Macromedia has just released Studio 8, including a new version of Dreamweaver. Let's see what's new in this 8 version (a more complete version is available in Jen Taylor's DW8 review):

Top 10 Reasons to Upgrade to Dreamweaver 8

1. Drag and drop integration of XML data feeds.
   Dreamweaver 8 does for XML and XSLT what Dreamweaver 1 did for HTML. Simply point any page to an XML file or a URL of an XML feed, and Dreamweaver will introspect it to enable dragging and dropping the appropriate fields onto the page. From there, pop into code view to work with improved code hinting support for XML and XSLT. Take advantage of the new XML and XSLT reference content.

1. I happen to know this feature well, as I'm presenting a session on it at MAX 2005 - http://www.macromedia.com/macromedia/events/max/sessions/sa101h.html

2. I've also written an article on this feature, it will appear shortly in the MAX 2005 website - stay tuned at http://www.macromedia.com/macromedia/events/max/

2. Take CSS-based design to the next level.
   The new, unified CSS panel makes complex CSS simple. Learn CSS by reviewing the consolidated view and visual representation of the cascade as it applies to content for quick access and power. Know exactly where to make a change, select and go-no more hunting through text files. For working with CSS for content position, the new CSS layout visualization provides design-time visual aids to quickly and easily review page structure. The styles rendering toolbar previews how pages work with different CSS media types.

3. Get greater control over design
   Zoom in on designs to de-bug complex layouts and review images. Use guides to accurately position content on pages to improve the accuracy between comps and finished product.

4. Stay focused by collapsing code.
   Focus only on the pieces of code in use and put the others aside. Selectively collapse and expand sections of code by selection or by tag with code collapse.

1. This feature is super cool - I hope screenshots will be available soon.

5. Work while files upload.
   Continue working with local files while Dreamweaver uploads files and synchronizes sites with the new background file transfer.
1. This is also very useful, especially for people working on FTP connections

6. Spend less time re-formatting text.
   Stop wrestling content from email and Microsoft Word into formats. With new pasting options in Dreamweaver, retain all of the source formatting created in Microsoft Word, or just take the text and apply the CSS already created.

1. Another significant improvement, that made all the people in the beta process extremely happy.

7. Work with the latest technologies, including PHP 5 and ColdFusion MX 7.
   With Dreamweaver, keep current with updated server behaviors and code hinting for PHP 5 and ColdFusion MX 7.

1. Remember this? InterAKT Extensions for ColdFusion MX 7 support.

2. I'm also glad Dreamweaver don't include a lot of other improvements in this "dynamic web development" area, as this makes MX Kollection a solid complement to Dreamweaver - for the years to come.

8. Boost rendering.
   Get a clearer picture of layouts and design in Dreamweaver. The design view in Dreamweaver 8 has been dramatically improved to better support CSS rendering within the tool, allowing for more precise final designs.

1. I've seen this at work and I am impressed. Even imported CSSes are rendered correctly  - and NeXTensio skins are also rendered correctly.

And a suite of links that already appeared in the wild:

• http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/08/07/dwfirstlook/index.php
• http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;834660543;fp;2;fpid;1
• http://www.macromedia.com/cfusion/store/index.cfm?store=OLS-US

Now that's a gool upgrade deal - and I hope that you'll like it.

As for MX Kollection/Dreamweaver 8 compatibility - we've already got it - all our products are compatible with Dreamweaver 8, and we'll release a version 3.5 when the final version of Dreamweaver will ship.

Alexandru