Code panel not working correctly in DW 21.3 (and before it, maybe going back to the CS version)

Report · Nov 11, 2022

The Code panel doesn't work correctly. Among other issues, like not being able to use select + opt + grab to copy, it sometimes also selects the wrong corresponding text in the Code side when that text is selected on the Design panel. And as the attached video shows, italicizing has an issue. And there's more: often clicking on an image and using the Properties panel to adjust its size crashes Dreamweaver.

Report · Nov 11, 2022

Your screenshot doesn't tell us much except that you're working with Table layouts. 😞

As a test, copy & paste this code into a new, blank document. Save as test.html

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Rescale Fonts to Fit Any Screen Size</title>

<style>
body {
font-family: 
Calibri, Candara, Segoe, Segoe UI, Optima, Arial, sans-serif;
font-size: calc(14px + 1vw);
line-height: calc(1.5em + 0.5vw);

}
.container {
width:80%;
margin:0 auto;
padding:2% 4%;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="container">
<h1>Scalable Text</h1>
<h2>Heading 2</h2>
<h3>Heading 3</h3>
<h4>Heading 4</h4>
<p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Consectetur nostrum similique, dolores enim quam provident, deserunt tempora molestias. Nisi laboriosam quam dolor, officia magni error? Sint nihil dolore debitis doloremque.</p>

<ul>Unordered List
<li>List Item</li>
<li>List Item</li>
<li>List Item</li>
<li>List Item</li>
</ul>


<ol>Ordered List
<li>Item</li>
<li>Item</li>
<li>Item</li>
<li>Item</li>
</ol>
</div>
</body>
</html>

Try editing the new document. Do you see the same problems?

If not, then your file is causing DW to choke. It likely contains code errors. Validate your document and fix all reported code errors. Window > Results > Validation...

If the problem continues in an error-free document, try Restoring Preferences.

https://helpx.adobe.com/dreamweaver/kb/restore-preferences-dreamweaver.html

Hope that helps.

Nancy O'Shea— Product User, Community Expert & Moderator

Report · Nov 11, 2022

Hi Nancy. Its not a screenshot, it's a video. It shows clearly that when I select code and try to make text italicized, DW puts <em></em> in the wrong place. More than once. Among other annoyances that I mentioned. It surprises me that you seem dismayed by the fact that I'm using tables, as if email coding could be done differently. I have over 8 years experience with it, thousands of emails coded, I do this on a daily basis. I'm the lead email coder in my department and created the templates being used by everyone coding emails throughout the company at this point, so I know a thing or two about code errors. It amazes me to have this kind of answer. Dreamweaver has problems, please fix them, don't blame users for its problems. The company where I work pays for a lot of subscriptions to Creative Cloud software, I personally have a subscription, so we are paying, as all users coming here, and we expect it to work.

I had to stop using the Properties panel when dealing with images, because it crashes DW almost half the time I try to adjust a dimension based on another. I followed previous suggestions here to try to fix it, including restoring preferences, reinstalling DW, stopping to use certain panels, but even after MacOs upgrades, the problem remains. Selecting anything on the Code side is a pain, DW often selects more or less than wanted and when I paste I realize the wrong thing was selected, then cmd + Z and back to selecting. It's annoying, kills efficiency, sometimes when in a rush to deliver jobs. DW CS didn't do that, so whatever was done since apparently broke it. And DW should work with whatever code we use, it's not acceptable that software "chokes" on code, especially emails, which do not use any scripts and are pretty light. I have a feeling that none of these problems will be solved anytime soon, especially if support doesn't even acknowledge they exist. Unfortunately, it's still my preferred coding app, even with the issues, so I can only hope somenone takes the time and deals with the problem, instead of assuming we are "legacy" users and pushing what we use under that label. I was even told here that DW will never get updates anymore, so I'm coming back totally out of hope.

Report · Nov 11, 2022

Screenshot/screencast, it makes no difference what you call it. We can't see your entire workspace to ascertain if your code contains errors (a red X) or is error-free (green checkmark).

Bugs are repeatable on multiple systems by multiple users. Since I can't reproduce your problem and DW's code editor works fine for me, the problem you're having is not a software bug. It's something on your end.

I provided you with an error-free test document. Did you try it?

Dreamweaver is not receiving new features but it is minimally maintained with security & compatibility updates. Feel free to use whichever Code Editor or Email Builder you wish.

Have a nice weekend!

Nancy O'Shea— Product User, Community Expert & Moderator

Report · Nov 14, 2022

I can create a very simple document and it may not crash DW for a while, but that still means it's not being able to deal with parts of code that the simple document doesn't have. Emails need to support all email clients and when you need them to work in Outlook for Windows, Android 6.0, gmail mobile apps and msg/oft files at the same time, the use of divs need to be very limited and even unordered lists can't be used if we want the results to look the same in all (bulleted lists need to be coded in tables, bullets in a cell, their text in another). We need to use hacks like u + .body .gmail, div > u + .body .gmail, #MessageViewBody and conditionals for Outlook, but none of those should cause problems in a code editor. The html declaration in our emails need to be <html lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"> in order for them to work as we need. We also use media queries. But that's all normal code, there's nothing that would cause editors to crash. And besides, it's not just crashing, as I mentioned: it's interface issues with selecting, copying, that weren't there in the CS version. I have just selected a word in small (11px) text on the design side and and it gets spaces before/after it selected, varying for each time I try. Can you select + Opt + grab something in the Code panel and DW will leave a copy behind, as it should? Validation by W3C doesn't find any errors, DW doesn't find any, either (green mark). I understand that you are not able to reproduce what I'm seeing, but the fact is that DW has these issues on my side and there's nothing I do that fixes it, and it's not specific to an install on a certain machine: it's not restricted to my work laptop, it does the same on my personal laptop, so it's not something caused by my work's network security blocking parts of DW's needed access to components, for example, or an issue caused by a certain MacOs (Currently Monterey 12.6 on both, but only a month ago work's had Catalina), or something that needs to be restored.

Report · Nov 11, 2022

I think it worth mentioning that @Nancy OShea is a user of Dreamweaver just like you and me. The help that she supplies is based on her own experience working with Dreamwever.

Your rant is fully understandable. But there is little that we can do about it. My advice is to find an editor that will help you with email templates. I have created a video that has helped me:

https://youtu.be/0FJC8qM35HY

Wappler, the only real Dreamweaver alternative.

Report · Nov 14, 2022

Sorry Nancy, indeed I was thinking you were an Adobe support person. BenPleysier, I'll try Wappler and see if it works for my company's purposes -- if it does, I can convince them to switch. Hopefully, it will have the Design interface and Snippets (life-saving for me, considering the amount of daily work and fast pace), it's the biggest plus for DW over other software I tried.

Report · Nov 12, 2022

Selecting text in DW CC, Code | Split | Live view.

My mouse is worn out. For me, keyboard arrow keys are more precise at selecting text until my new mouse arrives. Nevertheless, you can see that DW produces correct code when used with a valid HTML document.

Nancy O'Shea— Product User, Community Expert & Moderator

Report · Nov 14, 2022

I'm hoping you can see the .mov video I attached. The Design and Code panel selections don't match.