Dale Farris, Reviews Coordinator
Golden Triangle PC Club
May 2006

Adobe GoLive CS 2 software delivers what you need to create professional Web sites, including smooth integration with Adobe software, a creative design environment that allows you to maximize your productivity, and powerful tools that support industry standards. GoLive CS2 software lets you unlock the power of cascading style sheets (CSS) with intuitive visual tools such as prebuilt CSS objects that you can drag and drop to build sophisticated sites. Jump-start your designs by easily converting Adobe InDesign layouts into Web pages. Or, design Web and mobile content in an advanced, standards-based coding environment.

This is the latest version of Adobe GoLive, and the CS 2 version is also available in the Adobe package of software applications, Creative Suite 2 Premium, as well as the Adobe Web Bundle.

Super New Features

Enhanced Live Rendering
Preview changes to Web and mobile content in a real-time, integrated engine built on the Opera browser that supports Small-Screen Rendering (SSR).

Simple Visual Tools to Build and Edit CSS-Based Pages
Build Web pages that conform to open standards using innovative new visual CSS workflows based on the CSS Editor and CSS prebuilt block objects.

Visual CSS Authoring for Mobile Devices
Easily author and validate standards-compliant CSS content for mobile devices using simple visual tools.

Visual SVG-t Inspection and Authoring for Mobile
View SVG-t content in split-view interfaces, enabling art tree, source, and XML outline views and access to an animation scrubbing timeline for rapid development.

Total Site Management
Track and manage everything in your site, from assets to links, uploading content using Secure FTP and WebDAV via SSH or SSL. Easily synchronize local and remote files.

Complete Development Environment for OMA, W3C, and 3GPP Standards
Develop for mobile using global industry standards, including CSS, XHTML, SVG Tiny, SMIL, MPEG-4, and more.

Collaborative Asset Management
Track your team-based projects using popular content versioning systems like Perforce, CVS, or Version Cue®, or use Local/Network File System Directory Versioning.

Quick Start Developer Mode
Open GoLive in a comfortable, code-only mode — great for developers who still want access to GoLive site management features.

Automated Favicon Creation
Reduce the time it takes to create favicons, using an easy drag-and-drop interface.

Enhanced InDesign Package for GoLive
Transfer assets from Adobe InDesign software to GoLive with drag-and-drop ease, open an InDesign package in GoLive and export to XHTML to jump-start your site, or flow tagged InDesign content into CSS templates.

Intuitive Visual Tools
Visual CSS layout Use a visual CSS layout window to create standards-compliant code that renders faithfully on mobile devices and Web browsers. Or, code by hand and verify syntax easily.

Enhanced InDesign Package for GoLive
Transfer assets from Adobe InDesign software to GoLive with drag-and-drop ease, open an InDesign package in GoLive and export to XHTML to jump-start your site, or flow tagged InDesign content into CSS templates.

CSS Prebuilt Block Objects
Drag and drop prebuilt CSS elements, such as a three-column layout with fixed right and left columns and a liquid center, to quickly build standards-compliant CSS pages that you populate with text and images.

Enhanced Live Rendering
Preview changes to Web and mobile content in a real-time, integrated engine built on the Opera browser that supports Small-Screen Rendering (SSR).

CSS Element Selection Tools
Select and manipulate CSS DIVs or their content more easily and efficiently than ever before.

Automated Favicon Creation
Reduce the time it takes to create favicons, using an easy drag-and-drop interface.

Selective Import From InDesign
Choose to import only selected InDesign page elements into a GoLive Web project.

InDesign Layer Viewing
Hide or show content organized on layers in an InDesign package, such as alternative layouts or localized versions of pages.

Feedback Warnings for Automatic Page Creation
Detect errors and problems that arise during the InDesign site creation workflow.

Rich Web Development
Quick Start Developer Mode
Open GoLive in a comfortable, code-only mode
Great for developers who still want access to GoLive site management features.

Split Views for CSS Development
View source code side by side with either a visual CSS layout window or a large real-time rendering window.

Batch Conversion From HTML to XHTML
Batch convert existing HTML Web pages and sites into more flexible, standards-compliant XHTML Web pages and sites.

Secure WebDAV and Secure FTP client with support for SSH and SSL Connections
Easily upload, update, and manage all your files on a server using state-of-the art security protocols like SSH and SSL.

Collaborative Asset Management
Track your team-based projects using popular content versioning systems like Perforce, CVS, or Version Cue, or use Local/Network File System Directory Versioning.

Enhanced SDK for Application Development
Easily extend the capabilities of GoLive with this XML and ECMAScript-based environment.

Mobile Design, Ready to Go
Visual CSS Authoring for Mobile Devices
Easily author and validate standards-compliant CSS content for mobile devices using simple visual tools.

Web-Based Project Conversion to Baseline Mobile Sites
Automatically convert an existing table-based Web site to mobile CSS layout.

MPEG-4/3GPP Interactive Video Development
Optimize video output and add interactivity with mobile video editing tools that support MPEG-4 and 3GPP standards.

Onboard Phone Skins and Device Emulation
View your sites as they would appear in standards-based mobile browsers and visually emulate how your MMS documents will render on mobile devices from Sony Ericsson and Nokia.

Visual MMS Authoring
Use a complete and intuitive interface to create Multimedia Messaging Service templates for slide shows and text messages.

Batch MMS Conversion
Quickly batch convert MMS content for deployment on leading mobile devices.

Six Apart TypePad and Movable Type Authoring
Add blogging capabilities to your mobile sites using Six Apart visual design objects or ready-made templates for the TypePad service, as well as Movable Type servers.

Visual authoring for NTT DoCoMo i-mode Emoji
Lay out and preview mobile sites using built-in support for NTT DoCoMo i-mode iconography.

Visual SVG-t Inspection and Authoring for Mobile
View SVG-t content in split-view interfaces, enabling art tree, source, and XML outline views and access to an animation scrubbing timeline for rapid development.

Visually Develop SMIL Content for Modern Mobile Browsers
Visually author and validate SMIL 1.0, 2.0, and 3GPP profile content for mobile device UI and browser content design.

Rich Developer Support for CSS Levels 1 and 2 and Mobile Profiles
Query and validate CSS Levels 1 and 2 and mobile profiles with meaningful feedback for achieving standards compliance.

Native Support for SMIL Mobile Application Development
Visually create content for interactive SMIL applications using an object-based interface.

Complete Development Environment for OMA, W3C, and 3GPP Standards
Develop for mobile using global industry standards, including CSS, XHTML, SVG Tiny, SMIL, MPEG-4, and more.

Features

Adobe application integration

Smart Objects - Open, edit, and place Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files within the GoLive environment.

Smart Tracing Image cut-out - Convert tracing selections made from native Adobe file formats into Smart Objects.

InDesign Package for GoLive - Use XML to transfer a print publication's text and image assets from Adobe InDesign to GoLive.

InDesign Package CSS translation - Translate InDesign paragraph, character, and inline text styles into internal and external CSS files.

InDesign Package paragraph mapping - Map your InDesign XML tagged styles against already existing internal/external CSS tag names.

Pick whip Smart Objects from InDesign - Easily select, convert, and optimize embedded InDesign Package CMYK image files for use on the Web or mobile devices.

Photoshop rollover integration - Map and create local or remote rollovers based on the parameters of native, layered Photoshop files.

Import layered Photoshop files - Importing Photoshop (PSD) files directly into GoLive will translate the layered data into a CSS-based design with Smart Objects image data.

Photoshop Color Swatch support - Import Photoshop swatches for use within any of the GoLive color mixing wells or Swatches palette. GoLive CS 2 also ships with the VisiBone color palette schemas.

Familiar Adobe technologies

Shared color management - Achieve consistent color with the common Adobe Color Engine.

Consistent Adobe Zoom tool - Enable pixel-level precision by zooming up to 1,600% within the visual Layout mode.

Consistent Adobe Crop tool - Make last-minute crops when working with Adobe native file formats, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and Adobe PDF.

Design and production team collaboration

Version Cue integration - Participate in team collaboration through full Adobe Version Cue project support (available only within the Adobe Creative Suite).

Rendition viewing - Check any design asset in or out of the Version Cue project window. Save previous renditions containing change comments for future review.

Rendition history - View the rendition history of a particular managed file through a graphical representation.

Adobe PDF integration

Advanced Adobe PDF integration - Create, view, and add links to Adobe PDF files directly within the GoLive environment.

Adobe PDF bookmark and link editing - Perform late-stage edits and additions to embedded bookmarks and hyperlinks inside Adobe PDF files without having to track down the original source files.

Adobe PDF design reviews - Quickly convert your Web designs into Adobe PDF files so they can be distributed for team review or stakeholder approval.

Adobe PDF byte-stream optimization - Perform late-stage compression and optimization of Adobe PDF files for quick Web display.

Speed your creative Web design process

Robust information architecture capabilities

Information architecture tools - Plan out your site architecture, deployed technologies, and content structure with powerful diagramming capabilities.

Interaction wire framing - Rapidly build click-through wire frames to test user interaction and usability of your designs.

Site diagram export - Export your site diagrams as either Adobe PDF or SVG files for team feedback or client review.

Powerful layout tools

Visual authoring for international use - Visually design mobile pages for Japan, Europe, and the U.S. using iconography for NTT DoCoMo's mobile handsets. Author without having to test icon rendering on the actual phones.

Visual layout grid - Create, edit, and refine sophisticated tables with pixel-level precision in a familiar drag-and-drop environment.

Smart Guides - Quickly position and snap-to-align design objects when working in Layout, QuickTime, SMIL, and Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) design modes.

Visual CSS authoring - True visual CSS Level 1 and Level 2 authoring and previewing provide real-time style rendering and feedback.

Visual JavaScript authoring - Work within the newly redesigned JavaScript editor to use code completion or the drag-and-drop object-based elements found within the Inspector palette.

User-customizable workspace - Select, arrange, and stash updated toolbars and palettes — including the new Objects palette and Color palette — to match your individual workflow.

Object Toolbar - With the click of a button, transform the Object Toolbar from a Photoshop style orientation to a familiar GoLive style orientation.

Palette stashing - Maximize your design and coding workspace by stashing palettes to either the right or left of the interface.

Palette docking - Combine, position, and auto-collapse palettes using docking capabilities like those found in Photoshop.

Flexible viewing options

Split-view interface - Develop intuitively by splitting Layout and Source interface modes.

Integrated content previewing - Preview design or source-code changes in real time within the new Live Rendering palette.

XMP integration - View, edit, and manipulate any asset containing embedded XMP data directly within the GoLive interface.

Prebuilt design elements

Prebuilt page designs - Choose from 58 professionally designed templates ideal for image gallery designs, editorial layouts, Web-based forms, and business and e-commerce sites.

Prebuilt accessible page designs - Select from 38 professionally designed Section 508-compliant page designs.

Sample CSS styles - Choose from 35 professionally designed CSS styles based on current and projected color forecasts from major design periodicals.

Sample JavaScript functions - Integrate common JavaScript code snippets, including generic basic elements, browser-specific elements, cookie elements, and event handlers.

Sample PHP applications - Select PHP from three unique PHP source code applications.

Controlled content updates

GoLive Co-Author mode - Allow content contributors to update and maintain content within an access-controlled Co-Author interface. (Separate GoLive Co-Author software license required.)

Template authoring - Gain control over template design by assigning editable regions to a page composition and locking noneditable areas. GoLive automatically reflows changes from authoring tools.

Library palette - Access and preview shared team assets, including code snippets, Smart Objects, Components, Stationery, and Templates, in one intuitive interface.

Connection to Version Cue - View broadcasting desktops and managed projects using the new Version Cue mounting point (available only within the Adobe Creative Suite).

Advanced source code tools

Multiple source code views - Work with source code in five different views: Layout and Source mode split view, Source mode, Outline mode, Outline and Source mode split view, and the Source palette.

Source code completion - Syntax-aware extensible source code completion allows you to quickly work with tags, attributes, and methods based on blocks of syntax, such as PHP, JavaScript, XHTML, CSS, SVG, and SMIL.

Source code smart selection - Focus and control your auto selection in the source-code editing modes by double-clicking on special boundary characters like brackets, quotes, dashes, and semicolons.

Visual source code debugging - Quickly find your way to problem areas with powerful syntax checking capabilities. When initiated in Layout, Source, and Outline modes, results are numbered by line and color highlighted.

Code difference comparison - Compare source code between two selected files, finding differences with line number flags and selection highlighting.

Tag Selector - Jump to sections within your code quickly for exploration, or object-block elements in Layout mode. Navigate sophisticated CSS-based page designs.

Tag library editor - Add and customize tag libraries and technologies with Web settings, a fully extensible tag database based on XML DTD schemas.

Customizable syntax coloring - Customize the display and color of various syntax technologies with new Source Themes options.

Expanded CSS and source code workflow - Work smarter and faster with the new CSS dragging and ordering elements; also, collect and group elements in folders.

Lean JavaScript code - Create and maintain stable, fast-loading sites with JavaScript. GoLive offers common function libraries and the ability to write code to an external script library.

Query Editor - Visually create sophisticated search and replacement parameters using the new Query Editor for use on single pages, whole sites, or site selections.

Visual collections and query editing - Visually put together sophisticated search query parameters to find and change files, code, and linked objects. Generate site reports based on new collection and query features.

Interactive multimedia authoring

Integration with Alias Maya 5 - Import. SWF animations and EPS files created in Maya into GoLive as Illustrator Smart Objects.

QuickTime interactive authoring - Open MOV, AVI, 3GP, and MPEG-4 video source files within GoLive for interactive Web and mobile content authoring.

QuickTime interactive scripting - Author and debug QuickTime scripts with multiple event handlers within single or multiple files.

QuickTime XML database integration - Visually link to databases or XML files to create QuickTime MOV database container movie compilations.

RealOne browser authoring - Easily design the key components of a RealOne presentation, including the Media Pane, Info Pane, and Browser Pane, with inline previewing of Real media files.

Powerful, open industry standards

Integrated team collaboration - Collaborate with a team over FTP, HTTP, and WebDAV.

XHTML support - Convert, update, and transform existing HTML site files into valid XHTML pages for Web and mobile devices.

PDF standards integration - Render and output using industry-standard PDF formats: PDF 1.3 (Adobe Acrobat 4.0), PDF 1.4 (Acrobat 5.0), PDF 1.5 (Acrobat 6.0), PDF/X-1, and PDF/X-3.

XML editing and validation - Author and inspect XML using Layout, Source, and Outline editors with validation.

Security and accessibility testing - Use Watchfire WebXACT services to test for quality, privacy, accessibility compliance, and more.

Accessibility compliance reporting - Use predefined Section 508 accessible site reporting through the Query Editor.

Rich media authoring and beyond

Mobile CSS authoring - Visually author and validate CSS content for mobile devices using the latest worldwide specifications.

Multimedia Messaging Service - Create slide shows and other content for 2.5G and 3G mobile devices.

Mobile 3GP and MPEG-4 authoring - Optimize output video for 2.5G and 3G mobile devices with the GoLive editor for QuickTime.

RealOne browser authoring - Enjoy authoring and validation support for SMIL1, SMIL2, MMS, RealOne extensions, and QuickTime SMIL1 extensions.

Enhanced Macromedia Flash support - Flexibly embed and deliver Macromedia Flash content, automatically routing users to plug-in download pages or alternative pages.

SVG authoring - Program with standards-compliant support for SVG 1.0, 1.1, and even Tiny.

Top 10 New Features

(1) Smart Objects - Open, edit, and place Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files within the GoLive environment.

(2) InDesign Package for GoLive - Use XML to transfer a print publication's text and image assets from Adobe InDesign to GoLive.

(3) Shared color management - Achieve consistent color with the common Adobe Color Engine.

(4) Advanced Adobe PDF integration - Create, view, and add links to Adobe PDF files directly within the GoLive environment.

(5) Prebuilt page designs - Choose from 58 professionally designed templates ideal for image gallery designs, editorial layouts, Web-based forms, and business and e-commerce sites.

(6) Object Toolbar - With the click of a button, transform the Object Toolbar from a Photoshop style orientation to a familiar GoLive style orientation.

(7) Visual CSS authoring - True visual CSS Level 1 and Level 2 authoring and previewing provide real-time style rendering and feedback.

(8) Source code completion - Syntax-aware extensible source code completion allows you to quickly work with tags, attributes, and methods based on blocks of syntax, such as PHP, JavaScript, XHTML, CSS, SVG, and SMIL.

(9) XML editing and validation - Author and inspect XML using Layout, Source, and Outline editors with validation.

(10) GoLive Co-Author mode - Allow content contributors to update and maintain content within an access-controlled Co-Author interface. (Separate GoLive Co-Author software license required.)

Recommendations For Use

Adobe has gone to great lengths to enable GoLive to interact with materials created in other Adobe Creative Suite applications, allowing users to easily leverage their existing print resources and convert them into online assets. Any web development team will like the enhanced CSS tools, and the fact that GoLive includes tools to comply with industry standard code.

GoLive CS 2's new features split the program's focus between the Web and an emerging field: content creation for portable devices. GoLive CS 2 now supports SVGT, an open-standard format for authoring interactive content used on devices such as cell phones. The program's SVG Editor provides a welcome visual workspace for adding interactivity to SVGT files.

On the Web side, GoLive CS 2 makes it substantially easier for developers to benefit from the clean code of CSS-based design. The Layout Grid and Layout Text Box tools now create CSS-based objects by default, with easy switching back to table-based code if desired. The program also ships with pre-made CSS block objects, making it blissfully easy to create complex layouts with resizing columns simply by dragging and dropping the objects onto the page.

Most notably, GoLive CS2 now supports cascading style sheets in a visual layout. Adobe refers to this as Visual CSS. Designers can simply create CSS websites by using drag-and-drop CSS objects to lay out pages. This makes it easy to adhere to the Web standards and simplifies maintenance greatly while maintaining design flexibility.

Ever see those small icons next to the Internet address in your Web browser? Those are called favicons (short for favorite icons). You used to need a third-party plug-in or software application to create those icons, as they need to be in .ico format. Well, GoLive CS2 now includes the functionality to create those icons right from within the program itself. Just point GoLive CS2 at an Illustrator file, for example, and it will do all the work for you.

The new features in GoLive make it incredibly simple to repurpose the work done in InDesign by taking advantage of InDesign’s Package for GoLive feature (located under File>Package for GoLive in InDesign). By importing a brochure created in InDesign, this gives you an immediate starting point for the website. From there, you can tell GoLive how to handle various text objects from InDesign so you don’t have to rewrite or reposition all of the text from the brochure. You have three choices: Editable Text, Smart Component, or Snapshot Image.

GoLive CS2 has also expanded its support for mobile content and development. Using open standards such as XHTML and SVG-t (SVG-tiny), designers can now design, develop, and deploy mobile content that adapts smoothly to a wide variety of devices. Part of this delivery is GoLive CS2’s Small Screen Rendering option. Now you can quickly preview what your site will look like on a small screen (such as those in many mobile devices) by choosing File>Preview In>Small Screen Rendering.

There are additional enhancements to the InDesign-to-GoLive design path, as well as automated support for favicons, the tiny Web site logo icons that can appear in a browser's Favorites list. All in all, GoLive CS2 packs enough new features to keep Web designers happy, and makes important inroads in authoring content for mobile devices.

Adobe has also made the code generated by GoLive CS 2 as compact as possible, while keeping it easy enough to go in and tweak, something that was very difficult in previous releases. If you're just getting into coding yourself, the product comes packed with a bunch of ready-to-go snippets of code to get you off and running.

XHTML support found its way in GoLive 6 and the validation feature still holds its ground with Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004's browser-checking feature. All these code-related features and more, make GoLive CS 2 a formidable coding tool hiding behind a versatile Web layout tool.

Price

$399 retail price (CD or Download)

$169 upgrade price
(must have a serial number, and a previous version on same platform)

System Configuration Requirements

Windows
Intel P-III or 4 processor
Windows 2000 (SP 3 or 4), XP (SP 1 or 2)
192MB RAM (256MB RAM recommended)
700MB free hard disk space
1,024 x 768 monitor resolution
16-bit video card
CD-ROM drive

For Adobe PostScript printers: PostScript Level 2 or PostScript 3

QuickTime 6.5 required for multimedia features
QuickTime 3GPP component required for mobile authoring

Internet or phone connection required for product activation
Broadband Internet connection required for Adobe Stock Photos
The Adobe Stock Photos service may not be available in all countries, languages, and currencies and is subject to change. Use of the service is governed by the Adobe Stock Photos Terms of Service. For details, visit Adobe Stock Photos.

Macintosh
PowerPC G3, G4, or G5 processor (G4 or G5 recommended)
Mac OS X v.10.2.8 through v.10.4 (10.3.4 through 10.4 recommended)
Java™ Runtime Environment 1.4.1
192MB RAM (256MB RAM recommended)
700MB free hard disk space
1,024 x 768 monitor resolution
16-bit video card
CD-ROM drive

For Adobe PostScript printers: PostScript Level 2 or PostScript 3

QuickTime 6.5 required for multimedia features
QuickTime 3GPP component required for mobile authoring

Internet or phone connection required for activation
Broadband Internet connection required for Adobe Stock Photos
The Adobe Stock Photos service may not be available in all countries, languages, and currencies and is subject to change. Use of the service is governed by the Adobe Stock Photos Terms of Service. For details, visit Adobe Stock Photos.

Contact

Adobe Systems, Incorporated
Corporate Headquarters
345 Park Avenue
San Jose, California 95110-2704
408-536-6000
800-833-6687
FAX 408-537-6000

Order Online at Adobe Corporation
www.adobe.com/store/main.jhtml

You can also order from other retailers or online vendors.