What web design software to use?

I've been designing websites for over 2 years now; I won't bore you with the details, but I started using google sites, progressed to microsoft word, then learned to code. Since then i've moved on to designing advanced web applications in php, sql, etc...all using the same software. Infact, i've become so used to notepad, that if microsoft ever decide that it's no-longer necessary to bundle it with windows, i'm not sure what i'll do. Like when a computer user uses windows xp for 6 years, then has to use 7, or worse, vista. It's a big step in terms of the UI, the new features, and just generally how it does things.

Recently, however, I decided it was time for me to move away from notepad, to a more advanced editor, with specific features for code editing. I wanted something with line numbering. Better line break support. Built in ftp/web publishing options. Therefore.. I installed dreamweaver 8.

Part of the 'macromedia' studio 8 package, Dreamweaver 8 is an older version of adobes market leading web design software. It has hundreds of features, designed to make a web developers job easier.

I installed it, fired it up... wow. so many options. Where to start! Dreamweaver allows you to manage several sites. It allows you to view those sites (stored in folders on your physical disc and on the server) and all the files associated with them. This is more of an annoyance to me, as I'm so used to managing my files myself, and dont' need my code editor controling the design for me.

The code editor is, surprisingly, good. It has severl optoins that you can configure, the ability to insert and complete automatically several of the html tags, but what's great about it is that all this doesn't get in the way. No buttons covering the code window; no annoying pop-up preview windows. I also like dreamweavers options to preview the document in any browser of your choice, via a customisable list in the file menu. Many code editors i've used have their own built-in preview system, which typically uses the default html engine for your opperating system; however, developers chould always preview sites in a range of different browsers to ensure compatability.

To cut a very long story short, dreamweaver is a great code editor. It has some awesome features that I can see will, at some point in the future, be very useful. However, for the time being, i'm sticking to notepad.