Using Design Notes


Dreamweaver's Design Notes are XML files that Dreamweaver places on the site that can be used by Web team members to annotate changes or note when a file was modified and by whom. A Design Note is associated with a file on your site, but it is a separate XML file with different fields that can be read by the Macromedia programs ( Figure 16.18 ). Design Note files aren't visible to your site's visitors .

Figure 16.18. Design Notes are XML files that Dreamweaver knows how to read.


You can create a Design Note yourself, and Dreamweaver and other programs in Macromedia Studio 8 can also make automated Design Note entries. For example, when you create an image in Fireworks, then export it to Dreamweaver, Fireworks creates (and places in the Dreamweaver site) a Design Note entry for the exported file, which could be in GIF or JPEG format. The entry records the name of the Fireworks source file (remember, the Fireworks file format is PNG) associated with the exported image in your site. That's how Dreamweaver and Fireworks know how to integrate the Fireworks source PNG with the exported site image when you go to edit it (refer to Chapter 8 for more information about editing Dreamweaver images with Fireworks).

Dreamweaver stores Design Notes in folders called _notes in each of the site folders that have files with associated notes ( Figure 16.19 ). These notes folders contain one Design Note file for each site file that has a note.

Figure 16.19. Design Notes appear in the special _notes folders Dreamweaver creates in your site.


To add a Design Note:

1.
Open the file to which you want to add a Design Note, then choose File > Design Notes.

or

In the Files panel, select the file to which you want to add a Design Note, then right-click and choose Design Notes from the resulting shortcut menu.

The Design Notes dialog appears, set to the Basic info tab ( Figure 16.20 ). This tab shows you the file name and the location of the file at the top of the dialog.

Figure 16.20. Use the Design Notes dialog to enter your notes.


2.
(Optional) From the Status pop-up menu, choose the status you want to set for the Design Note.

The preset statuses are draft, revision1, revision2, revision3, alpha, beta, final, and needs attention.

3.
(Optional) if you want to date stamp your note, click the calendar icon in the dialog.

The current date appears in the Notes field.

4.
Type your note about the file.

5.
Click OK.

Dreamweaver saves the Design Note, and the Design Notes dialog disappears.

Tips

  • Macromedia Contribute also uses Design Notes to make note of when a Contribute user has updated a page. But Contribute doesn't have an interface to make specific notes; it just creates automated notes with the contributor 's username and the page's modification date. Contribute Design Notes also keep track of rollbacks , which allow Contribute users to revert to previously published versions of pages.

  • You must check out the file associated with a Design Note before you can add or modify the Design Note.


To modify a Design Note:

1.
Open the file to which you want to add a Design Note, then choose File > Design Notes.

or

In the Files panel, select the file to which you want to add a Design Note, then right-click and choose Design Notes from the resulting shortcut menu.

The Design Notes dialog appears.

2.
Make changes to the Status pop-up menu, or enter a new note in the Notes field.

If you click the calendar icon to add a new date stamp, the new note appears at the top of the dialog, and older notes appear below the newest entry, in reverse chronological order.

3.
Click OK.




Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 for Windows & Macintosh Visual QuickStart Guide
Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 for Windows & Macintosh
ISBN: 0321350278
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 239

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