Download a Free Copy of Dreamweaver

Reasons to Download a Free Copy of Dreamweaver

If knowing that it's an industry standard isn't enough, here are more reasons why Dreamweaver is a worthwhile download.

Innovative Interface

Dreamweaver was a pioneer in the "dual-view": Being able to see both the code of the HTML page and, at the same time, a "what you see is what you get" (WYSIWYG) display that shows a version of what the code will render in a web browser.

Another very useful tool of the interface is the "property inspector," a tiny floating window that displays aspects and parameters of whatever item the cursor is resting on. For example, if the cursor has selected an image, the property inspector will let the designer change the image size, the file it links to, additional links, the alt tag, and many other properties. Click on a block of text, the designer controls font size, paragraph type, color, links…all right in one place.

The sidebar also contains several useful tools, possibly the most valuable the "files" view. This originally was an integrated File Transfer Protocol (FTP) client, which enabled web pages to be uploaded to the server hosting the site at a keystroke. As Dreamweaver has evolved, the "files" view has become more robust, but it's kept the basic functionality as well, and "command-shift-U" for uploading files is now reflex for a generation of web designers.

Compatibility with Current Web Tech

Dreamweaver has also tried to keep up with both current web trends and technologies. As the digital media revolution hit, more ways to implement images and video into web pages became available, including one click to create an entire web photo album from a directory of images. This kind of integration has become even more useful since Adobe purchased Dreamweaver's parent company, Macromedia. Now Dreamweaver has integration with Photoshop and Illustrator, two other industry standard design tools.

Within the area of code Dreamweaver has kept up as well – one of the first software design tools to integrate Cascading Style Sheet tools into their toolbox, each new version adapts to recent advances in the field of web tech. For example, when you download a free copy of Dreamweaver now you get a "Spry" framework, which can be used to develop AJAX interfaces. AJAX is one of the key elements to the Web 2.0 revolution.

How to Get Dreamweaver Free

There are a few small hoops to jump through before you can actually download a free copy of Dreamweaver. Adobe asks you to create an account with them, which is not as much of a spam-creating trap as you might think. Almost everyone in the field of web design uses some product from either Adobe or the former Macromedia, and all of the products have 30-day free trials available from the site. In addition, once the product is tested and bought, it can be extended using free add-ons available at the site – but only through your Adobe account ID.

Once the basic information is given – which is pretty obviously set up to enable their marketing department to track who is using their product and for what – you go directly to a download page. Select the version that is appropriate to your operating system and language, click "Download," and your computer will start to download a relatively large (over 100 mb) file.

The 30-day trial period begins not from the moment of download or even the moment of installation, but rather from the moment of launching the product on your computer. Once it is activated, though, it is completely functional, something that other "free" downloads don't always provide. In addition, web pages created with the trial version of Dreamweaver remain completely editable and functional even after the trial period is done.

All in all, the trial version of Dreamweaver, free and functional, is a tool and skill-set that really is priceless.