CSS Sculptor

[Cyotix]

I am in the process of upgrading from CS2 to CS3. I noticed that DW-CS3 offers
many enhancements in the area of CSS. I am also aware of WebAssist CSS Sculptor
by Eric Meyer. What I am wondering is if I upgrade to DW-CS3 do I need CSS
Sculptor? Does Sculptor offer that much more than DW's new enhancements or can
a novice do just fine with DW?
Any response will be appreciated.
Thanks

[Al Sparber - PVII]

You would be well-served to spend some time increasing your fundamental CSS
skills rather than depending on CS3's built-in CSS enhancements or
third-party tools, which are best used as rapid deployment methods to do
tasks you could otherwise do yourself if you invested the time.


--
Al Sparber - PVII
[url]http://www.projectseven.com[/url]
Extending Dreamweaver - Nav Systems | Galleries | Widgets
Authors: "42nd Street: Mastering the Art of CSS Design"


"Cyotix" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:fke1td$81t$1@forums.macromedia.com...

>I am in the process of upgrading from CS2 to CS3. I noticed that DW-CS3
>offers
> many enhancements in the area of CSS. I am also aware of WebAssist CSS
> Sculptor
> by Eric Meyer. What I am wondering is if I upgrade to DW-CS3 do I need CSS
> Sculptor? Does Sculptor offer that much more than DW's new enhancements or
> can
> a novice do just fine with DW?
> Any response will be appreciated.
> Thanks
>
>

[bsoliman]

I'll second what Al said. You'd be better off spending your money on some good
CSS books that will help you understand how CSS works. Once you've done that
you'll be able to create your own library of basic templates and won't feel
confused & lost when you need to do something new or unusual.

My personal favorites are "Web Standards Solutions" and "Bulletproof Web
Design", both by Dan Cederholm, and "CSS Mastery" by Andy Budd. O'Reilly's CSS
books (Definitive Guide, Cookbook, Pocket Reference) are also good reference
tools.

B.

[Cyotix]

I appreciate the responses. I am already pretty good with CSS, not the best but
I'm okay with that because I don't earn my living from developing web sites.
I agree that an investment in time learning CSS would be beneficial.I am more
curious as to whether third-party products like CSS Sculptor or PV11 Layout
Magic are even necessary since DW-CS3 came out. I am looking for an actual
product comparison.
It just seems that the CSS enhancements made to DW-CS3 by Adobe takes away the
need for a third-party product.
Does what I'm saying make sense?

[Dave Farmer]

As I don't have cs3 I can't say but what I can say is that AFTER learning
quite a bit about css use and implementation and, hopefully, it sticking in
your mind a bit then tools like the ones you mention can speed up the early
development stage which is obviously an advantage.

Despite this you may often need to add to or change the css rules to suit
the goal you're after or get around a problem. That's when the personal
knowledge comes into it's own again.

So, learn first then use these tools to build on your learning - not
't'other way round.


"Cyotix" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:fkh0vl$jo6$1@forums.macromedia.com...

>I appreciate the responses. I am already pretty good with CSS, not the best
>but
> I'm okay with that because I don't earn my living from developing web
> sites.
> I agree that an investment in time learning CSS would be beneficial.I am
> more
> curious as to whether third-party products like CSS Sculptor or PV11
> Layout
> Magic are even necessary since DW-CS3 came out. I am looking for an actual
> product comparison.
> It just seems that the CSS enhancements made to DW-CS3 by Adobe takes away
> the
> need for a third-party product.
> Does what I'm saying make sense?
>
>
>

[bsoliman]

Cyotix, what you're asking makes sense, but it's really more of a personal
choice.

You've said that you're a "novice" who's "pretty good" and "not the best, but
okay" with CSS, and that you're not a professional web developer. I don't mean
to sound harsh, but that's an extremely vague and wholly subjective assessment.
What I mean by that is that since no one here can peer inside your head to see
exactly what you know, nor have we ever seen any of your CSS code, it would be
well nigh impossible for for anyone but you to gauge whether or not CSS
Magic or CSS Sculptor would be worth the additional expense.

I'm still using MM Studio 8 & Adobe CS2, but I'm familiar with the new CSS
layouts & coding enhancements in CS3. As a professional web developer they're
nice to have, but not something I really need. Ditto for CSS Magic & CSS
Sculptor.

What I can recommend is this:
[url]http://www.adobe.com/devnet/dreamweaver/articles/css_starter_pages.html[/url] so you
understand how they work. Visit PVII and read up on CSS Magic, then visit
WebAssist and read up on CSS Sculptor. Understand that their target markets are
different, and become familiar with what they can and?perhaps most
importantly?can't do for you. Google for reviews & comparisons of the
two. Once you've educated yourself on these things, you should be able to judge
whether or not they'd be worth the cost to you as a hobbyist.

FWIW, if I was going to buy a CSS layout extension for DW, I'd personally go
with PVII because I've purchased their products before and know them to be of
high quality (I make frequent use of several of their other products?not
because I can't accomplish the tasks myself, but because they save me time and
are rock-solid). Also, they provide working examples of their CSS layouts on
their web site, so you can peek at the underlying code and even run them
through a validator if you want. WebAssist only shows you pictures.

I know I haven't given you exactly what you requested, but hopefully you'll
find some of what I've said helpful.

B.

[Cyotix]

Thank you for the responses.
To bsoliman:
I not taking anything as "harsh" just trying to gather information. Look at it
from another perspective. Do you need to see the way I drive in order to
recommend an automobile? Do you need to see the way I eat before you can
suggest a restaurant? I make the final decision that is true but before I can
make that decision I want as much information as possible.

I am also using Studio 8 and CS2. I'm not sure if I need to upgrade to CS3 at
this time.I've read a lot of the information available on the products. I can
always test drive a 30-day version DW. All my questions would be answered if
the same were true for Sculptor and PV11-LM. But that is not an option so I'm
hoping for feedback from anyone who has used either program.

I appreciate your recommendation of PV11-LM, which is based on your use of
other PV11 products. It gives me something to go on. I don't know anyone who
has used any of the Web Assist programs so I'm completely in the dark there.

One last item: you stated "not because I can't accomplish the tasks myself,
but because they save me time and are rock-solid" That is exactly where I'm at.
I can accomplish the tasks myself but is there a stable product that can save
me time? I'm thinking it is either Sculptor, PV11-LM or just an upgrade to CS3.

Happy Holidays and thanks again for the input.

[cgarber]

Hey Cyotix, I appreciated your question as I have that same question. I have to
say that the responses you got are for the most part extremely annoying. It
seems to me that all you were asking was if anyone had any thoughts on whether
or not sculptor added much to what Dreamweaver CS3 already has built in
CSS-wise and you get all these folks going off on a major tangeant about the
need to learn CSS! So annoying. Does anyone know whether or not the sculptor
adds anything that DW CS3 does not have?

[JoeLowery]

I'd be happy to address the original question. CSS Sculptor, essentially, picks
up where the CS3 layouts leave off. Sculptor allows you many more options than
the built-in layouts - which are very well crafted, by the way. The core
functionality of the layouts can be replicated in the very first step of
Sculptor: choosing a design. From there, you can modify your layout in Sculptor
in a great many ways. You can alter the width of the page, change it from fixed
pixels to variable percentages, center it or justify it left or right. You can
add as many columns left or right of the main content area and include or
remove the header and footer. Sculptor then creates your basic page structure
and related CSS rules, which you can see in the layout tree control.

From this point, you can modify the box properties, including margin and
padding, for everything from the body to any of the individual divs (such as
header, footer, side column(s), and main content area). The same degree of
control is available for type (p, h1-h6 and all the link states including
focus) and background images and color. So you can add a background image to
the header, set it to not repeat and center it in one step. You can verify your
progress with the built-in preview or click it to review full size in the
browser at any time.

Sculptor automatically creates CSS print styles to go with your screen styles.
You can quickly set your page to black and white with a divs at an automatic
width or modify each section separately. You can also hide any section - like a
footer with links - with a click.

On the final tab of Sculptor, you can choose your output options and save your
style sheets (screen and print) within the document or as an external file. You
can also toggle Eric Meyer's comments on or off and set the degree of
placeholder text, even eliminating it if you choose. Finally, you can save all
of your work as a preset which you can easily re-open and further modify or
export and share with a team member, friend or just import it onto another
system.

If you'd like to learn more about Eric Meyer's CSS Sculptor, take the feature
tour or review one of the Solution Recipes - [url]http://www.webassist.com/go/css/[/url]

Best - Joe
Joseph Lowery
VP of Marketing, WebAssist
Author, Dreamweaver CS3 Bible

[domainsatretail]

I also agree with increasing your fundamental CSS skills. It will help you in
the long run with CSS development. I do everything by hand with CSS, as I find
more power in this way, but from working with Clients who were updating their
sites themselves, they found the Dreamweaver method of selecting classes and
working with CSS to be pretty intuitive. So I think Dreamweavers own CSS
function is pretty good.

[issmt2]

Yes, this will work.

Sanjay Das

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[Frankferd]

CSS skills rather than depending on CS3's built-in [url]http://www.abcestudio.com.aror[/url] third-party tools, which are best used as rapid deployment methods to do tasks.

[razitun]

[q]Originally posted by: Cyotix
I am in the process of upgrading from CS2 to CS3. I noticed that
DWhttp://www.addhotblogs.comCS3 offers many enhancements in the area of
CSShttp://www.adultbloginn.com I am also aware of WebAssist CSS Sculptor by
Eric Meyerhttp://www.allnicheblogs.com What I am wondering is if I upgrade to
DWhttp://www.hotbloglisting.comCS3 do I need CSS Sculptor
[url]http://www.hotlinksblog.com[/url] Does Sculptor offer that much more than DW's new
enhancements or can a novice do just fine with DW?
Any response will be appreciated.
Thanks
[/q]

It will work fine, but as we know that new version always has some new
functions/options so might be it could take sometime to understand this...

[razitun]

[q]Originally posted by: JoeLowery
I'd be happy to address the original question. CSS Sculptor, essentially,
picks up where the CS3 layouts leave offhttp://www.addbloglisting.com Sculptor
allows you many more options than the built-in layouts - which are very well
crafted, by the wayhttp://www.hitxxxblogs.com The core functionality of the
layouts can be replicated in the very first step of Sculptor: choosing a
designhttp://www.hotblogsinside.com From there, you can modify your layout in
Sculptor in a great many ways
[url]http://www.submitnudeblogs.com[/url] You can alter the width of the page, change it
from fixed pixels to variable percentages, center it or justify it left or
right. You can add as many columns left or right of the main content area and
include or remove the header and footer. Sculptor then creates your basic page
structure and related CSS rules, which you can see in the layout tree control.

From this point, you can modify the box properties, including margin and
padding, for everything from the body to any of the individual divs (such as
header, footer, side column(s), and main content area). The same degree of
control is available for type (p, h1-h6 and all the link states including
focus) and background images and color. So you can add a background image to
the header, set it to not repeat and center it in one step. You can verify your
progress with the built-in preview or click it to review full size in the
browser at any time.

Sculptor automatically creates CSS print styles to go with your screen styles.
You can quickly set your page to black and white with a divs at an automatic
width or modify each section separatelyhttp://www.xxxblogfield.com You can also
hide any section - like a footer with links - with a click.

On the final tab of Sculptor, you can choose your output options and save your
style sheets (screen and print) within the document or as an external file. You
can also toggle Eric Meyer's comments on or off and set the degree of
placeholder text, even eliminating it if you choose. Finally, you can save all
of your work as a preset which you can easily re-open and further modify or
export and share with a team member, friend or just import it onto another
system.

If you'd like to learn more about Eric Meyer's CSS Sculptor, take the feature
tour or review one of the Solution Recipes - [url]http://www.webassist.com/go/css/[/url]

Best - Joe
Joseph Lowery
VP of Marketing, WebAssist
Author, Dreamweaver CS3 Bible
[/q]

Nice work!!

Special thanks for this...

[sejals]

I am looking at picking up an older G4 tower that has a legitimate copy of CS2
installed on it. The seller (its on an online classifieds place) said that it
is not a ripped copy of CS2 and that he will include the serials for the
software but that he will not include the original CDs. I was wondering, if I
have the original serial numbers for CS2, can I buy CS3 and upgrade the CS2 to
CS3 and then, if I so desired, uninstall it from the G4 and install it on my
MacBook as CS3. Do I need the original CS2 CDs to install it on another
computer before I can upgrade it to CS3?
[url]http://convonix.blogspot.com[/url]
[url]http://www.seoservicesinc.com[/url] | [url]http://www.cssbunch.com[/url]

[gaoerty]

"Sculptor allows you many more options than the built-in layouts - which are
very well crafted, by the way. The core functionality of the layouts can be
replicated in the very first step of Sculptor: choosing a design. From there,
you can modify your layout in Sculptor in a great many ways. You can alter the
width of the page, change it from fixed pixels to variable percentages, center
it or justify it left or right " It sounds great!? What do you think?

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[anton1234]

As above, You would be well-served to spend some time increasing your
fundamental CSS skills rather than depending on CS3's built-in CSS
enhancements, John

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[Miss Danni]

@ razitun

Thanks for the link, some really great info on there, well work checking out.

[aspnetfaq]

[q]Originally posted by: Newsgroup User
You would be well-served to spend some time increasing your fundamental CSS
skills rather than depending on CS3's built-in CSS enhancements or
third-party tools, which are best used as rapid deployment methods to do
tasks you could otherwise do yourself if you invested the time.
[/q]

I agree completely. Its always best to learn everything from scratch. Use
notepad for starters :)
When you master the core of the technology (Does not need to be related only
to CSS) then you can use
high level tools easily because you know how everything works 'under the hood'

Relying on the tools to do the job without knowing the internals of technology
is not good on the long term...

Hope this helps...

[digiklan]

i don't like sculptor it looks more complex