When Macromedia’s visual HTML authoring tool Dreamweaver 3 is released later this week,
users will have the option of buying it in an application suite that
integrates Dreamweaver’s functionality with that of Fireworks, Macromedia’s
Web graphics development tool.
By combining the two applications into one suite, Macromedia will better
meet the needs of the 70 to 80 percent of developers using the applications in
tandem, according to Beth Davis, a spokesperson for Macromedia.
Part of Macromedia’s (MACR’s) strategy when developing Dreamweaver 3, Davis
stated, was to enable better collaboration between applications used by Web
developers, and better collaboration between developers working on the same
file.
Dreamweaver 3’s new features include “roundtrip” HTML coding
capabilities, complete extensibility with other applications, an object
pallet that enables the integration of Fireworks-based content, a fully
customizable work environment, and a history pallet that allows certain
steps to be redone and collections of steps to be saved as macro-like
commands.
The Fireworks component of the suite features improved tools, better
design functionality, and integration with other graphics packages,
according to Davis. Users can insert work done in Fireworks into
Dreamweaver, and can use Fireworks scripting to work on photos within
Dreamweaver. The application also enables users to edit PhotoShop and other
graphics in layers, and modify both vector and bitmap graphics, as well as a
variety of other functions.
The Dreamweaver 3 Fireworks 3 Studio sells for $399. If purchased
separately, Dreamweaver is priced at $299, Fireworks at $199. Upgrade are
$129 and $99, respectively. Macromedia is offering users of one application
the opportunity to upgrade both for $249. Davis believes most developers
will be upgrading to the studio suite.
Thirty-day trial versions of Dreamweaver 3 Fireworks 3 Studio will be
available for download from Macromedia’s site later this week.
