The New Adobe Contribute CS3 is an EXCELLENT way to update your blog! I’m now a believer. Although I’ve been doing this blog since February 2006, I still feel relatively new to blogging. I only started my blog because Apple had come out with iWeb and it seemed like an easy way to get started with a graphical tool (see my original iWeb blog here). However, after a few months I started to feel like iWeb just wasn’t powerful or flexible enough for some of the things I wanted to do. Even simple things like post dating a blog entry didn’t seem possible with iWeb. Sure you could change the post date and time, however the minute you posted the entry it was live on your site regardless of what time and date you set it for. It wouldn’t even allow me to chose a different template for my site without starting over again.
Then Adobe Photoshop product manager John Nack turned me on to Contribute and I kept it in the back of my mind until about a month ago. I started experimenting with Contribute also because my web hosting company made WordPress blogging available at no additional cost. Contribute is compatible with many of the popular blogging engines such as Blogger and WordPress. I like Contribute for blogging because it lets me create blog entries offline and post date them to appear at the exact time and day that I specify. It lets me work in a WYSIWYG environment. It also doesn’t restrict me to only use Contribute. I can still post entries if I’m out and about (away from my computer) from any web browser. I can much more easily use tables, insert images, add video including Flash Video, audio and format my text. Not to mention easy bullets, numbering and indents.
No software product is perfect and I do have a few wishes for the next version. I would like to have interactive spelling. While Contribute does have spell check, you run it after you’ve typed all your text. That seems so 1995. Grammar checking also would be nice. However, even with these minor omissions, Contribute CS3 is a solid tool for Blogging and for Web Designers to allow their clients to update their own web sites (it’s original mission). It even lets Mac users update their .Mac hosted web sites. Contribute CS3 is available as a stand alone product or as a part of the Web suites.
Hey Terry,
I am always impressed with the content that you have in your blog and your podcast. So, keep up the good work.
Now for my original reason for commenting. I am torn between suites. I am currently working for a family run business that has a wide variety of services (form printing, envelope and letterhead printing, t-shirts, some wedding photography and video to name a few). I want the Master Suite! But my wallet is not big enough for that. So, I had narrowed it down to just the Design Suite. Then you post about Contribute and give me a new reason to consider the Web Suite. I would like to upgrade from my current CS2 Suite soon but I didn’t want to rush into anything until I got suggestions from you. So, do you have any?
Hi Taylor,
Thanks!
If I were you I would go with the Design Suite and either buy Contribute separately or upgrade (pay the difference) to the Master Collection when it ships next quarter. This way you can get going now with your Design Suite and then either add Contribute to it or everything else in the Master Collection if your budget allows next quarter.
Hi Terry,
I see your post not with “Justified Text”.. Dont forget to use the “Justify Text” that will ensure that your text is not spilled hey-while at the end of each line 🙂
I guess that is an advanced User setting, C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Adobe\Contribute CS3\Configuration\BlogPreferences\ Open the BlogHub.csi file and Set the Values to “True” from “False”… this is for an advanced blogger.
You can do that on mac as well… i like the Rich media blogging with from the internet option in CS3…
Hi Arun,
Actually my default is set to justified text (see some of my original entries). I’ve been experimenting with different text formatting to see what I like best. Thanks for your insights.
Hi Terry,
I was trying to get my wife set up with Contribute CS3 to edit her blog on Blogger. It seems to work great with the exception of inserting images. When she tries to insert an image from the local disk it gives a warning and refuses to post. Is there a way to make Contribute automatically upload those images with the blog post?
And there is what some alternative? 😉