Since the 2002 release of Dreamweaver MX and Dreamweaver MX 2004 the following year, web professionals have had an embarrassment of riches in expressive features, efficient workflows, and an easy method of managing web content. The MX generation of Dreamweaver gave web professionals all the leanness and precision of a code editor along with the elegance and visual chops of WYSIWYG. The 3.2 million users attest to its success.

Now, with the debut of Studio 8, Dreamweaver 8 unlocks the power of open, standards-based development for the web community while enhancing the basic tools and visual techniques that professionals need. Dreamweaver 8 cements its legacy of being the industry-standard solution for professional web development begun with Dreamweaver 1 in 1997.

Features
Version 8 provides a powerful combination of visual layout tools, application development features, and code editing support, enabling developers and designers at every skill level to create visually appealing, standards-based sites and applications quickly. From leading support for CSS-based design to hand-coding features, Dreamweaver provides the tools professionals need in an integrated, streamlined environment. Developers can use Dreamweaver with the server technology of their choice to build powerful Internet applications that connect users to databases, live data feeds, and legacy systems. Designers can use Dreamweaver to express their creativity on the web platform with streamlined workflow and without having to master coding to implement desirable features.

Dreamweaver 8 features a new unified CSS panel that shows relevant CSS and provides quick access to making changes without having to navigate a lot of code through trial and error. If need be, one can learn CSS by reviewing the consolidated view and visual representation of the cascade as it applies to content. A property grid allows for quick edits. Easily work with CSS-based positioning in design view using the new CSS Layout Visualization, ensuring pixel-perfect designs in Design View. Visual aides available at design time serve to outline CSS layout borders or color CSS layouts, revealing complex nesting schemes and improving selection. Click on the CSS layout for valuable Tooltips, such as ID, padding, and margin and border settings, to better understand the elements that are controlling the design. Designers working across media platforms will use the new style-rendering toolbar to toggle to design view to see how it will look in print, on a handheld, or on a screen.

Expand Productivity and Skills
Dreamweaver has always helped web designers and developers expand their productivity and skills by handling cross-functional tasks from within the single Dreamweaver interface. Dreamweaver 8 improves this, supporting users as their skills grow and web technologies evolve, facilitating easy and quick adoption of new technologies and methodologies. Build static sites or data-driven applications or increase creative control through richer CSS functionality, building skills along the way. Countless in-product learning tools, such as starter pages, reference content, and tutorials, help get users up and running within a few minutes.

Traditional Support
As always, Dreamweaver will continue to support all of the major server technologies, including ColdFusion, PHP, ASP, ASP.NET, and JSP so developers of all skill levels will be able to bring designs to life. Version 8 gives complete control over the coding environment, integration with the chosen server technology, and a workflow that allows the developer to work the way he prefers to without leaving his familiar workspace environment. With Dreamweaver 8, keep current in PHP 5 and ColdFusion MX 7 with updated server behaviors and improved code hinting. Dreamweaver 8 provides a platform- and technology-independent development environment that supports PHP, J2EE, and Microsoft .NET; runs on Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh; and integrates with industry-leading tools such as Flash, Fireworks, and Contribute, as well as Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Word and Excel.

In line with its evolutionary bent, Dreamweaver 8 does for XML and XSLT what Dreamweaver 1 did for HTML. Simply point any page to an XML file or a URL of an XML feed, and Dreamweaver will inspect it to enable dragging and dropping the appropriate fields onto the page. From there, pop into code view to work with improved code hinting support for XML and XSLT. New XML, XSLT, and XPath reference content from O'Reilly Publications is included, and updated content for ASP and JSP complements the already robust reference set. Any web designer can get up to speed with XML using powerful, visual tools to integrate valuable feeds into content, and remove the mystery from XML to HTML translation. It's easy to integrate XML-based data such as RSS feeds into web pages using the simple drag and drop workflow.

Adding and managing content in web pages will be easier than ever. Use Dreamweaver Paste Special commands to import with existing formatting from a Microsoft Office product, convert to the CSS styles already associated with a page, or remove all formatting entirely. No more hunting through menus to find snippets and source formatting options. Access common coding operations directly from code view using the new coding toolbar. Take advantage of new functionality to support frequent code workflows, such as commenting and uncommenting code, wrapping tags, and showing hidden characters. With Dreamweaver 8 and Flash Video, it's a snap to place video content on the web. Drag and drop Flash Video into Dreamweaver 8 to quickly incorporate video into websites and applications.

New Functionality
New functionality enables users to work with files in their local machine while Dreamweaver communicates with the server. Stop waiting and keep working while Dreamweaver 8 uploads files to the server. Manage sites with increased reliability and confidence. Improved site synchronization features help ensure that the file in use is the latest version. Prevent accidental overwriting of others' work with improved check-in/check-out functionality to track who is working on which files. Perform file comparisons to quickly identify what has changed, whether it is two local files, a file on the local and remote, or two files on the remote server. Dreamweaver 8 now integrates with diff utilities on both the Mac and Windows platforms.

Web designers will adore its management of CSS-based designs. Dreamweaver MX 2004 rocked a designer's world with the new Relevant CSS panel, showing all CSS styles affecting the current page element. Dreamweaver 8 improves upon this with the new unified CSS panel features that allow the designer to see and edit the relevant CSS affecting a page element. Page rendering in Design View has been greatly improved, and we are able to inspect the relevant CSS in that View as well as in the CSS Panel. Even complex layouts are revealed through the new CSS layout visualization. Laying out content will be faster and easier with Paste Special, zooming in Design View and guides for accurate positioning.