Contribute 3 provides powerful control for professional Web designers and developers, allowing them to maintain, distribute, and control Web site content while empowering content owners to participate in the Web editing process. Contribute keeps content fresh by enabling content owners and subject matter experts to maintain and update specific areas of a Web site. Web professionals can ensure Web site integrity by controlling and monitoring Web editing rights for all content contributors, allowing them to focus more on strategic design and development projects and less on daily content maintenance. Add-on products, including Contribute Publishing Services and the Web Publishing System, provide Web professionals and IT managers with the scalable, central control they need to deploy to the enterprise.

Organizations large and small can keep Web sites up-to-date efficiently, allowing business workers to safely update content while Web professionals focus on technical work.

Introducing Contribute 3: Web Publishing for Everyone
Macromedia Contribute 3 redefines Web publishing, making it an everyday, everybody activity. This release meets the full spectrum of needs for content contributors, Web professionals, and, now, IT administrators. All organizations can realize the power of distributed Web publishing without technical obstacles. With robust administrative controls and full support for Web standards, Contribute 3 works with all HTML Web sites and is a key element of the new Macromedia Web Publishing System.

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What's New in Contribute 3

• Maintain and control: Web site administrators can segregate publishing roles for named users and groups, assigning access to different sections of the Web site and defining what changes can be made. Administrators can also control file naming conventions, the location of new dependent files, the size and quality of images, and the number of page versions available for roll-back. With new shared assets, common design elements and Dreamweaver library items can be centrally managed to safely empower business users. Every Contribute action can be logged with optional server-based Contribute Publishing Services.
• Review and approvals: Contribute 3 enables users to easily send Web content to others for review before publishing it live on the Web. This system has unparalleled ease of use and does not require predefined workflows. Administrators can define which users have publishing permissions and which users can only edit and send pages for review - controlling who can publish content and who can only edit content and send it to others to push live.
• Enhanced editing capabilities: In addition to continued support for Dreamweaver templates, this new release incorporates the Dreamweaver engine with full support for Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) rendering. Contribute 3 includes built-in image editing using Fireworks technology to create Web-ready images. Video files can be directly inserted into Web pages. The new external editing feature allows Web professionals to move easily between Contribute and any external HTML editor (such as Dreamweaver) for technical review of pages before publishing or directly accessing page code.
• Customizable and extensible: All activity in Contribute 3 (e.g., edit, send, publish) generates notifications using Web services, enabling a wide range of server-side application development. Administrators can create custom installers based on MSI technology to easily deploy Contribute and extension updates direct to desktops throughout the enterprise.
• Contribute Publishing Services: Contribute 3 makes it easy for organizations to manage large numbers of Web sites and users throughout an enterprise environment. Contribute Publishing Services (available as an add-on module) is a J2EE application that provides central management for granting Web site access to content owners. User authentication is accomplished through integration with LDAP or Active Directory. Server-based logging and email notification applications provide a deeper view into publishing activities.

Top 10 Reasons to Buy Contribute 3
1.  Employ administrative controls designed for ultimate management . Web site administrators can segregate publishing roles for named users and groups, assigning access to different sections of the Web site and defining what changes can be made. With new shared assets, common design elements and Dreamweaver library items can be centrally managed to safely empower business users. Administrators can also control file naming conventions, the location of new dependent files, the size and quality of images, and the number of page versions available for roll-back. Every Contribute action can be logged with optional server-based Contribute Publishing Services.

2.  Increase the value of Web sites by keeping them up-to-date. Web site administrators can now empower content contributors to instantly update and edit Web content while protecting overall Web site design and integrity. Rapid content updates means organizations can communicate more efficiently and give stakeholders access to the latest information. Contribute and Dreamweaver users can now work together seamlessly, eliminating bottlenecks and keeping Web sites alive with fresh content and current communications.

3.  Save time and money while planning for future growth. Get more out of existing Websites and IT infrastructures without implementing an expensive, time-consuming, complicated new system. Buy only what's needed without suffering through extensive change. Contribute 3 is a simple desktop application that works with any HTML Web site, including ones built in Dreamweaver and FrontPage 2003. Contribute 3 is compatible with file-based content management systems, and automatically adheres to all existing file server, Web site, and network security controls. Because Contribute 3 is a key element of the Macromedia Web Publishing System, it's part of a scalable solution that can grow to provide everything a business needs to build, update, and manage Web sites.

4.  Make Web publishing as easy as using Microsoft Office. For content contributors and business users, publishing to the Web is a simple, three-step process: browse to the page that needs updating, edit it, click "publish," and it's done. The intuitive WYSISYG environment offers point-and-click simplicity - no more complicated forms for simple updates. Incorporating images or content from common business applications like Word and Excel is as simple as dragging and dropping or cutting and pasting. The integrated image editor makes publishing photos easy, and videos can be embedded directly in Web pages. There is no easier way to continually breathe life into Web content.

5.  Maintain Web site integrity. Contribute 3 keeps Web sites up-to-date while making sure they stay looking great. Content created in Contribute matches the look and feel of the site thanks to Dreamweaver templates and advanced CSS support. Contribute 3 ensures design standards are met, functionality is maintained, and code is protected. All scripts and server code can be locked-out when pages are edited, and Contribute leaves existing code in pristine condition without unnecessary modifications. Content is cross-browser compatible, and is easily made Section 508 compliant for accessibility.

6.  Keep Web and business professionals in synch with tight Dreamweaver integration. With Contribute 3, technical and non-technical users can collaborate on Web sites like never before. Contribute and Dreamweaver are based on the same HTML editing engine and share page locking and versioning systems. Dreamweaver 8 provides integrated administrative controls for most Contribute-enabled Web sites.

7.  Empower everyone with intuitive approvals and collaboration. Web site administrators can now control who can edit and who can publish, thanks to a flexible approval system that does not require predefined workflows. Contribute 3 enables users to easily send Web content to others for review and collaboration before publishing it live on the Web. The new approval system includes a draft console that summarizes work in progress, including the status of drafts and reviews.

8.  Ramp up broad-based, centrally controlled Web publishing. Contribute 3 is easily deployed and managed throughout organizations using installer technology direct to desktops. Encrypted connection keys automatically connect users via e-mail, while optional server-based Contribute Publishing Services provide scalable integration with Active Directory and LDAP user directories, and central management of site connections and access permissions.

9.  Revolutionize Web documents with enhanced FlashPaper 2. Transform any printable document into a fast-loading, Web-friendly format that includes full text search and selection with FlashPaper 2 technology in Contribute 3 for Windows and Mac OS X. Windows users can take advantage of new Office plug-ins to add bookmarks and hyperlinks to documents. FlashPaper 2 can also convert documents to PDF.

10.  Customize Web publishing. Contribute 3 provides robust extensibility to meet the needs of any organization. The JavaScript and XML client extensibility layer allows extensive user interface customization - deployable using new, configurable installer technology. The new Web services-based notification system enables server-side extension development.

Conclusion
For content contributors and business users, publishing to the Web is a simple, three-step process: browse to the page that needs updating, edit it, click "publish," and it's done. The intuitive WYSISYG environment offers point and click simplicity - no more complicated forms for simple updates. Incorporating images or content from common business applications like Word and Excel is as simple as dragging and dropping or cutting and pasting. The integrated image editor makes publishing photos easy, and videos can be embedded directly in Web pages. There is no easier way to continually breathe life into Web content.