Dreamweaver some times seems useless for simple task- can't see code in code view or other

Dreamweaver is currently in a minimal maintenance phase, so new editor features such as a "raw / notepad mode" are unlikely to be added, even if the idea itself is reasonable.

Performance issues like code view hanging are usually related to Dreamweaver’s internal parsing and site indexing rather than hardware limitations.

A simple workaround already exists: in Preferences > File Types / Editors, specific file types can be associated with an external editor such as Notepad++ (often preferable to Windows Notepad due to better encoding support).

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After that, a right click on a file in the Files panel allows editing it directly in the external editor, bypassing Dreamweaver’s rendering and validation layers.

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This approach keeps Dreamweaver for site management and structure, while using a lightweight editor for fast, raw text operations.

However, depending on the context, what you are looking for, and your working habits, there are various other approaches in DW for transferring code from one file to another... snippets, code comparison, not docking document windows...

This forum is unusable right now. It times out constantly during replies. 👿

Hopefully Adobe switches over to the new forum platform soon. 

Are you working within a defined local site folder on your computer's primary hard drive?  For example, C:\MyTestSite\

If not, Dreamweaver can't properly manage assets for you. 

Validate your code to ensure it contains no errors. DW chokes on code errors.

Hit F5 to refresh your screen. 

As a companion app, try using Visual Studio Code alongside Dreamweaver. It's free.