Adobe GoLive 4.0 was a minor update released soon after the company purchased the program from CyberStudio in early 1999. Since then, Adobe has reworked version 5.0 to make it a top contender among professional-level Web design programs. By incorporating the ability to write and maintain clean HTML code, GoLive may be able to bridge the chasm between designers and programmers even better than Dreamweaver has been able to do. While Dreamweaver 3 is still the better choice for programmers, many designers will prefer GoLive 5.0 -- and in many companies, it's the designers who call the shots.
Features
Adobe has done a first-rate job of keeping GoLive relatively easy to use, despite adding and strengthening many features intended to compete head-to-head with Macromedia Dreamweaver and NetObjects Fusion. In a nod to Dreamweaver's Roundtrip HTML (the ability to create HTML pages without adding confusing or proprietary code), GoLive no longer automatically reformats or parses its source code -- a feature that Adobe refers as "360Code". Programmers can work in ASP, ColdFusion, FileMaker, HTML, JavaScript, or XML, send out the code for design in GoLive, then receive finished pages with the code in its original state. When Macromedia introduced Dreamweaver, it argued that professionals wouldn't settle for anything less: Now GoLive challenges Dreamweaver on Macromedia's own turf.
Adobe has also borrowed from NetObjects Fusion with an eye to improving its ease-of-use. GoLive 5.0's site view goes one better than Fusion's site view by adding page-element annotations. As with Fusion, you can view the parent-and-child relationships of your Web pages in the form of icons with connecting lines, and alter those relationships by dragging and dropping the page icons. This is a great way to sketch out a complicated Web site, or reorganize the site's structure when changes need to be made after the project has begun. Rearrange the icons, and GoLive automatically repositions the pages and updates any intra-page links.
Not surprisingly, Adobe has also beefed up GoLive's integration with the company's other graphics-based products. You can now drag-and-drop native Photoshop, Illustrator, and LiveMotion files into GoLive, where they can be edited from within the Web design program. GoLive maintains a link to the original file and calls the source application whenever you need to make a change.
This latest version of GoLive lets you import Photoshop layers and convert them to user-specified Web formats, such as a background image, a DHTML timeline, or JavaScript actions. You can also import Photoshop layers to individual QuickTime sprites. (Note that this doesn't work with Photoshop 6.0 Shape layers.) As with version 4.0, GoLive 5.0 includes a robust QuickTime editor. You can include both Flash and QuickTime objects, and export your video creations for QuickTime streaming over the Internet.
Photoshop's Save for Web image-optimisation engine is now built into GoLive, so you can optimise an image to match a specified file size. View as many as four optimised settings at a time, and see first hand the trade-offs between image size and image quality. You can also optimise JPEG, GIF, PNG-8, and PNG-24 images. Keep in mind that the program does not support importing or linking to CYMK images (either in PSD or TIF format) and may crash if you attempt to import them. We had occasional problems with GoLive crashing one of our test systems, even when only one other program was running. On another test system, it ran without a hitch.
Other improvements include support for Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), an open standard for Flash-like graphics and animations; enhanced table handling (easily import tab-delimited data); dynamic links for Active Server Pages (connect to ODBC-compliant databases without having to write code or perform a server-side installation); and improved collaborative workflow features (lock down specific files currently in use).
Version 4.0's already strong site-report generator shows significant improvement as well. You can create reports that list all the pages which link to a PDF file, or list all the pages that take longer than 10 seconds to download. If you have an especially large site, you'll appreciate the ability to search your Web pages using wildcards. Search for text and HTML code elements, individual files, or Web objects (such as colours or e-mail addresses). Use the errors query to pinpoint missing image attributes, HTML errors, and warning flags. You can also define the list of browsers that appear in the HTML errors and warnings.
Look for an ongoing battle between Adobe and Macromedia, as they fight for the hearts and minds of Web-savvy corporations. Adobe appears to be targeting graphics departments, while also reaching out to hardcore coders in a bid to promote the product's adoption throughout the corporation. Despite a few rough edges, GoLive is likely to attract a strong following among graphics-oriented Web designers.
Adobe GoLive 5.0
Company: Adobe
Ph: 02 9778 4100; Fax: 1300 550 405
Price: Full version, ERP AU$665; Upgrade from GoLive 4.0 AU$213.
Rating: 4 Star
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