Alternatively, you’ll have to switch to the Creative Cloud subscription service. The Creative Cloud has been very attractively priced, and it holds out the prospect of early updates and some nice bonus extras, such as Typekit fonts, but it has the disadvantage that once you stop paying, you can no longer use the software. I’ll leave it up to you to weigh up the pros and cons of the Creative Cloud. In this post, I’m going to concentrate on what’s new in Dreamweaver CS6 and what I think of it.

If I were to sum up this new version in a single word, I think that “evolutionary” is the most appropriate. The main focus is on CSS improvements, including:

• Web font management
• CSS transitions
• Multiple classes
• Fluid Grid Layout
• jQuery Mobile theming

The other main features are a complete overhaul of Dreamweaver’s FTP client, and integration with PhoneGap Build.

Video Training Courses

I have recorded two video training courses about Dreamweaver CS6. The first one is a New Features Workshop, which contains more than three hours of videos showing how to use all these new features. It should be available from video2brain later this week. The other video course is an in-depth treatment of web design and development with Dreamweaver CS6, aimed mainly at beginners and intermediate users. It will be published jointly by Adobe Press and video2brain sometime later. I’ll post more details when they’re available.

Web Font Management

The new Web Fonts Manager in Dreamweaver CS6 installs web fonts into your personal configuration folder, making them available in all your Dreamweaver sites. Installing a font is very simple. You just launch the Web Fonts Manager from the Modify menu, and click Add Font. In the dialog box that appears, click the folder icon to the right of one of the font fields, and select the font. Dreamweaver detects all formats of the font in the same folder, and automatically fills in all the remaining fields, as shown in the following screen shot.

Installing a web font makes it available in Dreamweaver’s code hints and dialog boxes. You can also build custom font stacks that incorporate fonts that you have installed. When you select a web font in the CSS Styles panel or CSS Rule Definition dialog box, Dreamweaver copies the font files to a new folder in your site root, and creates a style sheet with the necessary @font-face rule. Web fonts aren’t rendered in Design view, but they’re fully supported in Live view.

My only reservation about the way that Dreamweaver handles web fonts is that it uses a separate style sheet for each @font-face rule. However, it’s easy enough to cut and paste the rules into the top of your main style sheet.

CSS Transitions

Dreamweaver CS6 makes it easy to create CSS transitions—simple animations that smooth the transition from one state to another, for example if you scale up an image when hovering over it. The quickest and simplest way is to use the new CSS Transitions panel, which creates both the transition properties and the styles for the end state in a single operation. The CSS Rule Definition dialog box supports the creation of more complex transitions, such as those triggered on a nested element. Both methods generate not only the standard properties, but also browser-specific prefixed versions. This is a great time-saver because you need browser-specific prefixes for Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, and WebKit-based browsers.

I like this feature a lot, but it seems odd that you need to use the CSS Rule Definition dialog box to create more advanced transitions. In my experience, advanced users rarely touch that dialog box. However, if a style rule already exists, you can just click the Edit Rule icon in the CSS Styles panel without having to go through the hassle of the New CSS Rule dialog box.

Multiple Classes

This is something that Dreamweaver users have been demanding for a long time—the ability to apply multiple classes to an element. Hallelujah, Adobe has finally listened. Just select the element in the Document window, and choose Apply Multiple Classes from the Class menu in the Property inspector to open the Multiclass Selection dialog box. This presents you with a list of all classes in your site, as shown in the following screen shot.

Select the check box alongside each class that you want to apply to the element. If you haven’t already defined the class, you can add it to the space-separated list in the field at the bottom of the dialog box. A long overdue, but nevertheless very welcome improvement.

Fluid Grid Layout

This should be the star attraction of Dreamweaver CS6. In some respects, it’s stunning, but it feels like a work in progress rather than a polished feature. Inspired by Ethan Marcotte’s Responsive Web Design, this feature allows you to specify three fluid grids for mobile, tablet, and desktop layout. Each grid can have 2–24 columns, and you can specify how wide the grid should spread across the screen, as shown in the following screen shot.

You then add fluid grid layout div elements to build the structure of your page in the mobile layout. Next comes the brilliant part—you can resize the elements and snap them to the grid, and move elements to sit alongside each other. All this is done in Design view or Live view, and Dreamweaver automatically calculates the width of elements and margins to four decimal places. The CSS uses percentage widths and floats, so it produces layouts that adapt to any screen size. It’s most definitely not a throwback to the bad old days of Dreamweaver’s Layout mode. The styles are constructed on the basis of “mobile first”, and work even in browsers that don’t understand media queries.

Where the Fluid Grid Layout feature falls down is in Dreamweaver’s inability to indicate which media query controls a particular style rule. Another problem is that it doesn’t support nesting elements to create more complex layouts. It’s to be hoped that these shortcomings will be addressed in an updater. One of the ideas behind the Creative Cloud subscription setup is that new features or improvements to existing ones can be added as soon as they’re ready without needing to wait for the next major release.

jQuery Mobile Theming

The integrated version of jQuery Mobile in Dreamweaver CS6 has been updated to the 1.0 stable version (not 1.1). There’s also a new jQuery Mobile Swatches panel that’s designed to make it easy to change the look of individual elements (see screen shot).

Multichannel FTP

Let’s be honest. In the past, Dreamweaver’s FTP client was a dog. Not any more. It now supports multichannel transfers, and can even download at the same time as uploading. Orange arrows indicate items queued for transfer. When the transfer begins, the arrow turns green. And if you’re transferring a large item, hovering over the filename displays a tooltip of how much of the file has been transferred. With Dreamweaver CS5.5, it took more than 90 minutes to  upload a WordPress site on my internet connection. Now, it’s more than ten times faster.

The FTP error messages are also more meaningful. No one is likely to buy Dreamweaver CS6 for its FTP client alone, but this is a major improvement to the program.

PhoneGap Build Integration

The way that Dreamweaver CS6 supports building native apps for iOS, Android, and other mobile operating systems using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and the PhoneGap framework has changed completely. It no longer installs the Android software development kit (SDK) and emulator. Nor can the Mac version hook directly into Xcode and the iOS simulator. Instead, there’s a new panel that uploads your files to PhoneGap Build, an online service that automatically packages applications for iOS, Android, webOS, Symbian, and BlackBerry. Using PhoneGap Build is much easier than working with a simulator, because the Dreamweaver panel displays a QR code that lets you load the app directly onto your testing device. However, you need to build the configuration file manually in XML, and there’s no longer any code hinting in Dreamweaver for PhoneGap plugins. So, although the integration of PhoneGap Build is a definite improvement, it feels as though the engineering team didn’t have time to polish some important details.

You can now build an app for iOS on either Mac or Windows, but in order to compile it, you need to create a valid signing key and upload it to PhoneGap Build. The signing key must be created on a Mac. You also need to register with Apple as an iOS developer and pay an annual fee.

Conclusion

I like the new features in Dreamweaver CS6, but I have to admit that they don’t have me jumping up and down with excitement. Maybe that’s because I felt CS5 and CS5.5 were such strong releases, and I was hoping for a similar performance this time. The Fluid Grid Layout and PhoneGap Build features had the potential to be outstanding, but fell slightly short of the mark. As a result, I’d give Dreamweaver CS6 only 7 or 8 out of 10. It’s good, but it could have been so much better.

In fairness to the Adobe engineering team, I understand that a huge amount of work was devoted to solving the long-standing problems with FTP and to converting the Mac version of Dreamweaver to run on Cocoa, the native application programming interface (API) for Mac OS X. The conversion to Cocoa should result in a more stable experience on a Mac, combined with the knowledge that Dreamweaver CS6 won’t suddenly stop working when Carbon is deprecated in Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion). However, the conversion work means that less time was available to develop or polish other features.

I’ve long felt that the idea of releasing more than a dozen complex programs according to a rigid timetable was impracticable. Photoshop, Illustrator, and Fireworks effectively sat out of the last upgrade cycle, which gave them 24 months to prepare for CS6. Dreamweaver hasn’t had that luxury. As a result, the Fluid Grid Layout and PhoneGap Build integration have some rough edges that could probably have been eliminated with more time. The message that I keep hearing from my contacts in Adobe is that moving to the Creative Cloud subscription model means that new features and improvements to individual programs can be released as soon as they’re ready. The problem is that to benefit from the updates, you need to switch to the subscription model. Anyone buying a perpetual licence will have to wait for the next full version to get the new features.

Getting new features as soon as they’re ready makes a lot of sense in the light of the speed at which the web is changing. What’s far from clear is how successful Adobe will be in persuading Creative Suite users to switch to the subscription model. It’s a big gamble for Adobe.

I haven’t had time to test the new extension in Dreamweaver CS5.5, but I have used PhoneGap Build on many occasions. It’s simple to use and seems to be very reliable.

You can grab hold of the PhoneGap Build extension for Dreamweaver CS5.5 and read how to use it on the Adobe website. To use the extension, you need to create an account on the  PhoneGap Build site. A basic account is free, but if you’re a serious developer, you’ll need to choose one of the paid-for accounts.

Note that the extension works only with Dreamweaver CS5.5. It won’t work with earlier versions of Dreamweaver.

[Update: 4 April 2012] Adobe has withdrawn the extension for “technical reasons”. From what I understand, there should be no problem using the extension if you have already installed it. As the Adobe blog says, “The functionality of the extension, which integrates PhoneGap Build with Dreamweaver, will be available in the upcoming version of Dreamweaver CS6.” Adobe has started releasing sneak previews of various CS6 features, as well as announcing that anyone buying CS5.5 now will qualify for a free upgrade. So, it can be safely assumed that CS6 is getting very close.

As well as showing how to install a PHP development environment on both Mac and Windows, I explain all the basic structures in PHP. The course then brings everything together in a practical project, showing how to process an online form and send the data by email. To make the form both secure and user-friendly, I show how to validate user input and display error messages when the wrong type of date is input.

The videos follow the same philosophy that underpins my books—I teach you not only how to do something, but also why it’s done in a particular way.

The full cost of the course is $39.99, but you can get a 20% discount by using the code PHPD20 at the checkout. Alternatively, you can access the course as part of a video2brain subscription, which gives you access to more than 150 courses for as little as $14.99 a month.

About a week before my planned talk, I was shocked to receive an email reminder from the Meetup website advertising the meeting as being about Balsamiq, jQTouch, QUnit, advertising, and the App Store. I immediately contacted Reynold and told him this bore no relationship to what I was planning to talk about. He said it didn’t matter. As an established author and Adobe Community Professional, I felt it did matter. People who had signed up for the meeting would be expecting me to talk about those subjects, something which I was not prepared to do—for the simple reason that most of them are out of my sphere of expertise. So, I decided to cancel. Reynold then bombarded me with a series of direct messages on Twitter. One did include an offer to change the description on the website, but I found his attitude aggressive, so decided to leave a 24-hour cooling off period.

The following day, I sent a lengthy email explaining why I had been offended, but saying I was still willing to give the previously arranged talk as long as a revised title and description were published. I know that Reynold received the email, because his account sent an automatic receipt. However, the only other response was an email from Meetup informing me that I had been removed from the group.

The way things have turned out is a pity. As I told Reynold and his predecessor, Nigel Muris, in November, I don’t have time to organize a Dreamweaver user group myself. But I am willing to share my knowledge either through formal presentations or troubleshooting sessions. I can also make arrangements with my publishers for free or discounted copies of my books.

Reynold has changed the name from The London Dreamweaver Meetup Group to The Adobe & Web Open Source London Meetup Group. However, the website still uses the Dreamweaver URL, and the group’s description refers frequently to Dreamweaver. At one point, it even uses the name, London Dreamweaver (Zero coding) Meetup Group. Anyone hoping to use the most recent version of Dreamweaver without a strong understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (or at least jQuery) is likely to be seriously disappointed.

In spite of using Adobe in the revised name, it’s not an official Adobe user group. I know that Reynold has applied for official recognition, but Adobe’s position is that the organizer must first show that it’s a viable user group. It hasn’t got off to an auspicious start.

• Using variables
• Working with strings (text), numbers, and arrays
• Making decisions with conditions and comparisons
• Using built-in functions and creating your own custom functions
• Including external files
• Deciphering PHP’s often cryptic error messages

Finally, all that knowledge is put to practical use by building a script to gather user input from an online form and send it by email. The content of the course covers similar ground to the first five chapters of my book PHP Solutions, 2nd Edition, and is aimed at people who prefer learning by watching and doing rather than from the pages of a book.

The course costs $39.99 on its own, but is free to video2brain subscribers. Subscription plans start at $14.99 a month ($149 a year), but until the end of March 2012, you can get a discount by following this link. If you’d like to try before you buy, there are four free videos from the course:

• Setting Up a PHP Site in Dreamweaver
• PHP, the big picture
• Using Loops for Repetitive Actions
• How PHP Sends Email

Although one of the videos shows how to set up a PHP site in Dreamweaver, you do not need Dreamweaver to follow the course. It’s completely software-neutral and contains advice on choosing a suitable script editor, with suggestions for both free and paid-for programs.

If you buy any video training (in English) from video2brain before the end of December, you’ll get an activation code that allows you to share the same course(s) with a friend. What makes the offer so interesting is that it also applies to the new subscription service, which gives you access to more than 130 courses and 500+ hours of videos on web development and digital design.

As a video2brain author, I can offer you a discount on the subscription price. So, if you sign up for an annual standard subscription for $129 before 31 December, you’ll get an activation code (which needs to be used by 15 January 2012) for a friend. In effect, two of you can get access to the whole video library for a year for $64.50 each. With at least four new courses being added every month, it’s an incredible bargain. Splash out a bit more on a gold subscription to get access to the project files, or go the whole hog with a platinum subscription to use the videos offline.

Never heard of video2brain? It’s an Austrian company that has been providing video training in German, French, and Spanish for the past decade. It started creating courses in English in 2009, and now has more than 500 hours of English-language instruction on Photoshop, InDesign, Dreamweaver, and many other aspects of digital media. The videos have been created by some of the top names in their fields, including Rufus Deuchler, Tom Green, Angie Taylor, Todd Kopriva—not to mention me. The company has also created a large number of videos for Peachpit, one of the best known names in computer technology publishing. So, it’s no fly-by-night company.

As a video2brain author, I’m able to offer a substantial discount on the already competitive prices for the new subscription service. There are three levels of subscription:

• Standard—$129 a year or $12.99 a month (normally $149/$14.99). This gives you unlimited access to all English courses streamed online.
• Gold—$179 a year or $17.99 a month (normally $199/$19.99). In addition to the courses, you also get access to all project files and PDF books.
• Platinum—$279 a year (normally $299). In addition to the the project files and PDF books, you can download the courses to view them offline.

Students and teachers can purchase the academic version of the standard subscription for $99 a year.

If you subscribe during the introductory period, video2brain says it will lock the subscription price for three years. And as the collection of courses grows, you’ll get immediate access to all new titles. It’s planned to add at least four new courses each month. So, if you’re looking to brush up your digital skills and keep abreast of the latest developments, you can do so for as little as 35 cents a day. Many of the courses have sample videos that you can view free of charge, so you can judge the quality for yourself before committing your hard-earned cash.

I have to admit that I’m far from being an expert in JavaScript. I’ve used it for about eight years, but it’s never come as easy to me as PHP. So, earlier this month, I headed down to Brighton for the third Full Frontal JavaScript Conference organized by JavaScript whiz kid, Remy Sharp. I had attended Remy’s Node.js workshop in London in May, and realized he was not only knowledgeable, but also well organized. That gave me high hopes for the conference, although I was a little concerned about immersing myself for a full day in a series of talks about different aspects of JavaScript. Unlike a dedicated workshop, you can’t raise your hand and get the speaker to go over a point you didn’t quite understand. Well, you could, if you wanted to make a fool of yourself in front of 300 people, most of whom were likely to be pretty hot on JavaScript.

I needn’t have worried. Remy had invited an excellent mix of speakers, and each talk was limited to 40 minutes. As a result, even the technical presentations by Jeremy Ashkenas (about CoffeeScript) and Marijn Haverbeke (about code editing in the browser with Code Mirror) served more to inspire than to fill me with dread. In fact, that’s the main thing I took away from the conference—inspiration at the incredible ways you can use JavaScript. Glenn Jones demonstrated some really cool uses of the new drag and drop API in HTML5. Nicholas Zakas’s talk was more theoretical, emphasizing the value of building applications in loose coupled modules—something that applies to most programming languages.

Two of the most inspiring talks came from Brendan Dawes and Marcin Wichary. Brendan presented a witty tour-de-force that somehow got from his obsession with pencils to a fascinating series of demonstrations of visual navigation systems that encourage exploration. With a background in Flash development, Brendan’s showing that—with skill and imagination—you can do visually amazing things with JavaScript. Equally amazing things are done by Marcin Wichary, who unveiled some of the secrets of Google doodles. What really impressed me was the length he goes to in order to ensure that even users of older browsers get a similar, if not equal experience.

JavaScript is becoming easier thanks to libraries such as jQuery and Microsoft’s decision to follow the World Wide Web Consortium’s Document Object Model (W3C DOM) since Internet Explorer 8. The HTML5-related APIs are also adding lots of new functionality to browsers, but there’s a danger of slipping back to the days of animated GIFs if designers/developers add new bells and whistles to their sites “just because they can”. So, Phil Hawksworth’s witty presentation was timely, warning against shizzle for the sake of shizzle.

All in all, a good day out. Any regrets? Yes, Brighton is only an hour’s train ride from London, so I decided to make it a day trip. But I had to get up so early to make it to the venue in time that I was dog tired and began nodding off in the afternoon. I was also too tired to go to the after-conference party—and missed all the free beer! Next time, I’ll book myself into a local hotel.