Resources
Each month rotating guest writers offer resources that benefit the technical writing industry. This month Rob Peterson, the Berkeley Chapter's VP of Membership, offers an analysis of web authoring tools.

To GoLive or Not to GoLive
Is Adobe's Web Authoring Tool Your Best Choice?
By Robert Peterson, STC Member

Adobe GoLive version 5.0, released in 2000, made a good run at the market served by Macromedia's Dreamweaver, but GoLive version 6 (February 2002) is better than Dreamweaver 4.0 in many ways.

Though Dreamweaver MX may take certain WYSIWYG HTML editor features a step further than GoLive 6.0, GoLive remains a safe choice for clean coding and total website management.

According to Kim Wimpsett, a writer for CNET.com's software reviews, "With Adobe GoLive 6.0, Adobe has produced one stellar development tool. Its HTML editing tools and WYSIWYG interface are accessible and powerful enough to build even the most complex sites, and if you use other Adobe applications, you'll appreciate GoLive's solid integration with those apps. In addition, GoLive's fantastic site management tool (Web Workgroup Server) makes this program ideal for professional developers working on medium-sized to large corporate sites."-Adobe GoLive 6.0, CNET.com, March 14, 2002

CNET also honored GoLive 6.0 with an Editors' Choice award, which it gives to high-quality computing products after careful evaluation by a panel of experts.

GoLive vs. Dreamweaver
At Arizona State University, an evaluation of GoLive 6.0 also took place. The department of Academic and Administrative Documents (AAD) evaluated GoLive 6.0 and Dreamweaver 4.0 for potential use with ASU's policies and procedures manuals website, www.asu.edu/aad/ manuals.

During the evaluation, it became clear that the two WYSIWYG editors, in general, are comparable. For educational institutions, however, multiple licenses of GoLive can be purchased at a significantly lower cost than licenses of Dreamweaver. In addition, GoLive 6.0's Web Workgroup Server and Adobe's LiveMotion 2.0, bundled with GoLive 6.0, made GoLive the obvious choice for AAD.

For private organizations, the choice is not so clear. Both GoLive and Dreamweaver offer virtually the same benefits, are in the same price range, and received comparable third party software reviews. The main advantage of GoLive 6.0 over Dreamweaver 4.0 is Adobe's WebDAV-enabled Web Workgroup Server, but this may not be a deciding factor for companies using Visual SourceSafe or other WebDAV-related programs.

Other GoLive benefits (already included with GoLive 5.0) include the following:

• Search functions
• Search for ways to optimize website navigation, That is, search for files that are n clicks away from another web page to find ways to reduce the number of intermediate links between pages.
• Search for website files by file size, modification date, download time, or files that contain common syntax errors.
• Search for specific links, colors, fonts, addresses, etc.
• Save searches for future use.
• Graphics and animation
• Resize and optimize native Adobe PhotoShop files without leaving the application.
• Import PhotoShop layers as HTML.
• Jump to Adobe PhotoShop, Illustrator, or LiveMotion files using Smart Object Links to make modifications and automatically find the changes to GoLive when saved.
• Edit links inside native PDF, QuickTime, and Macromedia Flash documents without using the native application.

Browser Preview
Preview how pages display in various browsers without leaving the application. GoLive 6.0 comes with default style sheet settings for Internet Explorer 4.0 (Windows or Macintosh operating systems), Netscape Navigator 4.0 (Windows or Mac) and others can be created.

Dreamweaver, on the other hand, features a handy Clean Up Microsoft Word HTML command and an XML-based, fully customizable tag database. Dreamweaver MX features an array of additional benefits such as XML editing and validation; a convenient reference panel for cascading style sheets, HTML, JavaScript and other technologies; and Cold Fusion support.

Kim Wimpsett reports, "Dreamweaver's thorough ColdFusion, ASP, and JSP support gives its a slight edge over our former favorite, Adobe GoLive. Based on our look at Beta 3, we recommend Dreamweaver (MX) for building a heavy-duty commercial website (but not for casual web builders) ... However, beware; we find Dreamweaver's busy (new) interface daunting."-Macromedia Dreamweaver MX, CNET.com, April 30, 2002.

Decision time
The release of Dreamweaver MX has complicated the decision to GoLive. No clear advantage can be inferred from online software reviews and ratings of Dreamweaver 4, the Beta 3 version of Dreamweaver MX, and GoLive 6. Both editors are equally priced and require comparable computer hardware.

The best advice we can infer from web expert reviews and third-party software ratings is to purchase the product that best suits the software currently used. That is, if you use Fireworks and Freehand, buy Dreamweaver. If you use Adobe PhotoShop and Illustrator, buy GoLive. If nothing else, by sticking with the same family of software you increase the likelihood that features such as GoLive's Smart Objects Links, which are designed to facilitate integration with other Adobe software, will function properly.

Third-party software ratings

Adobe GoLive 6.0 ($399)
System Requirements for Macintosh:
Power PC G3 or G4 processor
Mac OS 9.1, 9.2, or 10.1
96 MB RAM (128 MB recommended)
90 MB available hard disk space

System Requirements for Windows:
Intel Pentium II processor (400 MHz)
Windows 98, ME, 2000, or XP
96 MB RAM (128 MB recommended)
90 MB available hard disk space

Adobe Web Workgroup Server
System Requirements for Macintosh:
PowerPC G3 or G4 processor
Mac OS 10.1
96 MB RAM (128 MB recommended)
150 MB available hard disk space

System Requirements for Windows:
Intel Pentium III processor (600 MHz)
Windows 2000, or XP
96 MB RAM (128 MB recommended)
150 MB available hard disk space

For additional information, visit the Adobe site.

Macromedia Dreamweaver 4 ($299)
System Requirements for Macintosh:
PowerPC G4 processor
Mac OS 8.6, 9.1, or 9.2
64 MB RAM
135 MB available hard disk space

System Requirements for Windows:
Intel Pentium processor (166 MHz)
Windows 95, 98, NT, ME, 2000, or XP
64 MB RAM
110 MB available hard disk space

Macromedia Dreamweaver MX ($399)
System Requirements for Macintosh:
PowerPC G3 or G4 processor
Mac OS 9.1, 9.2, or 10.1
96 MB RAM (128 MB recommended)
275 MB available hard disk space

System Requirements for Windows:
Intel Pentium II processor (300 MHz)
Windows 98, NT, ME, 2000, or XP
96 MB RAM (128 MB recommended)
275 MB available hard disk space

For additional information, visit the Macromedia site.