Microsoft Web Expression 3

Microsoft Expression Web 3 was released in 2009. It featured an updated front-end UI written in WPF, in line with the rest of the Expression Suite, and included the Expression Web 3 SuperPreview tool, for comparing and rendering of webpage in various different browsers.

The wait for Expression Web 3 is finally over, with release of Expression Studio 3 on 22nd July 2009. With Expression Web 3, we have a new, improved and a complete package for designers and developers, since it also includes Expression Design 3 and Expression Encoder 3.
Prior to its release, Microsoft had promised a standards-compliant and visually compelling experience with this new version of Expression Web. Well in Expression Web 2 we used the modern design environment with easy to use drag and drop tools. With Expression Web 3 you can make designs using rich media like Silverlight, Microsoft Expression Blend, Adobe Flash and Photoshop and Windows Media. Yes you read it right! Expression Web 3 would give you an extensive control over Adobe Photoshop files and its layers. Expression Web 3 has a widespread support for technologies like HTML/XHTML, XML/XSLT, CSS, PHP, JavaScript, ASP.NET, ASP.NET AJAX, Silverlight, Adobe Flash and Photoshop and Windows Media.
Well now Microsoft Expression Web 3 has been released and it is up to us how well we make use of these attributes. Let us take a closer look at them.

New Interface:
Microsoft Expression Web 1 and 2 had the same blue interface keeping you familiar with Microsoft Office. But with Microsoft Expression Studio 3, Expression Web 3 has a new look with grey and black color scheme. This look is same across all family applications.

SuperPreview
Introduced you to SuperPreview in our article SuperPreview with Microsoft Expression Web 3. Even though it is a stand-alone application, now SuperPreview is integrated with Expression Web 3.

With SuperPreview you can preview your pages in multiple browsers to let you perform a cross-browser testing. I will cover this topic in detail in another article.
Snapshot
Snapshot is a new feature added to Expression Web 3. It is a mini-version of SuperPreview. Find the option in Panels menu to launch the Snapshot window in the lower part of the working area.

It shows you a snapshot of your page while you are working on it. At the top of the window, a drop down lets you choose one of the installed browsers, to select a snapshot of that browser. And the best part is that it is updated as you modify your page and save it. Read more…

Panels and Toolboxes
All the task panes in Expression Web 2 have now become panels. New panels have been added. You can now collapse and pin each of these panels individually. They can also be floated outside the application. ‘AutoHide’ lets you tidy your workspace, and ‘reset workspace’ will reset any changes you made to your default workspace.

Toolbars
Toolbars have new and many tools and functions. One such important addition is the ‘Code View’ toolbar. It is quite obvious that the toolbar is active only in the Code view.

It has a lot of functions; we will cover them in detail in another article.

Improved FTP Client
Microsoft has redesigned the FTP Client. Now you will be able to use secure FTP (FTPS or SFTP) and publish your pages to Windows 2008 servers. It can open as many as 10 multiple connections, with a faster speed and stores multiple connection settings for same IP address.

Integration with VSTS
Expression Web 3 integrates Visual Studio Team System, thus bringing together designers and developers to work jointly.

Silverlight support
You can now encode Silverlight videos in Microsoft Expression Web 3. Go to Insert > Media > Silverlight and then browse to the Silverlight video file. Your video will then be encoded into your page