Software review: Adobe Widget Browser for Dreamweaver CS5

Version: 4.6 (brief review)
1.0 (brief review)
Developer: Adobe Systems Incorporated    

Developer's contact form/e-mail: http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/contact.html

License type: Freeware      

Cost: 0,00 $

Category: Web Development -> Wizards & Components

Program tags:
widgets,dreamweaver cs5,webbuilder,webdesign,insert,html page

 

Description:
If you need an easy way to insert all kind of professional "widgets" like dhtml menu's, gallerys, google maps or other into your html page, the Adobe Widget Browser, together with Dreamweaver CS5, offers this possibility. You only need to have a (free) account with Adobe Exchange and browsing free or commercial widgets and inserting them into your webpage is very easy. After installation, you can go directly to the Widget Browser without opening Dreamweaver and start browsing. You can even store your favourite widgets into a "My Widgets" album to find the easily when working with Dreamweaver. At the moment the Widget Browser offers 35 free widgets and hundreds of commercial widgets. Easy to install, easy to find in Dreamweaver CS5 and easy to use. Just open any HTML page in Dreamweawer CS5, click on 'insert', choose 'widgets' and you can choose "My Widgets" or "Widget Browser". To show it's functionality: you can create an complete html.css/flash webpage from scratch in seconds by just using the widgets fro the widget browser!

 

Medium description:
Easy to use browser to help inserting widgets like dhtml menu's, (flash) gallerys, social marketing tools and other professional content into your webpage. Easy implementation into Dreamweaver CS5 and designed to use only with this program. Free software with 35 free widgets and possibilty to browse all widgets from the Adobe Exchange Program.

 

Short description:
Easy to use Dreamweaver CS5 tool for inserting professional widgets in webpages.

 

Developer's description:
The Adobe® Dreamweaver® Widget Browser is an Adobe AIR® application that lets you preview and configure widgets using a visual interface. The Widget Browser solves the problem of having to work with confusing or obscure CSS and JavaScript by providing designers with a tool for editing widget properties to suit their needs. With the Widget Browser, you can: * Preview and download all of the OpenAjax widgets available on the Adobe Exchange * Add widgets to Adobe Dreamweaver so that you can easily insert them in your web pages * Export and package widgets for use in any other HTML editing tool The Widget Browser also offers widget developers the ability to make their widgets available to a wider audience. The Widget Browser's developer tools let developers package their widgets into a format that they can then upload to the Adobe Exchange. Developers interested in creating a widget package can find more details in the Widget Browser Developer's Guide. The Widget Browser uses an OpenAjax Alliance XML format as its basis. The OpenAjax Alliance is a group of industry leaders who are helping to define a common way of communicating between frameworks. Download and Discuss * Download the Dreamweaver Widget BrowserDownload the Widget Browser now * Discuss the Widget BrowserDiscuss the Widget Browser in the Labs forums The OAA Widget Metadata spec describes how to create the XML file for a widget, as well as a widget's dependencies, markup, and options. Adobe has been a part of the OAA since its inception and has helped to define this specification.

New in version:
The release of the Adobe Widget Browser is designed for evaluation purposes only. The software contained within the installer is not final; but, many portions of the technology are fully implemented and ready for you to try and discuss.

Advantages:	Disadvantages:
Easy to use with professional results in seconds	Only for implementation into Adobe Dreamweaver CS5

Home URL:http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/widgetbrowser

Buy URL:http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/widgetbrowser.html

Download URL:http://download.macromedia.com/pub/labs/widgetbrowser/widgetbrowser_543.air

Download URL mirror:http://download.macromedia.com/pub/labs/widgetbrowser/widgetbrowser_543.air

File size (bytes): 1790078

Rate the program:   3/5
Screenshots:

1	[2011-02-16 07:57:59]   File format: jpg Widget browser startup view
2	[2011-02-16 07:58:00]   File format: jpg Implementation into Dreamweaver

 

3	[2011-02-16 07:58:01]   File format: jpg Example of widget in browser