Dreamweaver - Moving from FrontPage 2003

Author

Moving from FrontPage 2003

Jeremiah1946

2006-02-07, 10:39 pm

Help, please. I would like to find some resources, information about moving
from FrontPage 2003 to Dreamweaver. I have read Charles Nadeau's article, but
would like more information. I am not a power web designer, nor a highly
technical user, just someone who wants to create good looking, easy to
navigate, presentable sites.

I use FP to create my websites; however, I'm finding it more and more "quirky"
as I use Firefox as my primary browser and my sites just don't appear correctly
in FF. I use templates, know A LITTLE HTML, but want to continue using the
easy-to-use WYSIWYG style.

I'm trying to determine if Dreamweaver would be as easy to use as I am reading
for someone of my ability. Can anyone direct me to more information about using
Dreamweaver the way I've explained; about the tools available for creating
sites using templates, tutorials for migrating to Dreamweaver.

I suspect much of what I'm asking might be available on the DW site, but I
seem to not be using the right search items.

Any suggestions would be most welcome.

Thanks.

Murray *TMM*

2006-02-07, 10:39 pm

> know A LITTLE HTML

This is what is getting in your way - not the HTML authoring system. If you
want to be facile with DW or FP you need to really understand HTML. CSS
wouldn't hurt, either.

> easy-to-use WYSIWYG style.

This is at the root of your problems. There is no such thing as WYSIWYG
HTML authoring. There is visual design, but it's definitely not WYSIWYG.

> I'm trying to determine if Dreamweaver would be as easy to use as I am
> reading
> for someone of my ability.

For someone with only rudimentary knowledge of HTML and little urge to
improve that, DW will be a slog.

> I suspect much of what I'm asking might be available on the DW site, but I
> seem to not be using the right search items.

Start by going through the DW F1 Help tutorials. Then study your HTML and
CSS books, and hang around here....

--
Murray --- ICQ 71997575
Team Macromedia Volunteer for Dreamweaver
(If you *MUST* email me, don't LAUGH when you do so!)
==================
http://www.dreamweavermx-templates.com - Template Triage!
http://www.projectseven.com/go - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
http://www.dwfaq.com - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
http://www.macromedia.com/support/search/ - Macromedia (MM) Technotes
==================

"Jeremiah1946" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:drdvn9$2hv$1@forums.macromedia.com...
> Help, please. I would like to find some resources, information about
> moving
> from FrontPage 2003 to Dreamweaver. I have read Charles Nadeau's article,
> but
> would like more information. I am not a power web designer, nor a highly
> technical user, just someone who wants to create good looking, easy to
> navigate, presentable sites.
>
> I use FP to create my websites; however, I'm finding it more and more
> "quirky"
> as I use Firefox as my primary browser and my sites just don't appear
> correctly
> in FF. I use templates, know A LITTLE HTML, but want to continue using the
> easy-to-use WYSIWYG style.
>
> I'm trying to determine if Dreamweaver would be as easy to use as I am
> reading
> for someone of my ability. Can anyone direct me to more information about
> using
> Dreamweaver the way I've explained; about the tools available for creating
> sites using templates, tutorials for migrating to Dreamweaver.
>
> I suspect much of what I'm asking might be available on the DW site, but I
> seem to not be using the right search items.
>
> Any suggestions would be most welcome.
>
> Thanks.
>

wizardofdata

2006-02-07, 10:39 pm

Jeremiah,

First let me say, welcome to the good side of the force! You have made the
first big step into a wider world of web development.....admitting that DW is
better than (cough....hack.....) Frontpage. Personally, I wish I had started
on DW first, instead of learning on FP then trying to learn DW.

DW does have a higher learning curve, but the rewards are endless! The
WYSIWIG in DW is even better than FP, plus is as close to standards as you can
get without handcoding. If you don't have DW yet, you can download the trial
version to play with. DW has built in tutorials in the help file that you can
work through to decide if DW is the way to go.

Like I said, when you get used to DW, and if you really want to use a
standards based WYSIWIG, DW is the way to go and you'll forever curse FP. You
can read more about DW and standards at
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/dr...er-8-standards.

Good luck!

Murray *TMM*

2006-02-07, 10:39 pm

> plus is as close to standards as you can
> get without handcoding.

Sorry - but that's just not true.

--
Murray --- ICQ 71997575
Team Macromedia Volunteer for Dreamweaver
(If you *MUST* email me, don't LAUGH when you do so!)
==================
http://www.dreamweavermx-templates.com - Template Triage!
http://www.projectseven.com/go - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
http://www.dwfaq.com - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
http://www.macromedia.com/support/search/ - Macromedia (MM) Technotes
==================

"wizardofdata" <wizardofdata@adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:dre0uj$424$1@forums.macromedia.com...
> Jeremiah,
>
> First let me say, welcome to the good side of the force! You have made
> the
> first big step into a wider world of web development.....admitting that DW
> is
> better than (cough....hack.....) Frontpage. Personally, I wish I had
> started
> on DW first, instead of learning on FP then trying to learn DW.
>
> DW does have a higher learning curve, but the rewards are endless! The
> WYSIWIG in DW is even better than FP, plus is as close to standards as you
> can
> get without handcoding. If you don't have DW yet, you can download the
> trial
> version to play with. DW has built in tutorials in the help file that you
> can
> work through to decide if DW is the way to go.
>
> Like I said, when you get used to DW, and if you really want to use a
> standards based WYSIWIG, DW is the way to go and you'll forever curse FP.
> You
> can read more about DW and standards at
> http://www.sitepoint.com/article/dr...er-8-standards.
>
> Good luck!
>

Michael Fesser

2006-02-07, 10:39 pm

..oO(wizardofdata)

> First let me say, welcome to the good side of the force!

<yoda>
Using DW without knowledge of HTML to the dark side it will lead you.
</yoda>

>You have made the
>first big step into a wider world of web development.....admitting that DW is
>better than (cough....hack.....) Frontpage.

People who know what they are doing are able to create usable websites,
based on valid code even with FP. It's just a tool! If you know how to
use it, you can use it properly. The same goes for DW.

>Personally, I wish I had started
>on DW first, instead of learning on FP then trying to learn DW.

I started on edit.com, then Notepad ...

>DW does have a higher learning curve, but the rewards are endless! The
>WYSIWIG in DW is even better than FP

There can't be anything like WYSIWYG in the WWW, it's simply impossible.
A web author should know that.

>plus is as close to standards as you can
>get without handcoding.

Standards-compliant code alone doesn't make a good website. And there
are more than enough bugs and flaws in the DW-generated code.

> Like I said, when you get used to DW, and if you really want to use a
>standards based WYSIWIG, DW is the way to go and you'll forever curse FP.

Even DW is no replacement for at least basic knowledge of HTML and CSS.
Without that, DW just makes it easier to shoot your own foot.

Micha

David Blomstrom

2006-02-07, 10:39 pm

Jeremiah1946 wrote:
> Help, please. I would like to find some resources, information about moving
> from FrontPage 2003 to Dreamweaver.

I moved from FrontPage to Dreamweaver in December 2002 (and later traded
in Internet Explorer for Firefox) and have no regrets. Dreamweaver is
harder to learn, but not that hard. HTML and CSS are among the easiest
things to learn in the world of high-tech. Getting started with a server
side language and database is much, much harder.

Just buy Dreamweaver and start playing with it. You can learn the basics
of CSS in a day, then begin working with it until you're comfortable
with it.

This is an exciting time to be moving away from Microsoft because there
are so many big changes in the works, with Firefox gaining "market
share," Google looming ever as a competitor, etc. The day may be coming
when we won't even have to design web pages for Internet Explorer, with
all its flaws.

Jeremiah1946

2006-02-07, 10:39 pm

Thank you for your input and feedback. I appreciate it. My apologies for using
terminology that was incorrect. In attempting to explain my preference for
using templates without a reliance at this point on creating from scratch with
HTML, I used WYSIWIG as a description.

I can see that when I post I need to be more cautious in my verbiage; however,
being a relative neophyte, sometimes the proper terminology escapes me.

Thanks.

Murray *TMM*

2006-02-07, 10:39 pm

> You can learn the basics of CSS in a day

That's a bit optimistic.

--
Murray --- ICQ 71997575
Team Macromedia Volunteer for Dreamweaver
(If you *MUST* email me, don't LAUGH when you do so!)
==================
http://www.dreamweavermx-templates.com - Template Triage!
http://www.projectseven.com/go - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
http://www.dwfaq.com - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
http://www.macromedia.com/support/search/ - Macromedia (MM) Technotes
==================

"David Blomstrom" <david_blomstrom@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:dre8ue$dh9$1@forums.macromedia.com...
> Jeremiah1946 wrote:
>
> I moved from FrontPage to Dreamweaver in December 2002 (and later traded
> in Internet Explorer for Firefox) and have no regrets. Dreamweaver is
> harder to learn, but not that hard. HTML and CSS are among the easiest
> things to learn in the world of high-tech. Getting started with a server
> side language and database is much, much harder.
>
> Just buy Dreamweaver and start playing with it. You can learn the basics
> of CSS in a day, then begin working with it until you're comfortable with
> it.
>
> This is an exciting time to be moving away from Microsoft because there
> are so many big changes in the works, with Firefox gaining "market share,"
> Google looming ever as a competitor, etc. The day may be coming when we
> won't even have to design web pages for Internet Explorer, with all its
> flaws.

David Blomstrom

2006-02-07, 10:39 pm

Murray *TMM* wrote:
>
>
> That's a bit optimistic.
>
>

OK, two days. How long does it take to learn how to create a style sheet
and link to it? The next step is to put this on your web page:

<div class="divc" id="divid">

....then put this on your style sheet:

div.divc { background: #ff0; }
div#divid { border: 1px solid #000; }

Then it's just a matter of playing with different elements, colors,
combinations, etc.

As I recall, I learned that in a few hours, though it took me weeks and
months to memorize the symbols for some of the more common colors, so I
didn't have to keep looking them up on a reference.

Absolute/relative positioning and floats and background images are a
little more complex, but it still doesn't take that long to learn the
basics.

Learning how to make things work in various browsers takes forever, but
that's going beyond the basics.

John Waller

2006-02-07, 10:39 pm

I've always regarded learning CSS in the same way as my experience in
learning to play chess.

Learning the basic moves (box model, rollovers etc) of the chess pieces took
me about an hour.

Mastering the combinations of moves, understanding the potential of the
combinations and producing great, robust results efficiently takes months or
years.

--
Regards

John Waller

David Blomstrom

2006-02-07, 10:39 pm

John Waller wrote:
> I've always regarded learning CSS in the same way as my experience in
> learning to play chess.
>
> Learning the basic moves (box model, rollovers etc) of the chess pieces took
> me about an hour.
>
> Mastering the combinations of moves, understanding the potential of the
> combinations and producing great, robust results efficiently takes months or
> years.
>

Exactly.

Michael Fesser

2006-02-07, 10:40 pm

..oO(David Blomstrom)

>OK, two days. How long does it take to learn how to create a style sheet
>and link to it? The next step is to put this on your web page:
>
><div class="divc" id="divid">
>
>...then put this on your style sheet:
>
>div.divc { background: #ff0; }
>div#divid { border: 1px solid #000; }
>
>Then it's just a matter of playing with different elements, colors,
>combinations, etc.

To make use of the full power of CSS you'll need two more fundamental
concepts, which many people seem to forget: inheritance and cascading.
Otherwise you'll end up with stylesheets like the DW-generated ones,
repeating the same properties over and over again.

Micha