Hello,

I downloaded the latest VWD 2008 and also have .net 2.0 and 3.5 sp1 framework running on my PC. My school's server supports .net 2.0 only, but I cannot seem to create .net 2.0 pages in VWD 2008, as it only supports the latest .net framework. So I had a few questions about this:

• Can I make .net 2.0 web pages with VWD 2008?
• Is the new VWD 2008 better than the latest Microsoft Expression (I need an IDE that supports HTML/CSS, ASP.NET 2.0+, PHP, AJAX, XHTML, XML, and Database Explorer)
• Or should I uninstall VWD 2008 and install Visual Studio 2008 Pro as it allows me to work with .net 2.0 pages?
• What is the current Industry Standard IDE for Web Development? (Visual Studio Pro, Dreamweaver, etc..)

Someone please reply soon.

Thanks!

I would say that, if you are a college student, there is absolutely no reason at all to work with VWD, when the full version of VS 2008 Professional (reg. price $999) is available to you through the Dreamspark program at absolutely no charge.

With VS 2008 Pro you can target .Net 2.0 for web development, as well as 3.5.

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On top of that, VWD 2008 supports multi targeting as well...

Imar

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Thank you for the quick response, and can anyone answer the following questions assuming I am not a student, and thus, cannot get Visual Studio Pro 2008 for free:

Can I make .net 2.0 web pages with VWD 2008?
Is the new VWD 2008 better than the latest Microsoft Expression (I need an IDE that supports HTML/CSS, ASP.NET 2.0+, PHP, AJAX, XHTML, XML, and Database Explorer)
What is the current Industry Standard IDE for Web Development? (Visual Studio Pro, Dreamweaver, etc..)

Thank you very much!

Good point, forgot to mention that, though there are still many other great reasons to upgrade to VS Pro, especially if it's free.

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1. Yes.
2. I use both. They work really well together. Expression is great for UI development. VS 2008 does incorporate a lot of the Expression Web functionality, though I still think Expression is a bit slicker for that. And then VS for the server-side coding.
3. On the MS stack, I would say VS / Expression Web. For web development on other platforms, DW is still right up there.

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1. Nice! But when I go to File -> New Website or Project, it does not allow me to change the .net framework to 2.0. How can I change it to .net 2.0?

And how is Expression Design 2, and does it blend or integrate nicely with VS 2008 or Expression Web 2; just like fireworks does with dreamweaver? Can this be the alternate to Fireworks or Photoshop?

Photoshop has a nice plugin called Site Grinder, which exports the entire PSD to html/css. It is W3C compliant and I herad it does a fabulous job. Does Expression Design have anything like this?

thanks!

I don't have VWD, so maybe Imar can help with this one. In VS, there is a drop down list in the upper right corner of the New Web Site dialog box that lets you target the framework you want. You can change the target frameworkof an existing web site from the web site's Build options.

As far as Expression Design 2 is concerned, I have to admit that while I do own the entire Expression Suite, I rarely use ED, because I just don't mock up sites like that any more.

I have used the Fireworks/DW stack a lot in the past and I have to admit it is pretty slick if you are into the slicing/dicing thing. However, I have since come to realize that building a UI by slicing a mockup is not a real efficient way to go in the long run.

Sorry, I wish I had a better answer for you.

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In VWD the option on the New Web Site dialog is missing. For VWD to target 2.0, you need to create a new web site as you normally would and then choose Framework 2.0 on the web site's Property Pages (right-click the site and choose Property Pages). You find the option in the Build category.

Cheers,

Imar

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Author of Beginning ASP.NET 4.5 : in C# and VB, Beginning ASP.NET Web Pages with WebMatrix
and Beginning ASP.NET 4 : in C# and VB.
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