cannot open application, power pc not accepted - Dreamweaver MX 2004

[julier60585104]

Hello

I have an old version of Dreamweaver - it's MX 2004 which I have been using on a PC to make updates to a website.

I am not a developer, I just have basic knowledge of how to use it to update our own site.  I would like to move the program over to my mac, I still have the original discs but I am receiving a message "cannot open application, power pc not accepted.  My mac is on OS XEL Capitan.    Does anyone know if I will be able to run the program and how I do it?   I don't really need to purchase the new Dreamweaver as I don't use it often enough.  Many thanks to anyone who may be able to help.

[Nancy OShea · Accepted solution]

No can do.  Windows software won't work on Mac & vice versa.

Unfortunately, MX 2004 is waaaaaay beyond its end-of-life and no longer sold or supported because Macromedia does not exist anymore.

If you can work with code, get Brackets.   I's an open source code editor that runs on Mac, Win or Linux.

Brackets - A modern, open source code editor that understands web design.

Nancy

[ALsp]

Just continue to use your PC. It's your only option unless you want to purchase a Mac version of Dreamweaver, which you can try to do by looking at used software sellers such as EBay or Amazon.

Brackets would not be a good solution for you. First off, it is a code editor and you already said you are not a developer. Secondly, it is not a very good code editor beyond the denizens of this forum

[Nancy OShea]

Actually Brackets is a good, lightweight code editor.  Al's opinions are not shared by everyone here.

His advice to look for old software on eBay or Amazon is about the wrost suggestion he's ever made.  Not helpful and it could actually put you at risk for pirated malware.

These days, there are more illegitimate copies floating around than legit ones.  Unless you get it from Adobe or an Adobe recognized re-seller, you're taking a risk.  And since MX 2004 is so old, it's going to be almost impossible to locate a genuine Mac version anymore.  Most modern Macs can't support it. 

So you've reached that crossroads.  Either find another web design tool you like or as Al said, stick with your PC.

Nancy

[osgood_]

ALsp wrote:

Brackets would not be a good solution for you. First off, it is a code editor and you already said you are not a developer. Secondly, it is not a very good code editor beyond the denizens of this forum

What's a matter with Brackets, seems like a nice simple application to me if you can do a bit of coding. I'm not sure is going anywhere fast now that the team are tasked with improving its implementation within DW but it was generally heading in the right direction.

[ALsp]

Nothing that folks like Nancy would mind. Serious coders would need to use Visual Studio, Aptana, or the equivalent. Platforms written by programmers, for programmers. You cannot, for example, write serious JavaScript in a platform that does not support tracking functions. Brackets is intended for writing light code, like HTML.

[osgood_]

ALsp wrote:

Nothing that folks like Nancy would mind. Serious coders would need to use Visual Studio, Aptana, or the equivalent. Platforms written by programmers, for programmers. You cannot, for example, write serious JavaScript in a platform that does not support tracking functions. Brackets is intended for writing light code, like HTML.

Sure I agree if you are a highly experienced coder putting out high-end solutions that would benefit from debugging tools and applications but that accounts for a very small percenatge of developers in general. For your average main-stream site which is going to use minimal server-side/javascript or jquery Brackets is pretty capable in my opinion. I prefer something like php storm but its a big monster, for 'serious' developers or those wishing to extend their skillset. Most of whats in those kinds of applications would never be used by the main-stream developer.

[pziecina]

osgood_ wrote:

ALsp wrote:

Nothing that folks like Nancy would mind. Serious coders would need to use Visual Studio, Aptana, or the equivalent. Platforms written by programmers, for programmers. You cannot, for example, write serious JavaScript in a platform that does not support tracking functions. Brackets is intended for writing light code, like HTML.

Sure I agree if you are a highly experienced coder putting out high-end solutions that would benefit from debugging tools and applications but that accounts for a very small percenatge of developers in general. For your average main-stream site which is going to use minimal server-side/javascript or jquery Brackets is pretty capable in my opinion. I prefer something like php storm but its a big monster, for 'serious' developers or those wishing to extend their skillset. Most of whats in those kinds of applications would never be used by the main-stream developer.

Even though I use VS Pro for full module development, I used to find the simplicity of Dw ideal for developing the basic html/css for the layout or layout components. The new brackets incorporation I have found adds very little, probably because I turn off all the improvments.

Once they get away from thinking that Dw users are not looking for something more professional, with better support for the more modern specs then maybe it will move on from the almost begginer coder feel it currently has for me.

[osgood_]

pziecina wrote:

Even though I use VS Pro for full module development, I used to find the simplicity of Dw ideal for developing the basic html/css for the layout or layout components. The new brackets incorporation I have found adds very little, probably because I turn off all the improvments.

Once they get away from thinking that Dw users are not looking for something more professional, with better support for the more modern specs then maybe it will move on from the almost begginer coder feel it currently has for me.

Hummm...maybe they know their market. I guess they spend several million a year on focus groups. For the more experienced user there are other alternatives, Zend Studio, Storm, Net Beans, Code Lobster etc - a couple Al mentioned. I think a lot of DW users would run a mile if it ever grew into one of those. I'd welcome it of course but I'm sure those that are hard-core DW users probably would not as they know their limitations and do not want to go beyond that or have tools available which are useless to them.

CCS designer panel, Bootstrap Panel etc are useless to me but they serve a purpose for someone, a lot actually. I'm not their target market. Those that want to move on will find alternatives those that have no need to move on will stay with a program which suits their needs, that's the way I look at it.

[Nancy OShea]

Far be it for me to get this back on topic, but if the OP @julier60585104  can't use Brackets for minimal HTML & CSS code edits, I think it's highly unlikely that they would be interested in this long discussion about advanced level coding IDEs,  or what's good / bad in Dreamweaver CC 2017.  Obviously, DW of  today is nothing like it was in 2004 nor should it be.  Too much has changed on the web since then.

I have suggested Muse mainly because it fills a niche for non-coders.  I'm not a huge fan of Muse personally but that's not why I suggested it.  The focus of these discussions should be to help users, not confuse them.  I think we all tend to forget that sometimes.

Other Non-Adobe products in no particular order:

Disclaimer:  This is not an endorsement of these products.

KompoZer - Easy web authoring

HTML Editor, Website & Web Design Software | CoffeeCup Software

https://pinegrow.com/

Macaw: The Code-Savvy Web Design Tool

Nancy

[pziecina]

Getting back on topic,

I had forgotton about Macaw. Depending on how the OP's site is coded, it may be the best program to consider.

[osgood_]

Nancy OShea wrote:

Other Non-Adobe products in no particular order:

Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement of these products.

KompoZer - Easy web authoring

HTML Editor, Website & Web Design Software | CoffeeCup Software

https://pinegrow.com/

Macaw: The Code-Savvy Web Design Tool

Nancy

' HTML Editor' is not for the Mac platform which the OP requires. They do have spomething for the Mac but it was released a couple of years back and I don't know if its been updated since. Same with Kompozer, that looks to be a dead project - latest news 2010....pheww. No point in trying to expend any energy into something which insn't an ongoing project frequently updated, Unfortunately so many out there start of with good intentions and then the ball stops rolling as finances dry up or there is little uptake for the prouct. At least with Adobe or someone like Jet Brains they have track records.

[pziecina]

You are probably correct in your assesment of the target market for Dw users, and someone like me is almost certainly not amongst them.

The problem for someone like me having in the past been a fan of Dw, is that it has that feel of being almost there, but never quite makes it. Once someone outgrows a program, they always look back with that feeling of, 'if only', which maybe what it is that makes me keep trying to move it forward, and failing, because it doesn't want to move forward.

Then again, I wonder how many others out there feel the same about Dw?

[Nancy OShea]

If you're willing to rebuild your old web site, you could try Adobe Muse.  It's aimed at non-coders who just want basic web sites and ease of use.   You can try it free for 7 days.

Buy Adobe Muse CC | Download HTML5 web design software free trial

Nancy

[ALsp]

That's pretty rude, Nancy.

Anyway. The best advice the person could get would be to continue using his PC. Muse is a crazy bit of advice. Nuts. And any time you want to discuss programming environments, give me a private note. The last place a sane person would ever want to get into a debate like that would be this forum.

[Nancy OShea]

I don't know what I said that was rude.   Telling people to buy software on eBay or Amazon without a warning  * buy at your own risk * is blatantly irresponsible.   Perhaps you're not aware of what's been going on recently so I'll fill you in.  

Adobe runs software integrity checks.  And if the user has unknowingly installed non-genuine software on their system, they get warning notices every 15 minutes.   It's been happening a lot lately because there's a lot of counterfeit software floating around.

Adobe Genuine software

Adobe Genuine software FAQ

[ALsp]

Nancy OShea wrote:

I don't know what I said that was rude. Telling people to buy software on eBay or Amazon without a warning * buy at your own risk * is blatantly irresponsible. Perhaps you're not aware of what's been going on recently so I'll fill you in.

Well I'm not so sure that used software is counterfeit, but like the kids say... whatever

The bottom line is that the most logical answer for the original poster is simply to continue using his PC... for as long as he can. MX 2004 will run fine. We still run versions back to MX, which actually are fully capable of running our extensions.

As for being on topic, this forum never seems on topic and I think the obvious answer is that many of the frequent responders are not really Dreamweaver users anymore. Of course, I could be wrong... but I don't think so

[pziecina]

ALsp wrote:

As for being on topic, this forum never seems on topic and I think the obvious answer is that many of the frequent responders are not really Dreamweaver users anymore. Of course, I could be wrong... but I don't think so

Probably not wrong, but speaking for myself, I can at least say I did try to move Dw forward, and out of the IE8 era so I could continue to use it.

(Failed miserably, but enjoyed trying )

[osgood_]

pziecina wrote:

ALsp wrote:

As for being on topic, this forum never seems on topic and I think the obvious answer is that many of the frequent responders are not really Dreamweaver users anymore. Of course, I could be wrong... but I don't think so

Probably not wrong, but speaking for myself, I can at least say I did try to move Dw forward, and out of the IE8 era so I could continue to use it.

(Failed miserably, but enjoyed trying )

I have another project for you. Maybe you could have a go at assigning Jive junk to the bin and bring in some decent forum software.

I dont know if its just me but who suggested to hide the 'Actions' under a button that never works when pressed. It's driving in nuts just trying to get the 'Action' link to show anything for the past few days.

Geez and its slow to connect to the server.

17 seconds after pressing the 'Actions' tab the drop menu appeared.........thats progrees for you from Adobe right there, mystery meat and a slow server.

[pziecina]

osgood_ wrote:

I have another project for you. Maybe you could have a go at assigning Jive junk to the bin and bring in some decent forum software.

Adobe could not afford to employ me

it's not apparent in the Dw forum, but there is a lot of activity in other forums, and at some point it was certain to affect performance. Usability however is another question, and the use of ajax in the forums for some items, has not I think been fully thought through, (significant performance hit).

[Nancy OShea]

<there is a lot of activity in other forums, and at some point it was certain to affect performance>

JIVE is having significant problems with slowness right now.  And it's more obvious at certain times of the day.  It's been reported & hopefully a fix will be forthcoming on the weekend.   Fingers crossed.

[pziecina]

My personal opinion would be to keep your pc just to use mx2004.

Dw's biggest selling point for many was its visual interface, and unfortunatly I know of no other program that would work for you better than what you have. Other alternatives such as Muse for a pure visual tool, will cost a monthly subscription, the alternative such as a free pure code editor, will require a large learning curve, whilst you learn to do everything in code.

[osgood_]

pziecina wrote:

Dw's biggest selling point for many was its visual interface,

'was' still is isn't it? For all its faults, which many other editors and IDEs currently suffer from, at least its the only one trying to give some kind of visual experience, which can be quite helpful, as I've previoulsy said,  in regards to navigating around the code. All the others just have a dom/structure panel where you get jumped around all over the place.

[pziecina]

The problem with Dw's visual ui now, is that there is no color, and everything now looks the same.

Then, not to point out the obvious, they do something like css designer or editable live view, but never improve them.

[osgood_]

pziecina wrote:

The problem with Dw's visual ui now, is that there is no color, and everything now looks the same.

Then, not to point out the obvious, they do something like css designer or editable live view, but never improve them.

I thought you meant the visual editor not the UI. I cant comment on that as I havent looked at DW2017 as yet. I'm keen to get a look at it and see what's happening when I get the opportunity, maybe soon. I'm too busy putting other editors through their paces at the moment. But I can tell you none are perfect, each having there annoyances.