Finding and Installing Extensions

You add extensions to Dreamweaver using Macromedia Extension Manager, a program that was installed when you installed Dreamweaver on your system. After you install an extension, it appears as part of Dreamweaver. Where it appears within the program depends on what kind of extension it is. For example, if you have installed an extension that provides additional Flash buttons, those buttons will appear in the Insert Flash Button dialog. An extension that provides new ways to add pop-up menus may appear in the Commands menu. And extensions that add new scripting behaviors will appear in the Behaviors panel. Because Dreamweaver is almost infinitely extensible, the extensions you add can appear almost anywhere within the program.

You can find extensions in a variety of ways. Some extensions are free for downloading, and others are paid products. Many extension developers have Web sites where they host (and sometimes sell) their extensions. A Google search for "Dreamweaver extensions" will result in a large number of useful results.

But the most common way to find Dreamweaver extensions (and also extensions for other Macromedia products, such as Fireworks, Flash, etc.) is to use the Macromedia Exchange site, at www.macromedia.com/exchange/. The Dreamweaver Exchange portion of the site has lists and short descriptions of more than a thousand extensions.

In Dreamweaver, it's easy to go to the Dreamweaver Exchange site. Just choose Help > Dreamweaver Exchange, and your default Web browser will open to the site ( Figure B.7 ). From the Exchange site, or from an extension developer's site, download the extension file to your hard disk. Then you're ready to use Macromedia Extension Manager to install the extension.

Figure B.7. The Dreamweaver Exchange site lists more than a thousand extensions.

To install an extension:

1.	If it's running, quit Dreamweaver by choosing File > Quit (Dreamweaver > Quit).
2.	Launch Macromedia Extension Manager by double-clicking its icon. On Windows, you'll find it in C:\Program Files\Macromedia\Extension Manager . On Mac, you'll find it in /Applications/Macromedia Extension Manager/ . The Macromedia Extension Manager window appears ( Figure B.8 ). Figure B.8. Use the Macromedia Extension Manager program to install or remove extensions.
3.	From the Program pop-up menu at the top of the Extension Manager window, choose Dreamweaver 8. Any extensions you have installed for Dreamweaver 8 appear in the Installed Extensions list.
4.	Click the Install extension button. The Select Extension to Install dialog appears ( Figure B.9 ). Figure B.9. Find and select the extension file that you want to install.
5.	Navigate to and select the extension file you wish to install.
6.	Click Install. A license dialog appears.
7.	Click Accept. The Extension Manager installs the extension and reports success with an alert dialog.
8.	Click OK to dismiss the alert dialog. The new extension appears in the Installed Extensions list.
9.	Choose File > Exit (Extension Manager > Quit Extension Manager).
10.	Launch Dreamweaver to use the new extension ( Figure B.10 ). Figure B.10. Extensions can provide a complete user interface, as in this example, PopMenu Magic, which helps you easily create a wide variety of pop-up navigation menus.

Tips

• If you have more than one version of Dreamweaver installed (perhaps you didn't want to remove an older copy immediately when you upgraded to Dreamweaver 8), you can have different sets of extensions installed for each version.

• Because each extension works differently, you will need to refer to the instructions that came with the extension to discover how to access the extension from within Dreamweaver.