For aspiring moviemakers the question is, “What producer are you talking to?” But if you’re building a Web site, the question is, “What server are you talking to?” Macromedia has just announced Dreamweaver 2.0, with extensive tools for building links to content servers. Meanwhile, GoLive is working to parlay CyberStudio into a complete Web publishing system, and FileMaker (née Claris) is billing Home Page as an add-on to the FileMaker Pro server. However, just as in Hollywood, there’s always an independent director or two. Adobe is pitching PageMill 3.0 as the authoring tool for the rest of us-without all that fancy dynamic content.
Macromedia Dreams Ever since Dreamweaver 1.0 shipped, Macromedia (415/252-2000, https://www.macromedia.com ) has been playing second fiddle (or worse) to GoLive’s immensely popular CyberStudio. Part of the reason lies in Dreamweaver’s clunky interface, and Macromedia admits that even Dreamweaver devotees complain that the Mac version is a bit slow. So version 2.0 sports a raft of interface improvements and a 50 percent speed boost, Macromedia says.
Users can also look forward to new table-editing features, such as sorting capabilities and noncontiguous cell selection. A new global search-and-replace tool will simplify cross-site changes.
However, the crown jewel in Dreamweaver 2.0, as Macromedia sees it, is the program’s support for dynamic publishing. Web designers can preview server-delivered dynamic content-such as tables from a database or a catalog entry from an e-commerce server-as they build their pages. Initially, Dreamweaver will ship with tools to work with servers from iCat, Broadvision, Tango, and Cold Fusion, among others; Macromedia says that adding a tool is as simple as dropping a chunk of code into a Finder folder. Dreamweaver 2.0 is expected to ship December 11, 1998, for $299.
GoLive Networks Meanwhile, GoLive (650/463-1583, https://www.golive.com ) is working on the three-piece GoLive Web Publishing System, which allows designers, writers, and others to collaborate on Web production projects. Designers will use GoLive’s CyberStudio Publishing Edition to create Web-page templates. Meanwhile, content creators can add text and images with GoLive’s CyberWriter client software, which works with Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, version 4 or later. Content is placed on the Web using a Web server called CyberServer-based on a SQL database-that runs on Linux, AIX, Sun Solaris, Windows 98, Windows NT, Mac OS, and Mac OS X Server systems.
GoLive expects the Web Publishing System to ship by January 1999, with prices starting at less than $1,000 for a two-user configuration.
Adobe Simplifies
Adobe PageMill was among the first Web authoring tools to hide the complexity of HTML behind a WYSIWYG interface, and Adobe (408/536-6000, https://www.adobe.com ) hopes that the latest version will appeal to Web authors who aren’t necessarily full-time designers.
PageMill 3.0 offers improved site-management capabilities, better table- and frame-editing tools, and in-line previewing of plug-ins and Java applets. The $99 package, which is available now, also includes a limited edition of Adobe Photoshop.