Dreamweaver alternative

[ctreeves]

Hi,

I've posted here before.

If you've read any of my requests for help, you know I am not a programmer.

I have a 10-year-old PC that is about to die.  I have Dreamweaver CS 5.5 installed on it.  Even if I could find my license key (I think I can), I cannot get the install number reset, as Adobe no longer maintains that.

I rarely use it, but rely heavily on its ability to help with the code.

I cannot afford, or justify, a monthly fee for something I might not use for a month or two.

Does anyone have a suggestion for an alternative that is user-friendly for someone like me?

Thanks

[Charlie Arehart · Accepted solution]

Can you clarify what "help with code" you seek? Like popping up html/cfml tags as you type, and their supported attributes and the supported values for those? And same for cf functions and cfscript?

All that and more are offered in the free ColdFusion Builder extension for Visual Studio Code, both free from Adobe and Microsoft, respectively. 

Granted, learning ANY new editor is a challenge--like learning to write again with your other hand: painful at first but in time it again becomes second nature.

There are ample resources for learning about both, from Adobe and Microsoft. Just watch out for any references that are about the OLD CFBuilder (from cf8 to cf2018, which ran atop Eclipse). That was finally retired and these are two DIFFERENT products that merely share the same name.

There are also OTHER cfml extensions for vscode, which like cfb are ALSO free and might seem simpler to some (they also lack functionality that cfb adds).

Besides the available docs (and videos and more) from Adobe and Microsoft, I also have a talk I've given, introducing people to CFB on Vscode (and contrasting it to alternatives). See it at carehart.org/presentations, called "Getting Going with CFBuilder".

There are still other "simple" editors, some of which support cfml. See my list at cf411.com/editors. None support wysiwyg editing like dw did, not even cfb. But learning vscode will be a valuable experience, as it's the predominant editor in IT today.

Or let's see what ideas/opinions that others may offer. 

[Dave Watts]

Welcome back!

I think you're going to be slightly unhappy with any suggestions I can make, because they're just not going to be the same. I think what you're looking for is something that does the same things as Dreamweaver does. Instead, I'm going to suggest, as @Charlie Arehart did, that you look at VS Code plus the CF Builder extension, which I think is free. VS Code is, in my opinion, much better than Dreamweaver, but it's also significantly different from Dreamweaver. So you may end up spending several hours or more learning how to use it, which is a hidden cost.

[ctreeves]

Thank you both.

Yes, to Charlie's question, I am looking for "Like popping up html/cfml tags as you type, and their supported attributes and the supported values for those? And same for cf functions and cfscript?"

I ordered the new PC yesterday.  It will be a few weeks before it comes in.  This one is acting up more and more, and I suspect it won't last that long.

Once I get the new PC, I will install those tools.

I am happy I have an option, especially a free one.

I appreciate your guidance.

Cliff