Adobe® Contribute CS4, currently in its fifth version, is a software application for editing the content of a website. It is a desktop application, originally developed by Macromedia, allowing a wide variety of people within an organization to update web pages by reducing the amount of web design skills necessary for the process. Adobe® Contribute enables content authors to quickly and easily update existing websites and blogs while maintaining site integrity — with no technical expertise required.
PROS
- Adobe® Contribute removes the need to have multiple programs to carry a simple task such as changing a spelling mistake, e.g. text editor, FTP, etc.
- Several users can update a given website simultaneously. Adobe® Contribute will check whether the page a user is trying to amend is already being edited by others in order to prevent page version conflicts. There is also a page rollback feature which allows easy recovery from possible problems.
- Administrators can ensure the style, code, and integrity of a website is maintained while allowing users to update the site's content.
- Administrators can assign different editing permissions to users; for instance, some users might only be able to edit the text on a page, while others would have more options.
- Templates created with Adobe® Dreamweaver can be used in Contribute as well.
- Keep website content fresh and blog entries current with a single application.
- Adobe Contribute lets one manage multiple blog accounts and also allows offline blog entry creation.
CONS
- Adobe® Contribute is a client-side tool. This means that you will only be able to edit a website on a machine that has Contribute.
- Adobe® Contribute requires that every user be licensed. This can be a costly process if there are a lot of users set to update a website.
- Adobe® Contribute is a website editing tool, not a website development tool. A web developer is still required to build the initial website design (usually using Adobe® Dreamweaver).
- Adobe® Contribute edits one page at a time, making complex design elements such as navigation menus hard to manage if they aren't controlled through a single source, like a database, Server Side Includes, or XML file.
- Updating a website's content through Contribute can be a much slower process than using a more development-oriented tool, such as Adobe Dreamweaver and an FTP program, since each page must be downloaded (and uploaded) individually.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
- Intel® Pentium® 4, Intel Centrino®, Intel Xeon®, or Intel Core™ Duo (or compatible) processor.
- Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 2, Windows Vista™, Windows 7™ (certified for 32-bit editions).
- 512MB of RAM.
- 1GB of available hard-disk space (additional free space required during installation).
- 1024x768 monitor resolution with 16-bit video card.
- DVD-ROM drive.
- Internet or phone connection required for product activation.
- For the Adobe Contribute web browser plug-in: Internet Explorer 6, 7 or 8 or Firefox 3.
- For the Microsoft Office plug-in: Office 2003, 2006, or 2007.
