It doesn’t seem very long ago that we first looked at Macromedia Contribute, the $226 desktop Web maintenance tool designed to make Web content updates easy for everyone. This second release adds a few new features, including greater security with SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) support, FlashPaper — a new print-to-file tool, and drag-and-drop e-commerce buttons with back-end merchant services by PayPal.

Macromedia has kept this browser-orientated tool simple, making Contribute particularly ideal for delegating content maintenance of an existing Web site across a number of people who have little to no experience with Web design programs. With a connection to their Web site up and running, users simply browse to a page and click the Edit Page button. Text can be pasted or typed in directly, and an Insert Table dialogue offers just the essential options, so nothing goes wrong.

Contribute also lets Windows users import the content of Microsoft Word and Excel documents. All elements in a page can be rearranged with drag-and-drop functionality. Users can also create new pages and use existing templates.

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FlashPaper, based on printer-driver technology, acts much like a PDF creator, converting a printable document to a format that can be viewed in any browser that supports Flash. The FlashPaper viewer sits neatly within a Web page, offering a clutter-free interface for users to scroll through documents, zoom or print. Unfortunately, only Contribute users on Windows 2000 and XP platforms can use this great new tool.

In brief: Macromedia Contribute 2
Contribute 2 does well in offering a no-fuss solution for Web site maintenance.
Price: $226
Vendor: Macromedia
Phone: 1300 654 754
www.macromedia.com/go/contribute