Dreamweaver: Defining A Site
Dreamweaver relies
on you to create a site for each and every project you work on
within Dreamweaver. This ensures all files and links are properly
defined.
If you don't define the site ahead of time Dreamweaver will give
you warnings about nearly everything. It's fast, it's easy and
it's
integral to Dreamweaver.
Step 1: Define a Site
- Go to
Site>New..
to open the Site Definition
dialog window.
- You
can now begin entering your site information.
Step 2: Enter a site name
You can use any
name here. This is for organizational purposes and won't display
in the browser.
Step 3: Define the Local Root Folder
This is where the
site files for this particular site will be kept. I generally keep
a site development folder with client and project sites inside that.
Click the Browse
button to either navigate to an existing folder or to create a new
folder.
Once you've selected
or created the folder, click Choose
(Mac) or Select
(windows). You can also type in the path to the folder but for accuracy
it's always best to browse
to it.
Step 4: Select "Refresh Local File List Automatically
I always check
this so you should too. J/K. But
this ensures your any changes you make are reflected immediately.
For example, if
you added some new images or other media to your site folder you
would need to manually refresh the site list each time if you didn't
have this option selected.
Step 5: HTTP Address
Enter the URL
that you're using for this site. It will enable Dreamweaver to check
links in your site that use Absolute
URLs
Step 6: Select the Cache option
This will greatly
increase Dreamweaver's speed in checking links.
You may get a box
telling you about how Dreamweaver needs to create the site
cache. You don't need and
most likely won't want to continue seeing this box so you can select
for it not to display again.
Click Create
Step 7: Click Done
You will need to do this with EVERY site you work
with from within Dreamweaver.
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