In September 2008, Adobe announced the launch of Creative Suite 4 (CS4) which includes significant changes, improvements and enhancements launched as Dreamweaver CS4. Enhancements, new features and deletion of old elements have created a significant edge in web development applications. Big improvements include: code hinting, real time syntax error detection and instant updates as changes are made to the code.

The new interface now uses OWL to unify the user’s experience across all of the Adobe applications. Dreamweaver CS3 looked more like its Macromedia roots; Dreamweaver CS4 has now been refined with OWL. The change has transformed Dreamweaver CS4 to be a full fledged member of the Adobe Creative Suite.

Not just in appearance but in full integration. Dreamweaver CS4 is fully integrated with Photoshop and the other applications in the Adobe Creative Suite 4 Master Collection that includes Flash CS4 Pro, Fireworks CS4, Photoshop CS4, After Effects CS4, Contribute CS4, and Adobe Premiere Pro CS4.

The 5 foremost reasons for its edge on being the web developer’s software choice are:

1. Dreamweaver has always had the browser preview feature to allow the developer to see the page, but Live View offers new tools for previewing the site. Live View allows the developer to see the page in the text only version across a wide range of platforms. Live View also allows the developer to spot JavaScript running in a browser, including image rollovers as they appear in the HTML pages.

2.Long been dismissed by developers as a WYSIWYG tool for the novice, now the application is fully focused on enhancing the developer’s world and easing their workload making the tedious bits easier. Dreamweaver CS4 has added Subversion Integration which allows multiple developers to work independently while facilitating synching of documents.

3.Some major enhancements: Live Code allows the JavaScript developer to see the HTML code after it has been manipulated by JavaScript. This allows the developer to see if the code is altering the page as he/she intended. The Code Navigator allows the polished developer to jump to relevant CSS code; it also allows the developer to view CSS styles applied via JavaScript to a page element rather than trial and error methods of the past. The improved Properties panel allows a more practical movement between HTML and CSS development.

4.Spry widgets have been included since the Dreamweaver CS3 version but Dreamweaver CS4 has added new widgets with more functionality. Each widget has a customizable style sheet and a JavaScript file. Spry is Adobe’s Ajax framework and can add rich interactivity to websites especially important in the Web 2.0 environments. Designed to feel like an extension of HTML and CSS, Spry allows even novice developers to add sophisticated interactive widgets to their websites. The 3 parts of Spry can be used together or independently: Spry Data, Spry Widgets, Spry Effects.

5.Designing visually using CSS in Dreamweaver CS4 allows the developer to work in a real world view of CSS. The property panel now contains a CSS tab displaying the styles for the current selection and all other CSS relevant rules. Hovering over any property will display the CSS principles. Implementing CSS best practices is now possible without writing code. New rules in CSS can be created in the Property panel and the developer can control the specificity of the rules.

CS4 has edited the application, brought it fully into the Creative Studio and taken a hard look at why it did not garner the full respect of the development community. Speed, time to market and the updated features of Dreamweaver CS4 all give a developer the edge needed in today’s competitive world.