Chapter 12. DHTML

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Macromedia® DreamWeaver® MX Unleashed
By Matthew Pizzi, Zak Ruvalcaba
Table of Contents
Part III.  Adding Interactivity


by Matt Pizzi

IN THIS CHAPTER

  • Animation with the Timeline

  • Adding Layers to the Timeline

  • Triggering Behaviors from the Timeline

  • Creating a Slide Show by Changing the Image's Source

In this chapter, you'll learn what you can do with Dynamic HTML (DHTML). In the previous two chapters, you dabbled a bit in the area of DHTML with layers and cascading style sheets (CSS). Each of these components are part of the DHTML specification. DHTML is a broad topic, and one that cannot be fully covered in this chapter. So this chapter focuses on what Dreamweaver MX can do with DHTML.

We develop in an interesting time, and aside from the potential it has for creating a richer, more interactive experience for the end user, DHTML often takes a backseat in the interactivity department. DHTML is great for precise placement of layers, and it alleviates many types of problems when dealing with CSS; however, when you're attempting to engage the viewer into the site, there are better solutions. Macromedia would have you think so, as well, with Flash.

In terms of providing rich content over the Web, I'd have to agree with Macromedia. The Flash Player has more penetration into the market than any other plug-in style application. However, understanding what Dreamweaver can produce with DHTM, might be enough for your audience in the way of interactive content.

I want to list some of the key features of DHTML. There are often better solutions for these features in this list, but I want you to be aware of the potential that DHTML might have in your Web projects.

  1. CSS Cascading style sheets, at this point in Web development, are probably the most important element of DHTML. As described in Chapter 10, "Cascading Style Sheets," CSS is better used for controlling and positioning text and blocks of text.

  2. Absolute Positioning With DHTML you can place any Web compliant object into the document with single-pixel accuracy.

  3. Dynamic Content When using DHTML, content can be added or removed from the HTML page during runtime.

  4. Downloadable Fonts This feature enables Web designers to embed specific fonts to control the appearance of type on any given Web browser.

  5. Data Binding Bind information in a table or form that automatically updates data with information on the server side without having to reload the entire page.

Something you should be aware of when considering using DHTML is that not all the functionality it offers is cross-browser friendly. Also, the implementation of DHTML in Dreamweaver isn't exactly WYSIWYG. Again, Macromedia's vision of improving the Web is not through DHTML standards, but with their technologies, such as Flash and Shockwave. If you've developed in Flash, and especially now with the promise of the Communication Server and topics like Flash remoting, it's hard to argue with their vision. So now that we've looked at CSS styles in Chapter 10, and worked with layers in Chapter 11, let's look at what Dreamweaver will allow us to do with DHTML in Dreamweaver's WYSIWYG design view environment.


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    Macromedia Dreamweaver MX Unleashed
    Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 Unleashed
    ISBN: 0672326310
    EAN: 2147483647
    Year: 2002
    Pages: 321

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