Adobe Dreamweaver 2021

About this release

Dreamweaver's argument has always been that building a site involves more than writing files. It is a code editor with syntax highlighting, completion and error checking across markup, stylesheets, scripting and the common server side languages, but it is also a site manager, a transfer client and a preview environment, and having those in one window is why it survives in places where a plain text editor plus three other tools would technically do the same job.

The split view is the part people install it for. Code on one side, rendered page on the other, updating as you type, with a click in either half selecting the matching part in the other. For anyone learning, that connection between the markup and what it produces is worth more than any feature list. For anyone working, it removes the save and refresh cycle from small adjustments.

Site management ties the files together. Define a site, and the application understands the whole structure: links are updated when a file is moved or renamed, missing references are reported before publishing rather than after, templates propagate a change across every page built on them, and library items keep repeated fragments consistent. On a site of a few dozen pages this is the difference between maintenance being tedious and being risky.

Publishing is built in. The transfer client handles plain and secure connections, synchronises by comparing timestamps so only changed files go up, and can check files in and out when more than one person works on the same site. Preview across device widths, starter layouts that are responsive out of the box and framework aware completion cover the modern side of the job.

What it does

Split code and live view

The rendered page updates as you type, with selection linked in both directions.

Multi language editing

Highlighting, completion and error checking for markup, stylesheets, scripting and server side languages.

Site wide link management

Move or rename a file and every reference to it updates, with broken links reported before publishing.

Templates and library items

One change propagates across every page built on a template or containing a shared fragment.

Built in publishing

Plain and secure transfer with timestamp synchronisation so only changed files are sent.

Responsive preview

Check a layout across device widths without leaving the application.

Changed in this version

• Faster live view refresh on pages with heavy stylesheets.
• Updated completion data for current markup and stylesheet features.
• Improved secure transfer handling with modern server configurations.
• Starter layouts refreshed and simplified.
• Fixed a synchronisation error on sites with very deep folder trees.

System requirements

Install order

1. Unpack the archive to a short path.
2. Close any other application from the same family before installing.
3. Run the installer and let it finish on its own.
4. Define your site and its transfer settings before opening individual files.

Worth knowing before you start

File details