Very basic workflow question Dreamweaver/Fireworks

jsteinmann wrote:
> the average joe designing a site can certainly get away with it
> with very little drama.

Until it goes wrong.

--
David Powers, Adobe Community Expert
Author, "Foundation PHP for Dreamweaver 8" (friends of ED)
Author, "PHP Solutions" (friends of ED)
http://foundationphp.com/

I dont know what professional isn't aware of it, it gets screemed from every roof top available. I'm not saying it's the preferred method, but lets be honest here, the average joe designing a site can certainly get away with it with very little drama. Considering it's a graphic program exporting it automatically for you, I'm amazed and how well of a job it actually does creating the back end

jsteinmann wrote:
> Come on, 90% of people are doing nothing more
> then make themselves a blog or a site for their local book reading group...
> they'll be fine! No one will care how clean the code is, and rarely does it
> not display properly.

Over the years, I've helped countless people who are just creating a
site for their local school or community. Most of the time, the site has
worked well, in spite of convoluted code. It's when they change
something and the code starts to unravel that the real problems begin.

> If someone is that concerned about it, go through the code and make
> the necessary adjustments.

That's fine, if you have the skill to go through the code. Many of the
people seeking help in these forums don't have that skill.

Alan Musselman, the Fireworks project manager, is quite clear about the
purpose of Fireworks HTML. He says it's for doing quick mockups. It's
not intended to be used on a live website.

Perhaps it's not all that important for the amateur, who may make only
one or two websites in a lifetime. Unfortunately, a lot of so-called
"professionals" seem unaware of the problems, too.

--
David Powers, Adobe Community Expert
Author, "Foundation PHP for Dreamweaver 8" (friends of ED)
Author, "PHP Solutions" (friends of ED)
http://foundationphp.com/

Yes, I know. It's been said a million times before. I think it gets blown out of proportion. It's like a story that gets passed from ear to ear enough times that by the time it gets to the last person the story is your site will just explode with error messages. Come on, 90% of people are doing nothing more then make themselves a blog or a site for their local book reading group. No one will care how clean the code is, and rarely does it not display properly. It's all perspective. To hand coding purists, a few extra tags is an abomination. At the end of the day, it's really not that big of a deal. If someone is concerned about it, go through the code and make the necessary adjustments. If they're that much of experts on the matter, they should have no trouble doing so.

jsteinmann wrote:
> The "bad code" is a little overstated. Your site will not explode on launch from using fireworks html.

Don't take my word for it. Read what the guy who originally created
Fireworks menus now thinks.

www.losingfight.com/blog/2006/08/11/the-sordid-tale-of-mm_menufw_menujs

--
David Powers, Adobe Community Expert
Author, "Foundation PHP for Dreamweaver 8" (friends of ED)
Author, "PHP Solutions" (friends of ED)
http://foundationphp.com/

The "bad code" is a little overstated by people in general. Your site will not explode on launch from using fireworks html. LOL People should not fear using it, provided they understand it. Every site consists of two parts, front end and back end. Unforunately, to the hand coding purists out there, the front end usually far outweighs the importance of the back end to everyone that matters... the client and the site visitor. Why? Natutally because it's what they see and interact with. The "cleanest" code in the world means nothing if your site looks pathetic. Learn to find a balance in your design, and you'll be well on your way.

signcarver wrote:
> Thank you very much!
>
> I figured there was a basic flaw in my workflow. You have saved me tons of time for the future.

Glad to have helped - and that you have taken the advice in such a
positive way. A lot of people seem so determined to use
Fireworks-generated HTML that it's difficult to get them to break the
habit. :-)

--
David Powers, Adobe Community Expert
Author, "Foundation PHP for Dreamweaver 8" (friends of ED)
Author, "PHP Solutions" (friends of ED)
http://foundationphp.com/

Hello David,

Thank you very much!

I figured there was a basic flaw in my workflow. You have saved me tons of time for the future.

Thanks again,
Steve

signcarver wrote:
> From Fireworks I export the html and images and then open the file in
> Dreamweaver.
> In Dreamweaver I create "stub" pages and link the navigation bar buttons to
> these "stub" pages.
> Now if i want to go back and modify the index.png in Fireworks, when i
> re-export the page, all the links i created in Dreamweaver are broken.

Fireworks HTML is intended purely for prototyping. It's not intended to
be used in web pages.

Export your images from Fireworks and build the HTML in Dreamweaver.

--
David Powers, Adobe Community Expert
Author, "Foundation PHP for Dreamweaver 8" (friends of ED)
Author, "PHP Solutions" (friends of ED)
http://foundationphp.com/