Dreamweaver CS3 Activation [CS3 IS DEAD]

You're tilting at windmills. 

The license is just a digital 'piece of paper' that gave you permission to use the product for as long as the owner (Adobe) could  keep making it available.  You purchased software from 2007 with the expectation that support would end in 3-5 years (which it did) and you would eventually have to replace it with an upgrade.  If you didn't upgrade, whose fault is that?

The aged-out activation servers for legacy CS1 - CS4 are gone.  And CS5 & CS6 are on life support.

I have strings of old Christmas lights in boxes but the incandescent bulbs they require burned out and I can't buy replacements anymore. Technology has moved beyond them.  Would you like my old Christmas lights to keep your CS3 disks company?  I'd be happy to send them to you.  😊

Hi Guys

 

Yep, I know this has been covered before with the "CS3 is dead", but is isnt for many of us.

 

I bought my copy of CS3 and have been using it for my job for many years. Its been perfect, great software. But now I need to install it on a new PC and it seams I wont be able to do this because the registration servers are shut down. 

 

Well thats not good enough. I paid for this software. I've looked at the latest version of Dreamweaver, tried the trial, tried to make it behave like CS3, but it's just not up to the job. I use CS3 for a intranet system for a large company, its doesnt need to have the latest features, its a intranet for running the business. Plus I'm about 5 years away from retirement and dont want to start again learning a new IDE ( which most definately wont be a adobe product ).

 

There should be a way to keep old legit software going. This is like buying a new car in 2007 and having it disabled by the manufacturer because they want you to buy a new one!

 

Glenn

By @Glenn382862490qea

Why aren't you using the computer you were using when you purchased CS3? It did the job for many years. It was perfect, a great computer and ran all the software you needed. There should be a way to keep old legit computers going. This would be a closer analogy than your car saying the car would be disabled. If you wanted to compare it to your 2007 car, try to take the engine or the computer out of that car and install it in a 2024 model. The software is a component of the vehicle, not the vehicle itself. Similar to how I am sure you didn't try to install Windows Vista or Mac OS Leopard from 2007 on the new computer either.

If you are maintaining an intranet site with DW, there are probably better, and easier software solutions to be using such as MS Teams, a Dropbox account, or there are other Content Management Systems designed specifically for this that you can register for a new service, migrate your files, and probably edit a few templates with an editor like VScode as @BenPleysier mentioned or some may even help you with the implementation based on styles you provide and allowing them to see your existing intranet site.

...This is like buying a new car in 2007 and having it disabled by the manufacturer because they want you to buy a new one!

 

Glenn

By @Glenn382862490qea

No, it's really not.

The software was never owned by you. You purchased a license to use the software, even if it didn't feel like it. With so called "Perpetual Licenses" the duration of the license wasn't "Perpetual" it was always at the discression of Adobe when those licenses expired. It was part of the Next > Next > Next > Agree wall of text when installing.

It's more like buying into an aggreement to drive Adobe's car, and that agreement expires when Adobe decides it's time to take their old clunkers off the road.

The only way to get it to work now is to download and install illegal/cracked/malware infested versions from the web.

Either way, DW is on its last legs, moved to Minimum Development Status in 2020, Adobe no longer adds new features or fixes bugs. I would guess they'll pull the plug entirely someday soon. It's probably time to move to something else as Ben suggests.

About 20 years your senior, I had to be weaned off Dreamweaver about 5 years ago. I found that, even the latest version of DW does not meet the standards that I require. I'd hate to think of software that is more than 17 years old.

Anyhow, regarding your question, this is Adobe's answer:

Try a free of charge VSCode or, as in my case, Wappler.