab and getting the whole function syntax to display or typing in theme_links and clicking ctrl + d and having it load the current Drupal API page for that function. It took a little getting used to, but it really makes it easy to code according to Drupal Coding Standards, and with the SVN & Tidy bundles, there's really nothing I miss from Dreamweaver anymore. My biggest gripe with TextMate is the UI, although I realize that's part of why it's so lightweight. Sometimes I open Coda every once in a while, just to get a visual fix though. LOL.

I am also a religious Fireworks user for all the same reasons mentioned above. It's nice to see others that feel the same way, since Fireworks is usually bashed as well :)

I started HTML design using Firstpage2000 (http://www.evrsoft.com/1stpage2.shtml) (NOT FRONTPAGE!!!). I used it for years as an editor. Now, I use a simple text editor for both my php and html. Using that and Firebug, I think I can conquer anything.

Will someone tell me (or point me to a video) why I should try something else? What advantage is there to using one program over another? What feature is so ground breaking that it will change the way I work?

To tell the truth, I've never thought about it much until now, but if there is a better tool, I would like to use it.

My favorite unrelated story: Two weeks ago, a friend asked me what I was doing over the summer. I told him "web programming" and gave him a short blurb about Drupal. His response: "I designed a website for a university a few years ago in Front Page. It wasn't too hard, so I thought about getting into web design, too." It was really really hard to keep a straight face.

-Corey

Love Dreamweaver, Dreamweaver with Drupal extension three words HUGE, HUGE, HUGE.... I especially love it with fava Beans and a nice Chianti, FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

there are a myriad of options and personal preferences as to how we get things done. usually in my personal environment i use skEdit which does basically what i need: ftp on save, code highlighting and auto-completion, which means fewer key strokes, good shortcut mapping, line selection and snippet depot. this for me, means less mistakes and relative ease in debugging. im all for writing code out by hand, but computers are tools and they are supposed to make our lives easier, so if an app that makes my life easier im all for it. one thing i find particularly handy about some programs is an integrated ftp. i work on busy production sites that (unfortunately non-drupal) are in constant need of uploading content and that feature is indispensable, so one for dreamweaver. ive tried many editors and the ones that stand out are flexible enough to do the things that are customizable to my personal needs so that i can get to the business at hand, building and creating. coupled w/ the some browser plugins what difference does the brand name make?

I'm considering using Dreamweaver, but not too sure what advantages it has specifically for Drupal sites. There's a lot of talk here about IF people are using it, but little info to be found on HOW people are using it.

I got the extension api (thanks!) but, since Drupal is database-oriented rather than static html....I'm not sure just what uses, other than as a nice text editor, one can make of it in regards to utilizing DW's many other features.

I guess what I'm looking for is general guidelines or a tutorial on setting DW up to theme a typical drupal site for the intermediate user, and what advantages it gives Drupal users over using one of the many syntax-highlighting editors out there. What features of DW are applicable to Drupal, and where and when can they be used in a site's development?

Yep, CS4 is pretty slick with the live preview, but I'm still not sure how to best implement it with editing a database/php template driven Drupal site since you're not really pointing at an html page for it to display (unless I just paste the source from an already rendered page, which doesn't give you the ability to preview template or module changes).

But then I haven't worked with DW much yet, so I may yet figure out the workflow for Drupal that allows me to make template/css/module changes and see previews on the fly within DW. In a perfect world, the workflow would be like Devel or Firebug--click a page element, see the underlying php.tpl's, css and js stuff that made it, then edit it on the fly and see your changes. Right now, the text editing is divorced from the previewing for the most part, and it all seems pretty jumbled. (Using DW with a static (non-drupal) page, though, the Live View is very cool). Is there some basic workflow I'm missing to bring it all together?

@andre_j: I'm a web designer and I use DW just because I have been using it for a looong time specially for the code hints but it really doesn't bring any additional help for Drupal, you can use Notepad++ or EclipsePHP with the same or better results (Eclipsephp).

I believe Dreamweaver simply does not fit into a professional workflow, with Drupal.
For that one needs SSH, Subversion and PHP extensions.
IMO a texteditor that focuses on textediting (textmate, e, kate, notepad++) is by far the best option.
And it lets you handle the other stuff, like staging, testing, versioning with the tools best suited for that.

In general, the one thing one needs to do when it comes to Drupal themeing, is tweaking XHTML, altering some PHP and hardcore CSS-editing. And those are the things that most suits, including dreamweaver, suck at.

Bèr

http://www.webschuur.com | http://bler.webschuur.com

I still like Dreamweaver and have just upgraded to CS4. The most impressive features of CS4 are (IMO) the Live views (Design and Code) and showing all component files of a page (includes, CSS etc). It really is saving time on pulling web pages together and I'm seeing potential for client involvement in RAD. As I'm still cutting my teeth on Drupal Theming (and hopefully module development too), I haven't quite fathomed out the benefits of using Dreamweaver for Drupal - although I was just getting the hang of the cool 8/CS3 plugins that Chris/Xtend.us has made available.

However, I used to use the Netbeans IDE for Java development and had a quick look this morning at the new release (6.5) - you can get a bundled download for many languages (other than Java), such as PHP, Ruby etc... but of particular interest is the Netbeans plugin for Drupal module development. Installing NB6.5 went well - detected my XAMPP server quickly and seemed pretty integrated. Running the Drupal module creation wizard seemed pretty straightforward and loads of documentation. More info at node/327486. Although heavily biased towards Java, Netbeans easily does HTML, CSS, jQuery and XML; PHP debugging seems OK too. There's also a plugin for Subversion too. So if you're looking for a cheap (free) solution, Netbeans could work for you.

Can't say I have any strong opinions about which IDE is right or wrong (OK - DW isn't really an IDE), but there are certainly some good tools out there.

I have a love hate relationship with Dreamweaver. I use it almost every day for theme related work since its CSS tools are so much better than anything else I have found. However for programming it sucks. It is blind to syntax errors, it has no built in debugger that can run on a Drupal installation, it has very limited code completion, and it revolves around entirely out dated web design methods that isn't really suited to Drupal (their design view for example).

For anything more than 3 lines of php I open up Komodo which is in my opinion a far superior code editor. Even for theme design I find that Dreamweaver falls short for the php needed for template files etc... If they would add a decent CSS toolkit and file browser to Komodo I would gladly dump Dreamweaver for good. Until then I have to keep it around. I tried cs4 but wasn't impressed.

Drupal theming, Module development and logo design:
http://www.Pixel Clever.com

Anybody reviewed the "Drupal Dream Theme Utility Suite" ? Please link here

Regards,
-S-