Known Participant

Answered

Database connect behaviors

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
May 3, 2021
6 replies
3765 views

I'm coming back to work on a site I built about 15 years ago using PHP and the database behaviors. I gather those are no longer part of DW.

What is the current advice for how to update them, as what I had no longer works.

This topic has been closed for replies.

Correct answer Nayan_Kankariya

Hi @BROnstott ,

We would like to clarify on the solutions provided. Firstly we would want you try installing the add-on from Creative Cloud Desktop App --> Marketplace tab or by accessing the web link provided so that the panels start appearing in the already installed Dw 2021 build.

Secondly, if you choose to try the prerelease build then as a pre-requisite you will have to uninstall Dw 2021 build and then install the prerelease build which will appear as 'Adobe Dreamweaver Next' which is the prerelease version.

Thanks,

Nayan

Dreamweaver Team

A

atstein0303

Participant

Hi, I am using the latest beta of DW Next, and I do not see Server Behaviors or Database options in the Window menu dropdown.

I wanted to try this out as I am interesting in using mysqli queries and such to update an old website.

I have been struggling through with CC2017 and currently have that installed as well.

Is there a conflict to have both installed at the same time?

Thanks for any assistance!!

- A

P

Paul-M

Legend

Try build 15333

Paul-M - Community Expert

A

atstein0303

Participant

Yes, Amazing.. I would have assumed that if on build had these features, the next build would also. Silly of me to assume, eh?

But, Thanks for quick response. Much Appreciated!!!

- A

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

In my experience, the so called Adobe Add-ons page is a waste of time. I can't believe Adobe hasn't shut it down by now.

Luckily DMX Zone makes the old Macromedia Server Behaviors extension available from their website along with a FREE Extension Manager with which to install it. See links below.

https://www.dmxzone.com/go/21842/enable-server-behaviors-and-data-bindings-panel-support-for-dreamweaver-cc/

https://www.dmxzone.com/go/22670/dmxzone-extension-manager-for-dreamweaver

That said, the old MM Server Behaviors were removed from DW for a reason. The code doesn't work on modern servers running PHP 7 or higher. And the connection strings are NOT secure. So please DO NOT USE the deprecated and potentially risky MM Behavior Panels for modern projects. The time for that has long since passed.

Switch to modern PHP and MySQLi (improved) or PDO connections. I 2nd Ben's recommendation of extensions you can use instead. WebAssist's MySQLi extension or DMX Zones' PDO extensions. Your choice.

Good luck with your project!

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

O

osgood_

Legend

That said, the old MM Server Behaviors were removed from DW for a reason. The code doesn't work on modern servers running PHP 7 or higher. And the connection strings are NOT secure. So please DO NOT USE the deprecated and potentially risky MM Behavior Panels for modern projects. The time for that has long since passed.

Switch to modern PHP and MySQLi (improved) or PDO connections. I 2nd Ben's recommendation of extensions you can use instead. WebAssist's MySQLi extension or DMX Zones' PDO extensions. Your choice.

By @Nancy OShea

The current prerelease build has MySQL and MySQLi interfaces available for database connections........

.......Apparently. Not sure why MySQL behaviours still exist in a pre-release version. Does that mean they will be in the final cut whenever it gets released?

Should a prerelease version of a bit of software even be used for production purposes, its likely to still be being debugged, right?

Nayan_Kankariya

Community Manager

Hi @BROnstott ,

Thanks for writing to us. Please see if any of the above sugesstions helps you resolve the issue. Alternatively you can subscribe to our pre-release program to try the in-built Databases and Server Behaviors panels in Dreamweaver with build 15333 available for download. The current prerelease build has MySQL and MySQLi interfaces available for database connections.

Please note: Dw prerelease build is provided for unblocking you with your workflow and is used mainly for debug purposes. We do not recommend for production activities since this is a Beta version build. Please try to install the add-on with the below mentioned steps for production purposes.

Also, we have an add-on available in Creative Cloud Desktop App --> Marketplace tab which can bring back the Databases and Server Behavior panels in Dreamweaver. Please see if you can install the add-on 'Server Behavior & Database'.

Add-on web link can be accessed with this link.

Regards,

Nayan

Dreamweaver Team

B i r n o u

Legend

hello @9420886

following the link that you gave for prerelease drives directly to this screen... 🙂

Nayan_Kankariya

Community Manager

Hi @B i r n o u ,

Thanks for trying to access the link. This link will be enabled only for new users and will be broken for existing prerelease users.

Have a pleasant day!

Regards,

Nayan

Dreamweaver Team

O

osgood_

Legend

If you are going to be working on updating and not rebuilding a 15 year old website then your only option is to roll back to a previous version of Dreamweaver, as has been suggested.

However a 15 year old website sounds like it needs a complete rebuilt to me and if thats the route you take you have 2 options.

1. Buy a database connect/query extention from a third party source. There are a couple of options available.

2. Write your own connection and querying code which is quite simple if you spend a couple of hours going through some youtube videos which address the workflow required.

What you dont want to do is build a new website using the old DW default database server behaviours as these are outdated and are uncompatible with any remote server which deploys php version 6 or higher.

If you are saying your 15 year old website has stopped working this would be as a result of your host updating the version of php to a more recent one, version 6+ in which case you would need to find a hosting provider that offered a version of php 5.6 or less to continue to manage your website using the old DW server behaviours. I believe the DW server behaviours were compatible with php versions 5.6 and less.

B i r n o u

Legend

your final conclusion makes sense... PHP is blown up... so the fix must be as you suggest to set back PHP to an older version.

B i r n o u

Legend

with no hesitation, two points... two actions...

First one, to solve you current problem and update anything emmergency, I will revert to an older version of Dreamweaver where the server behaviors were still usable... I will correct anything that need to be corrected and move on on the second one.

if you don't have anymore your installer under hand, https://prodesigntools.com/tag/ddl from there you should find at least an old trial...

Second action, as Ben suggest you, I will update my web site using more modern approach, recent DW and new extensions...