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About 20 years your senior, I had to be weaned off Dreamweaver about 5 years ago. I found that, even the latest version of DW does not meet the standards that I require. I'd hate to think of software that is more than 17 years old.
Anyhow, regarding your question, this is Adobe's answer:
Try a free of charge VSCode or, as in my case, Wappler.
...This is like buying a new car in 2007 and having it disabled by the manufacturer because they want you to buy a new one!
Glenn
By @Glenn382862490qea
No, it's really not.
The software was never owned by you. You purchased a license to use the software, even if it didn't feel like it. With so called "Perpetual Licenses" the duration of the license wasn't "Perpetual" it was always at the discression of Adobe when those licenses expired. It was part of the Next > Next > Next > Agree wall of text when installing.
It's more like buying into an aggreement to drive Adobe's car, and that agreement expires when Adobe decides it's time to take their old clunkers off the road.
The only way to get it to work now is to download and install illegal/cracked/malware infested versions from the web.
Either way, DW is on its last legs, moved to Minimum Development Status in 2020, Adobe no longer adds new features or fixes bugs. I would guess they'll pull the plug entirely someday soon. It's probably time to move to something else as Ben suggests.
Hi Guys
Yep, I know this has been covered before with the "CS3 is dead", but is isnt for many of us.
I bought my copy of CS3 and have been using it for my job for many years. Its been perfect, great software. But now I need to install it on a new PC and it seams I wont be able to do this because the registration servers are shut down.
Well thats not good enough. I paid for this software. I've looked at the latest version of Dreamweaver, tried the trial, tried to make it behave like CS3, but it's just not up to the job. I use CS3 for a intranet system for a large company, its doesnt need to have the latest features, its a intranet for running the business. Plus I'm about 5 years away from retirement and dont want to start again learning a new IDE ( which most definately wont be a adobe product ).
There should be a way to keep old legit software going. This is like buying a new car in 2007 and having it disabled by the manufacturer because they want you to buy a new one!
Glenn
By @Glenn382862490qea
Why aren't you using the computer you were using when you purchased CS3? It did the job for many years. It was perfect, a great computer and ran all the software you needed. There should be a way to keep old legit computers going. This would be a closer analogy than your car saying the car would be disabled. If you wanted to compare it to your 2007 car, try to take the engine or the computer out of that car and install it in a 2024 model. The software is a component of the vehicle, not the vehicle itself. Similar to how I am sure you didn't try to install Windows Vista or Mac OS Leopard from 2007 on the new computer either.
If you are maintaining an intranet site with DW, there are probably better, and easier software solutions to be using such as MS Teams, a Dropbox account, or there are other Content Management Systems designed specifically for this that you can register for a new service, migrate your files, and probably edit a few templates with an editor like VScode as @BenPleysier mentioned or some may even help you with the implementation based on styles you provide and allowing them to see your existing intranet site.
My current PC is about 5 years old, and the Dreamweaver licencing servers were still running, so I installed it, no problem. But that PC isnt compatible with windows 11 and its nagging me to upgrade. Though I do intend to keep it going for a few more years if I can.
The site is massive, over 4000 pages, all in php/javascript/etc, hand coded. Lots of switching between code and design view, which Dreamweaver is good at. Converting to a different system because my prefered IDE is no longer supported isnt going to happen, but thanks.
By @Glenn382862490qea
If your site is over 4,000 pages, all hand coded, it sounds like an inefficient system in need of an upgrade to at minimum support a database. While I can appreciate the fact that you are 5 years from retirement and see the change as something that won't impact you in the long run, you are potentially setting up your successor for failure by building a process reliant on a technology that is in minimal maintenance mode and is no longer being actively developed.
You're tilting at windmills.
The license is just a digital 'piece of paper' that gave you permission to use the product for as long as the owner (Adobe) could keep making it available. You purchased software from 2007 with the expectation that support would end in 3-5 years (which it did) and you would eventually have to replace it with an upgrade. If you didn't upgrade, whose fault is that?
The aged-out activation servers for legacy CS1 - CS4 are gone. And CS5 & CS6 are on life support.
I have strings of old Christmas lights in boxes but the incandescent bulbs they require burned out and I can't buy replacements anymore. Technology has moved beyond them. Would you like my old Christmas lights to keep your CS3 disks company? I'd be happy to send them to you. 😊
CS3 CANNOT BE ACTIVATED!
Assuming you could install it on Win11 -- which is doubtful given its advanced age, it won't work beyond the 30 day trial. After the trial ends, CS3 will quit working.
PHP 8.2 is the current stable release version.
Older PHP 7, 5, 4... are End of Life and contain security vulnerabilities. Sites built with older PHP are at risk for attacks. Do not use!
Minimally maintained Dreamweaver CC is safe to use for site management & other editing tasks with HTML, CSS, JavaScript.. alongside a PHP editor that's in active development.
- PHP Storm
- Netbeans
- Aptana Studio
- Eclipse
- Visual Studio Code (free) - https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/php
- Zend Studio
CS3 does install and run on Win11, tested it, just cant register it.
It would seam Adobe are keen to move users away from their products.
By @Glenn382862490qea
They didn't really move you away from their products that was your choice to move away if they were not providing value to you. There were 3.5 perpetual upgrades since CS3 (up to CS6 - 4 years later) that you choose not to upgrade to before it became a subscription. And while I certainly don't agree with every decision they make, as personally I am not a video editor but it's paid as part of my subscription, I do continue to use other pieces of software in my work. And even at US minimum wage of $7.25/hr, it would take ~100 hours of work (2.5 weeks) to pay for a year of Adobe software. Or think of it this way, if someone only bought from your business once every 17 years, would you be able to stay in business or do you begin to cater to those who continue to utilize your services on a more regular basis. If the updates were of no value to you, as with others, there are competitors who may bring more value to the work you do.
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