Macromedia Contribute

We have a horrible feeling Macromedia has shot itself in the foot with the release of Contribute.

It could do serious damage to sales of its web-editing software Dreamweaver, as corporates realise they don't need a fully fledged site-management tool on every desktop.

Contribute takes the core Dreamweaver features, minus the extensions and raw code editing functions, and translates what's left into a word processor-like editing tool.

A toolstrip running across the top of the page does away with the Dreamweaver object and property panels, instead giving access to dropdown menus for font size, face and style.

It's only when you look at the code behind the output, which can't be edited, that you see the lengths Macromedia has gone to to cut down on confusion. While you might select 24 as a point size, for example, the code will be written '+6' for maximum compatibility.

Likewise, selecting a font name will code up a font family to work within the widest range of browsers.

An integrated spell checker and table editing tools, which automatically colour up rows with a single mouse click, reinforce the feeling that you are working inside a word processor. Being able to drag and drop Word files is a boon for those who want a speedy way to repurpose printed material for the web.

We had a couple of issues with the build of Contribute we were using, but these were minor. For example, you can't scroll through the side panel while a dialogue box has focus, and this can be a problem if you're a new user following the tutorial.

We also experienced some difficulty accessing locally stored sites. For some reason it was solved by logging on to the net, but there was no reason for this.

Also, when we changed font sizes it seemed to forget the face we had been using in the edit screen, although the underlying code showed it had retained the original settings.

Finally, we could find no way to save pages into sub-folders. While this is perhaps beyond the needs of most novice users it would nonetheless expand functionality.

Adding a link is about as far as this ever gets from the word processing analogy. A dropdown menu lets you specify precisely what the link is: email, new or existing page, and so on.

This ability to create links to pages that don't yet exist makes for a natural way of working for novice users, while site administrators will welcome the feature to restrict a user's ability to upload their own pages to a site before they have been electronically signed off.

Those companies already installing Dreamweaver on its developer PCs can be confident that, as both Contribute and its big brother use the same templates and versioning system, authorised users will retain control over what newbies can do.

Even if a Contribute user's changes should make it to the site before they were ready, each page can be rolled back to a prior state.

Macromedia made a big thing of the rewritten site administration functions of Dreamweaver MX, citing this as the one area causing new users most headaches.

In Contribute this is taken to a whole new level, with administrators able to send underlings encrypted site description keys from within either Dreamweaver or Contribute, which will then do the configuration hocus-pocus for them.

So, is Macromedia threatening the market dominance of Dreamweaver in releasing what many might see as a competitor? Well, no, probably not. If anything, it could reinforce the position.

Contribute is not Dreamweaver for the low-end home user as it doesn't actually create new sites. Instead it connects to existing sites and targets the web's 25 million content contributors (those who add pages to existing sites).

Its natural compatibility with Dreamweaver, though, should make the flagship product a more compelling platform for even small businesses who have yet to find a justification for Dreamweaver's extensive featureset.

DETAILS

Price: £69

Contact: Macromedia
www.macromedia.com/uk

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
300MHz or faster processor
Windows 98SE, 2000, NT, ME or XP
Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer 5 or above
64MB of Ram

See also:

Serif Web Page Maker e-Design Studio

A good choice for those who want a simple way to start designing web pages.  19 Jul 2002

Macromedia Dreamweaver MX

Power and ease of use combine to make this web design tool a market leader.  18 Jul 2002

Serif Internet Design Suite

A suite of programs that offers almost effortless website creation.  12 Jul 2002

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