Issue with using Extensions and Add-Ons in DW

[ALsp]

If you rely on extensions or add-ons, DO NOT allow the Dreamweaver 19 update to occur.

[haleyt88803336]

In my estimation Dreamweaver has been dying since the day it decided to kill InterAKT Kollection product line.

This one extension did more than almost all the other extension ever made collectively in helping too develop mid level applications.

DMXzone only provides a partial solution within any product and only enough of a solution until you purchase more products. Ted in Support is awful.

Ray at WebAssists tries the hardest in supporting his clients but uses different terminology for basic function and sometimes it is hard to understand how to use his Product.

I agree with BenPleysier in everything he said.

I also agree that the DW development team has no clue what they are doing, and all they are doing at this time is slowly killing Dreamweaver all together. They are too focused on design instead of the dynamic architecture needed behind the scene.

[W_J_T]

pziecina  wrote

In some ways I feel sorry for the members of the Dw team and the support staff, as they can only do what adobe allows or says. The ones I do not feel sorry for are the adobe and Dw management [...]

There are threads across the entire forum regarding the 2019 release for every major product title which clearly demonstrate Adobe’s lack of internal testing even against the compatibility of the previous version. For upper-level management it seems inviting celebrities to speak at MAX while working on the shiny rollout marketing campaigns to acquire new users were deemed more important than actually making sure the software features  perform correctly when released.

So its definitely not just DW management, its the entire Adobe management mindset. Creative Cloud is more of a paid beta testing program for customers, with Adobe becoming more of a snake oil salesmen than a software developer.

[pziecina]

W_J_T  wrote

So its definitely not just DW management, its the entire Adobe management mindset.

Either the Adobe senior managment is very 'gullible', or some of the product managers are not telling them everything.

As an example Adobes shiny new VR program, and Adobe Dimensions, are both based on the W3C's respective api's, (WebVR and OpenGL) yet both are 'marketed' as brand new ideas by the teams. Worse still both programs do not export for inclussion in a web site.

There is a misconception by many product managers that we all have no idea that web tecnologies can, (and normally are now) be used to create 'stand alone' programs, and many do not even realise that some of us have been using computers since the days when one had to write their own programs when required.

I have only ever suggested one idea in the last 10 years for Dw, that I did not know how to create myself, and that one idea that I had problems with, was to do with how to present the user with a suitable UI, (css animations, especially 3d).

[-Michele]

BenPleysier  ha scritto

Webassist have been reduced to a small clan of enthousiasts that are using outdated versions of Dreamweaver

I'm using the last version of DataBridge (PHP7/MySQLi compatibility) on the last version of Dreamweaver (2018/2019) without issues and with "a lot of satisfactions" (in any case, many more than I have until now with the competitor Wappler).

Also, I'm very happy to be part of a small clan (however, it doesn't seem to me that Wappler's is so much bigger).

[Nayan_Kankariya]

BenPleysier​​ - Thanks for conveying your concern towards the deprecation of Adobe Extension Manager. We will notify the same to the concerned team and work towards what best can be done here. Will keep the forum updated with the outcome.

Thanks,

Nayan

[W_J_T]

BenPleysier  wrote

Nayan_Kawa , many moons ago, Al (PVII), George (DMXzone) and Ray (Webassist) were all having a problem because adobe suddenly discontinued the Extensions Manager, it was left up to the individual extension suppliers to create their own. Then all of a sudden there were huge changes in the Dreamweaver program that caused Ray's extensions to mal-function.

I wonder how ExtendStudio products are fairing also?

[Nayan_Kankariya]

ALsp​​ - Can you please try to perform the below steps and let us know if this works.

1. Quit all Adobe applications and check if you are signed-in into 'Creative Cloud Desktop App'

2. Navigate to the URL My Exchange

3. Under 'My Exchange' page, check for "Sync Extensions" button

4. Click on "Sync Extensions" button and leave it idle for 10-15 minutes.

5. Launch Dw CC 2019 and check for extensions

Kindly revert back with your findings, will further investigate the issue if it's still seen.

Thanks,

Nayan

[ALsp]

I followed your suggestions. No extensions were transferred. I then clicked the uninstall button, then clicked the install button. Nothing was installed into Dreamweaver 19.

Now, if you can act as the conduit between, me, the Dreamweaver Team leader, and Jonathan Fermin, I can provide a solution that will work to solve these problems once and for all. All that is required of Adobe is a willingness to make their customers...

Happy

[ALsp]

ALsp  wrote
I followed your suggestions. No extensions were transferred. I then clicked the uninstall button, then clicked the install button. Nothing was installed into Dreamweaver 19.
Now, if you can act as the conduit between, me, the Dreamweaver Team leader, and Jonathan Fermin, I can provide a solution that will work to solve these problems once and for all. All that is required of Adobe is a willingness to make their customers...

Happy

And I guess Adobe's response (or lack of a response) to this post should cement in the minds of this forum at least, the company's commitment to making its customers happy.

[ALsp]

Hi Nayan,

And what would one do if their "favorite" extensions do not come from the Exchange? For clarity, please do understand that most Dreamweaver extensions DO NO come from the Exchange.

[Nayan_Kankariya]

Hi AL,

Thank you for bringing up this query.

You can also install the extensions by using Adobe ExMan Command Line Tool.

Following these steps should allow you to successfully load and run your required extensions.

1. Download the ZIP file for your Operating System and unzip it to a folder of your choice. We’ll call it ExMan_root.

        Download for Mac OS

        Download for Windows

   2. Copy the add-on’s ZXP package to ExMan_root folder. Let’s call it myextension.zxp.

   3. IMPORTANT: Close any Adobe applications that are compatible with the Extension.

   4. In a command shell (Mac OS Terminal or Windows Command Prompt), go to the ExMan_root folder and run the below command for installing your extension

       On Windows: ExManCmd.exe /install myextension.zxp

       On Mac OS: ./Contents/MacOS/ExManCmd ––install myextension.zxp

You can verify the installation with the command below:

• On Mac OS: ./Contents/MacOS/ExManCmd ––list all
• On Windows: ExManCmd.exe /list all

For various operations with this tool, refer to this page.

For troubleshooting the error codes while installing an extension with this tool, refer to this page.

Please let us know if you have tried this tool and encountering any issues.

Thanks,

The Adobe Dreamweaver Team

[-Michele]

Nayan_Kankariya  ha scritto

You can also install the extensions by using Adobe ExMan Command Line Tool.

I don't think that Al has problems installing the extensions, I think he is looking for a simple solution for his customers (and indirectly yours too).  Adobe ExMan Command Line Tool is too complicate for an end user.

[osgood_]

-Michele  wrote

I don't think that Al has problems installing the extensions, I think he is looking for a simple solution for his customers (and indirectly yours too).  Adobe ExMan Command Line Tool is too complicate for an end user.

I agree, not many using DW will want to use a command line tool, that's just a joke suggestion in my opinion. Shows how far Adobe are really distancing themselves from the kind of user of DW. Even myself, a reasoanble good web-developer doesnt do command line stuff, its too freaking complicated and mostly unnecesary for the majority of developers who just want to produce 90% of the websites you can view online.

[pziecina]

Nayan_Kankariya  wrote

Please let us know if you have tried this tool and encountering any issues.

I tried using the tool back when it was first introduced, (I think it was Dw 2013) and even though I have used dos and unix, (both requiring 'command line') I found it a very cumbersome way to install extensions, and it tends to fail when none signed extensions are used.

I cannot see many of the present generation who have had no experiance of dos/unix in the past, even considering such a method.

I'm not certain if you have ever used the old extension manager Nayan, but that is what we would all like to see reintroduced, (not for me personally, as I do not use Dw CC, but for others).

[ALsp]

Nayan_Kankariya  wrote

Hi AL,

Thank you for bringing up this query.

You can also install the extensions by using Adobe ExMan Command Line Tool.

Following these steps should allow you to successfully load and run your required extensions.

1. Download the ZIP file for your Operating System and unzip it to a folder of your choice. We’ll call it ExMan_root.

        Download for Mac OS

        Download for Windows

   2. Copy the add-on’s ZXP package to ExMan_root folder. Let’s call it myextension.zxp.

   3. IMPORTANT: Close any Adobe applications that are compatible with the Extension.

   4. In a command shell (Mac OS Terminal or Windows Command Prompt), go to the ExMan_root folder and run the below command for installing your extension

       On Windows: ExManCmd.exe /install myextension.zxp

       On Mac OS: ./Contents/MacOS/ExManCmd ––install myextension.zxp

You can verify the installation with the command below:

• On Mac OS: ./Contents/MacOS/ExManCmd ––list all
• On Windows: ExManCmd.exe /list all

For various operations with this tool, refer to this page.

For troubleshooting the error codes while installing an extension with this tool, refer to this page.

Please let us know if you have tried this tool and encountering any issues.

Thanks,

The Adobe Dreamweaver Team

Nayan,

I'm afraid you are still very far from understanding. Sadly, if you are a member of the Dreamweaver Team, then you are becoming the poster child for its failures. Firstly, I know exactly what ExMan is, as you can see from the fact that we've written and maintained a front-end for it for several years now:

PVII Extension Manager for Adobe Creative Cloud

So, what you offer is simply a perpetuation of the severe harm you have done to your customers.

If you are ready to discuss REAL solutions, I am at your service, but please let this thread (to date) remain as a testament to how disconnected the Dreamweaver team has become from its users, and from the Dreamweaver community. Extension developers made Dreamweaver a viable program, in concert with the original Dreamweaver Team.

[Nayan_Kankariya]

All,

Thank you for reporting this issue. We understand that this issue is observed specifically for the following set of users:

• Users on Dreamweaver prerelease, who uninstalled a prerelease build and installed Dreamweaver CC 2019 by removing preferences
• Users who’ve reinstalled Dreamweaver CC 2019 (install > uninstall > install CC 2019) by removing preferences

Following these steps should allow you to successfully load and run your favorite extensions. If you still run into issues, please do contact Adobe Tech Support.

• Open this link in a browser.
• Click on Uninstall for each of the already installed extensions.
• IMPORTANT: Once done, wait for notifications from the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app indicating that the extensions have been successfully uninstalled.
• Switch-back to Adobe Exchange portal, and click on Install for all extensions you want to use.
• IMPORTANT: Once done, wait for notifications from the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app indicating that the extensions have been successfully installed.

The issue occurs when uninstalling Dreamweaver CC 2019 and with the option of clearing preferences. This is due to the extensions database not being in sync with uninstall information. Hence on reinstall, the extensions are not automatically installed back.

Thanks,

The Adobe Dreamweaver Team

[ALsp]

Nayan_Kankariya  wrote

The issue occurs when uninstalling Dreamweaver CC 2019 and with the option of clearing preferences. This is due to the extensions database not being in sync with uninstall information. Hence on reinstall, the extensions are not automatically installed back.

Thanks,

The Adobe Dreamweaver Team

Hi Nayal,

I see from your signature that you are part of the Adobe team. Since most Dreamweaver extensions are not downloaded from the Exchange, I was wondering if you would be willing to disclose whether the Extension manager being discontinued was a decision you are familiar with, whether you were part of that decision, whether it came from "above", or whether the Exchange team called the shots on that decision.

Would  you be so kind as to tell us?

[Nayan_Kankariya]

Hi ALsp,

Ben also conveyed his concern earlier about the deprecation of Adobe Extension Manager. With regard to this, we have notified the same to the concerned team here and working towards what best can be done. Will keep the thread updated on the outcome in coming days.

Thanks,

Nayan

[ALsp]

Hi Nayan,

I'm answering a post of yours that seems to have been deleted. You told me, essentially, to put my products on the Exchange. Fine. We tried that. Here is my reply to your missing post:

You are not helping, Nayan. Not helping at all. We experimented with the Exchange 3 years ago. We put our most successful extension up there, Magic Box. In three years, we have enjoyed 8 sales through the Exchange, while experiencing nearly 4,000 via our web site. There is no arguable point here, Nayan. We are speaking of the reason why the largest and best Dreamweaver extension developers have, for all intents and purposes, jumped ship. Except for us. We are the fools that refuse to give up hope that Adobe will realize their mistakes. Perhaps that will never happen. Perhaps. But...

While the Exchange might be successful for Photoshop plugins, it has been a dismal failure for Dreamweaver users. I know this. You might disagree in public, but you would still be wrong. I'm not sure where Adobe's collective heads are now, but it is most certainly not with its customers. But this thread has not been without its benefits as it is illustrating the disconnect you have with customer service. So perhaps...now that we have your ear...

The answer to the question: "How can the Adobe Exchange be made successful to Dreamweaver users and developers?" is quite simple. There are two chief paths:

1. Reissue an Extension Manger

2. Allow users to upload the extensions they have purchased directly from developers to their "My Exchange" pages, so that they can be synced and installed via the cloud.

If you do either of those things, we can then work together to gradually shift sales of our extensions to the Exchange. But we'll do it the right way, never at the expense of our customers' trust and convenience.

This is an offer no company with an eye towards customer satisfaction could possibly refuse. So your answer will certainly tell us where Adobe stands with respect to said satisfaction of said customers.

[W_J_T]

ALsp  wrote

Hi Nayan, I'm answering a post of yours that seems to have been deleted.

I'm delighted you saw it also before it was removed.

[-Michele]

ALsp  ha scritto

Allow users to upload the extensions they have purchased directly from developers to their "My Exchange" pages, so that they can be synced and installed via the cloud.

it would be an excellent solution!

[Jonathan_Ferman]

Hi everyone,

There seems to be multiple topics going on in this thread but I will focus on 'Extension Manager'. As you may be aware Adobe Extension Manager was deprecated with CC 2015. While the Extension Manager app went away, development on ExManCMD, a headless (no user interface) install mechanism continued. Last year, we really drilled down into some major product improvements. Here's a list of what we've done:

• Updated ExManCMD for major new releases of the CC apps
• Created prerelease builds so that developers can get access to ExManCMD sooner to test and update their own Extension Manager apps
• Instrumented data collection to find the most common issues and address them
• Added XD plugin support
• Created extension and plugin deployment for CC for teams and enterprise. You can create a package for your users with apps and extensions or just extensions. Read more here.
• Completely rebuilt the Exchange install plugin built into the Creative Cloud desktop app, addressing the number 1 install issue where users had to click a dialog to continue installation. Our install now works in a similar way to the CC app installs.

We are currently planning the future of extension installation and how it should work. My guess is that some installs didn't work as they didn't have the latest version of ExManCMD depending on which third party Extension Manager utility you used. I know this one is up to date. If you acquired extensions from Adobe Exchange, I would try the new Sync Extensions button in My Exchange.

One final comment I will make in regard to the Dreamweaver team is that they do care and they brought this forum comment to our attention quickly and we worked closely with the Dreamweaver team to understand the issue.

I hope that helps.

Jonathan

[pziecina]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Jonathan+Ferman  wrote

One final comment I will make in regard to the Dreamweaver team is that they do care and they brought this forum comment to our attention quickly and we worked closely with the Dreamweaver team to understand the issue.

Hi Jonathan,

From the reply I think we can take it as reading that the old extension manager method of installing extensions, will not be returning, and that it is upto the extension developers to develop and maintain their own extension manager if they wish to do so.

Whilst this is disappointing, at least we know the answer to that question and can hopefully move on.

As for everything else being discussed, those are because none of us can work out why the direction in which Dw is developing is being taken. To many it is now nothing more than a combination of open source projects, which are targeted at no-one, and given that it is years behind what developers require in code support, plus it now has very little to recommend it to designers, (irrespective if they wish to code or not) we have no idea what to say to anyone asking questions beyond, 'try bootstrap'.

Naturally, I do not actually expect anyone from the Dw team, or Adobe to reply to the above paragraph, which is also part of the problem, as we have come to expect that as the normal response. We do appreciate the help and support we get from forum and Dw support staff, and we know they can do no more than pass info on, so please do not blame them.

[Paul-M]

If you're not too sensitive, here are some honest opinions:

ff the Dev team are listening I suggest you go back to CC 2015 and just add the GIT integration, start from there, I honesty couldn't care less about Brackets, if I wanted to use it I would actually use Brackets.

Since Brackets was shoe-horned into Dreamweaver its been downhill, I'd like to know how many people actually requested that feature or was it another disastrous 'executive decision' taken at Adobe? It seems Adobe wasted a whole heap of development time implemented Brackets in Dreamweaver and then a few years after they are still trying to fix or add back in lost features of the the old code editor, which just really needed some TLC  !!

Why were the server side features ripped out of Dreamweaver years ago instead of keeping them up to date, current and relevant? Adobe think we are stupid by NOT updating features for a few years then citing the fact they were 'outdated' .... seriously don't insult people's intelligence!!

Just go back to the old code editor and add the few features that people had been requesting for around 10 years, lets not forget there were a few good extensions that had been around for quite a few years that added features like Emmet, so the idea that the Brackets integration was a leap forward was not really true at all, it brought a few new features but a whole heap of problems and some lost features that are still being rectified

I personally do NOT like the Brackets integration period, the old code editor works better, the new version is glitchy, jumpy, I get pauses and lose control of the workspace/have to wait, for example when copy and pasting code ..... its a waste of time period!!

I'd have a whole lot more respect for Adobe if somebody came out and admitted mistakes and was bold enough to reverse some of the things they have done.

And finally ...... I'm pretty sure the decision to discontinue the extension manager was based on $$$$  ..... trying too force people to use the Adobe Add-on site as Adobe get a commission on each extension purchased, I can't imagine many people bother to use if the option to buy direct is available and there are still problems installing extensions from the Add On site, if for example I have my Creative Cloud prefs set to English (International) .

[pziecina]

Energize  wrote

Why were the server side features ripped out of Dreamweaver years ago instead of keeping them up to date, current and relevant? Adobe think we are stupid by NOT updating features for a few years then citing the fact they were 'outdated' .... seriously don't insult people's intelligence!!

Someone may wish to edit this post if they think it breaks the nda rules, (Preran​).

I if you like was the one who finally made the Dw team remove the old SB's, so blame me.

The reason was that as part of the CS6 pre-release I was the individual who provided the information from php which said that the php-mysql-extension should no longer be used for the development of new sites, and that it would at some point in the near future be removed completely as a php extension.

Many well known Dw and php experts disagreed with me, untill I provided the link to the info from php themselves, otherwise the old SB's may well have continued.

So now you know, blame me if you wish, but the old SB's had to go, and as I have asked repeatedly over the years if anyone would like to help in the further development of my pdo extension for Dw, (have since removed it completely) with 0 offers, I have no reason to regret the removal of the old SB's.

Note - The Dw team thought they had a number of years before the SB's required replacment.