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Working with External Editors Dreamweaver gives you the option of specifying an external editor to edit documents. First the editor must be specified in the preferences dialog, and then the document can be launched in the editor by using a hotkey. Once the editing has been completed and the document saved, Dreamweaver will then reload the document. This works in a similar fashion as many all-in-one software packages, such as Adobe Photoshop/ImageReady.
To specify which editor Dreamweaver should use, go to the Edit menu and select Preferences. Click on the External Editors category on the left and you will see a new set of options: 
You can then browse in the HTML Editor field. Clicking the Browse button will allow you to navigate your local computer to locate the program. You must find and select the executable file rather than a shortcut or alias. You can then specify whether the modified files will be reloaded or saved when Dreamweaver is the active window again. It is recommended that you let Dreamweaver prompt you, which is the default setting. This will give you more room for error. Note: Homesite (Windows) and BBEdit (Mac) bundle with Dreamweaver. You can install them from the Dreamweaver CD. To access the external editor, either use the hotkey, CTRL-E on Windows, Command-E on Mac, or use the menu command, Edit | Launch External Editor. You should then be prompted to save the file. If you make changes in the editor and save them, you will be prompted in Dreamweaver whether you wish to reload the file. Once the file has been reloaded, any changes that were made will be reflected on the page. You can also use the Site window to launch files either in Dreamweaver or in your External editor. You can launch files in other programs by clicking them and choosing the editor to open with. The editor that is specified in your preferences is always an option, plus you can browse for other programs on your local computer. The Dreamweaver site window can be used as an effective launching pad when working with 2 or more programs. 
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