Need advise from Web Professionals (Contribute, Dreamweaver, Linux)
 

My church had a person create a website using Contribute and Dreamweaver and is no longer able to maintain it. We can't afford to purchase Dreamweaver for everyone that will be updating the site.

This site is almost completely done in flash. Can individuals just update sections using only contribute? My impression is that it is a WYSIWYG type editor but will know more if I can ever download a trial version off of Adobe's incredibly lousy website. I have developed a livid hatred of Adobe just from the frustration of trying to download this crap and I haven't even seen the application yet. The site hangs at the download area.

I use Linux exclusively. Is there another application I can use as a native Linux alternative to Contribute?


Lastly, in the event I'm fortunate enough to have a knowledgeable person respond to this post, can we adjust our website to accomodate both traditional HTML content (that is easily updated) as well as some Flashy Dreamweaver stuff? I keep asking this person if it can be mixed and matched and he just responds that "it can do anything" and gets a glazed look when I ask how to just create a sub-page I can update with html.

contribute wine installation crashes X
 

I tried installing the windows version of Contribute using Wine and it crashes X11.

I'm on Ubuntu 7.04. Any tips greatly appreciated.

My church had a person create a website using Contribute and Dreamweaver and is no longer able to maintain it. We can't afford to purchase Dreamweaver for everyone that will be updating the site.

This site is almost completely done in flash. Can individuals just update sections using only contribute? My impression is that it is a WYSIWYG type editor but will know more if I can ever download a trial version off of Adobe's incredibly lousy website. I have developed a livid hatred of Adobe just from the frustration of trying to download this crap and I haven't even seen the application yet. The site hangs at the download area.

I use Linux exclusively. Is there another application I can use as a native Linux alternative to Contribute?


It is best practice to develop for both if you need flash. Doing it in linux is possible using NVU wich is an alternitive to adobe. Not the greatest but it will do in a pinch. It does support css and php if you ned those options. From a web point of view I would concider a redesign, trying to recreate what is in flash into straight html can be a headach. I beleive it to be smarter to design for simplicity then add all the bells and whistles once you know the site works. In some cases css will do the job. To demonstrate what I mean check out cssxengarden.org. I hope this works.

Quote without comment:

"KOMPOZER - NVU 1.0, released in June 2005, is the last official release that you will find at most download sites, however, it isn't the newest or best version of the Nvu software. An unofficial bugfix/update called "KompoZer" is available here. KompoZer is not a cure-all for all the bugs in NVU 1.0, but it does fix some of the major annoyances. If you use NVU 1.0 and it works for you, stick with it. But if you run into problems, give KompoZer a try and see if it helps." End quote.

I have used both versions, KompoZer is the one you want to download. It's also buggy and not well supported but it did cure many of the nVu issues. There are many features I like with these versions but I also keep Dreamweaver, Office Publisher, and Web Easy Pro available.

I've heard that Linux webguys use Bluefish, Quanta iirc. Take a look & good luck.

rant
Personally I hate flash on the web and usually have FF set to disable it unless specifically allowed (FF Flashblock extension).
/rant
YMMV :)

just revisiting old topics to add some new stuff
 

I was just revisiting older posts that I posted on and wanted to update some stuff. Now that it is about two years later and new methods of developing are out lets explore one.

AJAX would probably work in this situation along with some clever java script. If the animations are still needed then keep with minimal flash just for those elements. This will maintain bandwidth to a lower limit. Also I still stand by my initial post of doing two designs one for flash (if it is still desired) and one for non-flash. The only reason for this is that some people hate to watch flash intros and they just skip that stuff, also more and more people are using flash blockers (mostly firefox users). At the same tome you may need to watch how much java script is used; more and more users are blocking java script also. So balance is the key and always provide alternitives in case these issues arise.