How to import Muse into Dreamweaver

[FalfyWalfy]

I am trying to import my muse website into Dreamweaver because i want do design my website in muse and then use PHP and MySQL to make blogs and membership systems etc. When I open dreamweaver and right-click  on the Muse website and press "Open With - Dreamweaver", it starts opening it (it only opens the Muse website and just shows a blank HTML)... then Dreamweaver stops responding and i have to close it. If there is any way of making a membership system and blog in Muse (which only certain people can edit [not using Muse]) then please reply an answer... or if possible can people please respond on how to open a muse website in dreamweaver.

Thanks in Advance

Richard

[Nancy OShea · Accepted solution]

MU is a code generator while DW is an HTML editor.

I don't think you can import MU files directly into DW.  I think the best you can do is open the HTML pages in DW the same way you would with any site.

The first step in DW, is to define your local & remote site folders by going to Site | Manage Sites > New Site...  Tell DW where on your hard drive to find your local site files.

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/dreamweaver/articles/first_website_pt1.htm

Nancy O.

[FalfyWalfy]

thanks for reply

[FalfyWalfy]

so theres nothing i can do?... the MU site is already in the folder where i am making my website in DW... and theres no way to make a membership system or blog in MU?

[Nancy OShea]

Look at Business Catalyst for your blog.

http://www.businesscatalyst.com/features

I don't use MU and probably never will.  But as I understand it, you can upload your MU site to BC & integrate with its many modules.

http://tv.adobe.com/watch/introducing-business-catalyst/getting-started-with-business-catalyst-and-m...

Nancy O.

[FalfyWalfy]

thanks... im not gonna use MU either, im only on the trial and i think its pretty bad, DW is a lot better

[Nancy OShea]

MU is really aimed at non-coding designers who want quick & easy web pages.  I'm afraid the trade-off for all that "ease of use" is bloated code & limited support for advanced web features.  

Nancy O.

[Guest]

If Muse is restricted to Muse- it wil dissapaer soon.

It's usless if its generated pages cannot then be used in DW, etc.

It's museless™!

[Nancy OShea]

Nobody said you can't edit MU pages in DW's Code View.  It's just that MU code is awful to work with.

Nancy O.

[Guest]

As a non-coding designer, I'd rather design and hand off or collaborate with a Dreamwear person who can do the html coding and maintenance. My interest is in what the viewer sees and how they use it, not necessarily know how to create code. Most of us know how to drive a car, but few know how to build one. Rather than let Muse become a "whipping post" and the bane of all Dreamweaver coders, perhaps Adobe might entertain the idea of making Muse files Dreamweaver friendly. They certainly have accomplished this in other areas ala Creative Suite. Business Catalyst is just their answer solutiion, but for many clients, isn't the way they conduct their business.

So  in the meantime, it would great if people who are Dreamweaver evangelists provide some insight about figuring out how best to make things work. I mean it's you folks that are working under the hood. And, I respect that.

Thanks,

David

[Nancy OShea]

Not meaning to appear disparaging here, but if a client asked me to collaborate with them on a MU site, I would respectfully decline or tell them that the whole thing needed to be rebuilt in DW.  MU code is HORRIBLE.   There aren't enough hours in my day...

I doubt Adobe can realistically make MU code any less onerous to work with.  MU is what it is -- a consumer level product aimed at non-coders. 

Nancy O.

[Guest]

No matter how onerous or horrible Muse is, my comment was to find a workable path. I mean it's easy enough to find reasons not to. That's the easy part. The hardwork or maybe not, are reasons to make it work.

You have to understand I am not talking about code, you need to take that up with Adobe, not the MU user. I'm just trying to find a workable path to solving a need no matter how distasteful you may find it.

MU is what Adobe is.

[filip_scridon]

When you finished designing your site in MU, go to File > Export as HTML > enter a domain name > choose a location on your computer > click OK.

Then you can give the exported files to your developer, and he can set up a DW site via the site management (assuming that he knows how to do that).

Have fun designing beautiful sites

[Guest]

Thanks filip.scridon- I am sure most of you skilled Dreamweaver people are just that, highly skilled. I do have a modicum of expertise at multiple levels in the global process and mating resources. Part of the challenge is to match skill and willingness to slog through the "bloat" to fulfill client expectations. They don't pay for "no" answers. There are several things I've learned, MU is challenging (a pain) even for skilled DW users, MU has low level DW functionality, and that I have to carefully screen DW user skills before hiring them. I really appreciate all of the responses as it has been helpful and insightful.

So if any Adobe Customer Experience Specialists are monitoring these boards, what say you about this conflict between MU and DW while playing in the same sandbox?

[filip_scridon]

I am no expert, but I think the philosophy behind the MU project is not half bad. I think it is aimed at designers with little coding skills, that need to qickly bring their ideas to life. FW does (in part) the same thing, and IN recently received HTML5 and CSS3 exporting capabilities. Even PS can export CSS3 now (but only for cloud subscribers).

So I guess Adobe is only trying to cater to the needs of as many people as possible, people that have very different backgrounds and are acustomed to very different ways of working. And it's inevitable that sometimes features overlap, or some may feel neglected, or even over billed.

Therefore I think you should see MU and DW not competing, but rather complementing eachother. Afterall, design is about communication, and communication is about colaboration.

[Guest]

I have just dipped into MU and I really like it .. sure ,, it needs refining A LOT , but as a tool it turns web development into web DESIGN .. but its true , it needs far more integration with its big sister DW

[Diana Brauhn]

David,

I think you bring up some valid points and I hope Adobe is listening. You said it well, most of us drive cars, but few of us know how to build them. I love the creativity afforded to me in Muse. I started with desktop publishing before webpages, so InDesign is how I "think". It works well for me. On the other hand, I can code in php and MySQL and build a not great looking, but quite useful website. It's bad enough some functional pages have to be that way. But I see NO reason at all the all my website needs to look like them. I hope Adobe bridges the gap in a functional way, allowing us to make use of the user experience and visual design easily available in Muse adding in the occasional needed functionality of Dreamweaver coding to just some of the pages on a site otherwise populated via Muse.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, David.

Diana

[filip_scridon]

you can try by exporting to html from MU and then setting up a new site in DW using the folder where you exported the MU project.

[Kelliecar]

Thank you very much. Worked great for me!

[J__Chris_Gibson]

So far the only adequate workaround that I have in place is to design Muse pages that link to more complex pages (i.e. forms connected to PHP). When you export to HTML from your Muse project it will build an "assets" folder and populate it with whatever HTML files you have linked to. You have to copy external CSS and other resources (images) associated with your linked HTML file to the asset folder yourself, but that is a minor inconvenience considering the speed that Muse allows in building your 'front end'.

[Dadrocant]

Richard, I have had the same problem since I work with a graphic designer with absolutely no experience in coding, and then I have to take the MU site and do the coding behind in DW. The solution I have found for this is to upload the MU site to a server, and then connect DW to that same server; this is the same as exporting the muse site to HTML and then creating a site in DW on the same folder, but by doing it via the server two people can work on the site on different machines at the same time and when you publish the site to the server, both copies are automatically synced.

[takeyourmeds]

Once you've edited your Muse-generated HTML in DW, can you continue using Muse with it? Will it override the changes made with DW?

[Nancy OShea]

Once you've edited your Muse-generated HTML in DW, can you continue using Muse with it?

=========

No.  You cannot go back. Either use MU for the entire life of your site or export it to HTML and don't go back to MU.

[rjr9]

Seems so weird that Adobe didn't realize that both Muse and Dreamweaver might be used collaboratively - by a designer and a programmer on a web development team. Perhaps, Dreamweaver CC 2016 should include an import from MUSE feature?

I am not aMUSEd. Sigh!

[BenPleysier]

Muse can export HTML which in turn can be processed by Dreamweaver. However, HTML cannot be imported into Muse.