HTML

On the surface, Dreamweaver is an easy-to-use Web-page editor and site design tool, supporting all basic page elements. However, it has enough depth to build sophisticated sites with features such as forms, Flash files, frames, cascading style sheets, and ActiveX and Java controls, just to name a few. It offers WYSIWYG editing as well as access to HTML source code.

In version 3.0, editing HTML files has been improved with added support for styles, and an HTML source code inspector, which can be docked (like a Window palette). HTML code can be block-edited in this window as well, by selecting entire lines and dragging them to a new destination.

URLs in imported Flash movie files can now be edited in Dreamweaver 3.0, making it easier for a site administrator to change links in Flash files. Synchronizing local and remote site files works in both directions, ensuring that the latest version of a file is saved on both local hard drives and remote servers.

A history palette has been added as well, and all file editing is recorded and listed. Actions can be undone (like multiple undo) and saved as an action for reuse on other files.

There are more changes and additions that let Dreamweaver work more closely with other Macromedia tools (Flash and Fireworks) and additional HTML-generation tools. We also noticed an improved handling of imported elements. Group-project manageability has been improved via the check-in/check-out file system, and most of Dreamweaver's menus and shortcuts are customizable, making for a better user experience. --Mike Caputo

The Web Workgroup Server site management and collaboration tool lets multiple users track changes--as well as share and manage files--with ease. It adds version control and side-by-side comparison capabilities, including the ability to roll back to previous versions. Designers will also find full support for any WebDAV-enabled application in GoLive 6.0, including support for programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Macromedia Dreamweaver.

Other development features include a QuickTime 5.0 editing environment with streaming conversion and optimization capabilities. There's also a visual authoring environment utilizing video, audio, SWF, and SVG with support for W3C standards (including SMIL). GoLive 6.0 even adds the ability to deliver database-driven content and native support for common dynamic scripting languages, including PHP, ASP, and JSP. And, as always, GoLive integrates tightly with Adobe's entire family of professional design products.

First, it includes Sun's commercial quality StarOffice 6.0 office suite, which provides word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, Web-page editing and vector drawing applications along with remarkably complete support for MS Office file formats--which means you can continue to use your existing files. StarOffice's native file formats are all XML based for compatibility with any XML-based applications.

The second string to SuSE Linux Office Desktop's bow is Codeweaver's Crossover Office, which enables you to install and run MS Office under Linux (apart from FrontPage) along with other Windows programs. This is impressively efficient.

To further make migration easy for end users and companies SuSE includes new software assistants that make networking a breeze. Installation on either a clean PC or alongside Windows is simple. On a Windows machine you can resize partitions--including under XP--without losing data.

Internet setup via modem, ISDN, DSL, and LAN is part of the installation process along with establishing network connections, or, as with everything, you can do it at any time using Yast2. KDE 3 is the default desktop, but the Gnome implementation is also excellent.

SuSE Linux Office Desktop isn't quite as polished as Windows, but most PC users could make the swap with little trouble. If you're one of the vast majority of word-processing, Internet-accessing PC users you can do more for less with SuSE Linux Office Desktop than with a basic Windows system. --Steve Patient

Adobe GoLive 4.0 enables professional Web designers to create, produce, and maintain dynamic Web sites. Its visual design tools let you lay out pages with pixel-level control, while the flexible source-code editor helps you write, edit, and check your HTML. With easy-to-use Dynamic HTML, cascading style sheets, QuickTime editing, ready-to-use JavaScript actions, and advanced site-management capabilities, Adobe GoLive 4.0 is part of an essential toolkit for professional Web designers and is fully compatible with other Adobe products.