After you have created a Dreamweaver site, you're ready to begin adding pages to your site, editing their content, and (when necessary) deleting or renaming them. For the most part, Dreamweaver follows the same methods of managing documents as most of the popular word processors. Creating a New DocumentCreating a new document in Dreamweaver can be done in a variety of ways. When you open Dreamweaver, the welcome page (shown in Figure 23.12) offers you a quick way to create pages in some of the most popular formats with a single click. Figure 23.12. The Dreamweaver welcome screen provides you with links to create a variety of new documents.If you have disabled the welcome screen, you can create a new document by choosing File, New from the menu bar. In the New Document dialog box, shown in Figure 23.13, you can choose from the entire range of document platforms that Dreamweaver supports. Figure 23.13. The New Document dialog box enables you to choose your page type.A third method of creating a new file is to click the menu button in the Files panel and choose File, New File. Rather than opening a new file, Dreamweaver simply adds a new untitled file to the list of pages in your site (as shown in Figure 23.14) using the default extension for the page (in this case .cfm). You can then open the file by double-clicking on it. Figure 23.14. A new document is added to the Files panel with the default extension.
Saving FilesWhenever you modify a page, you'll want to save the file. Dreamweaver enables you to save a file by choosing File, Save or File, Save As and selecting the appropriate location. If you have multiple pages open in the Design view, you can also right-click on the page title tab and choose Save, Save As, or Save All to save all the active, unsaved documents.
Deleting, Duplicating, and Renaming DocumentsAs you are developing your site or reworking an existing site, you'll find it necessary at times to duplicate a document to create a new document with similar content, rename an existing document, or delete documents that you no longer need. To do this, simply (Control-click) [right-click] the document in the Files window, choose the Edit submenu, and select the option to fit your needs (see Figure 23.15). Figure 23.15. With the Site window open and a file selected, you can access a context menu with a variety of options, including Delete, Duplicate, and Rename.
To delete a file, select the Delete option from the context menu. A pop-up window asks whether you really want to delete the selected file. Click OK. The file is now deleted. Caution Be sure to always double check your files before you delete them. It's frustrating to accidentally delete the fruits of your labor just because you didn't open the file and check it first. Note When managing the documents in your site, consider archiving files rather than deleting them. A corollary to Murphy's Law states that any time you delete a document, it's likely you'll need a block of code from it later. If you archive instead of delete, you maintain a copy that you can use down the road. Duplicating files is particularly handy when you want to use most of the information in a given page but modify some content. You can duplicate the page you want, make modifications to the copy, and then rename the copy. To duplicate a file, highlight the file to be duplicated in the Site panel. Then bring up the context menu and select Edit, Duplicate. A copy of the file immediately appears with the words copy of in front of the original filename. To rename a file, bring up the context menu, select Rename, and enter the new name for the file. Caution When renaming files, be sure to provide the proper file extension. If you rename a file with a different extension (or without one altogether), the file opens improperly or does not open at all. Opening an Existing DocumentTo open an existing document located on your hard drive, begin by selecting File, Open. The Open dialog box appears. Browse for your file, highlight the file you want to open, and then click the Open button. The file now opens and is available for your modifications. You can also open documents from the Site panel by simply double-clicking the document you want to open. Note Files open in the view in which you're working. So, if you're in Design view, the file opens in Design view. Using Design Notes to Track Changes to a DocumentAs you work, you'll occasionally find that you want to jot down information about the pages with which you're working to remember later or to tell a co-worker about. Dreamweaver provides a handy tool called Design Notes that enables you to make notes for a page and save them to a separate file. You can also attach Design Notes to objects such as Flash files or applets, and you can use Design Notes in other programs such as Fireworks. Here, the focus is on attaching a Design Note to a new or an existing document. To add a Design Note to your page, be sure to save your page; then choose File, Design Notes from the menu bar. Note You must save your page before you can add any Design Notes to it. In the Design Notes dialog box, shown in Figure 23.16, choose a status and type the corresponding note. If you want the note to be displayed whenever the file is opened, check the appropriate check box. If you choose not to check the box, each team member has to review the notes manually. Figure 23.16. The Design Notes dialog box enables you to add notes to your pages to track changes or convey other information.The file's status can be marked as follows:
If you want the date to appear with your Design Note, click the Date icon above the Notes text box and Dreamweaver inserts a datestamp. You can also use the All Info tab within the Design Notes dialog box to add name and value pairs to the notes. So if you want to show that the author of the document is Harry, you can do so by clicking the plus symbol in the All Info tab and adding the name of author and the value of Harry (see Figure 23.17). Figure 23.17. The All Info tab enables you to add your own custom matched pairs to the Design Note.When you click OK, the Design Note is saved with the page. You can view and edit your Design Note at any time by selecting File, Design Notes. When the Design Note appears, make modifications by using the Basic and All Info tabs. For example, if you want to remove a name-value pair entry, highlight it in the All Info tab and click the minus symbol. |