Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 Unleashed- P1

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Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 Unleashed- P1: The good news is Dreamweaver provides numerous windows, panels, inspectors, and toolbars for streamlining the way you build websites. The bad news, unfortunately, is that Dreamweaver provides numerous windows, panels, inspectors, and toolbars for streamlining the way you build websites. Why so many windows, panels, and so on, Dreamweaver is unprecedented in the feature set it provides, allowing developers complete control when building websites and applications....

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Adobe® Dreamweaver® CS3 Unleashed by Zak Ruvalcaba Publisher: Sams Pub Date: October 18, 2007 Print ISBN-10: 0-672-32944-1 Print ISBN-13: 978-0-672-32944-9 Pages: 1128 Table of Contents | Index Overview Adobe® Dreamweaver® CS3 Unleashed Zak Ruvalcaba This book is the most comprehensive and independent resource for experienced web developers who want to plan, architect, develop, and deploy state-of-the-art websites, applications, and services. Expert web developer and trainer Zak Ruvalcaba brings together real-world insights and advanced techniques for every facet of contemporary web development, from site management to data-driven applications and multimedia content to security. Ruvalcaba systematically illuminates the major improvements Adobe has brought to Dreamweaver CS3, including its powerful new Spry framework for Ajax development, its innovative CSS browser compatibility checking, and more. You'll learn how to smoothly integrate Dreamweaver CS3 with other key web design and development tools, ranging from Photoshop to Flash to databases. You'll also discover how to use Dreamweaver CS3 to improve team collaboration, automate workflow, streamline content management, and reuse assets more efficiently. Detailed information on how to… Get productive with Dreamweaver CS3 development fast, whether you're new to Dreamweaver or upgrading from previous versions Create more effective, compatible CSS sites–and leverage Dreamweaver CS3's powerful new CSS templates Streamline and automate workflow across your development and content teams Incorporate animation, video, and audio, including Adobe Flash content Make the most of databases and SQL queries in your sites and applications Build dynamic pages and sites that integrate everything from search functionality to user authentication Implement high-performance web services with Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 Use Adobe's new Spry framework, widgets, and effects to quickly build rich XML-based applications
Zak Ruvalcaba has been researching, designing, and developing for the Web since 1995. He's built websites and applications for such companies as Gateway, HP, Toshiba, IBM, Intuit, Peachtree, Dell, Qualcomm, Microsoft, and many others. Aside from teaching and holding design lectures on various technologies and tools, including Dreamweaver, ASP.NET, and Flash, for the San Diego Community College District and Palomar Community College, he is the author of the 10 Minute Guide to Dreamweaver 4 from Que Publishing, Build Your Own ASP.NET 2.0 Website Using C# and VB.NET from SitePoint Press, and Beginning Expression Web from Wrox. Register your book at www.samspublishing.com/register for convenient access to updates and example source code from this book. Category: Web Development/Dreamweaver Covers: Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 User Level: Intermediate—Advanced
Adobe® Dreamweaver® CS3 Unleashed by Zak Ruvalcaba Publisher: Sams Pub Date: October 18, 2007 Print ISBN-10: 0-672-32944-1 Print ISBN-13: 978-0-672-32944-9 Pages: 1128 Table of Contents | Index Copyright About the Author Acknowledgments We Want to Hear from You! Introduction Part I: Getting Up to Speed with Dreamweaver CS3 Chapter 1. The Dreamweaver CS3 Interface New Dreamweaver CS3 Features The Welcome Screen The Document Window Context Menus The Insert Bar The Property Inspector Panels The Menu Bar Summary Chapter 2. Building a Web Page Creating a New Document Working with a New Document in Design View Inserting the Time and Date Inserting a Horizontal Rule Working with Images Working with Hyperlinks Working with a Web Page in Code View Summary Chapter 3. Dreamweaver Site Management The Importance of Defining Sites in Dreamweaver Defining a New Site in Dreamweaver Managing a Website in Dreamweaver Using Advanced Site Management Options Summary Chapter 4. Defining Preferences Using the Preferences Dialog Setting Keyboard Shortcuts Working with Tag Libraries Summary Part II: Static Web Page Development Chapter 5. Web Page Structuring Using Tables Inserting and Working with Tables Selecting Table Elements Modifying Table Properties Using the Property Inspector Modifying Cell Properties Using the Property Inspector Working with Tables in Expanded Tables Mode Inserting and Working with Tables in Layout Mode Drawing Tables Drawing Cells Importing Tabular Data Summary Chapter 6. Page Formatting Using Cascading Style Sheets An Introduction to CSS CSS Versus HTML Browser Support for CSS Designing CSS Using Dreamweaver and the CSS Styles Panel Designing Styles by Redefining HTML Tags Working with Pseudoclasses Designing CSS Styles by Using IDs
Attaching a Style Sheet Tips and Tricks for Using CSS Summary Chapter 7. Page Structuring Using Cascading Style Sheets Introduction to AP Elements Working with AP Elements Designing Tableless Web Pages Using AP Elements Built-In CSS Page Layouts Summary Chapter 8. Working with Frames and Framesets Understanding Framed Websites Working with Frames and Framesets Adjusting Frame Attributes Adjusting Frameset Attributes Adding Content to Frames Saving Frames and Framesets Targeting Frames IFrames Targeting Browsers That Don't Support Frames Summary Chapter 9. Working with HTML Forms An Introduction to HTML Forms Working with Forms and Form Objects Summary Chapter 10. Using Dreamweaver Behaviors An Introduction to Behaviors Using the Behaviors Panel Dreamweaver Behaviors Summary Part III: Team Collaboration and Task Automation Chapter 11. Building Dreamweaver Websites Within Teams Using File Check In and Check Out Maintaining Design Notes File View Column Sharing Generating Workflow Site Reports Implementing Source Control with Visual SourceSafe Using WebDAV Summary Chapter 12. Managing Website Content Using Contribute Content Management Using Contribute Administrating Contribute-Enabled Sites in Dreamweaver Sending Connection Keys to Contribute Users Using Contribute to Make Basic Edits Rolling Back Pages in Dreamweaver Summary Chapter 13. Enhancing Workflow Working with the Assets Panel Using Find and Replace Using the History Panel Working with Commands Summary Chapter 14. Working with Templates Understanding Dreamweaver Templates Working with Repeating Regions Defining Optional Regions Nested Templates Templates and the Assets Panel Removing Template Markup Changing the Default Document Summary Chapter 15. Working with Library Items Understanding Library Items Using the Assets Panel to Manage Library Items Working with Server-Side Includes Summary Part IV: Incorporating Multimedia and Animation Chapter 16. Working with the Timeline Animation with the Timeline Behaviors and the Timeline
Summary Chapter 17. Incorporating Video and Audio Video on the Web Media Players Working with Video Clips Audio on the Web Summary Chapter 18. Integrating with Fireworks and Photoshop Specifying External Editors Editing Images in Dreamweaver with Fireworks or Photoshop Browsing Images in Adobe Bridge Replacing Image Placeholders Optimizing Images Creating Rollover Buttons in Fireworks Inserting Fireworks HTML Creating a Web Photo Album Summary Chapter 19. Integrating with Flash Inserting Flash Movies into Dreamweaver Documents Working with Flash Elements in Dreamweaver Managing Links in Flash Movies with Dreamweaver Controlling Flash Movies with Dreamweaver Behaviors Roundtrip Flash Editing Summary Part V: Dynamic Web Page Development Chapter 20. Introduction to Web Applications Client-Side Versus Server-Side Web Development Web Applications Client-Side Technologies Server-Side Technologies Database Options Structured Query Language Working with Data Source Names The Dynamic Vecta Corp Intranet Application Summary Chapter 21. Working with Server-Side Technologies Working with the Internet Information Services (IIS) Web Server Working with ASP Installing and Working with ASP.NET Installing and Working with ColdFusion Installing and Working with PHP Summary Chapter 22. A Database Primer Anatomy of a Database Installing a Database An Overview of the Vecta Corp Database Summary Chapter 23. A SQL Primer The Structured Query Language Basic SQL Expressions Operators Functions Joins Subqueries Generating Queries Visually Summary Part VI: Building Dynamic Web Pages Chapter 24. Working with Dynamic Data Connecting to a Data Source Building the Vecta Corp Employee Store Using ASP, ColdFusion, or PHP Building the Employee Store Using ASP.NET Using Live Data View Summary Chapter 25. Adding and Modifying Data Building the Web Store New User Registration Page Using ASP, ColdFusion, or PHP Creating the My Account Page Using ASP, ColdFusion, or PHP Building the Web Store New User Registration Page Using ASP.NET Creating the My Account Page Using ASP.NET
Using Data Objects to Create an Admin Page Summary Chapter 26. Integrating Search Functionality Integrating a SQL Search Creating a Search Page Creating the Search Results Page Globalizing the Search Functionality Summary Chapter 27. Adding Shopping Cart Functionality Creating the Employee Store Shopping Cart Using ASP Creating the Employee Store Shopping Cart Using ASP.NET Summary Chapter 28. Security and User Authentication Securing the Vecta Corp Site Using ASP, ColdFusion, or PHP Securing the Vecta Corp Site Using ASP.NET Summary Chapter 29. Working with Web Services and ColdFusion Components An Introduction to Web Services Dreamweaver and Web Services Integration Building a Simple Calculator Web Service Consuming the Calculator Web Service in ASP.NET Consuming the Calculator Web Service in ColdFusion Web Services and Database Interaction Summary Chapter 30. Introducing the Spry Framework for Ajax Introduction to XML, Ajax, and Spry Integrating XML Data with Spry Working with Spry Widgets Working with RSS Feeds Summary Online Appendixes Appendix A. Accessibility Accessibility Standards Apply Standards to Existing Sites Accessibility Reference Summary Appendix B. Extending Dreamweaver Working with Objects Working with Behaviors Sharing Extensions Through the Adobe Exchange The Server Behavior Builder Summary Index
Copyright Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 Unleashed Copyright © 2008 by Sams Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Nor is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. ISBN-13: 978-0-672-32944-9 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ruvalcaba, Zak. Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 unleashed / Zak Ruvalcaba. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-672-32944-9 (pbk.) 1. Dreamweaver (Computer file) 2. Web sites--Authoring programs. 3. Web sites-- Design. I. Title. TK5105.8885.D74.R873 2007 005.7'2--dc22 2007037588 Printed in the United States of America First Printing: October 2007 Acquisitions Editor Mark Taber Development Editor Linda Harrison Managing Editor Patrick Kanouse Project Editor Seth Kerney Copy Editor Barbara Hacha Indexer Tim Wright Proofreader Matthew Purcell Technical Editor Derren Whiteman Publishing Coordinator Vanessa Evans Designer
Gary Adair Page Layout Mark Shirar Trademarks All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Sams Publishing cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark. Warning and Disclaimer Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty or fitness is implied. The information provided is on an "as is" basis. The author and the publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the information contained in this book. Bulk Sales Pearson offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered in quantity for bulk purchases or special sales. For more information, please contact: U.S. Corporate and Government Sales 1-800-382-3419 corpsales@pearsontechgroup.com For sales outside of the U.S., please contact: International Sales international@pearsontechgroup.com Dedication I would like to dedicate this book to my family.
About the Author Zak Ruvalcaba has been researching, designing, and developing for the Web since 1995. He holds a bachelor's degree from San Diego State University and a master's degree in instructional technology from National University in San Diego. He served as Creative Director with EPIC Solutions until 1998. His expertise in developing web applications led him to a position as Manager of Web Development at SkyDesk Inc., where he developed web applications for such companies as Gateway, HP, Toshiba, IBM, Intuit, Peachtree, Dell, and Microsoft. He has worked for such companies as ADCS, Inc., and Wireless Knowledge as a wireless software engineer developing .NET solutions for companies such as Mellon Financial, Goldman Saks, TV Guide, Healthbanks, The Gartner Group, Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Commerce One. His skill set includes technologies and languages from HTML/XHTML, XML/XSLT, JavaScript, CSS, ASP, ASP.NET, Visual Basic .NET, C#, ADO.NET, Web Services, SQL, T-SQL, Flash/ActionScript, and ColdFusion. Aside from teaching and holding design lectures on various technologies and tools including Dreamweaver, Flash, and ASP.NET for the San Diego Community College District and Palomar Community College, Zak Ruvalcaba is also the author of the 10 Minute Guide to Dreamweaver 4 by Que Publishing, Build Your Own ASP.NET 2.0 Website Using C# and VB .NET by SitePoint Press, and Beginning Expression Web by Wrox Press. Zak Ruvalcaba is a Macromedia Certified Professional (MMCP), a Microsoft Certified Application Developer for .NET (MCAD), and a Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer for .NET (MCSD).
Acknowledgments Writing a book is a tremendous effort and takes dedication and patience from all who are involved. A sincere thank you to my editors Linda Harrison and Mark Taber as well as the technical editor Derren Whiteman for being on top of this book and making sure that Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 Unleashed is the best it can possibly be.
We Want to Hear from You! As the reader of this book, you are our most important critic and commentator. We value your opinion and want to know what we're doing right, what we could do better, what areas you'd like to see us publish in, and any other words of wisdom you're willing to pass our way. You can email or write me directly to let me know what you did or didn't like about this book—as well as what we can do to make our books stronger. Please note that I cannot help you with technical problems related to the topic of this book, and that due to the high volume of mail I receive, I might not be able to reply to every message. When you write, please be sure to include this book's title and author as well as your name and phone or email address. I will carefully review your comments and share them with the author and editors who worked on the book. Email: webdev@samspublishing.com Mail: Mark Taber Associate Publisher Sams Publishing 800 East 96th Street Indianapolis, IN 46240 USA Reader Services Visit our website and register this book at www.samspublishing.com/register for convenient access to any downloads, updates, or errata that might be available for this book.
Introduction Over a decade ago—when I used Dreamweaver 1.0 for the first time, I was amazed at how far ahead of its time it was. The capability to incorporate JavaScript Behaviors, styles, and pinpoint accurate designs truly amazed me. I was a skeptic when it came to visual editors and preferred Notepad whenever possible. Dreamweaver changed that for me and made me look at web development in a whole new light. Dreamweaver has become the industry's leading web development environment, far surpassing any other. Still, many consider Dreamweaver a simple visual editor that accomplishes little but aids in the development of static web pages. The mindset is that visual editors lack the true complexity that it takes to create rich and powerful web applications that encompass client-side technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript while leveraging server-side technologies like ASP, ASP.NET, PHP, and ColdFusion. Dreamweaver obliterates the stigma by captivating the developer in a vast, intuitive, and feature-rich environment. If you've picked up this book, chances are you're interested in the world of web design and development and, more specifically, how Dreamweaver can help you succeed in these endeavors. Whether you're a seasoned developer, a print designer looking to expand your base of knowledge to the web, or a home user who wants to create a family website, Dreamweaver offers the features and flexibility to get you on your way quickly and effortlessly. This book introduces you to the many features available through Dreamweaver using a fun, yet concise, approach. What's Inside, Part by Part Part I, "Getting Up to Speed with Dreamweaver CS3"— Starting off gently, this part introduces you to Dreamweaver CS3. Moving from Chapter 1, "The Dreamweaver CS3 Interface," to Chapter 4, "Defining Preferences," you'll learn about the many panels, inspectors, and windows that Dreamweaver reveals within its development environment. You'll also learn about defining and managing a site, building a simple web page, and finally, defining Dreamweaver preferences for customizing how you work with Dreamweaver. Part II, "Static Web Page Development"— Generally considered the heart of the book, this part covers topics related to static web page development. You'll learn about web page structuring using tables, advanced page formatting and structuring using cascading style sheets, frames and framesets, designing forms with form elements, incorporating behaviors into your web pages, and designing pinpoint accurate web pages using absolutely positioned DIVs (AP Divs). Part III, "Team Collaboration and Task Automation"— Although most consider Dreamweaver a great tool for building web pages, the truth is that Dreamweaver provides many tools for working with web pages within teams. In this part you'll learn about the many aspects in Dreamweaver that facilitate the collaborative process, such as file check in and check out, Design Notes, and integration with Contribute. You'll also learn about the many components, such as templates and library items, built in to Dreamweaver for enhancing the workflow process. Part IV, "Incorporating Multimedia and Animation"— Developers and designers who are building media-rich sites should concentrate on this part. The chapters in this part of the book cover integration with Flash, Fireworks, and Photoshop, as well as video and audio. Part V, "Dynamic Web Page Development"— The chapters in this part begin to prepare you for working with dynamic web pages. As you'll see, the chapters in this part cover an introduction to web applications, server-side technologies, databases, and the language used to extract, insert, delete, and update data within databases: SQL. Part VI, "Building Dynamic Web Pages"— With an introduction to web applications and the many components that make up web applications under your belt, you're ready to move on to building dynamic web pages. As you'll see, the chapters outlined within this part walk you through retrieving data from, inserting data into, deleting data from, and updating data within databases. You'll also learn how to build search functionality, integrate shopping cart technologies, secure your web pages, work with XML web services, and even learn to use Adobe's Spry framework for Ajax. Online Appendixes— Appendix A, "Accessibility," and Appendix B, "Extending Dreamweaver," are available
for download in PDF format. Just register this book at www.samspublishing.com/register for access. What's Inside, Chapter by Chapter Chapter 1, "The Dreamweaver CS3 Interface," covers the Dreamweaver interface: document views, toolbars, inspectors, panels, and status bars. By the end of the chapter, you should feel fairly comfortable with the Dreamweaver CS3 development environment. Chapter 2, "Building a Web Page," covers the essentials of building a web page within Dreamweaver. By the end of this chapter, you'll understand how to use page properties, various HTML elements, and graphics to create your first web page in Dreamweaver. Chapter 3, "Dreamweaver Site Management," covers site management, including defining a site, file check in and check out, working with site maps, and defining local and remote folders. Chapter 4, "Defining Preferences," covers every customizable feature for improving how you work with Dreamweaver. Everything from customizing code coloring to setting keyboard shortcuts is outlined in this chapter. Chapter 5, "Web Page Structuring Using Tables," covers traditional methods for structuring web pages using tables. In this chapter, you'll learn about tables, rows, columns, nested tables, and more. Chapter 6, "Page Formatting Using Cascading Style Sheets," covers the types of style sheets, how to apply them, and the various properties for text, backgrounds, borders, lists, positioning, and more. Chapter 7, "Page Structuring Using Cascading Style Sheets," defines AP Divs, the cornerstones for pinpoint accurate positioning of elements in Dreamweaver. Ever wonder how to make a web page look like a printed brochure? AP Divs are your answer. Chapter 8, "Working with Frames and Framesets," covers frames and framesets, including advantages and disadvantages to using them and why. Chapter 9, "Working with HTML Forms," covers HTML forms, which are the front-ends to web applications. eBay, E*TRADE, and AutoBytel, among other high visibility sites, use forms in their applications to facilitate data collection from the user. In this chapter, you'll learn how these types of forms are constructed. We'll discuss forms and the various types of form elements used within forms. Chapter 10, "Using Dreamweaver Behaviors," covers Dreamweaver's JavaScript Behaviors. In this chapter, you'll learn the basics of JavaScript, including events, actions, and more. Chapter 11, "Building Dreamweaver Websites Within Teams," covers feature within Dreamweaver that facilitate integration and collaboration within teams. Topics such as file check in and check out, file column sharing, and Design Notes are covered in this chapter. Chapter 12, "Managing Website Content Using Contribute," covers integration with Adobe's content management and sharing program, Contribute. In this chapter, you'll learn about users and roles, applying user settings, and even editing web page content using Contribute. Chapter 13, "Enhancing Workflow," covers potentially overlooked features within Dreamweaver that may help you do your job faster and more efficiently. Features such as the Results panel, Find and Replace, various commands, and the Assets panel, are covered here. Chapter 14, "Working with Templates," covers Dreamweaver templates in depth. A good understanding of templates and the workflow surrounding them can make you more efficient. Chapter 15, "Working with Library Items," covers library elements which, like templates, provide greater efficiency and global content editing from a centralized location. In this chapter, you'll learn how to convert features (such as navigation menus) of your website to library items, which ultimately makes your navigation menus reusable and global to your website as a whole. Chapter 16, "Working with the Timeline," covers AP Elements, including timelines, image slideshows, and creating animated menus.
Chapter 17, "Incorporating Video and Audio," covers important features for linking and embedding video and audio files in your web pages. Chapter 18, "Integrating with Fireworks and Photoshop," covers integration with Adobe's popular image- editing programs: Fireworks and Photoshop. In this chapter, you'll learn about round-trip graphics editing, creating web-based photo albums, and optimizing images. Chapter 19, "Integrating with Flash," covers Dreamweaver's integration with Flash—round-trip Flash editing, what parameters Flash movies accept, and how to trigger different Flash movie properties using Behaviors. Chapter 20, "Introduction to Web Applications," effectively makes the transition from static web page development to server-side web page development. You'll learn about web architecture, server-side technologies, and database options. Chapter 21, "Working with Server-Side Technologies," begins to dig deeper into the world of server-side web development. In this chapter, you'll learn about the various server-side technologies, including ASP, ASP.NET, ColdFusion, and PHP. Chapter 22, "A Database Primer," covers the basics (tables, rows, columns) and more advanced topics such as stored procedures, triggers, views, keys, and normalization. The chapter concludes with the development of the book's project database. Chapter 23, "A SQL Primer," covers selecting, inserting, updating, and deleting data. It also breaks down SQL into the different clauses and covers joins and sub queries. Chapters 24 through 29 contain an in-depth tutorial on building a web store application with ASP, ASP.NET, PHP, and ColdFusion. The chapters include real-life detailed code for catalogs, shopping carts, user registration, personalization, search functionality, and security. Chapter 30, "Introducing the Spry Framework for Ajax," discusses Adobe's newest framework for Ajax. You'll learn how to create Spry Datasets for creating performance-minded web pages that are fed in from XML files. Additionally, you'll see how to incorporate Spry widgets and effects for creating engaging and eye- catching web pages. The appendixes cover other important information, such as Accessibility— Covers the standards and how to apply those standards. It also touches on the impact of accessibility on design and development efforts. Extending Dreamweaver— Covers extending Dreamweaver with objects and behaviors. It also covers sharing those extensions with others. As you can see—and as you will read—I've covered just about every aspect of web development using Dreamweaver CS3. While reading, you can follow along with the step-by-step projects by downloading the support files at this book's companion website. Thank you for picking up a copy of this book—and enjoy! —Zak Ruvalcaba
Part I: Getting Up to Speed with Dreamweaver CS3 CHAPTER 1 The Dreamweaver CS3 Interface CHAPTER 2 Building a Web Page CHAPTER 3 Dreamweaver Site Management CHAPTER 4 Defining Preferences Chapter 1. The Dreamweaver CS3 Interface IN THIS CHAPTER New Dreamweaver CS3 Features The Welcome Screen The Document Window Context Menus The Insert Bar The Property Inspector Panels The Menu Bar The good news is Dreamweaver provides numerous windows, panels, inspectors, and toolbars for streamlining the way you build websites. The bad news, unfortunately, is that Dreamweaver provides numerous windows, panels, inspectors, and toolbars for streamlining the way you build websites. Why so many windows, panels, and so on, Dreamweaver is unprecedented in the feature set it provides, allowing developers complete control when building websites and applications. For instance, the Document window allows developers visual editing with unusually precise, pinpoint accuracy, an Insert bar for visually adding HTML elements within the development environment, and numerous panels and inspectors for customizing those elements after they've been inserted. For every benefit Dreamweaver provides to developers in terms of customization, the learning curve goes up. This chapter aims at leveling the learning curve by introducing you, step-by-step, to the myriad windows, panels, inspectors, toolbars, and menus. We'll start by outlining some of the latest and greatest features added to the newest edition of Dreamweaver. We'll then transition over to the development environment that makes Dreamweaver the industry standard web development
tool. Although I won't deconstruct each and every feature, I will provide a gentle, yet concise, overview of each and every piece of functionality that Dreamweaver has to offer before unveiling them in greater detail as the book unfolds. New Dreamweaver CS3 Features Welcome to the best release of Dreamweaver to date! As you'll see throughout this section, Adobe heeded the call of developers by releasing features that users have been requesting for quite some time—features such as XML integration, Photoshop integration, Flash video support, integration with mobile devices, new and improved CSS layouts, better CSS references, and more. Although most of the features discussed in this section seem like they would be obvious additions to a program like Dreamweaver (and for the most part are integrated into various other Adobe programs, as well), they do represent the newest and most exciting feature enhancements to a program that is already chock full of workflow and process improvements. The newest features are outlined briefly in Table 1.1. Table 1.1. New Dreamweaver CS3 Features Feature Description Spry framework for One of the hottest trends in web development today is Ajax Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (Ajax). With Dreamweaver, Adobe didn't skimp in its integration with the technology. As you'll see in Chapter 30, "Introducing the Spry Framework for Ajax," the Spry framework for Ajax is a collection of JavaScript libraries to help you integrate XML data or RSS feeds within a web page using Dreamweaver. Additionally, the framework provides widgets and effects for sprucing up your interfaces and enhancing how your users interact with the data. Adobe Photoshop Although Fireworks integration still reigns supreme in integration Dreamweaver, Adobe has made strides in CS3 by also including subtle integration features between Adobe's bread-and-butter program, Photoshop, and Dreamweaver. As you'll see in Chapter 18, "Integrating with Fireworks and Photoshop," Dreamweaver supports the capability for you to drag and drop or copy and paste directly from Photoshop CS3 into Dreamweaver CS3 to leverage layers from your design in your web page. FLV support In previous versions of Dreamweaver, FLV support was limited to a costly third-party object for integration. In Dreamweaver CS3, the integration is included. As you'll see in Chapter 19, "Integrating with Flash," including Flash video within your web pages is a few short clicks away. Adobe Device Central One of Adobe's newest products, Device Central CS3 is an CS3 application environment that outlines dozens of mobile device skins for previewing your web pages. Creating mobile web pages in Dreamweaver? Preview those web pages within a library of mobile devices before they go live. Adobe Bridge Need to quickly browse, locate, and preview design assets on your integration computer? Adobe Bridge is the solution! Adobe Bridge is an application meant for quickly browsing, locating, previewing, managing, and cataloging creative assets. Dreamweaver CS3 allows you to use this program with a simple menu selection. In no time, you'll be finding and integrating creative assets from your projects into Dreamweaver effortlessly. New and improved CSS Another trend in web development is structuring web pages using layouts standards-compliant CSS-based techniques instead of antiquated methods such as tables and frames. To aid in this transition, Dreamweaver CS3 outlines a library of CSS-based layouts. Additionally, these layouts include extensive comments that explain the layout so that beginner and intermediate developers
Feature Description explain the layout so that beginner and intermediate developers can get up to speed with these forward-thinking web page structuring techniques. CSS Advisor It's hard to ignore the fact that web standards are quickly moving away from the traditional to more standards-compliant CSS. To aid you in the learning process, Adobe provides the CSS Advisor website. From this site you're able to participate within a community of designers and developers eager to share their experiences with CSS, providing coding techniques, browser incompatibility workarounds, outlining sample CSS code, and much more.
Part I: Getting Up to Speed with Dreamweaver CS3 CHAPTER 1 The Dreamweaver CS3 Interface CHAPTER 2 Building a Web Page CHAPTER 3 Dreamweaver Site Management CHAPTER 4 Defining Preferences Chapter 1. The Dreamweaver CS3 Interface IN THIS CHAPTER New Dreamweaver CS3 Features The Welcome Screen The Document Window Context Menus The Insert Bar The Property Inspector Panels The Menu Bar The good news is Dreamweaver provides numerous windows, panels, inspectors, and toolbars for streamlining the way you build websites. The bad news, unfortunately, is that Dreamweaver provides numerous windows, panels, inspectors, and toolbars for streamlining the way you build websites. Why so many windows, panels, and so on, Dreamweaver is unprecedented in the feature set it provides, allowing developers complete control when building websites and applications. For instance, the Document window allows developers visual editing with unusually precise, pinpoint accuracy, an Insert bar for visually adding HTML elements within the development environment, and numerous panels and inspectors for customizing those elements after they've been inserted. For every benefit Dreamweaver provides to developers in terms of customization, the learning curve goes up. This chapter aims at leveling the learning curve by introducing you, step-by-step, to the myriad windows, panels, inspectors, toolbars, and menus. We'll start by outlining some of the latest and greatest features added to the newest edition of Dreamweaver. We'll then transition over to the development environment that makes Dreamweaver the industry standard web development
tool. Although I won't deconstruct each and every feature, I will provide a gentle, yet concise, overview of each and every piece of functionality that Dreamweaver has to offer before unveiling them in greater detail as the book unfolds. New Dreamweaver CS3 Features Welcome to the best release of Dreamweaver to date! As you'll see throughout this section, Adobe heeded the call of developers by releasing features that users have been requesting for quite some time—features such as XML integration, Photoshop integration, Flash video support, integration with mobile devices, new and improved CSS layouts, better CSS references, and more. Although most of the features discussed in this section seem like they would be obvious additions to a program like Dreamweaver (and for the most part are integrated into various other Adobe programs, as well), they do represent the newest and most exciting feature enhancements to a program that is already chock full of workflow and process improvements. The newest features are outlined briefly in Table 1.1. Table 1.1. New Dreamweaver CS3 Features Feature Description Spry framework for One of the hottest trends in web development today is Ajax Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (Ajax). With Dreamweaver, Adobe didn't skimp in its integration with the technology. As you'll see in Chapter 30, "Introducing the Spry Framework for Ajax," the Spry framework for Ajax is a collection of JavaScript libraries to help you integrate XML data or RSS feeds within a web page using Dreamweaver. Additionally, the framework provides widgets and effects for sprucing up your interfaces and enhancing how your users interact with the data. Adobe Photoshop Although Fireworks integration still reigns supreme in integration Dreamweaver, Adobe has made strides in CS3 by also including subtle integration features between Adobe's bread-and-butter program, Photoshop, and Dreamweaver. As you'll see in Chapter 18, "Integrating with Fireworks and Photoshop," Dreamweaver supports the capability for you to drag and drop or copy and paste directly from Photoshop CS3 into Dreamweaver CS3 to leverage layers from your design in your web page. FLV support In previous versions of Dreamweaver, FLV support was limited to a costly third-party object for integration. In Dreamweaver CS3, the integration is included. As you'll see in Chapter 19, "Integrating with Flash," including Flash video within your web pages is a few short clicks away. Adobe Device Central One of Adobe's newest products, Device Central CS3 is an CS3 application environment that outlines dozens of mobile device skins for previewing your web pages. Creating mobile web pages in Dreamweaver? Preview those web pages within a library of mobile devices before they go live. Adobe Bridge Need to quickly browse, locate, and preview design assets on your integration computer? Adobe Bridge is the solution! Adobe Bridge is an application meant for quickly browsing, locating, previewing, managing, and cataloging creative assets. Dreamweaver CS3 allows you to use this program with a simple menu selection. In no time, you'll be finding and integrating creative assets from your projects into Dreamweaver effortlessly. New and improved CSS Another trend in web development is structuring web pages using layouts standards-compliant CSS-based techniques instead of antiquated methods such as tables and frames. To aid in this transition, Dreamweaver CS3 outlines a library of CSS-based layouts. Additionally, these layouts include extensive comments that explain the layout so that beginner and intermediate developers