You might not have noticed if you wandered by Adobe.com recently, but Adobe just shipped GoLive 9–the much-anticipated (for some of us) update for what some consider the best Web authoring tool around. True, Adobe dropped GoLive from the Creative Suite 3, but many GoLive users are hoping to stick with this great program.
If you prefer Dreamweaver, then please don’t bother sharing your flames here; just go ahead and keep using it. But if you’re a GoLive user or you’re a design professional who wants to build sites without having to constantly dip into HTML or CSS code, then you owe it to yourself to check out this new version. I’m excited about many of the new features, including the ability to lay out Web pages using a much more “page layout”/InDesign user interface. In fact the UI is so much like InDesign that it’s really easy to work with even if you’ve never used the program before.
The irony that GoLive 9 is far more like a Creative Suite 3 app than Dreamweaver CS3 is poignant to those of us who wish this program were in the Suite (alongside Dreamweaver).
GoLive 9 is available new for US$399 or as an upgrade for $169. I’m not sure of the non-US prices… perhaps someone can post those below.
This article was last modified on December 18, 2021
This article was first published on June 11, 2007
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Lucinda, is GoLive CS2 really running that slowly on the intel mac? Is that a known problem? I wonder if there’s some other issue going on there. Personally, if I were you, I’d try to stick it out with GL until DW gets their act in gear (perhaps CS4?). That said, I think it is likely inevitable that you will be using dreamweaver sooner or later.
I find myself at a crossroads here – CS2 on my intel mac is slowly driving me nuts (and I do mean slooooowly). Do I upgrade to GL 9 or jump to DW? I deeply dread having to learn a new program. Websites are a sideline for me and I don’t want to be forced to learn more than I need to. I want simplicity; I want all the sites I have created in GL (many using menumachine) to be easily updateable. I curse Adobe for painting me into this corner. While it is somewhat comforting to see I am not alone here, this discussion has only muddied the waters for me. Phooey.
The new user interface has been driving me bonkers (a former CyberStudio user back in the day who has stood by GoLive for years). I’m stuck now saying ‘do I relearn GoLive or take the Dreamweaver plunge.’
I originally started with CyberStudio, which I thought was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Then GoLive 3, then GL4, then GL5. I stopped there… the next iterations got so far afield from the objectives of GL: ease of use, stability, intuitiveness, control…
I’m not a professional. Like the majority of folks using these kinds of products, I build/maintain a couple of websites for clubs at school and ministries at church but am not some professional. GL5 was great. Drag and drop, reasonably (not perfectly) intuitive, easy to figure out, fairly stable.
I downloaded GL6 and it couldn’t even download any of my websites (to create it’s own .site) without crashing. Never did get it to work. Then with CS2, same thing. But that was a very complex interface. It got away from the basics and didn’t add value. It also constantly crashed as well.
Now I’m stuck with GL9 since I need to run it on an Intel Mac.
I admit I’m not totally familiar with GL9 yet, but man, it more clicks and mouse moves to do the same things as in GL5! Constantly have to click back into the TEXT mode as it keeps defaulting out to the “select” mode… One step backwards for sure. And no WYSIWYG that I can see… The preview mode creates PDF files! What’s that for? WYSIWYG?? And make some text changes like Bold or Italics and the headings move right… And most annoying, it can’t recognize old GL code which is really important: components. In GL5, you make a change in a component and instantly it updates all the site pages with the update. Where is this in GL9? And tiny, tiny little grey boxes to click for major functions… I could go on. I’ve only been using it a few days…what more will I find after using it for a while?
Very frustrating so far.
I’m not sure what Adobe is trying to say here. I know what I’m hearing,though… Adobe wants everyone to move to the high-end professional programs or use the kiddie-toy programs like Apple’s iWeb. Both are not real alternatives for the many people like me. Right now, my alternative is to keep my old OS9 running and use GL5!
I’ve been using GoLive from it’s first release and was very disappointed when we were forced to use DW. We picked up the CS3 Web Premium bundle. For a month I’ve been trying to put up a simple site and haven’t gotten that far. It’s like working in mud. I still can’t figure out how to do just a minor 3 stage rollover in DW. I just found out about the GoLive 9 upgrade through the Creative Suite Podcast. I immediately downloaded it, but my boss bought the CS3 Suite so I’m stuck with DW for our company site. He bought every single book out so far on DW, very little help.
A little off subject, but I want ImageReady back.
Adobe should have waited a year and intergrated the Macromedia Apps into the suites instead of last minute patching. Hopefully things will be better in CS4…CS5 maybe?
David, I think you’re quite right. Not many of us are interested in writing the code. However, if what Nini said about GL writing proprietary code is true, I think it would be a BIG mistake to do any significantly important projects in GL9.
So, the question is, is it worth my time and effort to learn GL9, given it’s uncertain future? Or, do we think that GL9 is here to stay.
Lynn, that’s great news! Thank you (and Adam) for checking with the source. We should mention it on the GL Talk list.
AM, users *can* upgrade to GoLive 9, even if the version they are using was obtained as part of a suite. However, they need to call customer service to get it done. Adam and I checked earlier today and this info was confirmed.
My comments were also about GL9 and IDCS3. Not the earlier ones. I am far from convinced that trying to make a web-layout app behave and look like a page-layout app is the way to go.
I am also far from convinced that writing proprietary code is the way to go. One of the main critics that GL always have got is that it writes proprietary code and therefore cannot be taken seriously. Now this happens again with one important difference: that code cannot be stripped at upload as far as I know (and it cannot even be changed in source as GL changes your code for you) which it could in previous versions if you did not want the GL-specific code to show to all the world.
I’ve always loved GL and its superior UI. A lot of what other Adobe apps have gotten of changed UI over the years comes from GoLive since Adobe bought it (at version 4). GL had stashed palettes at all 4 sides of the screen for a long time before Adobe got them (then for 2 screen sides when ID came along and we lost 2 sides in GoLive too for the sake of apps to be more alike).
As for the UI – which is in all the CS3 apps – it is deceptively nicelooking but not very practical and definitely not done for displays smaller than 20″. It simply takes up much too much screenestate. I am not happy with it as long as it does not work on multiple displays and as long as it cannot have more than one palette open at the time (which it cannot unless you revert to the old times and combine your palettes from top to bottom instead of actually using the new UI). And those panes, are real pains as I see it. Steals too much screen-estate.
I’m lost in GL9. I don’t find what I am looking for and some things are simply gone. So I might as well learn DW which will probably be the only future Adobe web-layout app anyway (just read the signs on the walls = ads for DW on the GL pages at Adobe.com).
Nini, my comments about GoLive and InDesign were specifically regarding CS3 and GL9… definitely not the earlier versions!
I had similar concerns that people who have used older versions of GL would be lost, but I’ve heard from some users that the changes are mostly cosmetic. Once you figure out where they put the old features, it’s not a big deal.
That said, I didn’t like the old version of GL and I’m not interested in DW (until they make it suitable for non-developer/coders). But when I looked at GL9, I thought: “Finally! Something I could use.”
I’m sorry you don’t like the CS3 UI, but obviously that’s the direction of the future.
Well … As a long time user of both GoLive (since version 1) and InDesign (since version 1) I don’t agree with David that they are similar to work with. Not one bit actually. Also, as a long time GL user, the new UI in GL9 is confusing and it is hard to find what you are used to find in no time as it is so different to CS2 and earlier. I am actually very hesitant to say that GL9 is good… I am not sure it really is. But then I might no longer belong to its primary intended userbase. I actually don’t like the new UI one bit and I still long for stashable palettes at all four sides of the display (we lost the first 2 when ID got left and right and now lost all the other sides) as nothing has ever been more space-conserving than stashable palettes. And I don’t like how things have gotten hidden away to make it easier for the designer (read non-coder) to get something done. After having used GL since version one I am actually seriously considering to switch to DW… Would miss the excellent sitemanagement in GLCS2 though. And MenuMachine. And actions and components the way GL does it.
The way GL9 has not been included in the Suites (I think both apps should have been there) and not been promoted and only now released is outragoues though. A very good method of killing an application…
I have not yet tried GL9 but as a long-time GL user/site designer, I would hate to see GL become a sort of MS FrontPage gibberish code monster. (“As long as it works, who cares about the code …” Well, any self-respecting web designer does.)
Professional web site design requires as much attention to standards and practices as print design. Imagine a layout program that let you create a PDF to hand off to a printer but used all sorts of non-compliant settings in the background. And its fans said “this is the program to use if you just want to design, without worrying about arcane PDF settings.”
GoLive historically has had pristine code and a much more accessible, powerful and human-friendly interface for editing that code than DW. Preliminary reports from GL9 users on the GoLive Talk listerv are mixed; it’s super fast, but GL9 is automatically rewriting code with superfluous CSS calls when you (for example) resize an image. This is new. And not good, imo.
Also, very few people will be able to get GL9 for the upgrade price. You have to have a *standalone* serial number for GL — not one that came from your CS, CS1 or CS2 suite — to get it. So, *if* you purchased GL 6, and can find its serial number, then you can get the upgrade. Otherwise, it’s only the four people on the planet who purchased a new copy of GoLive in one of its Suite versions who can upgrade. Everyone else pays full price.
I plan on looking at the tryout and fiddling with it; but it would take a heckuva lot of Must Have Features in it for me to convert the 20+ sites we designed and maintain in GL CS2 to GL9 (or DW for that matter). Luckily GL CS2 runs like a top on my MacIntel.
I’m incredibly disappointed with how Adobe has handled the release of GL9. I’ve been using it for years and without David’s post I wouldn’t have known it was actually released or that it had such intriguing new features. The news about them suggesting GL users move to DW on the GL product page, combined with the almost-impossible upgrade price, tells me there’s a war going on over there between the development team and the marketing/strategy team, and the latter has won.
I’m 100% Dw guy but perhaps it would be nice if they offered two versions of the suite ? one Dw and one GL. Likely too expensive for Adobe but this way it’s not nice to those of you who got used to GL because we got it with earlier suites. (Outside that Dw is and has been for years by far superior to GL. It’s fair to say that GL has some interesting features but the interface is crap IMO.)
José, this is not about insulting anyone’s intelligence. Anyone can learn to write their own PostScript or PDF code, but do you want to? No! Instead, you want Illustrator and InDesign to write it for you.
I agree that the best thing would be if Adobe put all the great GL features into DW. But they only update the software once every 18-24 months. Until they incorporate those features, why not use a program that has them?
GoLive rocks. I encourage everyone (except DreamWeaver users*) to try it out.
*I add that only because DW users already have an excellent tool that probably does what they want. But GL may be a better tool for the rest of us.
To me, these news leave me very confused. What was Adobe thinking with the move to update GoLive? As Mordy Golding pointed out, when you go to the Adobe GoLive page, you can’t help but wonder why Adobe has so prominently highlighted the article about switching from GL to DreamWeaver.
Now, I can understand the issue of making it easier for InDesigners to venture into the web world. They even tried to make GL look and feel more like InDesign. But, honestly, I feel like someone’s insulting my intelligence. What? Am I not smart enough to learn Dreamweaver? How hard can it be, right?
Forgive my rant, I just think that if DW is a better web solution, why not concentrate on making it friendlier (although it already is), and encourage us “print” guys to do a little extra credit work and learn the program.
In all honesty, if we’ve been able to learn the craft of “print” media and all it’s complexities, we can surely learn how to build a website (and more). We’re all just looking for an excuse to learn something new anyway, right?
Note that GoLive 9 interacts with CS apps better than DWcs3 in a number of ways. The most obvious, however, is Smart Objects. I suppose there’s a reasonable chance that if enough people complain to Adobe in the next few months* that DWcs4 will have a number of GL’s great features, but that’s still probably 18 months away or so.
*CS4 development and planning is happening now.
Yes, I certainly wish Adobe would give users a choice between GL and DW in the Suite package… or, as I mentioned, they could just package both. However, Adobe clearly believes they need to focns on only one Web authoring tool.
In my mind, GoLive is the appropriate app for creative professionals who want to build pages and sites without thinking about code too much, and DreamWeaver is likely the better tool for designer/developers.
This distinction between “designers” and “developers” is an important one, but one which Adobe doesn’t seem to grok. There is no doubt that many Web developers are also creative professionals and even designers, but that doesn’t mean that all designers want to be (or should be) developers.
You would think GL9 could replace DW in the Web Standard package, so CS3 consumers could have access to it without buying it separately.
I am just about to embark on learning a web authoring package, our resident webmaster is all about Dreamweaver so it looks like thats the way I’ll have to go, but GL9 does look like the one I would choose myself being a heavy ID user. Ho hum…
Hi David … I totally agree with you and your thoughts on GL9. I can’t wait to try it and to see some of the new features(?) … was a bit underwhelmed at how Adobe are promoting(?) it on their site! But it was a nice surprise to find it available for trial and purchase as an electronic download only(!) last Friday night. The file sizes are (approx) 320mb for Mac and 180mb for PC. The costs in Australia are upgrades (from) AUD$269 and full purchase (from) AUD$649. Hope to hear your thoughts on this new version soon. Keep up the great work!
Regards,
Brendan
Hurrah! Now, we just have to find out how well integrated it is with the CS3 suite… now if only they would do a shock revelation that they’ve also decided to upgrade Freehand! (glances outside to check if any pigs are flying past)