What Dreamweaver Can and Can’t Do

Dreamweaver is the number one piece of software building webpages. Sites consist of a various amount of different elements, everything from graphics to video. Knowing Dreamweavers capabilities and restrictions is vital when creating a site. It’s main purpose is for editing and generating code and this should not be forgotten.

Dreamweaver has various tools for managing images on your webpage. It is possible to resize and reposition your images on your webpage. However if you are trying to edit the graphic further than resizing then you’ll need to get a hold of a copy of Photoshop or GIMP. It is possible to decorate images with borders or make them hyperlinks using Dreamweaver. Animated GIFs can also be manipulated in this way however Dreamweaver cannot edit the animation content. However rollover graphics are a different story. Rollover images change when you move the mouse cursor over them. Dreamweaver provides a handy wizard for creating these types of graphiccs. Dreamweaver does this by adding Javascript to your code. There will be a Dreamweaver tutorial online for all these different methods if you wish to incorporate them into your site.

It is also possible to resize and reposition Flash animations using Dreamweaver. You should be cautious when resizing them though as expanding them can effect how the animation plays out. For creating and editing animations Dreamweaver is not a candidate. For that purpose you would need a copy of Adobe Flash. Dreamweaver also cannot be used to edit video or audio clips but it does give the user wizards to allow you to quickly embed relevant players into your page. Audacity is a free to download online application you can use for audio editing. With video editing you may struggle to find a worthwhile free editor and it might be worth considering investing in a copy of Final Cut. Once again, a Dreamweaver tutorial can be found online for any of these methods.

For basic PHP code Dreamweaver can also be used. For example, you can add buttons and text fields to your webpage to create forms. Dreamweaver can then supply the code to connect the form to your database. This is fairly basic PHP though, if you’re seeking to do something more complex like setting up a subscription plan or ecommerce on your site you’ll need to code this yourself as Dreamweaver does not provide wizards for it. If you’re planning to set up any site with money involved extra care needs to be taken. If you mislead a customer in any way you could end up breaking the law.

Dreamweaver’s main benefit is that it supplies you with an interface where you can create various elements of your website without looking at the code. With the tools and features available through Dreamweaver you can format text, create shapes and adjust images without touching the code. Dreamweaver only gets you so far though. For in depth editing of animations, graphics, video and audio you will need other applications. If you’re ever stuck trying to do something a bit more complicated and the tool to use isn’t obvious then it is highly recommended to look up a Dreamweaver tutorial.