The Properties Inspector


If you haven't noticed by now, the Properties Inspector is the horizontal toolbar located directly underneath the Document window (see Figure 2.29).

Figure 2.29. The Properties Inspector adjusts its editable properties based on the task at hand.


The Properties Inspectorunlike any other toolbar, panel, or menu optiontailors itself to the task at hand. For instance, up to this point I've demonstrated simple "Hello World" examples using both plain text and tables. Although we won't begin to cover the concepts until later chapters, this is the perfect opportunity to discuss the adjustments that the Properties Inspector makes for each element that you work with throughout the book.

TIP

If the Properties Inspector is not visible, you can always make it visible by selecting Window, Properties.


You might have noticed that the Properties Inspector provides options for editing fonts, colors, indentation, alignments, and more simply by placing your cursor within a blank Document window. This is known as a text-based Properties Inspector. Although we'll be using this Properties Inspector for a lot of the examples in this book, it's important to note the change the Properties Inspector makes when working with other elements. To demonstrate this, I'll quickly add a table to the Document window by selecting Insert, Table, modifying some of the options from the Insert Table dialog, and clicking OK. With the Table now in the Document window, place your cursor somewhere inside the table. As you can see from Figure 2.30, the Properties Inspector changes to accommodate editable properties for a cell. This is known as a cell-based Properties Inspector.

Figure 2.30. Placing your cursor in a table cell causes the Properties Inspector to change to a cell-based Properties Inspector.


Now let's try using a feature you've already learned: the Tag Selector. With your cursor focused within the table, select the <table> tag from the Tag Selector. As you can see from Figure 2.31, the Properties Inspector once again changes, this time to a table-based Properties Inspector.

Figure 2.31. Selecting the <table> tag from the Tag Selector causes the Properties Inspector to change to a table-based Properties Inspector.


The important concept to remember here is that the Properties Inspector changes to accommodate a selected element. Because there are so many elements to work with in Dreamweaver, the Properties Inspector can be deceptively tough to figure out, especially if you're working with an element you're unfamiliar with. Just remember, if you're working with the text, the Properties Inspector accommodates working with text; if you're working with tables, the Properties Inspector becomes a tables-based Properties Inspector, and so on.

A couple of other elements worth mentioning appear in the Properties Inspector no matter what element is selected. These four elements are highlighted in Figure 2.32.

Figure 2.32. Four elements remain consistently available in the Properties Inspector no matter what element you're working with in the Document window.


The four elements are best described below:

  • Element Icon: Every possible HTML element that can be modified within the Properties Inspector is represented by its own icon.

  • Quick Help: Opens the Dreamweaver help menu with the element you're working with as the indexed topic.

  • Quick Tag Editor: Similar to right-clicking a tag in the Tag Selector and choosing Edit Tag, the Quick Tag editor allows you to quickly format attributes and values for a tag without having to switch to Code view.

  • Collapsible Arrow: If you haven't noticed yet, the Properties Inspector is divided into two sections by a horizontal line running down the middle. The basic properties (located in the top half) and advanced properties (located in the bottom half) can be collapsed and expanded by selecting this icon.




Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 Unleashed
Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 Unleashed
ISBN: 0672327600
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 237
Authors: Zak Ruvalcaba

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