The Start Page

If you've cheated and opened Dreamweaver for a sneak peak, you've probably noticed the assortment of grayed out windows or panels spread throughout Dreamweaver's interface. As a matter of fact, opening Dreamweaver for the first time reveals an interface similar to Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1. Dreamweaver introduces a myriad of panels, bars, inspectors, and windows.

As you can see, there are numerous features that we'll dive into throughout the chapter. And while we'll certainly cover them all, let's begin with the most obvious window sitting directly in front of you, the Start page.

An optional window, the Start page is a centralized window of resources. Through the Start page you can open a recent document, create a new document based on a pre-configured page type, create a new document from one of Dreamweaver's pre-installed samples, visit the Macromedia Exchange, or simply learn about the newest features in Dreamweaver by taking a quick tour. There's nothing more to this window, for the most part it's simply a quick way of opening new or existing documents in Dreamweaver. For the time being, we'll use the Start page to create a new Document window. To begin, simply click the HTML link under the Create New category on the Start page. Immediately, the Start page disappears and a new Document window instance appears similar to Figure 2.2.

Figure 2.2. All your websites and applications are developed in the Document window.

Don't be concerned when the Start page disappears, it will reappear again when all Document window instances have been closed. Before we get too ahead of ourselves however, let's discuss what just happened to the Dreamweaver environment by diving right into the Document window.